Chris went to Boone for the weekend to go to an Appalachian State University home football game with our son. So, a rare weekend night with him gone. His work often takes him out of town during the week, but not weekends. I took the opportunity to see how Reilly did loose during the night, rather than in his room. I wanted to see if he'd wake me up to go outside or not. So, he was loose, and I put down no paper.
He definitely woke me up. His way of doing that was to run whining into the bedroom, and leap. He can't jump all the way up onto the bed, as it's high. But his front end landed square on the spot where Chris sleeps. It's a good thing he wasn't there! Reilly was all happy that I understood he wanted out. I'll have a talk with Chris about switching sides of the bed temporarily and see if that works better. We can give it a shot next weekend and see, if he's agreeable. Hopefully it won't be too long before Reilly can hold it all night, but in the meantime, if he will wake me to go out it will mean less cleaning up in the morning.
I have been slack this week on puppy training. We've only done bits and pieces, instead of set sessions. Had too many appointments and long days, and have been prepping for a visit from my parents, who should be arriving in a couple hours. Got my brace repaired...again...and it quit working within hours of the repair...again. I've had the new KAFO brace for over a month, and have worn it maybe a couple days, total. A very expensive waste of money, and dangerous to boot. I'll be having a discussion with the neurologist about it at my next appointment. At any rate, puppy training is slower this week. He does whatever I ask, with the exception of the "down" command. He insists on food for that, and the hand going all the way to the ground. We do need to work on transitioning to him responding to the command only.
Later in the day...
I had intended to come write more, but with my parents here I haven't had much opportunity. I'll check in mid-week, if I can. I have three exams to write, so am not sure how much free time I'll have.
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Second puppy class
Wednesday:
Thought I'd pop in with just a few words about the puppy class last night. Reilly and I barely made it in time, but managed to mention to the instructor that we didn't want Reilly getting treats from other people. She was much more accommodating than I expected, although she did remind me that she could not then demonstrate technique to me using him, or help me work out another method on things. That will be the price I have to pay, but it's worth it to me.
The instructor was also much milder last night than she was the night. I'm surprised I found her so, as I'd been dealing with a killer headache all day...the lovely kind that makes you want to scream when you move your eyes. I had let each of my classes out early, as scanning the class and going back and forth to computer and them was turning me into a shaky mess. So I wasn't looking forward to puppy class. I was pleasantly surprised, and even more surprised to find my headache decreasing over the course of the hour. But I did notice that the instructor was asking people to borrow their dogs for demos instead of just taking them, and using the owner treats instead of her own. So a huge improvement. And she was calmer, too. So last week may have just been a tense week for everyone, and not indicative of "normal".
Reilly did fairly well last night, although he was tired and it showed. I didn't do as well as he did, especially early on while the head was still pounding. I was missing cues and forgetting to give commands when I should. Dreadful. My concentration was totally shot. But Reilly did his part as well as he could around my stupidity. Review on sit, down, come, spin (spin is the one we didn't practice), and loose leash walking. Begin "stay" and "touch". "Touch" is simply getting them to put nose to your palm. It's listed as a trick, but it looks like a good precursor to getting him to do other things. He picked up on that one really quickly.
I did have some serious logistics issues during class. I have to leave one crutch in the car to handle the leash. So I have a crutch in my right hand and a leash in my left, and I have to be careful of my balance, which is difficult with a puppy on a string! Someone who doesn't have a crutch normally uses both hands on the leash, so they can reel in and let it out easily. I have to slowly wrap the leash around my hand to pull in. It's not a quick thing. And then there's the treat bag. Many people in class are using a tool bag such as is found at Lowe's. Those are flat though, and I'd need two hands to get into one. I bought a commercial treat bag that has a round opening, so I can get one hand in without needing the second one, but it falls off, swings, dumps itself when I bend over...all sorts of issues. I can't use my pocket, as I can't easily get my hand in it. So I need to come up with something I can get into and that's stable. Maybe a cheap belt pack would work, although it would be likely to spill when I bent over. I'll keep thinking on it.
