JMFS

I can give you insight on leaving puppers outside. Momo was an outside dog. He Hated being inside, even at night for bed time. I still brought him inside because I didn't want him disturbing the neighbors if something went bump in the night. He Loved being outside. Chasing squirrels, eradicating lizards from the screen room around the pool, lying under the shade tree where he could see the entire yard and out to the street. I gave up on fresh water for him - he never drank it. Why would he? There's a pool with constantly recirculating water to drink from and cool his feet while he was at it. The occasional dip when he got too hot wasn't a bad deal, either. He was 3-yrs old before he had that living arrangement and had grown out of the destruction phase (and had Plenty to do to keep him from being destructive). As a puppy he was crated while I was at work; however, when I got home he was allowed outside for 20 minutes at a time. This was a much smaller yard than what we have now. He and the neighbor's Mastiff (I Loved her) would dig under the fence to get to each other. He chewed the gas hoses off the grill. He chewed the insulation off the A/C pipes. Oddly he left our chairs alone. They must not have been satisfying chews. Esther is 9 months old now and nope. Wouldn't allow her outside unsupervised for more than 5 minutes. She's not destructive, but she puts Everything in her mouth. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. I have her on a supplement which discourages her from eating the "tootsie rolls" the cat leaves in the yard (Outta my Box has been working), but she still finds the hairballs tasty (gag) and I had to remove one from her possession just yesterday by making her chase me. She dropped it, I enticed Gertie to play with Esther and I found the nasty tid bit while she was distracted. She's already had tapeworms from eating whatever and this is under close supervision! I don't goof around on my phone while I'm out there, she's just too quick for me sometimes. She's a mess and is an example of a dog who is not ready, no responsible, enough to be out on her own. Gertrude leaves most things alone; however, if it stinks to high heaven it's going to end up on her fur because she's sliding and rolling in it and then my arthritic self is going to have to attempt to bathe her. If a wheeled vehicle, especially bicycles, goes by our fence she's going to give chase, and do so vocally. If someone is walking or running by our fence it will be the same result. Therefore I limit her alone time outside to about 15 minutes. Long enough for her to do her business, get some sniffs in, and enjoy nature. But, because she's rude and I don't get enough opportunities to work with her on stopping it these days management is the best course with her. Final word, if the dogs don't chew on things, eat goodness-knows-what, or bark at / chase passersby I would absolutely allow them to be outdoors unsupervised. We have ample shade and a secure fence so I know our dogs are mostly safe; however . . . there's Always that chance someone can throw something over the fence like the bbq rib bone I found a couple months ago. Momo was an excellent watch dog and he kept our backyard from getting wild, but I wouldn't have either of the girls out there regularly unsupervised. Front yard yes for Gertie in short amounts of time, and an absolute no for Esther right now.

Dogs Barking (not synced with the video) Puppies Barking Advanced Dog Barking (for after the single dogs aren't causing havoc) I found a few videos to help with dog barking reactivity. Esther is So reactive (wants to play, not aggressive) to other dogs she was going Bonkers, jumping into my lap, stepping on Gertie, running around, etc . . . when she so much as heard another dog on the television. This gave me the idea to use YouTube as a training tool to help quell some of that behavior. We're not even to the point of being able to go to the exterior of the dog park, yet, she's so doggone nuts. What I do is play the video. She was so hyper about it I started rewarding her just for getting off my chair. I play the "look at that" game to get her to look at the screen in addition to hearing the barking to really get her interest. When her paws are on the floor she gets a treat. We graduated to when she was quiet she got a treat. Now we're at when she looks at me, paws on the floor, and is quiet she gets a treat. That's a Very quick summary of how I'm helping her rein in her excitement over other dogs. Eventually we'll build up to going to the exterior of the dog park, but for now video is enough. I thought I'd share because it's tough to find videos of Only barking With video. The 3rd video is only barking and it's numerous dogs. She's not ready for that, yet - got a little too excited. This could be done with any sounds or sights that set your dog(s) off. Doorbells, people yelling, sirens, loud bangs, etc . . .. Some dogs won't react to the video portion (Gertie couldn't care less), but the sound will appeal to most. If you can't find a doorbell video, look for "doorbell sounds" on a search engine. There will be plenty! Doorbell could even be done with a partner ringing your own doorbell. Same with knocking.

