We did it! We made it through the first two weeks of puppy training, and I am happy to say that it was much easier than I expected. Never fear, dear reader, because these weeks have not been without the hilarity of new puppy epic fails and disasters. I mean, this is me we’re talking about here. As if I could ever make it through any journey unscathed! What fun would that be, right?
Our adventure began with a road trip. My son and I drove to a random parking lot in a random city to make the “exchange.” (I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, we were safe and the money was exchanged electronically.) Still, when we met up with the breeder, I had to restrain myself from whispering, “Hey. You big Johnny? You got the stuff or what?”
So, so tempting! I’ve lived long enough to understand that most people don’t appreciate my sense of humor. And I really wanted the puppy! I would have been super sad if the breeder ran away from me, screaming. Self-control, Liz, self-control.
The drive home with our bundle of joy was super easy. Other than that Charlie peed in his blanket. The one that he was lying on. And then it was all over him.
Time for baby’s first bath!
He took to the bath like a champ. Phew.
Our plan for the first day was to set up a play pen so he could explore the living room without being underfoot constantly. I also wanted to limit accidents to a smaller space. We introduced him to his crate and toys. He was right at home within the first hour: playing, snuggling with family members and exploring his environment.
Epic fail #1: having no access to grass!
I read all these books and articles that recommended potty training solely outside to avoid confusion. Charlie was way too young to go out to community areas. Our only real options were patches of dirt in the backyard or the pavement in the front yard. When on the pavement, he either stared up at me like he was waiting for me to entertain him, or snuffled about inhaling God-knows-what on the ground. When I brought him to the dirt…man, was he thrilled! Dead leaves to crunch! Flowers to pounce on and destroy! Boy, oh boy!
He clearly had no idea what to do.
Potty training was not working. By the end of day one, I was exhausted simply from removing foliage from his mouth! I had two choices: make my yard pristine and cross my fingers or submit to the use of potty pads. Choices, choices… Ha! Just kidding. There was only one choice. I made a trip to Petco post haste.
After being the quietest and most compliant of poochies all day long, one second in the crate at night turned him into a furry banshee straight from the bowels of hell. No joke. He whined, cried, and barked as if his little life depended on it. We didn’t even know he could bark! Poor baby. My youngest helped me put him in his crate that night and I will never forget the look of horror on his face when he heard the sounds of utter misery coming from the crate. I’m sure his face mirrored Charlie’s. All moms know this look. It says, “You are the harbinger of death! Cruella de Vil! You are the leader of a torture-inducing cult and I can’t believe I ever loved you!”
That was not working for me. After shooing my son away (clearly he would be no help), I lied down and began to do absolutely nothing. I followed the advice of trainers (and my awesome mom) and placed his crate up to the level of the bed so he could see, smell, and hear me.
After 5 minutes, he stopped. He slept. Sweet!
He woke 3 times in the night. I took him to the pee pad, then right back to the crate. He cried a few minutes each time, then straight to sleep. The crate stayed dry.
Anyhoo, the first day with our boy was a good indicator of the events of the next several days. Charlie proved to be very easy-going, playful, and a sweet little cuddle bug. He even handled all my work days like a boss. He just snuggled up next to my foot and slept. We made it up to him by having nice, long play times before and after though.
Anyhoo, the first day with our boy was a good indicator of the next several days. Charlie proved to be very easy-going, playful, and a little cuddle bug. He even had no problem on the days I worked constantly. He just snuggled up next to my foot and slept. We made it up to him by having nice, long play times before and after though.
Let’s talk about clicker training. Being a behavior analyst by trade, I knew I was going to use it as a tool. I bought 5 of those little clickers to leave scattered around the house. There is enough research to support it as an effective training tool (thanks, Pavlov) that any self-respecting behavior analyst would simply have to train their dog this way. I would be an embarrassment to my fellow nerds everywhere if I didn’t! I wouldn’t be able to show my face at another conference ever again! I would be laughed out of my precious association for behavior analysts!
But seriously. It was absurdly effective! After 2 training sessions, he was responding to his name by making eye contact. On day 3 he had it totally mastered, so we introduced the sit command. He mastered that, so we increased the amount of sitting time we expected. He mastered that. We introduced “come here.” He mastered that as well. Such a smart dog!
We only have 2 real challenges. The first: Potty training. He is about 70% there, but clicker training has been difficult. It’s hard to catch him going! Luckily, he’s still a small dog, so the clean up is no biggie. The second challenge has been chewing. Man, he chews! We are following the instructions of the articles and books and redirecting him whenever possible. We yip if he bites us, ignore him and stop playing, etc. Still, these 2 behaviors will take more time than the other behaviors for obvious reasons.
Verdict? We are so happy with our baby. And last Saturday, we got turf installed in our backyard, so now he can go outside.
