Overload

Trying to settle into life with a puppy has been interesting to say the least.  Sweet Boy wants to constantly play with Baby Kitty.  She, on the other hand, fears his size and energy and yells at him constantly.  We have been crating him at night in our attempts to house-break him, and she sits outside the cage in the middle of the night just to mess with him and wake him up. For more on how she finds way to taunt dogs, I defer to the Tuna Incident at my parents house.

Mr. Antisocial is completely unimpressed with the new "beast".  It took about a week for him to show his face again.  When he does come around, it's usually when it's time to crawl into bed and only after the beast has been caged.

Sweet Boy has been having issues with going to the bathroom.  Saying he has GI problems would be putting it mildly.  Coming home from work involves a daily bet between Sagittarius and I as to how many presents he has for us to clean up.  He has had nights when he has gone into his cage with little fuss and has lasted until a good time in the morning, and others when we were lucky if he made it a couple hours before having to be let out.  Sleep deprivation has not been uncommon for Sagittarius and I.

We are also trying to deal with the typical puppy issues of jumping on people, barking at inappropriate times, chewing and regular command training.  So the ever researcher I am, I have been reading up on all kinds of training advice.  I have been to numerous websites looking for recommended methods.  Unfortunately, it seems like there is too much inconsistency, even in the consistency.

Then I found this and it pretty much says it all.

The Official Dog Enthusiasts' DON'T List 

DON'T let your dog sleep in your bed. It will cause aggression problems down the road. 
DON'T make your dog sleep in a crate. Crate is just another word for small cage. 
DON'T let your dog sleep outside at night. If God had wanted dogs to sleep outside, he would have covered their body with hair to keep them warm. 
DON'T let your dog sleep. You should be playing with him all the time. 
DON'T keep more than two dogs. Each individual dog requires considerable time and energy, and it is impossible for a responsible dog owner to spend quality time with more than two dogs. 
DON'T keep less than five dogs. Dogs are pack animals and five dogs is the minimum number for proper socialization. 
DON'T feed your dog kibble. Kibble is the invention of evil capitalists who want your money, and kibble has no nutritional value whatsoever. You might as well feed your dog sawdust. 
DON'T cook your dog's meat or chicken. Cooking destroys all the nutrients. 
DON'T feed your dog raw meat or raw chicken. Raw food contains salmonella, e-coli, and other harmful bacteria. 
DON'T let your dog drink out of a plastic bowl. It will turn his nose pink. 
DON'T post messages to a dog list. You will surely get bopped on the head for thinking that someone else cares about your silly little opinions. 
DON'T poke your eye with a sharp stick. It has nothing to do with dogs, but it's a good rule nonetheless. 
DON'T microchip your dog. A nearby cell phone can cause a microchipped dog to explode, or so says the lady running the tattoo booth. 
DON'T tattoo your dog on the ear. A dog thief will cut off the tattooed ear. 
DON'T tattoo your dog on the thigh. He'll be a tripod before you can say Ginsu. 
DON'T keep a collar on your dog when unattended. He could get caught on something and choke. 
DON'T leave your dog unattended without a collar. He could run away without any identification. 
DON'T transport your dog in a plastic crate. Plastic crates don't allow sufficient air flow. 
DON'T transport your dog in a wire crate. In a car accident, a wire crate transforms into a doggie skewer. On days you plan to have a car accident, it's acceptable to use a plastic crate. 
DON'T let your dog drive. It's against the law in many states. 
DON'T enter your dog in conformation. It's b-o-r-i-n-g for the dog. 
DON'T enter your dog in obedience. It's B-o-r-i-n-g with a capital "B." 
DON'T enter your dog in agility. The jumps will injure his joints. 
DON'T send your dog out with a handler. Only a psychopath would send their beloved pet with a complete stranger. 
DON'T handle your dog yourself. You've got a great dog and he deserves a much better handler than you will ever be. 
DON'T get a purebred dog. Too much inbreeding has produced dogs with temperament and health problems. 
DON'T get a mutt. You don't know anything about their pedigree. In fact, if you're thinking about getting a dog, get a cat instead. 
DON'T don't. That's right, you heard me, just don't! 
DON'T leave your dog's dewclaws intact. He will rip one off jumping a log or something, which is quite painful. 
DON'T remove your dog's dewclaws. Dewclaws are acupuncture points that are needed for proper functioning of the kidneys.  

AND the #1 DON'T .... 

DON'T trim your dog's whiskers. Dogs use their whiskers to determine the size of their head, which is important when they are out shopping for a new hat.

Young Ones

My life this week has been pleasantly surrounded by young souls. I picked up Lil Cuz on Thursday for a long weekend visit, and a week ago today a new family member was brought home. Our two and a half month, almost three month, old boy is a German Shepherd puppy. I’ll nickname him Sweet Boy for this purpose.

Sweet Boy is, as his name implies, a sweet loveable boy. He has been pretty good for us this week, except he doesn’t like his cage. I’ve had mixed emotions about the cage. I’ve never had a dog that I caged but the experts are now saying that because of the dog’s long history of den living, cages are perfect. They say if you create a den atmosphere about the cage, then the dog will grow to feel safe and comfortable.

Unfortunately, Sweet Boy hasn’t gotten the memo yet. He has gotten better over the past few days, but he still goes through long periods of whining. We have been caging him at night in hopes of creating longer periods of time between him going to the bathroom so that he can better handle when we’re at work. We have gotten him up to four hours, but only after a 2am pee break. Sagittarius and I have been trading naps during the day to compensate for the sleep deprivation. I imagine this must be similar to what parents go through with new babies.

We are also working on his biting. It’s cute now, but as one book brought to our attention, it won’t be cute when he’s an adult with teeth designed to tear flesh apart. So we have taken to the idea of crying out in fake pain and halting the play every time he bites. The idea was that puppies stop bite playing with their siblings when they cry out in pain. Hopefully he won’t like the loss of his playmate and will eventually stop biting the playmate for fear of losing said pal. So far, results have been mixed.

Sweet Boy

In the midst of all this, I picked up Lil Cuz so we could spend some time together. She is going to be one of my bridesmaids.  So we took the opportunity to go dress shopping this weekend with Rose, who’s going to be another bridesmaid, to get ideas. It was productive as both agreed on a style they liked and I finalized what shades of green and red I would like for the wedding.

Lil Cuz amazes me sometimes. In the same discussion of typical teenage girl talk of boys, she also talks about what she wants from life, being true to herself and her goals, as well as throwing around other terms that you would expect out of an adult more so than a sixteen year old. Even if I do have to con her to give up her phone and texting for part of it, even visit with her is precious.

I and Lil Cuz at mini golf

Sagittarius, Lil Cuz and Sweet Boy at the park