95% of the time they love each other. The other 5% Gertie is having none of it, lol. This is them after all the excitement with Abbi's emergency yesterday. They're such good girls to have endured the hour long round trip and another hour of surgery.

Thank you - I'll ask about the Entyce. I was teasing the husband last night. The bigger girls go to Banfield for the insurance plan, but they both need nail clippings, and Gerts could use an internal expression, which I don't know how to do. So I said, "you know, for the amount we're paying these guys to take care of Abbi, they should throw in a complimentary nail clipping and gland expression." Abbi's chest is covered with funkiness because she's a low rider and without the use of her legs and the rain I think she's growing all sorts of stuff from the moisture. The flashlight comment resonates with me, lol. I finally moved Esther's crate into the room because I got tired of waking up to tell her to stop eating the bed. She's destroyed 3 of them so far so now she just doesn't get a bed because I need sleep in order to handle all this chaos, lol. I do have a crate bed and a crib sheet on the way. My thinking is to put the crate bed in, then use the fitted sheet over that so she doesn't have any good seams to work on. She and Gertie are the same in that respect - if there's a seam it must be explored, and likely ripped up.

Poor Abs just can't catch a break. Her legs are still being sewn up and she keeps popping the stitches. Today it was her usual excited hop to see the husband when he gets home and that was too much for her leg. We're guessing there must have been a tear in one of her veins all along causing the swelling. We thought it was synovial fluid build up, but when she hopped today she burst the dam. The husband had a hand full of her blood, it had to have been 3 or 4 tablespoons' worth. It was pretty intense for about 5 minutes as it was going Everywhere and soaking right through the gauze. I ended up grabbing a towel and paper towels because 4 x 4 gauze pads weren't cutting it. Of course it happened at 4:30 when the doc was going home. We called him, sent pictures, and he said he'd stay for us. Once the flow was down a bit and the husband could hold a paper towel against it we loaded all the dogs into the truck and I drove us all to the vet's office. Both Gertie and Esther were due for a potty break but with as much blood as Abbi was losing we couldn't pause and I wasn't going to leave them here. Snap decisions! We got to the office and yep, it was her vein. Doc cleared out a second clot (one came out during the flood here) and stitched up the vein and cut off a skin tag while he was at it. No one prepares you for all the growths dogs start getting when they age. 🤢🤢🤢 I can remember not wanting to pet my aunt's dog, Rose, because she had a bump on her neck. Her other dog, Jon, did not so I did pet him. I am sometimes not the most accepting person, I admit. So, an hour later she's all wrapped up and we headed home. I'm Really hoping this does it this time. The two back legs are finally healed so now we just need the front legs to follow suit. She's off the prednisone - doc was thinking that may be preventing the legs from healing - and her appetite has waned as a result. She seems to prefer sleeping in the morning now to eating, but still devours her evening meal. I can respect that - it's how I do things. I'm relieved the issue happened when the husband was home and while we were awake. Trying to wrangle Esther and staunch the flow would have been so very difficult. It was tough enough to clean the floor with the husband taking care of Abbi, Esther kept wanting to see what was going on. Fortunately she's caught on to "bed" and went to it every time I asked. Then came Right back, lol. Puppies. I'm grateful the weekend is coming up so we're both home for the next few days. I've never seen anything like that and it was a bit over the top, whew! Seriously considering buying some mega jumbo sanitary pads just in case. The husband laughed at the idea last night. Dog legs are so awkward to wrap and I thought the adhesive on the pads might help hold the gauze roll in place instead of using Telfa pads. Sanitary napkinsare absorbent, sanitary (to state the obvious), and less expensive than gauze pads, lol. Sure wish we would have had a couple up here earlier today!

