Both pups progressively got braver and braver over the weekend. Caleb would want us to pet him so he would put his front paws up on the arms of the chair. Then Lila would quickly follow and try to squeeze into the petting “area”.
While I was gone the hubster even had a pup get up on the couch to say hello.
We had a few accidents. All of them on newspaper or bare floor thankfully.
We try to get them outside about every two hours.
On Sunday they traded in the safety of the kennel for the area under one of the chairs. In fact they got to liking the area so much that it became a challenge to get them in a kennel.
Sunday evening Sophie and Lila had a fabulously entertaining burst of playful energy. Chasing each other all around the coffee table. The hubster and I just laughed and laughed at the sheer joy on their faces.
Sunday night I was afraid we had a setback when I got up with them at 2 in the morning. They were determined to not go back in their kennel after being outside. For the most part we have been successful with “kennel up” but this was not to be the case. So, I scooped up Lila and got her in the kennel without incident. But when I tried to do the same with Caleb he scrambled away and snapped at me. His snap was as gentle as possible and there was no meanness, only fear. And he did go into the kennel. But I was afraid that maybe that would set his progress back.
This morning though he was the same cautiously happy pup he was previously. He came up to see me and asked for pets. And he willingly “kenneled up” when it was time to go to work.
We are very concerned that the dogs will get loose and not come back. What we have noticed is that they wait anxiously at the back door to come back inside. This is not to say that given the chance they won’t bolt, but it’s promising to see them on that back stoop anticipating getting back inside. We have two layers of fencing right now just because we want them to have pretty good recall before we open up to the normal fence range. And under regular circumstances there is no way for them to escape. However weird things could happen and we felt more comfortable with the second smaller enclosure, at least for a month or so.
We also have found interesting uses for large packing boxes. We bought a piece of furniture that came in a very long and narrow box. This makes a perfect “baby gate” across the divide between the living room and the dining room. The dogs have less area to roam in which for now is what we want. That same box can also be resituated to block them from the stairs and office but allows them to move from the living room to the kitchen and back. This way, as one of us cooks dinner they can visit us both.
So, we have had the new beasties about 72 hours now. And I think we are progressing faster than I had hoped. We were especially delighted to see Lila and Sophie playing yesterday.
Baby steps……………..we know progress comes in baby steps……….and that’s just fine……..
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4 comments:
When I first got Duff he would bolt at the first sign of freedom. It was awful. He'd be gone for hours. It took two years, but he's finally to the point where we can take him out without a leash and he'll follow us back inside. Keep heart girl. You're doing great.
Do you give them treats when they come back in? They make these tiny little "trainer treats" that work perfect for that sort of thing.
Tink, thanks for the encouragement. I have a bag of cut up little pup-a-roni's that we use to treat them. But they are unpredictable about taking treats from us at this point. But we do try to treat them and we make a big positive deal about them coming back in the house. It helps a lot that we have Max and Sophie so anxious to always get back inside. As the hubster says, it's one big frenzied pile of fur trying to get through the door all at once.
I'm glad they are thriving with you guys! This is going to be fun to watch them adapt.
You guys are awesome. I love reading about their progress. They seem to be doing so well so quickly, guess that's because they are in such a great place.
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