The problems will all work out; they usually do.
Reilly has a vet appointment in an hour. We'll see how much he weighs now, and get some feedback on how his ever-changing legs are doing.
Thursday:
Reilly weighed in at 63.4 pounds. Big puppy. He's nowhere near grown into his tail, ears and feet. I also took Jake in to be weighed, as he's gained since he got neutered and I have to watch his heartworm preventative dosage. He tipped the scales at 122.8.
Reilly got his last Bordatella. He also got his legs looked at. His front legs have gone from the twisted out to stand on the outside of his feet, to twisted in to stand on the inside, to nearly square at the moment. His hind legs were so cow-hocked as to nearly have his feet at 90 degree angles to his body. Right now, although he's still cow-hocked, it's not as bad. He changes almost on a weekly basis. Since he's gaining about five pounds per week, it's not surprising. We'll be watching, but we're expecting it all to settle out to normal by the time he's grown. In the meantime, I'm careful with him; not letting him jump off furniture or out of the car. He's been taught to get on his belly and slide off like an otter. Since he's big, it's not far to the ground that way.
See you Saturday.
Meg and Reilly
Thought I'd pop in with just a few words about the puppy class last night. Reilly and I barely made it in time, but managed to mention to the instructor that we didn't want Reilly getting treats from other people. She was much more accommodating than I expected, although she did remind me that she could not then demonstrate technique to me using him, or help me work out another method on things. That will be the price I have to pay, but it's worth it to me.
The instructor was also much milder last night than she was the night. I'm surprised I found her so, as I'd been dealing with a killer headache all day...the lovely kind that makes you want to scream when you move your eyes. I had let each of my classes out early, as scanning the class and going back and forth to computer and them was turning me into a shaky mess. So I wasn't looking forward to puppy class. I was pleasantly surprised, and even more surprised to find my headache decreasing over the course of the hour. But I did notice that the instructor was asking people to borrow their dogs for demos instead of just taking them, and using the owner treats instead of her own. So a huge improvement. And she was calmer, too. So last week may have just been a tense week for everyone, and not indicative of "normal".
Reilly did fairly well last night, although he was tired and it showed. I didn't do as well as he did, especially early on while the head was still pounding. I was missing cues and forgetting to give commands when I should. Dreadful. My concentration was totally shot. But Reilly did his part as well as he could around my stupidity. Review on sit, down, come, spin (spin is the one we didn't practice), and loose leash walking. Begin "stay" and "touch". "Touch" is simply getting them to put nose to your palm. It's listed as a trick, but it looks like a good precursor to getting him to do other things. He picked up on that one really quickly.
I did have some serious logistics issues during class. I have to leave one crutch in the car to handle the leash. So I have a crutch in my right hand and a leash in my left, and I have to be careful of my balance, which is difficult with a puppy on a string! Someone who doesn't have a crutch normally uses both hands on the leash, so they can reel in and let it out easily. I have to slowly wrap the leash around my hand to pull in. It's not a quick thing. And then there's the treat bag. Many people in class are using a tool bag such as is found at Lowe's. Those are flat though, and I'd need two hands to get into one. I bought a commercial treat bag that has a round opening, so I can get one hand in without needing the second one, but it falls off, swings, dumps itself when I bend over...all sorts of issues. I can't use my pocket, as I can't easily get my hand in it. So I need to come up with something I can get into and that's stable. Maybe a cheap belt pack would work, although it would be likely to spill when I bent over. I'll keep thinking on it.
The problems will all work out; they usually do.
Reilly has a vet appointment in an hour. We'll see how much he weighs now, and get some feedback on how his ever-changing legs are doing.
Thursday:
Reilly weighed in at 63.4 pounds. Big puppy. He's nowhere near grown into his tail, ears and feet. I also took Jake in to be weighed, as he's gained since he got neutered and I have to watch his heartworm preventative dosage. He tipped the scales at 122.8.