We dealt with this with the husband's mom every time we took the Dachshunds over there. She and his daughter would sneak ham to them, grrrr. Brownie would bloat up like a stuffed sausage every time he stayed with my mother-in-law and she Swore she only fed him what she was told to. Uh huh, suuuure you did. She can't handle the stress of dogs any more so that issue was self-resolving and we no longer take the little dogs over. With Covid we haven't been there in almost 2 years now. I had Mo trained to go to his mat for dinner time, and if he couldn't manage to contain himself I'd put him in a separate area. It's tougher with the girls because there's no real separate area with an open floor plan. Worst case scenario I put Esther on a leash and tie her to My chair. She knows I will not allow her to beg. Ignoring does work, though, over time. We normally eat on the couch and all three dogs are on it with us. Initially some of our food got licked and we were leaned against as they attempted to get sniffs in, but over time they learned "ain't nothin' gonna happen." They get fed after we eat so this has become a precursor to a happy time for them, which I think helps. In Esther's first few weeks I sure did put her in her kennel upstairs a couple times because she simply Would Not Settle. Tonight we even had steak and Gertie fell asleep. Esther was on her leash that's held down by the cushions so she can only go so far. The main concern there is limiting her access to Abbi. Gertie is my Golden Child and is happy to comply. She'll initially beg, hopeful pup that she is, but once she's told no begging she'll meander off, or settle at your feet. She even plays with her toy under my massage table when my therapist is here. Esther would be jumping on him and trying to get pets, but no no it's My turn, so she stays downstairs with the husband for now. Having said that, when another dog is present, Gertie is only as well-behaved as the other dog, as if she forgets herself and gives into the dogginess unfolding around her. I've leashed them both to the hammock so we could eat in peace because they get each other too excited to behave. Eventually they get to understanding that good behavior = being allowed to hang out with us and begging = being removed from the party. I give them treats while we eat if they are calm while leashed to reinforce that that's the behavior I'm looking for. I haven't done long-lasting treats so I'm taking that under advisement - I am wary of the toy getting away from them and plopping into the pool, which would be a Mess. I used to put them outside of the screen room, but currently the back yard is too wild with mushrooms and poison oak for them to be out there unsupervised. On the occasion that they Do manage to jump up or bump peoples' hands, our guests have been taught to put their hands in their laps and turn away from the offender, after pushing their plates out of reach. Even our 6-yr old grandson is adept at this maneuver so I know adults can figure it out! We also place chairs strategically to to make it easier for our visitors to perform these actions, and to minimize the dogs' access if I don't leash them. I always give them an opportunity to behave before going the leash route. I'll never know if they've learned the lesson if I start out with the leashes.

I love him without even meeting him! He sounds like a happy boy. :) It was probably Super rewarding to meet that first deer and he Could be hopeful to see one again if that's what started this ritual. I have a feeling a lesson on "wait" at the door is going to be advised. In a fenced yard it's not a Huge deal for them to bound happily through the door and into the fresh air with all the sniffs to be taken in; however, if you find yourself somewhere without a fence this could be dangerous. Even though we have a fully fenced yard I make the girls wait at the door until I've scanned the area. Thus far I've saved a couple snakes, a lizard, our cat (they'd trample the poor guy in their excitement), and prevented the rehearsed behavior of charging towards cyclists, runners, and some of my favorite people in the world - UPS / FedEx / USPS. Had one of those snakes been venomous, or the cat been injured, or the gate been open (which it Was the other day, I nearly had heart failure when I saw that because I'd already given them the go ahead Assuming the gate was closed like "always") we could have ended up with a bad situation. Esther has bad impulse control because . . . puppy. I am keeping her on leash until she can wait, without being asked, like Gertrude does. Currently she would delight in destroying our irises. I can't stand the things, but really don't want to have to replace them - the next owners can do that (they'd probably replace whatever I put in there anyway!). All that is based on me again assuming that he's not holding a wait before bounding out. If he Was waiting, got the go ahead, and Then went on this frolicking romp through the yard then I personally see no detriment in allowing him to celebrate the joy of being outdoors. Momo was my watchdog and his first order of business was to do a lap or thirty around the yard to ensure everything was as it should be once I gave him the a-okay.

