I took Luna to Sandi's today to introduce her to three new dogs and to scope how she would do should I leave her there for any overnight stays. She did so well!
She held her own with Sandi's friendly-comes-across-as-aggressive Chihuahua, Chips, and made nice with her other Chi, Vicki. She was okay with Pluto, Sandi's 100 lbs husky/wolf cross but in time, I think she'll enjoy playing with him the most. Although, she did manage to charm Chips out of his half of the dentibone treat, which I thought was amusing.
I think she was stress-shedding, though, and she didn't want to poop in their yard or even on the short walk I took her on (as it had almost been 11 hours since she last went, even after a meal and a treat). It might be because I took her too, though, and she has a thing about only going somewhere on our block at home with me. She's a strange dog.
She behaved very well in the car as well - didn't try to climb into my lap. She lay down on the passenger's seat and enjoyed the ride. All in all, a great trip. She charmed everyone. Well, maybe not Sandi's husband, but he's not a dog-person anyway!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
two months
it's been eight weeks. i love Luna more and more everyday. but i would still be able to live without her should it come to that.
it's not that i haven't grown attached to her. i have. but in a very superficial way. she's so cute and i love looking at her because she's so cute. she's fun to have around when i'm just sitting around doing nothing, or wanting to get out for some exercise but need an excuse. but really, i still don't feel like one of those people that NEEDS her dog.
i was taking her for a walk at the Quay the other day. we were leaving my mom's place and heading towards my dad's. Luna decided she need to sniff the grass on the corner. as i stood there and let her sniff her little heart out, this guy jogs by me. he's wearing his sunglasses, so i feel okay to check him out as he runs by. i think, although i can't tell because of the sunglasses, that he's checking me out too.
fast forward 30 minutes later - Luna and i have walked to the end of the Quay and are on our way back. she pulls me towards the boardwalk because she likes to sniff the wood on the benches. as i'm standing there, waiting for her to sniff every sliver of wood on one of the planks, who walks by 20 feet away on the sidewalk? the jogging guy with his dog. as he walks by, and i check him out, he smiles. i smile, and try to tug Luna away from the bench so we can catch up with jogging guy. she won't budge.
i realize that i have the capacity to grab the 4lb monster and run after jogging guy - but i thought that might be too obvious.
stupid dog. :)
it's not that i haven't grown attached to her. i have. but in a very superficial way. she's so cute and i love looking at her because she's so cute. she's fun to have around when i'm just sitting around doing nothing, or wanting to get out for some exercise but need an excuse. but really, i still don't feel like one of those people that NEEDS her dog.
i was taking her for a walk at the Quay the other day. we were leaving my mom's place and heading towards my dad's. Luna decided she need to sniff the grass on the corner. as i stood there and let her sniff her little heart out, this guy jogs by me. he's wearing his sunglasses, so i feel okay to check him out as he runs by. i think, although i can't tell because of the sunglasses, that he's checking me out too.
fast forward 30 minutes later - Luna and i have walked to the end of the Quay and are on our way back. she pulls me towards the boardwalk because she likes to sniff the wood on the benches. as i'm standing there, waiting for her to sniff every sliver of wood on one of the planks, who walks by 20 feet away on the sidewalk? the jogging guy with his dog. as he walks by, and i check him out, he smiles. i smile, and try to tug Luna away from the bench so we can catch up with jogging guy. she won't budge.
i realize that i have the capacity to grab the 4lb monster and run after jogging guy - but i thought that might be too obvious.
stupid dog. :)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
treats
I bought Luna some Milk Bones last week because I heard they would be good for tartar buildup and were generally a decent treat. She loved it. Her stomach did not.
I was dumb enough to give it to her at about 8pm when we got home from Pet Smart. I gave her one whole one, broke it into pieces and she loved it. I was pleased.
We went to bed about 10pm. At about 2 am, I awoke to hear her fussing in her kennel. She likes to re-arrange her towel in there to suit her so I thought this was what she was doing and went back to sleep. At 3 am, I awoke again to hear her fussing yet again. She didn't whine or make a sound, so I thought she was just being weirdly nocturnal.