Reilly got his last Bordatella. He also got his legs looked at. His front legs have gone from the twisted out to stand on the outside of his feet, to twisted in to stand on the inside, to nearly square at the moment. His hind legs were so cow-hocked as to nearly have his feet at 90 degree angles to his body. Right now, although he's still cow-hocked, it's not as bad. He changes almost on a weekly basis. Since he's gaining about five pounds per week, it's not surprising. We'll be watching, but we're expecting it all to settle out to normal by the time he's grown. In the meantime, I'm careful with him; not letting him jump off furniture or out of the car. He's been taught to get on his belly and slide off like an otter. Since he's big, it's not far to the ground that way.
See you Saturday.
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, September 18, 2011
School Days, School Days....
Reilly went to his first class on Tuesday. It's interesting. Many aspects of the class I really like, but others I don't. The trainer is loud and abrasive. She reached for Reilly and he shied away, which is a first for him. I was petting him as I talked to her, and when she reached and he shied, she then told me I had just reinforced his poor behavior by petting him when he reacted to her. She apparently did not notice that I had been petting him before as well as during her grabbing at him. What I failed to do was stop her. She also took him from me for a "demo" three times during the class. The first time took me by surprise, and I let it ride simply because of that. The other times...well, I just didn't want to make a scene in class. But I will speak to her before the class this week and tell her she is not to take Reilly as a demo. I know it's easy to use him because he is big, so it's easy for everyone to see what he's doing. But he should not be getting treats from anyone other than me, or Chris to a lesser extent. And he does not need to respond to commands from anyone but me...and again, to a lesser extent, Chris. He's not a pet, he's a working companion. Or will be.
On the other hand, getting him to work for me with all those other pups around is going to be an invaluable experience. And having the experience of being around people with more expansive personality types will be good, too.
We worked on things Reilly is already familiar with, such as "sit". We also did "down", which although not completely new to Reilly is not something I've done much of. He did well. I will need to teach him a second way to "down", but one at a time. It's easiest for them to come down from a sitting postion, but that puts the front of their body too far forward in a working situation. He'll need to learn to put his front end down first, as in the play bow, and then lower his back end, to keep him in a working position. Another was simply getting him to look at me. "Watch Me". "Come" was on the list, too. This was simply walking them on a leash, then stopping and walking backwards while calling them. Reilly can easily be left in a "stay" while I walk away from him for a good 20 feet, then come when called. It'll be interesting to see how he does with that when we're in a group. The distractions are bigger there. She also had us work on a "trick": spinning the pup in a circle, as if he's chasing his tail. I have not been practicing that one, as I see no value in it for us. This week, shaking hands is on the list as a trick. I do not want a dog to shake hands. Never have and never will. However, I will want him to learn to use his feet for tasks such as hitting the button to open a handicap door, or a light switch. So, instead of "shake", I'll be teaching him to hit my upright palm, like a "high five". I should then be able to transfer that command to the buttons. I was going to use the command "target" for that, but Chris really wants me to use "high five", which is funny. Reilly won't care one way or another, so I'll probably humor my husband. I'll pick up a laser and start using it to direct where the high five goes, so he can learn to hit the button. After the experience at the elevator, I'm betting that when he sees that pushing a button causes a reaction he's going to enjoy it!
Regardless, we have been doing our homework this week, with the exception of the "spin". I'm very pleased to say that Reilly has even demonstrated that he knows to rise from a "down" into a "sit" when told. That's a hard one to learn.
Oh! The other really valuable thing we're doing is teaching them to ignore food that's not in a bowl or offered. That's really good....because using all these treats in class has turned my sweet puppy into a begger. Instead of walking nicely beside me, he's crowding me, and getting in front of me trying to get treats, after just one session of constantly getting treated! Hopefully, working with him on ignoring food will help get this out of him. I don't use many treats at home, other than as initiating lures, but we're expected to use lots and lots of treats in class.
Today is Sunday, and we did make it to the park today. We haven't been going regularly, in part due to the side effects I'm dealing with from the prednisone. But we went today. Reilly did a lot of crowding me while I walked, and a good bit of pulling; mostly to get to people he wanted to see. I had to use some distractions to get him past people, and multiple reverses to stop the pulling. However, he did his sitting and downing at the park too, so the distractions didn't totally do him in.
