Larry learned that he likes to make sure I walk all the way back to the front of the apartment before he goes number 2 so we have to walk all the way back to the dumpsters.
Larry also started learning how to lay down on command. He's got some work to do, but he's off to a good start. He's got sit down cold.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Larry's Christmas Trip to Pittsburgh
Larry did awesome on his first long car ride. Got right into the crate, settled down with a rawhide and only complained when I got out of the car to pump gas and pick up some pop.
Heather and I left him in my mom's kitchen before I headed out to my Aunt's house for Christmas dinner. I did my best to Larry-proof the kitchen, but I assumed there would be some collateral damage. Left him his blankets and a good selection of toys. When we returned late that evening, he had done nearly perfectly. He had somehow found a Walmart bag that had powdered sugar in it, but he never broke into it. Chewed up the plastic bag really good, but other than that no problems. No housebreaking messes.
At this point, he got to meet my mom's little 1 year old Yorkie, Penny. Penny was able to sneak between the doorframe and the bar of the gate, so she could come and go as she pleased. Larry loved her but she was a bit taken aback by his size and speed. She weighs about half as much as he does, but is only a third of the size. She played very submissive, which surprised me because she usually shows alpha traits. She ended up getting pretty annoyed and growled and whimpered and made all sorts of nasty noises at him. However, she kept coming back. I kept him on a very short leash in the kitchen the whole time, so nothing very bad could happen.
Next, he was introduced to my uncle's 11 year old teacup poodle, Princess. Princess immediately laid down the law with a special kind of growl that told Larry, I'm old and don't mess with me or I'll rip your nose off. He was a perfect gentleman with her the entire rest of the time. They didn't fraternize much, but they seemed to have reached an understanding.
Larry also did great with meeting a bunch of new people, especially my one aunt who isn't real fond of dogs. She really appreciated that he wasn't barky or whiny. I kept him on his leash the whole time we were in my mom's house because if anything happened, I wanted to be able to grab him quickly. Not much happened, but it was good for when things got a little exciting. Nothing to report exciting, but sometimes he gets a little too hyped up (which is normal for a dog his age). When we visited my dad, I left him off leash in the house.
Well, in the middle of the night, we found out that Larry and Penny are actually in love. They're both fixed, so we know it's not lust, but really love. Around 2:30 in the morning, Penny somehow escaped my mom's room and kept scratching at our door until she got to see Larry. Then when we got up in the morning, it turned out that my mom had to barricade the steps so that Penny wouldn't come up and wake us up. She and Larry still played a little rough and she made nasty noises at him, but she really refused to stop playing with him. It got to the point that when it was time to feed him, she had to have some of his food (and she NEVER eats dry dog food). She just had to be doing what he was doing. It was really funny as they did a carousel routine. He'd get a mouthful, eat it, and turn away. Then she'd come in and eat one piece, and then step away. They repeated the process until the food was nearly gone from the bowl. It was really quite hilarious.
He had two accidents in the house. One was a rather predictable urination. I was about 20 minutes late to take him out and he let loose. Not a bad clean up though. The other was a little weird. I was in the shower, and he apparently just walked into the living room and took a dump. It was particularly weird because mid-afternoon is never a #2 time for him. Plus, he had just been out an hour earlier. I'm just chalking it up to an abberation.
But we left on the 27th to get back to Erie, just so I could have a chance to relax without having to worry about him behaving for everyone and possibly getting too rough with Penny. He did awesome on the trip home too, though there was a slight bit of whining.
In all, he did absolutely great. He totally surpassed my goals and expectations for him. Everyone loved him and couldn't believe how well he was doing only being a week removed from the pound. I like to think that both he and I got lucky.
Heather and I left him in my mom's kitchen before I headed out to my Aunt's house for Christmas dinner. I did my best to Larry-proof the kitchen, but I assumed there would be some collateral damage. Left him his blankets and a good selection of toys. When we returned late that evening, he had done nearly perfectly. He had somehow found a Walmart bag that had powdered sugar in it, but he never broke into it. Chewed up the plastic bag really good, but other than that no problems. No housebreaking messes.