When I woke up the next morning, we went through the usual routine. I opened her kennel door and she burst out with her tail wagging, happy to stretch and to see me. I put on her harness and her leash and took her out for her morning washroom break. She was unusually hyper - pulling on the leash like a Husky. I don't like her going down the stairs (I think it might be hard on her knees and I do not want to deal with a luxating patella at this point in my ownership of her), so we waited for the elevator. It didn't take long but she had already squatted and started doing her business all over the carpet. It was strangly the color of the Milk Bone I had given her the night before. I yelled "No!!!" and dragged her back to my apartment, hoping she could at least finish her business on the tile. She finished on the carpet in front of my apartment instead. I locked her in the bathroom and went to go clean up the mess. I then took her outside for her No. 1.
Once all was said and done, I wondered how she was able to hold it the whole night. I went to her kennel and pulled out the towel, but not before I got a handful of wet poo in my hand. It wasn't runny like the stuff that ended upon the floor, but it wasn't solid either.
I felt so bad. I couldn't scold her, not really, because I was dumb enough to give her an unfamiliar treat just before bed. Poor thing was fussing at 2 am but so she could re-arrange the towel so she wasn't sleeping in her own poo.
Needless to say, since then I've been reluctant to give her any treats unless I have the entire day to stay with her. Today is that day.
Monica gave me a froze beef bone to give to her - she figures because it's all natural, it won't upset her stomach. It's pretty big, though, so it's still in the freezer. I'll give it to her next time.
Sandi gave me some Dentibones to try out. She's currently trying to figure out how to eat it, but she knows she wants to. She's been carrying it around, hiding behind plants to try to figure out how to eat it. I think she's doing well, as I only see a quarter of it left.
Maybe I'll try out the Milk Bones in small quantities. Eventually.
I was dumb enough to give it to her at about 8pm when we got home from Pet Smart. I gave her one whole one, broke it into pieces and she loved it. I was pleased.
We went to bed about 10pm. At about 2 am, I awoke to hear her fussing in her kennel. She likes to re-arrange her towel in there to suit her so I thought this was what she was doing and went back to sleep. At 3 am, I awoke again to hear her fussing yet again. She didn't whine or make a sound, so I thought she was just being weirdly nocturnal.
When I woke up the next morning, we went through the usual routine. I opened her kennel door and she burst out with her tail wagging, happy to stretch and to see me. I put on her harness and her leash and took her out for her morning washroom break. She was unusually hyper - pulling on the leash like a Husky. I don't like her going down the stairs (I think it might be hard on her knees and I do not want to deal with a luxating patella at this point in my ownership of her), so we waited for the elevator. It didn't take long but she had already squatted and started doing her business all over the carpet. It was strangly the color of the Milk Bone I had given her the night before. I yelled "No!!!" and dragged her back to my apartment, hoping she could at least finish her business on the tile. She finished on the carpet in front of my apartment instead. I locked her in the bathroom and went to go clean up the mess. I then took her outside for her No. 1.
Once all was said and done, I wondered how she was able to hold it the whole night. I went to her kennel and pulled out the towel, but not before I got a handful of wet poo in my hand. It wasn't runny like the stuff that ended upon the floor, but it wasn't solid either.
I felt so bad. I couldn't scold her, not really, because I was dumb enough to give her an unfamiliar treat just before bed. Poor thing was fussing at 2 am but so she could re-arrange the towel so she wasn't sleeping in her own poo.
Needless to say, since then I've been reluctant to give her any treats unless I have the entire day to stay with her. Today is that day.
Monica gave me a froze beef bone to give to her - she figures because it's all natural, it won't upset her stomach. It's pretty big, though, so it's still in the freezer. I'll give it to her next time.
Sandi gave me some Dentibones to try out. She's currently trying to figure out how to eat it, but she knows she wants to. She's been carrying it around, hiding behind plants to try to figure out how to eat it. I think she's doing well, as I only see a quarter of it left.
Maybe I'll try out the Milk Bones in small quantities. Eventually.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Progress
It's been three weeks since Luna and I started living together. I think we've made a lot of progress in three weeks.
My dad has started coming in mid-day and taking her out for a washroom break, as well as keeping her company. I don't know that she's warmed up to him just yet, but it makes me feel 100% better that someone I know is spending time with her so she's not entirely alone throughout the day. Plus, it helps that I don't have to rush home to take her out myself.
