Puppy Blog Archive

Not a Happy Puppy

After obedience class, Scarlett was so full from class and sick from the car ride that she wasn't interested in dinner. Since she hadn't eaten much all day there was plenty of kibble in her bowl. We figured she would eat when she was ready and didn't give her any Bil Jack. It wasn't until 11 pm that she began to perk up again, but it was so late that we just went to bed. She was downstairs plenty as we took her outside several times and she never seemed interested in her food. However, when we tried to go to sleep, Scarlett was unusually clingy and demanding. Normally, once she falls asleep we can just put her in her crate for the night. But tonight she woke up and cried, whined and barked incessantly. We didn't want to give in and take her out, rewarding her bad behavior, but she really wasn't herself and I didn't want to ignore her if she was trying to communicate that she wasn't feeling well. Eventually we took her out of her crate and made her sit quietly for a minute before letting her in bed again. Once in bed she fussed and insisted on sleeping on the pillow, instead of under the covers at the bottom of the bed, as usual. I remembered she hadn't eaten and thought that she could just be hungry. I took her downstairs and fed her Bil Jack. She ate quickly, then began eating the kibble that was still in her bowl from earlier. Apparently, without getting the Bil Jack, her routine was interrupted and she wouldn't eat dinner. After she ate a very full dinner, we took her back upstairs and she went to sleep in bed for a while. Patrick got up and put her in her crate an hour later and she settled right down and went to sleep. I think we were both relieved that it was just a miscommunication and that she wasn't misbehaving and that "caving in" to her complaints didn't cause trouble later.

Posted by Erin Doyne at 23:38

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First Puppy Class

Scarlett had her first puppy obedience class today and she was fantastic! Not only did she know all of the commands and follow them, but she was also the best socialized of the class. The other dogs were either nervous around strangers, aggressive with other dogs, nervous around other dogs, etc. Scarlett was confident,friendly and enthusiastic with everyone, despite the fact that she was dreadfully carsick on the way to PetsMart. She even made friends with a mini-dauchaund who was afraid of the other dogs. She lowered herself until she looked less threatening and wagged her tail until the other dog sniffed noses. By the end of class she and Winnie were playing happily at every break. If anything, she was too happy and enthusiastic, as she found the quiet times of class too boring. She would get distracted and try to entice the other dogs to play. But once we got back to business and started doing commands she was on target and focused, so I don't fault her a bit. She was even very passable walking on her leash. If she continues to do well in the distracting environment of class, I am really going to try for the CD title in August. There is a 3 day show with Obedience in late August, when she will be old enough to make a serious run at it.

Posted by Erin Doyne at 23:26

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