My Smart Puppy

Bella is 9 months old. She's still a puppy, though a maturing one. This week, our first back home together sans hubby, has been unusually hectic. I've had a lot of obligations on top of work that meant my sweet girl had to spend more time than usual in her crate. So it was not unexpected that she would be quite "frisky" when she came out. She wanted to play constantly. I found my energy level didn't come close to matching hers and my patience began to wear thin. I wondered what odd brain cell had burst in my skull making me think I should get a puppy.

On Wednesday, she was at her worst, demanding attention that I didn't have the time to give. I made the mistake of releasing a tennis ball in the house. Bella has a habit with small toys to chew them by the couch and somehow push them under the couch so that I must retrieve them. After responding to her barking for me to get in action and get her ball way too many times, I grabbed the ball and put it away. Bella continued to bark. I grabbed her and put her outside. In a matter of minutes, she was scratching at the back door to come back in.

When I opened the door, there is my adorable puppy looking eager, tail wagging, with a very, VERY, muddy tennis ball (she had buried who knows how long ago) in her mouth. You could just imagine her saying, "I found another one! Can we play with this one?" How could I possibly stay mad?

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Yesterday I went to PetsMart to get her a couple of new toys. She had eaten the ones she had to a dangerous level, so I decided to replace them. We went on a long walk afterwards and when we returned to the car (in PetsMart's lot), I decided to take her in and see what their baths cost. My husband normally bathes her, but he's gone for the month. My back has really been bothering me, so I thought if the cost wasn't exorbitant, I'd let them do it rather than trying to pick her up to place in the tub.

I haven't brought her in the store for several months as the excitement level had previously proved to great for her. I wanted to give it another try. My oh my! She was excited, of course, because of the new smells and all the people and other dogs, but she stayed right at my side all the way to the back of the store. When we entered the grooming room, there were three dogs in addition to Bella crowded into the tiny waiting area. While the other hounds were pulling and winding their owners in their leashes, my sweet little girl-dog sat right next to me. Some one excused their dog's behaviour by saying it was only a couple of years old and asked about Bella's age. I said, "Nine months." They were floored how calm and well-behaved she was. I was so proud of her! She did a stellar job! What a smart puppy!

Dog Camp

My husband and I took a 3-week trip through the southern California deserts. We'd been there before and love them at this time of year, but wanted the chance to do more leisurely exploring. At the end of the trip, I would fly home and he'd continue on through Baja for a trip of his own—the benefits of recently retiring.



The big question was whether to bring Bella or not. I personally don't like flying, so the thought of flying my puppy was even less inviting. None-the-less, I called airlines, did on-line research and asked everyone I knew with a dog, "Have you flown your dog? How did it go?" The verdict was positive, but it seems nearly everyone went in with some trepidation and came out relived, but not necessarily eager to do it again. And, if nothing else, it's another $100 on top of an already expensive ticket.


In the end, I left Bella with my sister-in-law, which caused some anxiety as well. They have lost their last three dogs to cars. Their yard is now—and here's the critical factor—almost completely fenced. They also have a dog (Bella's half sister, Molly) to whom they are devoted. I knew Molly wouldn't leave the yard and that Bella wouldn't leave Molly, so I was as comfortable as I could ever be leaving my dog. When I dropped Bella off, she took one look at Molly and the two of them took off on a chase. It proved the perfect time to leave to avoid causing any kind of scene.


During our trip, we realized the desert just isn't dog-friendly. Although it was cooler than we anticipated, it was no less spiky. In phone calls back home, the dog stories we heard were wonderful. Bella was a good house guest and between Molly and their 14-year old son, she was in heaven. She got on furniture, had human treats and licked the dishes as they went into the dishwasher. What pup could ask for more? In fact, as our weeks progressed, I became concerned Bella would refuse to return home. She was having way too much fun!

Luckily, she was not only excited to see me, but eagerly got into the car when it was time to go. They were wonderful to take in a puppy, they took beautiful care of her and I can now rest easy that she'll be eager to go back. Not a bad vacation, eh?