At this point, he got to meet my mom's little 1 year old Yorkie, Penny. Penny was able to sneak between the doorframe and the bar of the gate, so she could come and go as she pleased. Larry loved her but she was a bit taken aback by his size and speed. She weighs about half as much as he does, but is only a third of the size. She played very submissive, which surprised me because she usually shows alpha traits. She ended up getting pretty annoyed and growled and whimpered and made all sorts of nasty noises at him. However, she kept coming back. I kept him on a very short leash in the kitchen the whole time, so nothing very bad could happen.
Next, he was introduced to my uncle's 11 year old teacup poodle, Princess. Princess immediately laid down the law with a special kind of growl that told Larry, I'm old and don't mess with me or I'll rip your nose off. He was a perfect gentleman with her the entire rest of the time. They didn't fraternize much, but they seemed to have reached an understanding.
Larry also did great with meeting a bunch of new people, especially my one aunt who isn't real fond of dogs. She really appreciated that he wasn't barky or whiny. I kept him on his leash the whole time we were in my mom's house because if anything happened, I wanted to be able to grab him quickly. Not much happened, but it was good for when things got a little exciting. Nothing to report exciting, but sometimes he gets a little too hyped up (which is normal for a dog his age). When we visited my dad, I left him off leash in the house.
Well, in the middle of the night, we found out that Larry and Penny are actually in love. They're both fixed, so we know it's not lust, but really love. Around 2:30 in the morning, Penny somehow escaped my mom's room and kept scratching at our door until she got to see Larry. Then when we got up in the morning, it turned out that my mom had to barricade the steps so that Penny wouldn't come up and wake us up. She and Larry still played a little rough and she made nasty noises at him, but she really refused to stop playing with him. It got to the point that when it was time to feed him, she had to have some of his food (and she NEVER eats dry dog food). She just had to be doing what he was doing. It was really funny as they did a carousel routine. He'd get a mouthful, eat it, and turn away. Then she'd come in and eat one piece, and then step away. They repeated the process until the food was nearly gone from the bowl. It was really quite hilarious.
He had two accidents in the house. One was a rather predictable urination. I was about 20 minutes late to take him out and he let loose. Not a bad clean up though. The other was a little weird. I was in the shower, and he apparently just walked into the living room and took a dump. It was particularly weird because mid-afternoon is never a #2 time for him. Plus, he had just been out an hour earlier. I'm just chalking it up to an abberation.
But we left on the 27th to get back to Erie, just so I could have a chance to relax without having to worry about him behaving for everyone and possibly getting too rough with Penny. He did awesome on the trip home too, though there was a slight bit of whining.
In all, he did absolutely great. He totally surpassed my goals and expectations for him. Everyone loved him and couldn't believe how well he was doing only being a week removed from the pound. I like to think that both he and I got lucky.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Where was I?
Larry and I are doing pretty good. In truth, he's doing a lot better than me. I'm just having some problems coming to grips with be a dog owner. We're working, I just have to realize that I can't correct for every behavior at once.
Housebreaking is going very well. He's on a good schedule and even when we deviated pretty badly yesterday, he did just great.
He's learned to sit very well, he's getting close to 100 percent. In fact today, when he was getting hyper, I gave him the sit command and he responded immediately. I was greatly happy for both of us. I am having a bit of a problem getting him to release from the sit. He's convinced that if he sits forever, I'll keep feeding him forever. Actually, that's not true. If I walk to the other side of the room, he'll break and come to me. I just need to get him to pick up on "okay" as the release word.
I know he's not getting enough exercise, but we're doing the best we can with the foul weather and low temperatures (in other words, Erie in winter).
I've given up on correcting for getting on the furniture right now. It was just wearing me out too much and putting me in a foul mood, which isn't good for our relationship. What I'd like to get him to do is not get up on the furniture unless he's invited. Believe me, he understands the invitation part already.
The last thing I want to mention now, is that as soon as I get back from my trip home for Christmas, I've really got to start the crate training. I'm sure he's acclimated to it, but he's getting in bed at night and sleeping with me for the last two nights.. I'm not happy about this, but after 20 times of escorting him off the bed, I give up. I realize this is my shortcoming, but hopefully we can get back on track soon.
He's wearing me out mentally, but I'm sure he's a good dog. The question is whether or not I'm going to be a good owner. I'm trying folks! I'm showing more patience with him than I have with anything else, but I guess I just get depressed easily.