Meg and Reilly
On the other hand, getting him to work for me with all those other pups around is going to be an invaluable experience. And having the experience of being around people with more expansive personality types will be good, too.
We worked on things Reilly is already familiar with, such as "sit". We also did "down", which although not completely new to Reilly is not something I've done much of. He did well. I will need to teach him a second way to "down", but one at a time. It's easiest for them to come down from a sitting postion, but that puts the front of their body too far forward in a working situation. He'll need to learn to put his front end down first, as in the play bow, and then lower his back end, to keep him in a working position. Another was simply getting him to look at me. "Watch Me". "Come" was on the list, too. This was simply walking them on a leash, then stopping and walking backwards while calling them. Reilly can easily be left in a "stay" while I walk away from him for a good 20 feet, then come when called. It'll be interesting to see how he does with that when we're in a group. The distractions are bigger there. She also had us work on a "trick": spinning the pup in a circle, as if he's chasing his tail. I have not been practicing that one, as I see no value in it for us. This week, shaking hands is on the list as a trick. I do not want a dog to shake hands. Never have and never will. However, I will want him to learn to use his feet for tasks such as hitting the button to open a handicap door, or a light switch. So, instead of "shake", I'll be teaching him to hit my upright palm, like a "high five". I should then be able to transfer that command to the buttons. I was going to use the command "target" for that, but Chris really wants me to use "high five", which is funny. Reilly won't care one way or another, so I'll probably humor my husband. I'll pick up a laser and start using it to direct where the high five goes, so he can learn to hit the button. After the experience at the elevator, I'm betting that when he sees that pushing a button causes a reaction he's going to enjoy it!
Regardless, we have been doing our homework this week, with the exception of the "spin". I'm very pleased to say that Reilly has even demonstrated that he knows to rise from a "down" into a "sit" when told. That's a hard one to learn.
Oh! The other really valuable thing we're doing is teaching them to ignore food that's not in a bowl or offered. That's really good....because using all these treats in class has turned my sweet puppy into a begger. Instead of walking nicely beside me, he's crowding me, and getting in front of me trying to get treats, after just one session of constantly getting treated! Hopefully, working with him on ignoring food will help get this out of him. I don't use many treats at home, other than as initiating lures, but we're expected to use lots and lots of treats in class.
Today is Sunday, and we did make it to the park today. We haven't been going regularly, in part due to the side effects I'm dealing with from the prednisone. But we went today. Reilly did a lot of crowding me while I walked, and a good bit of pulling; mostly to get to people he wanted to see. I had to use some distractions to get him past people, and multiple reverses to stop the pulling. However, he did his sitting and downing at the park too, so the distractions didn't totally do him in.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Reilly goes to work
Well, sorta. I forgot to bring my portable hard drive home on Thursday, and needed it for things I'm doing at home. Since the office is closed up on the weekend I figured it was the perfect time to introduce Reilly to work, elevator and all. Chris opted to go with us and take pictures again!
The parking is right in front of my building, which is helpful. It's a 35-40 minute drive, so I pulled Reilly over onto the grass and told him to go potty...and he did. It looks like he's gotten the idea of going when told to pretty well. Then we went to the main door of the building. I didn't realize that there's no keyholes on that set of doors! We backtracked and went to the side door that my key always sticks in. this time was no different. Reilly was patient while I got it worked out. A colleague was there, also picking things up. He was fascinated by Reilly and kept saying how beautiful he was. (Good taste there!)
We walked down the hall toward the elevator, with Reilly walking on a loose leash like it was a completely familiar place. When I pushed the elevator button, his ears pricked at the sounds coming from the "wall." Then the door opened, and he walked right in, wanting to explore. He sat for the ride, and was just as interested in exploring through the door when it opened on my floor. We went down to my office, and he checked things out there while I dropped off and picked up. Chris suggested a stroll around the hallways, which we did. And he was relaxed enough that he started wanting to play with the leash.
