[seeker1950]

Hi, all,
I am trying to give my pup the attention he deserves. He is growing rapidly, and will surely be a big boy. I find that if I spend just a little time with him each day with training, like "sit, stay, come, down," he is much better behaved afterwards. I think he enjoys the mental activity! But I must also leave him during the week to go to work. I have a fenced yard and he cries when I leave! I am sorry he has to spend the day alone in the yard. He is all over me when I come home and let him in the house! That's when I try to spend some of the time in this training exercise, and after which he is better. But I feel I'm not doing enough for him!
I'll try to post a pic.
Patty

[bflatgary]

Patty, you have a beautiful dog. What kind of dog is he, and what is his name?

We have two dogs. One of them, Daisy Mae, we got at seven weeks of age. Her mother was supposedly a cockapoo, but we don't see much of that in her. She weighs about 20 pounds, and looks like she may have some Aussie Shepherd in her. She is very smart.

The other dog, Heidi, was a 3-year old rescue. She is part poodle, part Lhasa Apso, and possibly part Bichon Frise. She had been abused in an earlier home.

They are six and eight years old now. They are sisters, best friends and partners in crime.

When we got Daisy, we waited a while before sending her for training. We did some basic stuff, and it has stuck with her. Unfortunately she never developed any street smarts, and we can not take her off leash outside. Heidi, although she is not as smart as Daisy, has street smarts, and will not just run off.

Good luck with your pup!

bfG

[radio_flyer]

Your pup has really grown. Looks like he might be one "big" dog. Beautiful one too.

Only suggestion I have is to maybe try to take your puppy for a walk every night. I started walking my "lil monster pug" every night. He pretty much demands his lil walks now. Some nights I just don't feel like walking and he gets into everything he is not "aloud" to and I get so frustrated that I end up walking him. Funny thing about those lil walks. Not only does puppy enjoy them, I enjoy them too. We both feel better after a nice, brisk walk.

Has been almost a year since I've had puppy. He still is a little monster, but now a more loveable monster. He still gets into everything. He loves getting my glasses and comes to show me that he has them and when I try to get him, he will run and pretty much say "catch me if you can". And I get so mad and he runs soooooooooooooooo fast I can't catch him. When I get mad at him, and he knows by my tone of voice, he will jump in my lap and give me "kisses and hugs". What a smoothie he is. Is hard to stay angry at him.

Has been a long road, many frustrating moments. Now I'd be lost without puppy. He has to be neutered very soon and I am soooooooo worried. One of his testicals did not fall so the neutering surgery will be a bit more complex than the normal clip clip. Not only am I worried about the surgery, I worry the surgery will change him somehow. Far cry from a year ago when I wanted to send him away.

Good luck with your pup. Is tons of work, but well worth it all in the end.
I will try to post a pic of puppy, just haven't had time because he honestly keeps me on my toesssssssss alllllllllllllllll day and night.

[seeker1950]

Thanks so much for your feedback, RF and Bflat!
I have had a couple of Lhasa Apso's several years go when my daughter was young, Gary. Very pretty doggies! And, Radio, I know you are right about the "walkies."
As for what kind of dog he is, I got him from the local animal shelter, where I had seen his pic on Petfinder.com. He looked all Golden Retriever when he was there with two other golden siblings in the kennel cage with him, but the worker there told me that the same person had also brought in 8 other pups in the adjacent cage, which looked like purebred German Shepherds. All eleven puppies were the same age, and I am thinking mostly Golden and GSD mix. His ears started standing up around 3 months just like a German Shepherd.
He's very smart, sweet, and affectionate.
Oh, I did have him neutered at 3 months, and neither of his testicles had fallen, and he's fine, so, Radio, I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's better to have them neutered unless you want to breed them.
Thanks again!
Love
Patty

[sarahlilianne]

Patty, I find Puppy very very cute !
Lily

[Perzephone]

Originally Posted by seeker1950

Hi, all,
I have a fenced yard and he cries when I leave! I am sorry he has to spend the day alone in the yard. He is all over me when I come home and let him in the house! Patty

My husband & I just adopted a puppy from a local animal shelter, too

Chelsie, our new 'baby' (she's about 4 mos old & is a Catahoula Leopard hound - someone lost a really nice dog) is still working to make it through the night without making a mess - and she's developed separation anxiety, so we've been using a slightly modified form of crate-training - she gets shut in my bathroom all night (I stripped my bathroom down to bare essentials so she can't get into anything harmful or destroy too much in there). I give her a couple of toys & a treat that I bury in her night-blanket. When we go to bed & shut the door, she cries for about an hour & then eventually quiets down & starts amusing herself. Eventually, when she gets a little more bladder control, we've got a couple of child-gates & we'll expand her 'safe zone' a little more until we can trust her not to go into destructo-dog mode at night.

We have a yard, but I think she's too little still to be left outside - I don't want her to think we're punishing her by completely cutting her off from her 'pack'. Luckily, my husband isn't working, so he entertains her all day.

Something you can do for your dog is give him something entertaining to do while you're gone. We're going to get Chelsie a tether ball for when she's big enough to stay outside for a longer period of time. I also read about building a 'sandbox' for your dog - section off a portion of the yard, dig up the soil so it's loose & maybe mix in some sand or potting soil mix & then play with your dog by burying toys or treats in the sandbox. (You'd also have to deter him from digging in other areas) Once he's used to the concept before you leave, bury some stuff in his sandbox - he'll be too busy finding his goodies to notice you've left.

Try to not make a big deal about leaving him or coming home. If you make a big emotional display every time you go away, the dog starts thinking they're never going to see you again, and if you make a big emotional display when you come home, you're basically telling him he was right to freak out all day. If he flips out every time he sees you grab your keys or purse, periodically do things that you'd do before leaving the house so he can't use them as cues that you're headed out the door. Put your shoes on, pick up your keys, set them down - & when you come home, don't make visiting with him your first priority - put things away, change clothes, get comfortable and then visit with your puppy. You can also change your schedule a little, too - leave a little earlier in the morning or come home a little later - dogs know how to tell time.

Good luck w/your puppy

[seeker1950]

Perzephone...You are very lucky to have a Catahoula Leopard dog. One of my professors in the Art Dept. had one that he brought to painting class. Very smart and sweet doggy!
My dog, named Fozzie Bear, shows no inclination to dig so far, and that is good! I am already following your suggestion to not make a big fuss about leaving, and he seems to realize this is the routine.
Also, upon bringing him home from the animal shelter, I bought a kennel crate cage. He was a small pup at the time and so I bought a small one, which now he has almost outgrown, but he still goes in it at night, and does not cry. They do not mess their small cage and this is a good way to avoid having to clean up messes. I would not want to leave Fozzie in the bathroom overnight, as he would find too much to get into. You might want to buy a crate. Since Fozzie is getting too big for the one i have, a friend gave me a large one which I plan to set up for him. It's not a cruel thing to train them to this, and saves lot of headaches!
Thanks all!
Patty

[Perzephone]

I'm thinking our Catahoula is probably smarter than me or my husband already, lol.

Luckily I didn't have a whole lot in my bathroom, mostly cleaning supplies which I transferred to our laundry room. She spends a lot of time jumping in & out of the bathtub for some unknown reason - I'm hoping this weekend it means giving her a bath for the first time won't be a battle of wills.

[seeker1950]

Ah, the BATH! Perzephone! Yes, mine is due a bath, and I've kept putting it off since he's gotten so big! It will be quite an experience for both of us, I'm sure.
Patty