Anyway, enough of the negative stuff. Happy Holidays to all!
Housebreaking is going very well. He's on a good schedule and even when we deviated pretty badly yesterday, he did just great.
He's learned to sit very well, he's getting close to 100 percent. In fact today, when he was getting hyper, I gave him the sit command and he responded immediately. I was greatly happy for both of us. I am having a bit of a problem getting him to release from the sit. He's convinced that if he sits forever, I'll keep feeding him forever. Actually, that's not true. If I walk to the other side of the room, he'll break and come to me. I just need to get him to pick up on "okay" as the release word.
I know he's not getting enough exercise, but we're doing the best we can with the foul weather and low temperatures (in other words, Erie in winter).
I've given up on correcting for getting on the furniture right now. It was just wearing me out too much and putting me in a foul mood, which isn't good for our relationship. What I'd like to get him to do is not get up on the furniture unless he's invited. Believe me, he understands the invitation part already.
The last thing I want to mention now, is that as soon as I get back from my trip home for Christmas, I've really got to start the crate training. I'm sure he's acclimated to it, but he's getting in bed at night and sleeping with me for the last two nights.. I'm not happy about this, but after 20 times of escorting him off the bed, I give up. I realize this is my shortcoming, but hopefully we can get back on track soon.
He's wearing me out mentally, but I'm sure he's a good dog. The question is whether or not I'm going to be a good owner. I'm trying folks! I'm showing more patience with him than I have with anything else, but I guess I just get depressed easily.
Anyway, enough of the negative stuff. Happy Holidays to all!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Day 4
We had a good night. We fell asleep together watching TV.
When I got up at 2:30 to use the bathroom, he went right back to sleep.
I took him for a brief trip outside at 6:40 for the potty and he didn't want to stay outside much longer than to do his business.
He ate breakfast in his crate, and then we took a 1.11 mile walk (according to my pedometer) in a light snow and moderate wind. He loved it. I kinda love the cairn's weatherproof outer coat. He did his duties during the walk and have been having a good morning until just now.
I came into the computer room to write this and gave him a chew toy to keep him busy, and then when I turned around, he was peeing on a milk crate (that had nothing valuable). Cleaned it up.
Hung out with him in the kitchen for a while. Gave him some treats for being good in the crate, then left him in for almost ten minutes while sitting with him. He started to get anxious, so I let him out. I waited 15 seconds after the last time he whined before I let him out. Let's hope he keeps up the good work there.
When I got up at 2:30 to use the bathroom, he went right back to sleep.
I took him for a brief trip outside at 6:40 for the potty and he didn't want to stay outside much longer than to do his business.
He ate breakfast in his crate, and then we took a 1.11 mile walk (according to my pedometer) in a light snow and moderate wind. He loved it. I kinda love the cairn's weatherproof outer coat. He did his duties during the walk and have been having a good morning until just now.
I came into the computer room to write this and gave him a chew toy to keep him busy, and then when I turned around, he was peeing on a milk crate (that had nothing valuable). Cleaned it up.
Hung out with him in the kitchen for a while. Gave him some treats for being good in the crate, then left him in for almost ten minutes while sitting with him. He started to get anxious, so I let him out. I waited 15 seconds after the last time he whined before I let him out. Let's hope he keeps up the good work there.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Day 3 Continued
More good luck with going to the potty outside, both 1 and 2. He met a poodle named Jack on one of our walks and he was a bit too excited to actually meet him. I tried to keep him calm, but he was just getting a little too happy. The other owner was really nice about it.
He ate his dinner in the crate, so that was good. I forgot to mention that I left him in the crate with the door closed while rewarding him, so I think he should be good to spend some quality time in the crate tomorrow.
Things are going pretty well. We're both just a bit mentally exhausted from the changes in our lives. I do wish he would like to nap more! We'll see how tonight goes.
He ate his dinner in the crate, so that was good. I forgot to mention that I left him in the crate with the door closed while rewarding him, so I think he should be good to spend some quality time in the crate tomorrow.
Things are going pretty well. We're both just a bit mentally exhausted from the changes in our lives. I do wish he would like to nap more! We'll see how tonight goes.
