cklewis
12-06-2005, 11:41 AM
Only you all would understand all that's racing through my mind. . . .
We got a new puppy. Westie. 12 weeks. Insane for a pregnant mom of a tot? Maybe. I'll take that. But such as it is, we decided that getting her at the beginning of the Christmas vacation was better for our sanity.
I'm at school, and here she sits on my lap. :shifty All snuggled up. I'm APing her. Is it because it's our habit? Is it because it works? Is it because that's what you're supposed to do?
She's too little to leave at home all day, so I bring her crate and all to school on these big days. By the time Christmas vacation is over, she'll be big enough to leave in her crate for the whole day, but now she's too little. I only have today and next Thursday, and then I'm done. And then next semester I'm on 1/4 time. :woohoo
Anyway, I read that if you've had a lab before and now you have a Westie, you need to lower your standards way, way down in the housebreaking department. :doh Our lab mix trained in like a day. Not this little one. I guess our dining room should be renamed our pooping room. Who would have thought?
I've figured out the secret to setting her up for success in pottying -- never let her leave your sight or your lap or the leash. Yes, I'm tomato staking the dog. :shifty When I'm cooking, she's in the kitchen with me on her lead. I can watch her and race her outside if I get that hinky feeling that she's searching for a spot. If we're holding her, when she wants to get down, that's a sure-fire sign that she has bladder needs. If I let her off the lead, presents in the dining room are inevitable.
Just between us, those people that sell Westies brag about how intelligent they are -- so intelligent that they are hard to train. Um. . . . no, it's NOT their intelligence that makes them hard to train. Lack of intelligence? Maybe. Independence? Probably. Small bladders? Definitely.
So I feel like we're doing elimination communication. :rolleyes Training the owner instead of training the dog.
But then I think I'm Ezzoing her. :shifty :sick Tell me I'm not mean and nuts. The "people" say that she should eat three times a day and very consistently so that her system is "regulated." The stinker in me says, "Hmmmm. . . . THAT sounds familiar." And then I doubt everything those experts are telling me. "Are they just doggie Ezzos? . . . NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" :hissyfit
No punishment or pain, of course. That's a no-brainer. And I don't think it would work anyway. I do feel harsh when in exasperation I clap my hands twice and say "Outside!" The clapping and the "Outside!" are what we were told, but the exasperation frustrates me. Ugh. Or maybe the poo just frustrates me.
She didn't eat breakfast or lunch. :scratch What's with that? Does she not feel well? Did she just have a growth spurt and now she's done and she's not hungry? Why am I overevaluating this like I have a newborn?
I think Iams claims that feeding their food reduces the size and number of stools. That's a good idea. . . . WAIT! Doesn't that sound like Ezzo again? NO!!!! :hissyfit
DS (23.5mo) adores her. It cracks me up. We've had to teach *him* that *he's* "over her." I don't know if that makes sense. But when he feels like he's getting too many kisses and snuggles, he has to stand up and say, "Down, Sugar." It has worked! He feels like he's really in control of himself and has some power. It's amazing to see.
He loves to play with her. Loves it. Chase and fetch are a scream. He talks to her like she's his little friend. On the way in this morning, "Sugar? Light is red. . . . SUGAR? LIGHT IS GREEEEEEEN!!!!!!"
When she wimpers, I hear him reflecting feelings in his own way. "I hear you." he says. Oh dear. . . . :heart
Our family feels instantly large. I know it's technically NOT, but it feels that way. It struck me that never in our married life have Grant and I had two family members to love on. Usually only one has been a focus -- either a dog or a baby. And now, we have both. In essence, two beings who are both toddlers. And another on the way. It's a feeling of glee, exhaustion, and warm kisses with a whiff of poo in the air.
Wow. So much. . . .
C
We got a new puppy. Westie. 12 weeks. Insane for a pregnant mom of a tot? Maybe. I'll take that. But such as it is, we decided that getting her at the beginning of the Christmas vacation was better for our sanity.
I'm at school, and here she sits on my lap. :shifty All snuggled up. I'm APing her. Is it because it's our habit? Is it because it works? Is it because that's what you're supposed to do?
She's too little to leave at home all day, so I bring her crate and all to school on these big days. By the time Christmas vacation is over, she'll be big enough to leave in her crate for the whole day, but now she's too little. I only have today and next Thursday, and then I'm done. And then next semester I'm on 1/4 time. :woohoo
Anyway, I read that if you've had a lab before and now you have a Westie, you need to lower your standards way, way down in the housebreaking department. :doh Our lab mix trained in like a day. Not this little one. I guess our dining room should be renamed our pooping room. Who would have thought?
I've figured out the secret to setting her up for success in pottying -- never let her leave your sight or your lap or the leash. Yes, I'm tomato staking the dog. :shifty When I'm cooking, she's in the kitchen with me on her lead. I can watch her and race her outside if I get that hinky feeling that she's searching for a spot. If we're holding her, when she wants to get down, that's a sure-fire sign that she has bladder needs. If I let her off the lead, presents in the dining room are inevitable.
Just between us, those people that sell Westies brag about how intelligent they are -- so intelligent that they are hard to train. Um. . . . no, it's NOT their intelligence that makes them hard to train. Lack of intelligence? Maybe. Independence? Probably. Small bladders? Definitely.
So I feel like we're doing elimination communication. :rolleyes Training the owner instead of training the dog.
But then I think I'm Ezzoing her. :shifty :sick Tell me I'm not mean and nuts. The "people" say that she should eat three times a day and very consistently so that her system is "regulated." The stinker in me says, "Hmmmm. . . . THAT sounds familiar." And then I doubt everything those experts are telling me. "Are they just doggie Ezzos? . . . NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" :hissyfit
No punishment or pain, of course. That's a no-brainer. And I don't think it would work anyway. I do feel harsh when in exasperation I clap my hands twice and say "Outside!" The clapping and the "Outside!" are what we were told, but the exasperation frustrates me. Ugh. Or maybe the poo just frustrates me.
She didn't eat breakfast or lunch. :scratch What's with that? Does she not feel well? Did she just have a growth spurt and now she's done and she's not hungry? Why am I overevaluating this like I have a newborn?
I think Iams claims that feeding their food reduces the size and number of stools. That's a good idea. . . . WAIT! Doesn't that sound like Ezzo again? NO!!!! :hissyfit
DS (23.5mo) adores her. It cracks me up. We've had to teach *him* that *he's* "over her." I don't know if that makes sense. But when he feels like he's getting too many kisses and snuggles, he has to stand up and say, "Down, Sugar." It has worked! He feels like he's really in control of himself and has some power. It's amazing to see.
He loves to play with her. Loves it. Chase and fetch are a scream. He talks to her like she's his little friend. On the way in this morning, "Sugar? Light is red. . . . SUGAR? LIGHT IS GREEEEEEEN!!!!!!"
When she wimpers, I hear him reflecting feelings in his own way. "I hear you." he says. Oh dear. . . . :heart
Our family feels instantly large. I know it's technically NOT, but it feels that way. It struck me that never in our married life have Grant and I had two family members to love on. Usually only one has been a focus -- either a dog or a baby. And now, we have both. In essence, two beings who are both toddlers. And another on the way. It's a feeling of glee, exhaustion, and warm kisses with a whiff of poo in the air.
Wow. So much. . . .
C