Yes, I'm watching Esther closely because she's so ready to fight. I keep pondering what on Earth went on in her first 6 months of life with how ready to battle she can get, and she's still quite skittish. Her reactions have lessened considerably as we've been familiarizing and I've been working on exposing her to new experiences. She nearly fell over herself last night when I grabbed our stack of checks to mail. Like I was going to smack her with them or something. I turned it into a game, making the envelopes a fun thing instead and this exercise went Much faster than past attempts to desensitize her. She no longer jumping 5 feet in the air when the leash touches her butt and that one took about 3 weeks to work out of her so I'm heartened by the envelopes taking less than 5 minutes to lose their fear factor. With her pinning Gertie Esther's head was in the air and she was pushing back on Gertie's chest with her front feet instead of going straight in for a bite so that (I think) is a good sign. As you mentioned, the fact that I was able to stop it verbally instead of having to pull them apart is also heartening. I feel she's learning restraint, but boy am I still on high alert! She is fascinated by Abbi but we won't allow her near Abbi so we're definitely playing to caution. The game of tug came about accidentally and since both of them seem relaxed and appeared to be enjoying it I let it ride. I'll take your words under advisement. I don't want to discourage them playing nicely together, but I also don't want to allow an opportunity for strife. It's a dance of balance for sure! This puppy has been such a challenge. I thought Mo had issues! His were at least with only one thing - food. Esther is full of trials. She's beyond loving and she nurtures Gertie when allowed (we discourage the privates licking - it's just uncomfortable for we humans, lol), but the other day they were snuggled together and Esther was licking Gertie's ears while Gertie was leaning into it. She actually Likes being picked up and just melts - she's like a rag doll, and anyone who will give her scratches is her best friend. She's very leery of new people initially so I want to take her to Lowe's and anywhere else I can to expose her to people. Considering getting her a vest, though, that warns people she's in training and nervous. She's still highly interested in dogs on television or monitors, but has stopped barking, whining, and trying to get to them. We have miles and miles to go with her. I have a feeling Esther may have been kept in a crate for a significant time of her short life before we got her. She seems most comfortable there and goes in willingly. She even waits for the door to close before she'll touch her Wobbler, despite me telling her "okay." I feel that's the Only training she ever received. Overall it's going well, but I have lost my patience a couple times because there's just So much work to do with her, thus I'm in training, too (it's not just her - work is causing huge gobs of stress right now and that's causing my arthritis to flare up). I've put her in her kennel with a Kong each time so I can regroup. Only 11 more months of adolescence to go! We can do this! I am going to contact that Jenny gal again (she did respond and I liked what she had to say in regards to assessing their play - it was close to what you had to say so I know I can work with her). The thing holding me back is time and that she does training at night - I can't drive at night and someone has to stay with Abbi so the husband can't drive me. We'll figure something out, though!