Day 3
I got up to use the bathroom around 5 AM and Larry thought we were awake for the day. It's nice to see him so excited to see me, but it's the wrong time. Unfortunately for me, I figured that if I had to pee, he probably did too, so I suited up and took him out for a quick bathroom session. He did great and realized that in Erie in late December, it's more than a little crisp out at 5AM. So he did his business and we came back in (I was sure to give him a few spots to piddle in, since it appears he likes to save some for marking purposes). After one jump up on the bed, he did fine and went back to sleep.
At 6:30 though, I heard him bark for the very first time. He actually did a few short bursts of two barks. We don't know what startled him, but Heather was nice enough to get up with him.
I got up about an hour or so later and fed him, played for about 10 minutes and then I took him outside, not wanting to repeat last night's accident. We went down the stairs, got outside and he did a number 1 in his favorite spot, and then, he did a number 2 outside. Hooray for Larry! I guess there really is something to this scheduling thing. (Thanks Helen!).
So we took a pretty good walk (almost a half hour) and dropped his baggie of doo in the dumpster (like a good owner and dog). The only problem we had was *gasp* I lost the leash at one point! I had to blow my nose and somehow the leash got off of my wrist. Not thinking, I made a quick move to try to step on the leash, but sure enough, he noticed and started trotting away. I did have a moment of sense amidst the panic and instead of trying to chase him, I crouched down and call "come here Larry" and sure enough, he turned around and raced toward me and let me get control of him. I gotta say I was pretty scared.
He had a mid-day walk and a morning training session where I did crate acclimation (he's ready to move to the next step; he was waiting patiently in the crate with the door open and then didn't mind when I closed the door). He's not getting the sit command too well yet. He gets up on his hind legs like a gopher, but when I move the treat backward over his head, he doesn't drop his hind legs. Instead, he's agile enough to dance around and keep it in front of him. More work on that today.
That's all for now.
That's most of the news for today. More later
At 6:30 though, I heard him bark for the very first time. He actually did a few short bursts of two barks. We don't know what startled him, but Heather was nice enough to get up with him.
I got up about an hour or so later and fed him, played for about 10 minutes and then I took him outside, not wanting to repeat last night's accident. We went down the stairs, got outside and he did a number 1 in his favorite spot, and then, he did a number 2 outside. Hooray for Larry! I guess there really is something to this scheduling thing. (Thanks Helen!).
So we took a pretty good walk (almost a half hour) and dropped his baggie of doo in the dumpster (like a good owner and dog). The only problem we had was *gasp* I lost the leash at one point! I had to blow my nose and somehow the leash got off of my wrist. Not thinking, I made a quick move to try to step on the leash, but sure enough, he noticed and started trotting away. I did have a moment of sense amidst the panic and instead of trying to chase him, I crouched down and call "come here Larry" and sure enough, he turned around and raced toward me and let me get control of him. I gotta say I was pretty scared.
He had a mid-day walk and a morning training session where I did crate acclimation (he's ready to move to the next step; he was waiting patiently in the crate with the door open and then didn't mind when I closed the door). He's not getting the sit command too well yet. He gets up on his hind legs like a gopher, but when I move the treat backward over his head, he doesn't drop his hind legs. Instead, he's agile enough to dance around and keep it in front of him. More work on that today.
That's all for now.
That's most of the news for today. More later
Day 2
Good news! I got home and the kitchen was intact. I looked and felt around for urine or urine residue and found none. I immediately took him outside and he did great peeing outside (in the snow even).
He still likes to jump up on the furniture without being invited. That's a big issue. He's listening to the off command pretty well, but he's not understanding that he's not supposed to get up in the first place. In fact I'm pretty sure he's Russian and that his name is actually Larryoff Goodoff.
He did well with feeding at dinner time. I ate first and he left me alone just fine. Looked at me a lot, but didn't come near. I took him to the kitchen and gated it and stood there with him for 15 minutes. I gave him some mild encouragement to eat and drink but otherwise watched the TV in the other room through the doorway. He dawdled around for quite a while, but with about 5 minutes to go, he got down to business and ate his bowl of food. I still have some concerns that he might not be drinking enough, but that might be all in my head.