I took her to her first stranger-filled event on Saturday - a barbecue out in Chilliwack. She had a ball. She let people pet her. She even let a woman neither of us knew, hold her. It was nice. She loved the open air - she smelled it when we got off the highway. It's the only time she took interest in the entire, hour-long ride. She got to run around on grass (my friend has her own dog so Luna used the dog pen). She was good.
Last week, and even now, I feel like if I could do it all again, I wouldn't. It's not a lot of physical work - I don't mind waking up at 5 a.m. to take her out for her first washroom break of the day. it's just the thought that there is some other living thing depending on me to be responsible. It kind of sucks. As much as I love her and wouldn't trade her for any other dog (I'd add a dog, though!), if I could do it again, knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn't. Not until there was someone else that could be responsible for her too.
Selfish, eh?
In any event, she's a complete weirdo and she lives up to her Luna-tic namesake. I've stopped using the baby gate to gate her off in the bathroom during the day because the little monkey has learned how to scale the wall. I actually watched her climb over the gate. She can jump pretty high, and once she realized she could use those large airholes for leverage, there was no way she was staying in. I figure as long as she doesn't make a mess on the couch or get into anything around the apartment, I don't mind if she has the run of most of the floor. I close the den, bedroom and bathroom doors (because, as I discovered a couple of weeks ago, she likes the bathroom garbage at a certain time of the month - my little vampire), and she has the run of everything else. I keep her kennel in the kitchen, along with the water and food (and litter, not that she uses it), and I hope that keeps her in on the tile for the most part.
She goes absolutely ape-shit when I come home and I have to admit, it's a pretty good feeling. No human will ever be as excited to see me as she is when I get home. Hell, even when I take out the garbage and I'm only gone for 5 minutes, she's ecstatic when I come back. She's a funny little thing.
Someone asked me today if she sheds. I had to laugh because I think I pull more of my hair off of her than the other way around. Poor thing even finds my hair in her water dish and there was one day when she was munching away at her kibble and she looked up at me and there was one long, black hair hanging off the hair on her face.
I can't believe I've only had her for three weeks. It feels like we've been together forever. In a good and bad way :)
My dad has started coming in mid-day and taking her out for a washroom break, as well as keeping her company. I don't know that she's warmed up to him just yet, but it makes me feel 100% better that someone I know is spending time with her so she's not entirely alone throughout the day. Plus, it helps that I don't have to rush home to take her out myself.
I took her to her first stranger-filled event on Saturday - a barbecue out in Chilliwack. She had a ball. She let people pet her. She even let a woman neither of us knew, hold her. It was nice. She loved the open air - she smelled it when we got off the highway. It's the only time she took interest in the entire, hour-long ride. She got to run around on grass (my friend has her own dog so Luna used the dog pen). She was good.
Last week, and even now, I feel like if I could do it all again, I wouldn't. It's not a lot of physical work - I don't mind waking up at 5 a.m. to take her out for her first washroom break of the day. it's just the thought that there is some other living thing depending on me to be responsible. It kind of sucks. As much as I love her and wouldn't trade her for any other dog (I'd add a dog, though!), if I could do it again, knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn't. Not until there was someone else that could be responsible for her too.
Selfish, eh?
In any event, she's a complete weirdo and she lives up to her Luna-tic namesake. I've stopped using the baby gate to gate her off in the bathroom during the day because the little monkey has learned how to scale the wall. I actually watched her climb over the gate. She can jump pretty high, and once she realized she could use those large airholes for leverage, there was no way she was staying in. I figure as long as she doesn't make a mess on the couch or get into anything around the apartment, I don't mind if she has the run of most of the floor. I close the den, bedroom and bathroom doors (because, as I discovered a couple of weeks ago, she likes the bathroom garbage at a certain time of the month - my little vampire), and she has the run of everything else. I keep her kennel in the kitchen, along with the water and food (and litter, not that she uses it), and I hope that keeps her in on the tile for the most part.
She goes absolutely ape-shit when I come home and I have to admit, it's a pretty good feeling. No human will ever be as excited to see me as she is when I get home. Hell, even when I take out the garbage and I'm only gone for 5 minutes, she's ecstatic when I come back. She's a funny little thing.
Someone asked me today if she sheds. I had to laugh because I think I pull more of my hair off of her than the other way around. Poor thing even finds my hair in her water dish and there was one day when she was munching away at her kibble and she looked up at me and there was one long, black hair hanging off the hair on her face.