Gertie continues to confound me. They were playing a lovely (very closely monitored) game of tug with a long toy. Esther had a death grip on it so Gertie didn't get much opportunity to take it away. The one time she did manage to get it and Esther went to re-engage Gertie snapped at her. Esther had Gerts on the ground Immediately and was baring teeth, ready to fight - Esther's such a scrappy puppy. Happy to share and everything until someone else gets grouchy and then she's going to finish what was started. I was there, though, waiting for it Just in case, and a loud clap and, "hey!" stopped the argument. It is a new tug toy the shelter gave us and I brought it out because it's longer than our other tug. Nothing special, just a rope. They were taking turns being the tugger and tuggee and everything Seemed fine. Bodies were relaxed aside from the muscles moving to tug and be tugged. Ears were flopping, not pulled back or perked up. Tails were wagging up high, not down low or even in the middle. No vocalizations, no intent staring or whale eyes. Of course each time I tried to record the nice play Gertie lost interest. 🙄 She's as keen to be famous as I am, lol. It's been raining for nearly 4 weeks with no end in sight (potential hurricane that will probably miss us but bring more rain) and they haven't been out to run around for 3 weeks because of all the mushrooms. I carry a bucket around to pick them up, but holy heck if 3 more don't take their place making it a futile exercise. I've allowed them to wrestle in two approved areas (office and bedroom where there are large spaces) to try to get some of that energy out and they had one such session before I brought out the toy. My thinking was to get some of the pent up energy out Before we tried this game. They played for a good 5 - 10 minutes before Gertie took control of the game and the fun ended. She's only 4, too young to be a grumpus. In My opinion, lol.

I can ask my work acquaintance what she fed her Cane Corso. It might take a bit to get an answer as she's a busy gal. Alternatively your veterinarian should have good suggestions. I like Purina ProPlan myself, and our vet approves wholeheartedly. They do have a large breed version: https://www.chewy.com/brands/purina-pro-plan-7434 Our girls are rarely gassy and their weight is spot on with this food. Coats are shiny, teeth healthy, stools firm, etc . . ..

Max is a Gorgeous Rottie and Gertie's "boyfriend," as we like to joke. He's had a behavioral change lately, though, and I'm worried about him. I don't know what may have happened and wanted to see if your pups ever went through any sudden changes around the age of 4 (he and Gertie are almost to the month in age). He used to be an easy going, affectionate kind of guy and I would go to the gate to love on him. When I was there Friday last week he was Not the same Max I used to know. He was standing at the gate, tail wagging, but the rest of his body language said, "not today." His head wasn't level with the ground, but it wasn't held up high, either. His mouth was closed and his shoulders were tense. His butt wasn't wiggling with the tail wag, either, and he was watching me rather intently so I avoided eye contact and did some test vocals with him. He didn't respond, just kept wagging and staring. Normally he would have opened the gate and come to "butt hug" me with all his 120 pounds of poochliness, pushing his head into my hands, rubbing those mud flaps of his all over, for copious amounts of ear scratches. This time it was like he was frozen in place. No vocalizations, just that watching and a wag. I couldn't get much out of the owner without being intrusive - we have a friendly business relationship and those are tough waters to navigate sometimes. I do know that he now spends lots of time with their son, who seems to be a warm and kind individual, and the son's girlfriend, who is energetic and upbeat. I don't sense any abuse from them and this arrangement took place at least before Covid was a thing. I think Max now lives with them at the shop in the apartment above the showroom. Previously he lived with the owners at their house and traveled back and forth, normally going where the Mrs owner went. Max was the type of dog who would let you take a rawhide from his mouth - he actually offered it. He even shared his treats with Gertie on one visit. I was so sad not to get my Max time in last week, but I truly felt I would be pushing his threshold if I moved any closer than I did. I stopped at about 6' away because I sensed he wasn't receiving visitors at the moment and the girlfriend did caution me that he'd been grumpy lately. It has been raining for 3 weeks, but I don't know how long he's been surly. I know my girls are getting antsy because they can't play - we have a mushroom field that I keep picking, but the darn things keep popping right back up as the rain is not letting up and identifying mushrooms is not in my wheelhouse so I just keep Esther on a leash. If there's any advice I can give them, or questions I can ask, to help get Mr. Max back to his affectionate sweet self I'd like to. I am going to suggest they take him for a vet check up to rule potential health issues out. I won't take Gertie to go see him until he's out of this rut. Esther isn't ready for in-dog meetings, yet, so she also won't go visit.