The downer last evening was that I waited about 2 minutes too long to take him out after feeding. I thought I could let him go 15 minutes but it was only about 12 or 13. I saw him start hunching over and I tried to startle him by clapping and saying no, but to no avail (he poops a lot faster than I do!).
The acclimation to the crate is going very well. He'll do darn near anything for a Bil Jac treat.
Heather brought him a bunch of new toys and we're going to parcel them out slowly.
We played for a while during the evening and then we tried to get him to chill out. But he's got a lot of energy. I think that's where a lot of jumping on the furniture comes from. I'm sure more exercise (and once the testosterone goes down since he's newly neutered) will cure some of that. It's just hard to go for more than a 20 minute walk or so right now because it's really cold.
At bedtime, he did his circling the bed routine and kept putting his forepaws on the bed. We kept knocking his paws off and telling him off. Eventually, he just circled and circled and then went to his bed.
He still likes to jump up on the furniture without being invited. That's a big issue. He's listening to the off command pretty well, but he's not understanding that he's not supposed to get up in the first place. In fact I'm pretty sure he's Russian and that his name is actually Larryoff Goodoff.
He did well with feeding at dinner time. I ate first and he left me alone just fine. Looked at me a lot, but didn't come near. I took him to the kitchen and gated it and stood there with him for 15 minutes. I gave him some mild encouragement to eat and drink but otherwise watched the TV in the other room through the doorway. He dawdled around for quite a while, but with about 5 minutes to go, he got down to business and ate his bowl of food. I still have some concerns that he might not be drinking enough, but that might be all in my head.
The downer last evening was that I waited about 2 minutes too long to take him out after feeding. I thought I could let him go 15 minutes but it was only about 12 or 13. I saw him start hunching over and I tried to startle him by clapping and saying no, but to no avail (he poops a lot faster than I do!).
The acclimation to the crate is going very well. He'll do darn near anything for a Bil Jac treat.
Heather brought him a bunch of new toys and we're going to parcel them out slowly.
We played for a while during the evening and then we tried to get him to chill out. But he's got a lot of energy. I think that's where a lot of jumping on the furniture comes from. I'm sure more exercise (and once the testosterone goes down since he's newly neutered) will cure some of that. It's just hard to go for more than a 20 minute walk or so right now because it's really cold.
At bedtime, he did his circling the bed routine and kept putting his forepaws on the bed. We kept knocking his paws off and telling him off. Eventually, he just circled and circled and then went to his bed.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Larry is rescued from the pound!
I got Larry out of the Humane Society shelter at 3 yesterday afternoon. I was lucky enough to get a donated crate and bed that just happened to come in when I finished the adoption paperwork.
So, what's the deal with Larry? He's about a year old and we assume he's a yellow cairn terrier. At least mostly cairn terrier. He was dropped off at the Humane Society by a family who was "moving" and couldn't keep him. They apparently kept him in the basement and didn't do much training at all with him. He's definitely not housebroken and he doesn't even know the basic commands (not even sit). So I've got a lot of work to do. First goals go hand in hand: housebreaking and crate training. The other thing getting him to understand "off" (for jumping on people and furniture).
He wasn't real interested in eating last night and not terribly interested this morning either. He just wanted to be petted more than anything. He was quite happy when Heather brought him a tennis ball, and even happier to have a rawhide. Here's hoping he's just chewing on the rawhide in the kitchen right now, and not peeing on the cabinets.
Speaking of which, the documentation from the humane society says he needs to get acclimated to the crate, so not to just put him in there immediately. So, while I'm at work today, he's gated into the kitchen. Heather was nice enough to get him a terrific walkthrough gate. Makes life really easy on me.
Last night, we took a few walks and he did pretty well, except he never dropped a deuce. He's doing a bit of pulling on the leash, but if I give it a bit of a tug and tell him to wait, he's doing well on waiting and then waiting for me to say ok and take the first step. The other thing he did very well at last night was patiently waiting for Heather and I to eat first. He didn't jump up, didn't beg, didn't whine, or anything. He just sat or stood and was hoping for something to fall.
He was a little whiny when I tried some separation anxiety testing by going into the next room and closing the door. Hopefully not a huge deal.