I can't believe I've only had her for three weeks. It feels like we've been together forever. In a good and bad way :)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Abandoned
I am leaving for a weekend away tomorrow and as such, have left Luna with my mom. I dropped her off, played a little and then sneaked out while they were sitting out on the balcony. According to my mom, the minute I left, Luna lept out of her lap, ran to the door, and the proceeded to search each room five times to see whether I would appear. Poor little thing!
I miss my little baby. I wish I could've taken her with me, but it'd be a bit of a pain. I've decided I'm going to start training her up using treats now. Maybe then she'll pee in the GD box.
I miss my little baby. I wish I could've taken her with me, but it'd be a bit of a pain. I've decided I'm going to start training her up using treats now. Maybe then she'll pee in the GD box.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Week 1
It was exactly one week ago that I picked up Luna from the breeder. It seems like so long ago! I'll admit, there have been days when I've felt like I've done the wrong thing. Last night was one of them.
Luna gets extremely excited when I come home, be it from work or just a couple of hours away from the house. The past couple of times I've come home, she's had an accident - the first time on the carpet, but the second (and techincally third) on the couch. Not pleased at all.
The first time, I let it go. After all, I didn't actually catch her in the act of peeing, so I couldn't scold her. But the second time, she was sitting there on the couch. When I lifted her up, there was a spot of urine where she had been sitting. I was angry. I scolded her right away, and took her to the litter box. She didn't pee.
I put the leash on her and started to take her outside, then I realized I would be rewarding her for peeing on the couch, so I promptly went back inside. I locked her in the bathroom and cleaned up the mess. When she came out again, she ran out and jumped on the couch, where she peed again. I was beyond mad. Since I caught her doing again, I scolded her and put her nose in the stain.
I then decided to take her outside, but not praise her for anything she did out there, nor would I cuddle with her when we came back inside. She went promptly into the kennel and into the bedroom.
I was curious about this behaviour. She seems housetrained. Why is she starting to have these accidents?
I decided to (what else?) Google it, and came up with an answer that left me with my tail between my legs.
What she is likely doing is called "submissive urination". It happens when you have a dog that is shy or timid or young (she's not young, but definitely timid still). The dog's instincts when they know they are with a dog or human they consider superior is to urinate. It tells the dog (at least) that the submissive dog knows they are submissive. Apparently, when this is done with owners that don't understand what is going on and scold the dog (read: me), the dog tries to please the owner/master further by urinating more, to emphasize their submission. You can see how the vicious circle starts.
There were tips on how to lessen the instances (for example, when I come home, ignoring her for awhile until she calms down, taking her outside without talking to her, letting her do her thing and then afterwards, giving her praise but at eye level), but you can imagine how terrible I felt. Poor thing.
I'll have another opportunity tonight to test out this theory. Hopefully if she has to pee in submission again, she doesn't do it on the couch.
Luna gets extremely excited when I come home, be it from work or just a couple of hours away from the house. The past couple of times I've come home, she's had an accident - the first time on the carpet, but the second (and techincally third) on the couch. Not pleased at all.
The first time, I let it go. After all, I didn't actually catch her in the act of peeing, so I couldn't scold her. But the second time, she was sitting there on the couch. When I lifted her up, there was a spot of urine where she had been sitting. I was angry. I scolded her right away, and took her to the litter box. She didn't pee.
I put the leash on her and started to take her outside, then I realized I would be rewarding her for peeing on the couch, so I promptly went back inside. I locked her in the bathroom and cleaned up the mess. When she came out again, she ran out and jumped on the couch, where she peed again. I was beyond mad. Since I caught her doing again, I scolded her and put her nose in the stain.
I then decided to take her outside, but not praise her for anything she did out there, nor would I cuddle with her when we came back inside. She went promptly into the kennel and into the bedroom.
I was curious about this behaviour. She seems housetrained. Why is she starting to have these accidents?
I decided to (what else?) Google it, and came up with an answer that left me with my tail between my legs.
What she is likely doing is called "submissive urination". It happens when you have a dog that is shy or timid or young (she's not young, but definitely timid still). The dog's instincts when they know they are with a dog or human they consider superior is to urinate. It tells the dog (at least) that the submissive dog knows they are submissive. Apparently, when this is done with owners that don't understand what is going on and scold the dog (read: me), the dog tries to please the owner/master further by urinating more, to emphasize their submission. You can see how the vicious circle starts.