That was where my mind went as well and I was going to comment if it wasn't covered. Even with pain meds the surgery location can be sensitive and that he didn't want y'all touching him after the surgery makes me think he may have been in extreme pain, or perhaps the pain meds were not as effective as needed. My Lucky Boy (cat) attacked me after his surgery. I picked him up to move him and he scratched me to the point of leaving ribbons of skin dangling from my arm. I second the recommendation for a vet visit to ensure it's not something health related, like residual pain. Given that he's bitten you hard I want to encourage you to seek the help of a Behavorist. Intervening this early in his life can change the entire tone of your relationship going forward and return to you your fun loving pup, or at least a better version of what he's displaying now. I waited 8 years and every feeding time or ill-begotten item was a stressful situation. That's my advice based on approximately 3,000 days of experience with a surly temperament when it comes to resource guarding. If I can spare you that and guide you towards enjoying your pooch instead, well, there's my attempt. 😊 I got so much bad advice throughout those years and it wasn't until he and I had a serious interaction that finally drove me to seek professional assistance with the issue and it was like night and day afterwards. We had to work on it nearly every day for a year, and after that I reinforced it, and we were never Quite over the hump (8 years is a Long time to let that behavior get ingrained), but Momo and I had a far better relationship afterwards and it was worth every dollar, minute, and treat! The one other thing I didn't see mentioned, but that I've seen in previous posts about aggression, is to wear protective gloves when working with a biter. I'm sorry you're having to figure out this behavior - it's a magnificent way to make us second guess ourselves and feel insufficient. 😔 Goodness knows I felt more than my fair share of guilt while trying to calculate how much I was to blame for the behavior. I was given bad advice with logical sounding reasoning behind it; like standing over him and making myself as tall and big as possible to "assert my dominance," so there was Plenty of self-blaming going on, much of it justified though I intended no malice. The good news is you're looking to resolve it at 8 months instead of 8 years. 🤗

Magnificent! We had a setback today (bed #2 has been destroyed) so it's heartening to see a positive story. Go Loki!

How are you leading him down? Lure or putting treats on the steps, or maybe both? They can definitely spook themselves when their feet don't land where they are expected.

Very wise! I told the husband last Friday that we can't be held hostage by Abbi. She has horrible separation anxiety and all four of her legs are wrapped up right now because she keeps popping the stitches when she's left home alone. We've tried medications and I've attempted counter-conditioning and all the good stuff around here, but until the husband is on board it's all for naught. If he goes to her as soon as she whines then I'll only ever be able to train her to not freak out about Me not being around. As long as a human is here she's fine, but once we leave she is an absolute mess. I leave the house maybe once per week, which is Fine until it's not. I'm a hermit in training and prefer to stay home until I'm Required to stay home. I do like to venture out into the world once in a while. Sometimes. Not often, lol. I have my dogs, crochet, computer games, puzzle books, and a big yard so aside from necessities there's no need for me to leave the house and I don't like to travel. Anyway! That led up to him calling his daughter and asking her if they'd like to hang out at our house for a couple hours on Fridays so we can at least go eat dinner without worrying. They can swim and Abbi can be with people she knows and loves. Esther and Gertie can stay in the office - they'll be okay. I think she's agreed to this arrangement. It works in their favor, too. My grandson is in a wheelchair (the short story - he'll be 6 this year and has been incapacitated since 18 months I believe it is, she adopted him after marrying his dad) and they've been doing water therapy to try to get his legs working. Being able to use our pool is a Fun therapy And Abbi is taken care of so maybe both his and her legs will eventually heal! You're right, we have to let the little things slide. Having dogs has taught me so much patience and temperance. I'm still learning, and have a lot of work ahead of me, but compared to where I was before Gertrude it's like a whole new me. Esther is challenging that progress, lol. She's doing Very well, but I forget she's a puppy because she's as big as Gertie now and I expect her to be as well-behaved as Gerts. Then again, Esther's recall is Amazing compared to Gertie's, "I can't hear you" attitude. Esther Wants to be with us - unless she's feeling frisky. Then her recall isn't so great, but even in those instances she's pretty easy to convince to come to us. I have to repeat, "she's a puppy, she's a puppy" because she's so doggone smart and seems to get things right away and then proves me wrong, lol. We were accident free for 5 days and I thought we were in the clear, but she surprised me yesterday with an accident inside after being outside for 30 minutes. I need more patience . . . now! :D