The things that weren't so good: first, he peed on a Petco bag full of stuff that Heather bought. It was in the kitchen, so it cleaned up easy enough. I was really surprised at that, because we had taken a walk only about 40 minutes earlier and he went pretty well and didn't have much water otherwise. Around twenty after 9, he decided to pee on the back of the broken recliner. It just happened so fast. I didn't get to him in time, and luckily, most of it hit the carpet. So it was another clean up job. This morning, I took him for a walk first thing and he did #1 just fine (a few times). I brought him back in and he was just delighted to be awake. So I petted him for a while and we watched the morning news and things were going fine. Then, in the brief amount of time it took me to get undressed and put my bathrobe on, I came out of the bedroom to find a pile of poo on the living room floor. Luckily, it was pretty solid and I was able to flush it away and use the carpet cleaner. I'm just amazed at how quickly he can void himself.
When we went to bed, he did okay. He kept circling the bed, probably trying to make sure that I was still up there. Then he went over to his bed and blanket, did a little digging around and went to sleep. The problem came when I woke up to use the bathroom at quarter after three. He was super excited and thought we were up for the day. He was too excited because he jumped up on the bed. So we had to go through the "off" routine for about a half hour before he got the point that there was plenty of sleeping still to be done.
But in all, he seems really lovable and just wants to please and get affection. Hopefully I'll be a good enough owner to break him of the bad stuff.
So, what's the deal with Larry? He's about a year old and we assume he's a yellow cairn terrier. At least mostly cairn terrier. He was dropped off at the Humane Society by a family who was "moving" and couldn't keep him. They apparently kept him in the basement and didn't do much training at all with him. He's definitely not housebroken and he doesn't even know the basic commands (not even sit). So I've got a lot of work to do. First goals go hand in hand: housebreaking and crate training. The other thing getting him to understand "off" (for jumping on people and furniture).
He wasn't real interested in eating last night and not terribly interested this morning either. He just wanted to be petted more than anything. He was quite happy when Heather brought him a tennis ball, and even happier to have a rawhide. Here's hoping he's just chewing on the rawhide in the kitchen right now, and not peeing on the cabinets.
Speaking of which, the documentation from the humane society says he needs to get acclimated to the crate, so not to just put him in there immediately. So, while I'm at work today, he's gated into the kitchen. Heather was nice enough to get him a terrific walkthrough gate. Makes life really easy on me.
Last night, we took a few walks and he did pretty well, except he never dropped a deuce. He's doing a bit of pulling on the leash, but if I give it a bit of a tug and tell him to wait, he's doing well on waiting and then waiting for me to say ok and take the first step. The other thing he did very well at last night was patiently waiting for Heather and I to eat first. He didn't jump up, didn't beg, didn't whine, or anything. He just sat or stood and was hoping for something to fall.
He was a little whiny when I tried some separation anxiety testing by going into the next room and closing the door. Hopefully not a huge deal.
The things that weren't so good: first, he peed on a Petco bag full of stuff that Heather bought. It was in the kitchen, so it cleaned up easy enough. I was really surprised at that, because we had taken a walk only about 40 minutes earlier and he went pretty well and didn't have much water otherwise. Around twenty after 9, he decided to pee on the back of the broken recliner. It just happened so fast. I didn't get to him in time, and luckily, most of it hit the carpet. So it was another clean up job. This morning, I took him for a walk first thing and he did #1 just fine (a few times). I brought him back in and he was just delighted to be awake. So I petted him for a while and we watched the morning news and things were going fine. Then, in the brief amount of time it took me to get undressed and put my bathrobe on, I came out of the bedroom to find a pile of poo on the living room floor. Luckily, it was pretty solid and I was able to flush it away and use the carpet cleaner. I'm just amazed at how quickly he can void himself.
When we went to bed, he did okay. He kept circling the bed, probably trying to make sure that I was still up there. Then he went over to his bed and blanket, did a little digging around and went to sleep. The problem came when I woke up to use the bathroom at quarter after three. He was super excited and thought we were up for the day. He was too excited because he jumped up on the bed. So we had to go through the "off" routine for about a half hour before he got the point that there was plenty of sleeping still to be done.
But in all, he seems really lovable and just wants to please and get affection. Hopefully I'll be a good enough owner to break him of the bad stuff.
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