Thank you for the great advice!
Lava arrived late (flight was delayed for an hour in Chicago). I finally got her at about 4:00pm. I took her out to the grass near the receiving area and after about 5 minutes of streaching, she was bounding about like a jackrabbit, and that tail was going at about 909 (had to fit that in) beats a minute! She immediately took to us, and we to her. I check for "crate sign", and.....drumroll please.....NO MESS! A truly bullish signal, and since it was about 10 hours for her, it was practically AMAZING! Time to buy, baby!
So, we put her back in the crate (no hesitation for her...the little sweetheart) and took her home.
Within a half-hour of being home, the step-daughter and grandaughter (yes, I have one even at my young age) had to come by and see. The granddaughter is 2 1/2 years old, and was afraid of Lava (which suits me just fine for now). So Lava played and explored the backyard. Happily, she retrieved tennis balls and other assorted toys like a pro! I can tell that with some good training, she's going to be a great hunter. The funniest thing I've seen in a long time was the "face-off" between an 8 wk. old black pup and a black and white furby. First, she get's this low grumble in her chest. Furby say's something like "Tolu"...Lava barks (puppy bark)...Furby respond with "Waaa-Waaa-Waaa"...and Lava pounces! Grabbed Furby by the head and threw him across the floor. At the same time Furby says something like "Whooooooooooooh!". It was funny as heck! I don't think Furby's going to win this one.
I want to respond to your suggestions one-by-one.
1) Keep shoes in a locked closet; Temptation is a Terrible Thing.
We've limited her access to certain areas of the house. But you're definitely right about the shoes. Thing is, she would go for the shoes you currently have on your feet! She's doing better on this now. She learned "No" real fast.
2) Pup shouldn't have Anything of Masters to lie with or gnaw. Give new rawhide bones, toys, etc; be strict your things aren't 2B touched.
This one is a little more difficult. She gnaws on anything and everything eye-level and below. We're working on this. The "No" command seems to work well with this too (after some repetition).
3) Often the dog will be having fun singing with its own voice; if the barking or howling isn't a bother, remember it's still necessary to train the dog to be quiet when told to hush
She only seems to be vocal when very excited or when left alone (which I will discuss later). Doing pretty good on this one, IMO.
4) The pup will understand everything you say when you say it. The pup may not remember it a moment after the conversation.
Yep. At this stage in her life, I've heard that her short-term memory is about 5 seconds. Repetition is required, and she's getting lots of it. :*)
5) Get the pup used to walking on a leash from Day 1; also talk to the pup about the newspaper/outdoor training. Whatever you want the dog to do, ask for it/talk about it from Day 1 to pave the way, and begin the actual training when you sense the dog is ready.
Good Advice. I've had her on a leash a few times, it's seems to be a great toy for her! Arrrgh! We're getting her used to her collar. On 15 minutes at a time on day 1, now we're up to about an hour at a shot before she starts to try to remove it (scratching, rubbing against objects, etc). Hopefully she'll be able to wear it full time by the end of the week.
As for the housebreaking, she did great the first 24 hours (no accidents). After that first 24hours was up, she peed on the floor twice, and pooped once in about 4 hours! I suspect she might have just been constipated on that first day! :*) Anyway, we take her out about every 1-2 hours, and this helps. I'm working on getting her to be able to "air" on command. She's getting close to learning this, I can tell. The command to potty is "Tory". Get it? Lava-Tory. <G>
6) Praise in your voice is the best reward for the pup; and it will feel highly rebuked hearing disappointment when rules are broken.
Yep. Noticed this right off the bat, and trying to limit the "No's" to times when really necessary (chewing on electric cords, etc.).
7) Many dogs get carsick and will do better riding in their carrier when they're little, even on a short trip to the vet or a friends.
I've had her out a few times already (in her crate). She prefers to sleep when traveling (YES!).
8) That lonely-sounding crying for sleeping with its family at night is heartbreaking, and sitting up with the pup as a comfort is the only way to get through it, as Blue says. But when It's Time to turn out the lights and go to sleep, The Time Has Come... and the pup must learn that Master sets the routine and to obey the pace set by you.
Boy is this true! When left alone, she whines for about the first 10 minutes, at which point the whine turns into a howl. By this time, one of us has gone to her. She's lonely, she misses her mom and siblings, and I guess it's just going to take some time for her to get through this. My wife and I are on shifts with her right now, and we are experimenting with leaving her for short periods. Of course, we know this will take some time. Just hope it's soon!
9) Could be good for Pup to be using the Wall Street Journal !
Good idea!
Thanks again and 909's,
-Joe |