The stair training will come in handy when you go somewhere that has stairs. You won't have to struggle with convincing him to use the stairs or allow you to pick him up. Life skills, lol. All of our dogs have learned stairs easily. Gertie goes up stairs like we do - alternating legs and one stair at a time. Esther skips stairs and runs up them front legs together, back legs together. Abbi rides in our arms. Brownie did, too. Stairs aren't great for Dachshund spines because the breed's backs are so long and need extra support so we do what we can to protect them. Momo was a flurry of red hair dashing up and down. He was much like Esther, but took them one at a time and Really fast. I wish I could find the video that was part of a compilation I watched. It was several bulldogs in one household and they All had different approaches to the stairs. One slid down, one Ran down, one kind of side hopped, one took forever to finally do it and slowly took them step-by-step. It was an excellent illustration of how different even the same breed can be. If I'd have known better back in the 90s I would have taken computer classes! I have an aptitude for coding and most things computer, but without that backbone of education I have to wing it. I do alright - most of my work is automated now thanks to Access, Excel, and Autohotkey. 😉 One day I will learn about VPN and many other things, but for now there's just not time. I know a little about a lot of things and I Love geeking out. :)

Furbo is down to $118 for Prime day if anyone is interested. 30% savings so still not As good as the Black Friday sale, but $51 less is nothing to sniff at. :) https://smile.amazon.com/Furbo-Dog-Camera-Designed-Compatible/dp/B01FXC7JWQ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=furbo&qid=1624311552&smid=A3PVV9FMRGXZ4T&sr=8-3 Be sure to choose a charity and use the Smile link. ;) Our Humane Society got $772 much-needed dollars this quarter and I'm sure it will go towards the cost of the 6-week old puppy they found who needs $3700 worth of surgery. Bittersweet news, but it highlights how important those charity dollars are!

Oh, I get downright grumpy when I am sleep deprived. It doesn't come through when I type because I have time to think about my words. 😉 Consider this about human babies: at least they don't crawl until 5 months of age and they're Much slower than dogs! 😆 Consider this about dogs: they are trained to poop and pee outside long before babies are trained to use the indoor plumbing Now I'm considering a pro / con list about dogs vs babies, lol. For some people there are always plants. Or pet rocks. While I sometimes get frustrated, I love having dogs around. They are the epitome of unconditional love and they're so entertaining. A woman with a service dog summed them up well; they're like perpetual toddlers in that they will always be dependent on us and in their thinking. Every day is an adventure to dogs!

Here's the picture converted for non-iPhone users. What a handsome boy! I'll leave the advice up to Adrienne, but I'll offer encouragement as I've worked through fear-based aggression with Momo. I used to do the "alpha" training with him and that put us on not the best of terms. We muddled through for 8 years trying our best to understand one another, and kind of failing, kind of succeeding. When I stumbled upon this resource it was the beginning of a whole new life for Mo and me. :) I learned about the PGP site: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Find-a-Member and I was able to find a local trainer. Between her and Adrienne Momo and I were mending our relationship every day. I had 5 weeks with the trainer and Adrienne was there the rest of the way. I was seriously considering rehoming Mo after 8 years together because I just couldn't handle it any more. I was that far gone over it and understand how it can control your life. There Is hope. 😊

