It all comes flooding back...

[alexpgp]

I believe the last time I actually had to deal (directly or indirectly) with a puppy in the house was when my dad brought home Rex, the German Shepherd he had wanted all his life. For a few days, Rex spent his nights in the linoleum-floored kitchen, and to hear his side of the story, they were miserable nights, indeed. The conventional wisdom at the time - to be frank, I haven't had the time to re-research it lately - was that a ticking clock wrapped inside a blanket with a hot water bottle would calm the recently separated puppy from its parent.

I currently own neither a hot water bottle, nor an alarm clock that ticks to any appreciable extent. The point is likely moot, however, as I don't seem to recall the advice was of any help in dealing with Rex's "separation anxiety" oh, so long ago.

Two nights ago, Shiloh slept pretty much through the night, with only a couple of whimpers, a situation that was perfectly tolerable from my perspective. Last night, Shiloh surprised me with both the volume and duration of noise she could generate.

If the combined clock-bottle-blanket tactic didn't work, the conventional wisdom - or at least the way my dad interpreted it - was that puppies needed a dose of "tough love," i.e., they needed to be left alone to work through this trying time.

Phooey!

Shiloh is probably having a tough enough time as it is right now, confined to a little pen I constructed yesterday in the tiled area of the kitchen, with only Lily for company. With that in mind, I eventually lifted the pooch out of his confinement (a crate positioned to allow access to a bathroom) and placed him at my feet on the bed, where she fell asleep almost immediately.

Apropos of Lily, yesterday, I was struck by the difference between the two animals. Lily is acutely aware of Shiloh, who I am virtually certain is barely aware of Lily's existence. The way Lily behaves, however, it's as if she thinks the dog is shamming, and that the pooch is really a bloodthirsty, vicious cur just waiting for Lily to drop her guard.

Back to work.

Cheers...

P.S. In other news, this morning, for the first time since the New Year, my weight dropped below 230 lb!

Comments

Puppy training

[rfeceo.livejournal.com]

Dogs are social creatures, so it is difficult for them to be separated from "the pack". And, human responses often have unintended consequences.

What we did that worked after awhile was to leave a radio, preferably on "talk radio" - language does not matter, human voice matters, on for the puppy at night. Another trick is the use of the crate. Again, this takes a couple of days, but wear shirt you don't mind losing all day, and then before you go to bed, put the puppy in the crate, and the shirt real close to the crate (so the puppy can smell you on it) - to better yet in the crate (though there is a good chance of the puppy tearing it to shreds).

I caution you about putting the dog on the bed with you. Bed altitude and Alpha-position in the pack are strongly correlated. Thus, the higher you sleep (on the bed rather than the floor) the higher you rate in the pack. ALlowing the dog to sleep on the bed say to the dog that he is the Alpha, and therefore can tell you what to do. It's best to establish the ground rules early and then let make exceptions later (because the dog knows that *you* are the Alpha and *you* are allowing him/her to break a rule! Yayy!!) An alternative can be to put the crate nest to your bed, and the puppy in the crate.

Good luck!

-Peter