Chew Toys

Not all stuffed chew toys are created equal. I've only tried a few on Bella and literally in less than an hour, the toy is destroyed. At Petsmart, they aren't super expensive, but when they don't last, they aren't cheap either.

I tried a new stuffed toy on her (made by Tuffies Pet Toys) which are supposedly "built" for aggressive chewers. I bought her a gator which I was told was a "7" on a scale of "10" in chewing durability. Within minutes, Bella had chewed out the nose area and removed the stuffing. Over the course of a couple of hours, the tail (and stuffing) and the toes (and stuffing) were gone or opened up.

Now I know she is a chewer, but I had higher hopes for this particular toy. When I went to the manufacturer's site, I realized the gator was merely a "5" on the chew scale. Ah ha! No wonder! I bought it through a small, independent shop, so I let the owner know not all of those particular brand carry the same chew ranking.

Bella hasn't completely destroyed the toy yet (though it is a mere shadow of its former self). So even at a 5, the toy is tough. None-the-less, had I known of the gator's unique ranking, I would have waited until the store owner got more in stock and purchased a more heftily constructed toy. At over $20 a pop, I wanted something a bit more duro.

Odd Noises

I was working at the computer when I heard a strange noise. Puppy? Where's the puppy!

She was busy! Waste baskets might be fun, but toilet paper on a roll—now that is fun!

Behavior and Color Changes

My nephew and his wife were visiting us for a few days. Bella was in heaven. Four people with whom to play! What a boon! The downside of their visit is that we now have a puppy who thinks she is the center of her universe. (Which unfortunately isn't too far off.)

Her ability to ignore well-known commands has escalated and I can tell I'll have several days of getting her back on track. The worst issue is ignoring "Come!" when our game of fetch is over. She wants no part of "over." I call her, she stands just out of reach and stares, I wait, she ignores. The word which has never failed is "Treats!" said in the highest, squeakiest voice one can muster. She always comes, but I must have a handful of yummy morsels. I want this command to be foolproof.

My nephew said she'd changed color since she was a baby. We hadn't noticed as we see her daily. But he was correct. Here's a picture of her the first day she came home. Look how much more white she was as a baby.

Coziness

Bella chews her toys only when we're around. In fact, she's happiest when she's chewing the toy right next to us or even better, on us. On our foot, against our leg, at our back. It's annoying, but somehow endearing. It's a little personality quirk that I'm not sure I really care to "fix."

Toys Part 2, Snacks and Food

Keeping Bella in toys that both stimulate her and that she can't instantly chew up is challenging. I've never owned a dog that enjoyed toys or was a hard chewer, so this is an interesting problem—and potentially expensive. Stuffed squeaky toys are a complete bust. Kongs are duro and fun, but I want to give her something that is not always food related. Her cocktail ball is good and she spends quite a bit of time with it for little calories. But what else?

Today I discovered the Teaser Ball at Immortal Dog. It feels like brittle plastic, and to me, didn't look very entertaining. (How much fun could a ball inside of a ball be?) But Nicole at Immortal Dog was correct—it works for heavy chewers and holds her attention. Be forewarned—the toy is quite noisy on wood floors. There was lots of banging around which I'm sure didn't do the floor any favors. None-the-less, Bella was extremely eager to play with it and went at it with gusto.

Now this store, Immortal Dog, is new to me and I'm uncertain how I came across it. Since I became aware of it, however, I've read several write-ups, all very favorable. One of the most encouraging things beyond the stellar inventory, is the owner, Nicole Bembry. She's a bundle of energy and knows her stuff. After mentioning Bella's propensity to destroy toys, she showed me several she thought would last including the Teaser Ball.

Any of you who have fed your dog hooves, know how stinky they are. The last one I gave Bella, she ate up in a single sitting only to throw it up again hours later. The hoof I gave her was small and thin, so perhaps I need to look for the really beefy ones (no pun intended). But Nicole suggested a really cool new chew toy called Snooks. It's made in Oregon from super-dried organic sweet potatoes strung on a hemp rope. Where a hoof smells stinky, these smell, well, like sweet potatoes—a hint of cinnamon and fall.