There were tips on how to lessen the instances (for example, when I come home, ignoring her for awhile until she calms down, taking her outside without talking to her, letting her do her thing and then afterwards, giving her praise but at eye level), but you can imagine how terrible I felt. Poor thing.
I'll have another opportunity tonight to test out this theory. Hopefully if she has to pee in submission again, she doesn't do it on the couch.
Monday, June 29, 2009
31 hours in
I crated Babs last night before I went to bed. I thought it would be best, since she is unfamiliar with the apartment and I wasn't sure how she would do just roaming around at night. This morning when I got up (at 5 AM!), it was tough trying to coax her out of the crate. In fact, 15 minutes of trying and I decided that I would just pull her out. She was responsive after that and we took a little walk in the morning air.
She did her business, which I was quite happy about, and then we came back inside. She was hungry after that, and ate quite a bit of the food I had put out for her the night before. I had mixed the food I bought for her and the food from her former home (some expensive vet brand) and oddly enough, she left the kernels of food from the vet brand and ate my stuff. Nice.
I decided to gate her up in my bathroom, as I didn't want to leave her in her crate for a full 10 hours. I left the litter pan in there, as well as her food and water dish. When I left, she was on her hind legs at the gate. I felt so guilty leaving her. I now know what pet owners mean when they say they feel bad about leaving their animals. I can't imagine how parents feel when they leave their child for the first time. Heartbreaking.
My brother came by around 10:30 to check on her. He phoned me and reported that she was at the gate when he came in, but ran to her crate when he neared her. She wouldn't come out. Poor thing.
It's also odd but today is the first time I've ever rushed home and not felt hard-done by. I wanted to go home to see her. It was weird. When I had the cats, I dreaded going home. I would stay at work late just to avoid it. When I had Teddy, I rushed home because it was my obligation. For the first time, I went home not just to my cozy couch, but to a couch companion. It was kind of nice.
And then I got home. She was at the gate when I walked in the front door, but she was in her crate and cowering as far back as she could get when I went to see her. The good news was that I think she actually used the litter pan, so that's promising. But the problem was, I couldn't coax her out of the crate. In fact, she growled at me again when I tried to pull her out. I decided I would just do as I did when I first got her home and ignored her. Within 15 minutes, she was prancing into the living room.
I've decided to start on training her as she seems very eager to please. And I've also decided to re-name her, despite my initial hesitation. Her name is no longer Babette. Her name is now Luna, an homage to Jason Mraz, Harry Potter and my star sign. How appropriate is that?
She did her business, which I was quite happy about, and then we came back inside. She was hungry after that, and ate quite a bit of the food I had put out for her the night before. I had mixed the food I bought for her and the food from her former home (some expensive vet brand) and oddly enough, she left the kernels of food from the vet brand and ate my stuff. Nice.
I decided to gate her up in my bathroom, as I didn't want to leave her in her crate for a full 10 hours. I left the litter pan in there, as well as her food and water dish. When I left, she was on her hind legs at the gate. I felt so guilty leaving her. I now know what pet owners mean when they say they feel bad about leaving their animals. I can't imagine how parents feel when they leave their child for the first time. Heartbreaking.
My brother came by around 10:30 to check on her. He phoned me and reported that she was at the gate when he came in, but ran to her crate when he neared her. She wouldn't come out. Poor thing.
It's also odd but today is the first time I've ever rushed home and not felt hard-done by. I wanted to go home to see her. It was weird. When I had the cats, I dreaded going home. I would stay at work late just to avoid it. When I had Teddy, I rushed home because it was my obligation. For the first time, I went home not just to my cozy couch, but to a couch companion. It was kind of nice.
And then I got home. She was at the gate when I walked in the front door, but she was in her crate and cowering as far back as she could get when I went to see her. The good news was that I think she actually used the litter pan, so that's promising. But the problem was, I couldn't coax her out of the crate. In fact, she growled at me again when I tried to pull her out. I decided I would just do as I did when I first got her home and ignored her. Within 15 minutes, she was prancing into the living room.
I've decided to start on training her as she seems very eager to please. And I've also decided to re-name her, despite my initial hesitation. Her name is no longer Babette. Her name is now Luna, an homage to Jason Mraz, Harry Potter and my star sign. How appropriate is that?
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