When we went outside, there was a train going by. The track runs right in front of our building, so the car was parked right next to the track. Reilly hasn't shown a problem with loud noises, and was interested in the train, so we headed toward the car. I wouldn't have done so had the train just been starting by, as they blow the whistle a lot when they're coming through. But the front of the train was well past, so a whistle wasn't going to surprise us. The end of the train went past as we crossed the parking lot. We decided to drop my pack in the car and walk about campus in the hopes that a squirrel would be out and about so we could see Reilly's reaction to one. No squirrels out, but Reilly did appear to want to join a couple of students who were having an animated conversation. I had to give his leash a tug to regain his attention. That was the only time we were out today that I had to redirect him at all. I think he may need to go more places with people exposure, so he gets past wanting to play with everyone. Puppy school will help with that.
Speaking of puppy school, last week's class was interesting. I got there a bit early and took a seat in a chair against the wall, so I could lean my sticks on it. I pulled out my knitting and people-watched until it started. People trying to one-up each other on jobs and degrees earned and dogs and all kinds of things. It was rather funny to observe.
The session was an orientation, with check-in, vaccination check, payment, and then some guidelines, rules for arrival with dogs next time, and some tips to use in the meantime. It was emphasized that this is a beginner class, not a puppy-only class, so there would be dogs of all ages. It's not a socialization class, but one where the dogs learn to work even with distractions present. Exactly what Reilly needs. In fact, I think I'll be taking Jake to the next one, since they allow adults. If Reilly's legs don't straighten up properly, then I may try working with Jake and seeing if we can overcome his door phobia. Murphy would still have a companion in Reilly. Not my preferred plan, but you should always have a back-up.
So...pictures. Yes, Chris took one of Reilly peeing on command! I included it because it shows what his hind legs are now doing. They were pretty straight when it was just his front legs acting up. Now he's all cow-hocked. We'll keep watching. He's got a lot of growing to do before his growth plates close up. Also, just to state that I would never allow pictures of me looking like this to be posted if it weren't for Reilly. Those that know me in real life...yes, I've gained nearly thirty pounds while on the prenisone. Ugh.
Here he is, waiting for the elevator door to open back up.
Checking out my leather bookbag in my office:
And noticing the train when we came out of the building:
Meg and Reilly
The parking is right in front of my building, which is helpful. It's a 35-40 minute drive, so I pulled Reilly over onto the grass and told him to go potty...and he did. It looks like he's gotten the idea of going when told to pretty well. Then we went to the main door of the building. I didn't realize that there's no keyholes on that set of doors! We backtracked and went to the side door that my key always sticks in. this time was no different. Reilly was patient while I got it worked out. A colleague was there, also picking things up. He was fascinated by Reilly and kept saying how beautiful he was. (Good taste there!)
We walked down the hall toward the elevator, with Reilly walking on a loose leash like it was a completely familiar place. When I pushed the elevator button, his ears pricked at the sounds coming from the "wall." Then the door opened, and he walked right in, wanting to explore. He sat for the ride, and was just as interested in exploring through the door when it opened on my floor. We went down to my office, and he checked things out there while I dropped off and picked up. Chris suggested a stroll around the hallways, which we did. And he was relaxed enough that he started wanting to play with the leash.
When we went outside, there was a train going by. The track runs right in front of our building, so the car was parked right next to the track. Reilly hasn't shown a problem with loud noises, and was interested in the train, so we headed toward the car. I wouldn't have done so had the train just been starting by, as they blow the whistle a lot when they're coming through. But the front of the train was well past, so a whistle wasn't going to surprise us. The end of the train went past as we crossed the parking lot. We decided to drop my pack in the car and walk about campus in the hopes that a squirrel would be out and about so we could see Reilly's reaction to one. No squirrels out, but Reilly did appear to want to join a couple of students who were having an animated conversation. I had to give his leash a tug to regain his attention. That was the only time we were out today that I had to redirect him at all. I think he may need to go more places with people exposure, so he gets past wanting to play with everyone. Puppy school will help with that.