Bella went crazy when I brought them into the car, but to be honest, I'm not sure if it was the Snooks or her new food or both. I'm trying Legacy Puppy Food. It's not a designated large puppy brand, but is grain free, for what that's worth. Bella has pretty stinky stools and farts quite a bit. Although I feed her good food and give her a slow transition between different brands, I wonder if maybe she has an allergy to grains? I'll ease her into this new brand and see. It's got quite a bit more protein and fat than the last batch of food she's eaten (Avoderm Large Puppy).

My vet advised feeding Bella large puppy formula so as not to promote too fast of growth . This Legacy product may be both too rich and too high protein. However, the product I was looking for (Orijen Large Puppy) also is high protein and fat. My vet changes her dogs' food with each bag, easing the transition between products. Her take was that altering the foods not only gives the dog variety in taste, but also in ingredients and nutrition. I like that philosophy and am trying it with Bella.

Puppies and Computer Electronics

One of Bella's favorite places to be in the office is under the desk. I'm sure for a dog it's a wonderful cave, but for me, the owner, it's riff with potential danger. Computer cords snake through there and I'm constantly bringing her out "from under."

Well today it happened. There was a long USB cable that we used to access the port in back of one of the machines. Bella was at my feet chewing on one of her toys when I became aware the sound of her chewing had changed. I looked down and she'd chewed the USB plug off the cable. Luckily I was able to get her to drop it and fish out a little piece of plastic she continued to work on. I'm hoping nothing was swallowed.

Leash Pulse Issues

One of the things I hear and read repeatedly is how to appropriately execute a "leash pulse" to alert your dog that you need its attention. Let's say the dog surges ahead or charges off to the side for a sniff thereby breaking a heel. A quick leash pulse says "Hey Pup! Pay attention. I need you to get back in position." To see a good explanation, click here and click on the topic down "Squeeze/Pulse."

When I do it correctly—when she surges ahead—Bella falls in line beautifully. Unfortunately, what I find myself doing too frequently is pulling. This happens when she leaps off to the side to smell, grab, eat, something. I end up reactively pulling her back. What happens when you pull? A dog reflexively pulls in the opposing direction. Iditarod, anyone?

Why are sled dogs so effective? They are pulling against a weight—the sled and rider. Reflexive reaction. With our last dog, the (wonderful, but problematic) Lucy, I bought a Springer with which to give her ample exercise via biking. Big mistake! It worked beautifully, but somewhere in Lucy's 'when I grow up I want to be' psyche, she was a sled dog. I used the Springer once (note the 'once') with her, she ran me up a very, very steep hill at 18 miles an hour. (For you bikers out there, you know this is impressive.) I never used it again.

So pulling on the leash is counter-productive. Teaching the leash holder this fact, however, is as difficult as teaching the dog that walking by one's side is preferable to any other position. ...Or at least that is the case in this household!

Home-made Biscuits

I never thought I'd do it. Make dog biscuits. But I have and Bella is absolutely in love with them. I bought a mix from King Arthur Flours that I wanted to test. I planned to give the mix as a gift to friends who have dogs. The mix produced double the amount of biscuits it claimed and as testimony to their tastiness, Bella drools when we put our hand even near the container in which they reside.

Now that I know how successful it was, I've searched the Internet for other recipes and will let you know if they pass the doggie test. Will I still buy? Sure. But this might prove a fresh biscuit, like a fresh loaf of bread, can't be bought.

Bad Morning, Good Afternoon

Bella was an absolute pill this morning. No commands were executed on first request, she didn't stay by my side, she ate everything she found and dropped nothing. I had to dig through her mouth to get the whatevers out. She did come when she was called only to bolt a second after she arrived. Time for Doggie Pushups. No nothing without compliance—a sit, a down, a wait. And no treats for sloppy execution.

Dog says, "Sit? Hmm-m-m. Let me think about it. Oh sit, oh yeah, I can do that. Watch."

My response? "No tickie, no bickie." A delayed sit doesn't warrant a biscuit. Nor does a "Down? You want me to do what? Lay on cold pavement? Naw. Not gonna do it. Oh you really want a down? Okay. Let me think about it first..."

This afternoon was—thanks heavens—a different story. I took her over to the church parking lot and threw the tennis ball for her. Before every other throw a command was given and compliance expected before the ball was tossed again. She did really well, not immediate in all cases, but nothing like this morning. On the walk afterwards, she did a heel about 80% of the time.

Guess I won't send her back yet.

Obedience Class Over, Snow in the Mountains

The mountains have snow already and young Bella has never seen it. I want to take her up there this weekend to see what she thinks of it. I promise to take lots of pictures.

Basic Obedience class ended Monday night. I enjoyed the classes but am glad they are over. Unfortunately, the follow up class starts at 8:45PM—way too late for me. I wouldn't be home until 10:30PM and then would need a bit of time to wind down. It would make an early dawn wake up hellish and leave me dragging through work.

We did a fun relay at the end of the class. We divided into two teams. Large stuffed biscuits were laid 20 feet apart on the floor in two rows, two per row. We began with our dog in a sit at the head of a row. Our pups had to heel to the first biscuit and then sit. At the second biscuit, a down was required. Past the biscuit, we requested a sit and wait. Returning, we had to go clockwise around the first biscuit and counterclockwise around the second. When we finished, the next team member could go.

Our team lost miserably. The first dog had a tough (but enjoyable) time attempting the commands. Next up was Bella. Oh my! Each biscuit was just too much for her as she'd grab and shake it. It was very funny, but certainly slowed us down. I guess that means I need to diligently work on distractions with her. It's funny because on walks, she's pretty good, but giant stuffed biscuits seem to be her weakness.

The instructor told us to work on the 3 D's: Duration, Distraction and Distance. Duration being how long they could hold the command. Add some distraction and see how that affected the duration. Then add the clincher distance between owner and pet. She advised to make the duration shorter when we added the distraction. After a pup could successfully hold a command with some distraction, shorten the duration, lessen the distraction and add distance. I think that will be a fun to work on until another class presents itself at a more reasonable hour.

My First Shiner

Bella and I were playing ball yesterday. In my exuberance to retrieve a wayward ball for her, I slipped on some wet wood, smacking my check against a concrete block. Luckily I suffered no broken bones or teeth. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with an ice pack on my face. Bella was quite concerned and kept coming over and licking my ear. Finally, figuring this wasn't enough, she crawled up on top of me and nestled between the back cushions and my body, resting her head on my shoulder. Although I've never allowed a dog onto the furniture, how could I refuse her well-meaning actions? I wish I had a picture. I'm sure she looked sweet. It was nice to know, even at six months, she recognizes and concerned for our well-being.

Today I have quite the shiner and one cheek that resembles a chipmunk's stuffed with food.

RainRainRain

Could you guess? It's been pouring rain all day. Walking Bella requires completely suiting up in head-to-toe rain gear and miserably dripping your way around the neighborhood. There is not a lot of dog walking competition; we owned the road. And now as I write, the rain has let up, but someone is coming over, so I can't take her out.

The pleasure in today's walk, besides having a wonderful puppy with whom I can walk, was Bella's stick. When we leave our backyard, she immediately steps into the garden to snort some great smell. Today she found a thick, meaty stick. Yum! She happily carried it throughout the walk. She didn't miss not having treats for good walking behavior. She had something to chew the entire way!

Toys

It's interesting to see how different dogs play with the same toy. Lucy, at 10 months old, adopted a cedar log from our log pile. Over ten years, that log became a piece of kindling. It was one of two toys with which Lucy continually played. But although it diminished in size, Lucy wasn't really a chewer. Oh, she'd give it a couple of gnaws, but mostly she wanted to play tug or toss it around. Bella has found the "log" and is only moderately interested in it. Bella is a chewer extraordinaire, however, and if she sticks with it, it will disappear.