Speaking of puppy school, last week's class was interesting. I got there a bit early and took a seat in a chair against the wall, so I could lean my sticks on it. I pulled out my knitting and people-watched until it started. People trying to one-up each other on jobs and degrees earned and dogs and all kinds of things. It was rather funny to observe.
The session was an orientation, with check-in, vaccination check, payment, and then some guidelines, rules for arrival with dogs next time, and some tips to use in the meantime. It was emphasized that this is a beginner class, not a puppy-only class, so there would be dogs of all ages. It's not a socialization class, but one where the dogs learn to work even with distractions present. Exactly what Reilly needs. In fact, I think I'll be taking Jake to the next one, since they allow adults. If Reilly's legs don't straighten up properly, then I may try working with Jake and seeing if we can overcome his door phobia. Murphy would still have a companion in Reilly. Not my preferred plan, but you should always have a back-up.
So...pictures. Yes, Chris took one of Reilly peeing on command! I included it because it shows what his hind legs are now doing. They were pretty straight when it was just his front legs acting up. Now he's all cow-hocked. We'll keep watching. He's got a lot of growing to do before his growth plates close up. Also, just to state that I would never allow pictures of me looking like this to be posted if it weren't for Reilly. Those that know me in real life...yes, I've gained nearly thirty pounds while on the prenisone. Ugh.
Here he is, waiting for the elevator door to open back up.
Checking out my leather bookbag in my office:
And noticing the train when we came out of the building:
Meg and Reilly
Monday, September 5, 2011
Pet shop day
We took Reilly with us to the pet shop today to get a new collar. (Not Petsmart, but a locally owned shop called Naturally Unleashed.) He's got maybe two inches to go on the one he has now, but it won't last long. Might as well indulge in a new one before he starts school. School clothes! Yeah! This is the first time Chris has gone out with us, so I handed him the camera. While I was perusing collars, Reilly varied from being good as gold...
to inspecting some rope toys nearby. Then trying to get one.
Not appropriate behavior, but not bad for a four-month-old puppy, either. Actually, it's the most he's ever gotten into in a store, so he's doing well. He stopped when I told him to. And pouted.
However, on the way in a free-running boxer met us at the door. He tried to get past Chris, who caught him. He wasn't actually trying to escape, but was trying to get to Reilly. The shop girl caught him up and put him behind the counter. She said he liked big dogs, and he seemed friendly, so it appeared to be a potentially good time to see how Reilly did meeting a completely strange dog in a non-household situation. While the dog was behind a barrier and being held, Reilly was allowed to approach. They greeted each other, with Reilly's tail all happy. Then I called Reilly away. He came, and did not look back! FTW! He made no attempt to stay, to return, or even give an indication that he knew the other dog was there. When we had chosen his collar and grabbed a bag of feed and went to checkout, Reilly ignored the boxer. I'm very pleased with how he handled it.
Another thing he's handled well today was the start of dove season. Our little farm is surrounded by cropland that was planted to corn this year, so the doves are everywhere. So are the hunters. And the noise of shotguns going off fairly close by. Chris was one of them. Murphy is terrified of loud noises. Jake is pretty much indifferent, but allows himself to be convinced by Murphy that he shouldn't go outside. Not a bad thing, with so many shotguns around. But I wanted to see Reilly's reaction. He's heard fireworks from a distance, and .22 from a hundred yards with a building in between, but shotguns are loud. And people were firing multiple times in a row. Murphy was trying to convince me to let him in my lap. Jake was trying to convince me that the situation called for treats. Reilly? Well, at first he went to the door wanting to go investigate. After a while, he didn't even bother to lift his head. And when he was outside to go potty and guns went off, he ignored them completely. Another win!
I think I'll go back to the pet shop and buy that rope toy he was so interested in.....
Meg and Reilly
Not appropriate behavior, but not bad for a four-month-old puppy, either. Actually, it's the most he's ever gotten into in a store, so he's doing well. He stopped when I told him to. And pouted.
However, on the way in a free-running boxer met us at the door. He tried to get past Chris, who caught him. He wasn't actually trying to escape, but was trying to get to Reilly. The shop girl caught him up and put him behind the counter. She said he liked big dogs, and he seemed friendly, so it appeared to be a potentially good time to see how Reilly did meeting a completely strange dog in a non-household situation. While the dog was behind a barrier and being held, Reilly was allowed to approach. They greeted each other, with Reilly's tail all happy. Then I called Reilly away. He came, and did not look back! FTW! He made no attempt to stay, to return, or even give an indication that he knew the other dog was there. When we had chosen his collar and grabbed a bag of feed and went to checkout, Reilly ignored the boxer. I'm very pleased with how he handled it.
Another thing he's handled well today was the start of dove season. Our little farm is surrounded by cropland that was planted to corn this year, so the doves are everywhere. So are the hunters. And the noise of shotguns going off fairly close by. Chris was one of them. Murphy is terrified of loud noises. Jake is pretty much indifferent, but allows himself to be convinced by Murphy that he shouldn't go outside. Not a bad thing, with so many shotguns around. But I wanted to see Reilly's reaction. He's heard fireworks from a distance, and .22 from a hundred yards with a building in between, but shotguns are loud. And people were firing multiple times in a row. Murphy was trying to convince me to let him in my lap. Jake was trying to convince me that the situation called for treats. Reilly? Well, at first he went to the door wanting to go investigate. After a while, he didn't even bother to lift his head. And when he was outside to go potty and guns went off, he ignored them completely. Another win!
I think I'll go back to the pet shop and buy that rope toy he was so interested in.....
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, September 4, 2011
By Jove, I think he's got it!
I think the potty training has finally clicked in Reilly's head. He's had no accidents indoors except on paper when we're gone or at night. He's asking to go out consistently now. And when headed back indoors after being out a while, he'll stop to pee before he goes in, which takes some thinking ahead.
I do have to watch him chewing. He'll just absently gnaw on things, including my Louet Victoria spinning wheel! I don't think he even realizes he's doing it; it's an absent-minded thing. I just have to keep an eye on him and replace whatever he's mouthing with something more appropriate. Another thing he'll outgrow.
Speaking of outgrowing, his front legs are still looking good, and his hind legs are giving him the growing pains that he experienced earlier with the front. He just occasionally cries, or obviously can't get comfortable. It's not continuous though; intermittent only. Makes it hard to decide to give him something for it. There's no sense in medicating him continuously. It will only make him build resistance to painkillers. And the episodes of discomfort seem to be fairly short. Or else he's pretty stoic, which is also possible. At this point it's wait and watch all over again.
He had a vet visit on Thursday last. Weighed in at 48.6 pounds, had his legs looked over and a dietary discussion. Since the vet who had been looking at him (Doc Julie) got recalled into the military and deployed, we saw our regular vet, Doc Kim. She's been having some discussions with a Great Dane breeder about the growth issues in giant breeds. After some time of breeding/feeding puppies, this breeder has come to the reluctant conclusion that the better quality dog foods are actually a detriment to raising giant breed puppies. Since their growth needs to be slowed, but still remain even, it's this breeder's opinion that giant breed puppies will grow better on poorer quality feeds...even something as pathetic as Ole Roy. Although I can see his point, and certainly understand his reluctance to reach that conclusion, my insides twist at feeding something like that to a dog I love. We have decided to do a compromise of sorts, though. When Reilly is confined to his room while we're gone, he'll only have access to a regular commercial dog food...Pedigree large breed. It's actually what Murphy and Jake got before Murph developed some food issues. They won't eat out of Reilly's bowl, so I don't have to worry about Murph eating it. Reilly will eat out of their bowls though, so he is eating the grain-free food when we're home. So his diet is split, with half the grocery store feed and half the better quality grain-free feed. We'll see what, if anything, that does for him.