The other toy Lucy absolutely loved was what we called her cocktail ball. It came out when I started making dinner. She wasn't very food motivated, but she was definitely nose motivated. Lucy would roll the ball methodically throughout the house until every little treat fell out. She didn't pause, she didn't stop, until the ball was empty.

Bella has lots of toys which she plays with constantly. Her method with the ball, however, is quite different. Bella's nose is a mere shadow of Lucy's, but she loves the same ball because it has food. Bella will roll it only a bit. Otherwise she is determined to chew her way through. This says something for the strength of the ball—she's yet to rip it apart. Bella also is into dropping it or putting it on the edge of furniture and letting it roll off. She has a clever method, but Lucy got more treats.

What Dog?

I just saw this questionnaire on another blog http://manymuddypaws.blogspot.com/ regarding what breed you'd choose out of the seven AKC recognized dog groups and why. I thought this would be fun to do. I couldn't choose just one for several of the categories. How could anyone? Dogs are just too wonderful. What's your choice—or choices?

1. Sporting: My pick-Golden Retriever. I had several growing up and they were such a good family dog. And Labrador—as that's part of Bella.


2. Hound: My pick-This one is tough. Many folks thought Lucy had some greyhound or Saluki or Whippet in her. She ran like a greyhound, with her legs folding underneath her, so one of the long, lean running dogs...


3. Working: My pick-Schnauzer. My brother had one, Arnie. He was a great dog.


4. Terriers: My pick-Airedale, definitely Airedale. I read the book Junket as a little girl and have had a penchant for Airedales ever since.


5. Toys: My pick-This one is tough too as I don't really appreciate toy dogs. I guess I'd go with an Italian Greyhound, just because of Lucy. In reality IG's are still too small and finicky for my taste. My neice has a Chihuahua which is the cutest little thing, but I just don't feel myself drawn to toys.


6. Non Sporting: My pick-Dalmatian. I wouldn't have thought they'd fall into this group, but I like their sleekness and love their spots!


7. Herding: My pick-Really tough choice. I've had mixed breeds of Aussies, Border Collies and German Shepherds and love all three of those. Do I have to choose?


8. Miscellaneous: My pick-Treewalking Coonhound. A friend told me she'd grown up with one and I looked it up. Beautiful shape!

Working on "No Jump"

In obedience class this past week, Bella started out as a jewel. This was Week #2. Last week, Bella embarrassed me by barking through the entire class. We had a stellar start this week, but it rapidly disintegrated. Bella behaved like Hermione on a sugar high. As the teacher demonstrated different techniques, Bella began whining and wiggling—and crawling towards the teacher. "Pick me! Oh! Pick me! I know how to do that!" And indeed, Bella does know how to do both the "sit" and "down" the instructor was trying to teach us.

However, by the end of the hour, Bella had lost all touch with reality. No amount of cajoling, treating, ignoring, downing or correcting could get her to focus. She's lost complete control of herself, and I had lost control of her. It was awful and unfortunately, the instructor offered no solutions. This frustrated me. When I finally asked, her reply was that class was too exciting. Well, instruct me how to deal with it because I'm getting nothing from class this way! I'll try talking with the teacher before class next week, but if I see this same lack of intervention, I'll complain. She isn't helping us, if she isn't teaching us how to control our dogs. This is one of the reasons we're all taking a class.

One interesting training tip I did get from class is a new way of teaching a pup not to jump up on you. It's interesting how the methods have changed on this. It used to be you were supposed to knee the dog in the chest when it jumped up. Later, grabbing the dogs paws became the preferred method. Some recommended you turn your back to the dog when it jumped. Others promoted stepping towards the dog, so the pup would sit upon backing away. Well, here's yet another solution:

We haven't had any visitors, so I've yet to have a friend try it, but it looks like a good idea. What do you think of this method?