We start puppy school this Tuesday. I do, anyway. Reilly doesn't get to go the first day. Just me. I have to learn the rules, get his shot records checked, and all that stuff.
In the meantime, Reilly is excellent sitting on command. He knows "come" well, too. (I did try to convert to here but failed miserably.) He also knows "wait", and is fairly strong with it as well. We've been working on "down" lately. He knows what I want, but doesn't do it unless my hand goes down and has a treat in it. We'll keep working on it. The class will be covering the same commands, but he'll be learning to do them while there are all sorts of distractions around him. Other puppies. Other people. Other people talking to their puppies. Huge distractions. He's good at leaving things to come to me at home, but these will be new distractions, so will be really good for him to be exposed to.
I've misplaced my camera again. I need to find that thing and hang it around my neck and leave it there. You really need to see Reilly's feet. They're bigger than Murphy's, and maybe even Jake's. If he grows into his feet and ears he's going to be huge. He's also starting to develop flews...hanging lips. We'll see how hangy-faced he gets to be.
Meg and Reilly
I do have to watch him chewing. He'll just absently gnaw on things, including my Louet Victoria spinning wheel! I don't think he even realizes he's doing it; it's an absent-minded thing. I just have to keep an eye on him and replace whatever he's mouthing with something more appropriate. Another thing he'll outgrow.
Speaking of outgrowing, his front legs are still looking good, and his hind legs are giving him the growing pains that he experienced earlier with the front. He just occasionally cries, or obviously can't get comfortable. It's not continuous though; intermittent only. Makes it hard to decide to give him something for it. There's no sense in medicating him continuously. It will only make him build resistance to painkillers. And the episodes of discomfort seem to be fairly short. Or else he's pretty stoic, which is also possible. At this point it's wait and watch all over again.
He had a vet visit on Thursday last. Weighed in at 48.6 pounds, had his legs looked over and a dietary discussion. Since the vet who had been looking at him (Doc Julie) got recalled into the military and deployed, we saw our regular vet, Doc Kim. She's been having some discussions with a Great Dane breeder about the growth issues in giant breeds. After some time of breeding/feeding puppies, this breeder has come to the reluctant conclusion that the better quality dog foods are actually a detriment to raising giant breed puppies. Since their growth needs to be slowed, but still remain even, it's this breeder's opinion that giant breed puppies will grow better on poorer quality feeds...even something as pathetic as Ole Roy. Although I can see his point, and certainly understand his reluctance to reach that conclusion, my insides twist at feeding something like that to a dog I love. We have decided to do a compromise of sorts, though. When Reilly is confined to his room while we're gone, he'll only have access to a regular commercial dog food...Pedigree large breed. It's actually what Murphy and Jake got before Murph developed some food issues. They won't eat out of Reilly's bowl, so I don't have to worry about Murph eating it. Reilly will eat out of their bowls though, so he is eating the grain-free food when we're home. So his diet is split, with half the grocery store feed and half the better quality grain-free feed. We'll see what, if anything, that does for him.
We start puppy school this Tuesday. I do, anyway. Reilly doesn't get to go the first day. Just me. I have to learn the rules, get his shot records checked, and all that stuff.
In the meantime, Reilly is excellent sitting on command. He knows "come" well, too. (I did try to convert to here but failed miserably.) He also knows "wait", and is fairly strong with it as well. We've been working on "down" lately. He knows what I want, but doesn't do it unless my hand goes down and has a treat in it. We'll keep working on it. The class will be covering the same commands, but he'll be learning to do them while there are all sorts of distractions around him. Other puppies. Other people. Other people talking to their puppies. Huge distractions. He's good at leaving things to come to me at home, but these will be new distractions, so will be really good for him to be exposed to.
I've misplaced my camera again. I need to find that thing and hang it around my neck and leave it there. You really need to see Reilly's feet. They're bigger than Murphy's, and maybe even Jake's. If he grows into his feet and ears he's going to be huge. He's also starting to develop flews...hanging lips. We'll see how hangy-faced he gets to be.
Meg and Reilly
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