Fresh Bread

I baked a loaf of whole wheat bread yesterday after work. It was the perfect time to do it. It was pouring rain and a homey afternoon. I put on some classical music and got to kneading. The timing was also perfect in that the finished bread came out of the oven just before we had to take off and meet my niece and her partner for dinner. The kitchen smelled heavenly!

Flash back to earlier in the day. Bella ate part of a sock at some point during the day. My husband was around, but hadn't noticed that the sock was reconfigured. I was a bit concerned about what it would do in her system, but the only choice was to wait and see.

I took her to see her friend, Amber. They played a bit, but Bella was really being a pill. Amber was bombarded by the puppy and clearly unhappy about it, so we left. On our walk, we ran into another friend walking her Akita and walked with them. Both of us were hoping for an opportunity to work our dogs around distractions. Bella did well, but since her obedience class on Monday, has really been pushing the envelope. She's choosing to ignore commands. Gr-r-r.

Flash forward. When we returned from a fun evening out, we opened the door to discover the puppy had somehow been able to reach the back of the counter and had eaten the majority of the fresh bread. To my knowledge, this is her first successful attempt at counter-surfing. Needless to say, she was horribly uncomfortable and had a restless night. (As did I dealing with her!)

This morning she's slugging around the house and refused to go on a walk. I left her with my husband with instructions on feeding her (very little and in her crate) and watching to see if she is okay. She has a lot inside her that needs to come out...

Hiking

I took Bella on a most magnificent hike this past Friday with a friend and her dog. The weather was chilly but gorgeously sunny with fall colors coming on strongly. The other dog is 6, almost 7, and tolerant of Bella, but not necessarily eager to play with her, much to Bella's chagrin.

There were streams and lakes throughout the hike, so the opportunities to retrieve were around every corner. At one of the lakes, we had to stop tossing sticks because she was shivering with cold, but determined to keep going. She hiked probably 6 miles that day and slept well that night!

The next day my husband took her on a small mountain bike ride—around 2.5 miles. He said she was banking her turns and barking with joy. The next day, she went kite boarding with him. Because of the cold and a pesky injury, my husband ended up not kiting, but playing on the beach with Bella. Oh happy girl!

Here she is in the van on top of all the equipment. Today has been a big let down with us both back at work. It's a dog's life!

Flash Back

With school starting up again, I haven't been able to write regularly (or at all). I never posted about our vacation and it's enough in the past, that I am no longer in the mood to write about it. However, I do want to say that Bella did beautifully. Within the first week we stopped using the crate when we went off biking and I'm not sure why we chose to do that. I always left her with a stuffed Kong and the van—and Bella—were fine when we returned. The only things we lost to her chewing was one magazine (which we gave her) and two rolls of toilet paper (to which she helped herself).

I took her hiking and her Aussie traits kicked in. Although I started her on a leash, I wanted to see how she'd do off-leash. At four months, I felt confident in her need to be with us that I doubted she'd run off, though I knew I was taking a risk. Again, she did beautifully. She'd go part way up a trail, stop and wait until I caught up. The trait I was not happy with was her nipping. In her excitement to get going, keep going or return, she'd start barking and nipping at me. Bad! When this started, I made her sit and rewarded her for complying. The disreputable behavior subsided.

We also tried her on very, very short mountain bike rides (under three miles). She stayed right with us. What a joy! She'll be a great mountain biking dog when she gets a bit older. Oh! And did I mention she figured out swimming on this trip? That's her labby side. Previously, she'd tiptoe into the water, but never chose to swim. At one point, she just walked into a lake and began paddling!

Of course when we returned home and reverted to "normal" life, it wasn't as "fun" for her. I had to return to work, she had to be sequestered when I left. No fabulous new smells and new woods to encounter. However, I think the camping trip also helped in other ways. It finally trained her regarding peeing indoors. The van was too little (like a crate). She's been stellar ever since.