Those stairs are massively helpful, especially now that Esther is 39 pounds. It's better for their joints and my back. The stairs I got are very lightweight but sturdy enough to support their weight. I think they were said to support up to 100 lbs and I feel they could go that high, but anything over that I wouldn't trust. There is the ramp option as well if your door will open wide enough. I had to go with stairs because my door opening is narrow and the ramp we have wouldn't fit at all. I load them into the back seat of a Land Rover so it's pretty high off the ground. They can both jump in, but Esther was hesitant when she first came home with us and the stairs were a good solution. I appreciate that they're lightweight enough for my arthritic self to move around and they fit in the cargo space of the vehicle. If I have to get groceries I can put bags in the hollow area so even though the stairs take up space all I have to do is flip them around and it becomes usable space. I'm going with your trauma guess. He could have stepped funny one day and for some dogs that's enough to spook them. Esther was jumping back from her Kong Wobbler lid yesterday like it was a hot poker that had touched her. She uses the Wobbler twice per day, every day, but for whatever reason having only the lid presented was enough to freak her out. I ended up moving it towards her and spilling food out of it over and over again so she learned it's a delivery system, not a deadly predator, lol. Dogs get scared by the strangest things and while she's bold and confident with normal life, Esther is extremely skittish with new experiences. I would love to know what happened in her first 6 months of life! I swear she was locked in a windowless room with no stimuli whatsoever with the way she reacts to mundane things. I'm not sure about the growth plates. Esther doesn't have much of a choice - she has 14 stairs to traverse any time we need to go outside, which is about 5 times during the day. 28 (up and down) stairs x 5 flights = 140 stairs on average daily. (And the husband says we never use Algebra, pfft! s * 5f = 140, solve for s! Or 28s * f = 140, solve for f! Lol - I'm a nerd.)

ROFL! Yes, single parenting is very demanding of a person. I do the training and the husband reaps the rewards. I do hear him in the morning when he's taking the girls out and he Is making them wait at the door. Thank goodness because it's difficult to counter that reward of "run around however you like!" The dogs train up wonderfully, the husband is a work in progress. 😆😆 At least he takes them out around 7:30 when Abbi is "grrr'ing" at him so I can get some precious sleep. We (I, lol) had our own situation last night. Maybe it was something in the air this weekend. At 3:45 am Esther decided it was time to play psycho pup (major extinction burst - she hardly slept all day). I was still wide awake working on a database at 3:30 am, determined to finish it, but Gertie rang the bell so I closed up shop and took the girls out. Esther was being a little monster (or a puppy, your choice) licking the grass (lots of moisture and she's a water addict) instead of going potty, harassing the cat, trying to entice me into a game of chase, trying to entice Gertie into a game of chase (Gertie was like, nope, bed time sister!), finally get inside and it's a game of keep away, close the door and she comes sniffing, open the door and she runs away, close the door, she comes sniffing, open the door and she runs away, sigh. I fell for it Twice! I finally managed to herd her into the room where she tries to entice Gertie into play, Gertie ignores (good girl!). Get Esther into the bathroom and she is hopping and play bowing. I ignore, brush my teeth, all the while she's acting like a maniac. 4:15 I get her into my lap for a massage to calm her down, this has gone on long enough! She settles, then realizes she's about to fall asleep, wakes up, bites at hands, hands go dead, licks, no lick!, massage, rinse and repeat 9 (or was it 15? lost count) times and she's Finally calm enough to go to the room and not disturb everyone. I'm still wide awake, lol, so who am I to judge her? I'm and adult And the boss, that's who! She's a growing puppy who needs rest. Somewhere around 5 am I finally fell asleep. Wake at 9, snooze, 9:15, snooze, ignore wet puppy nose, etc . . . until 10:45. Almost 6 hours of sleep will have to do. These trials teach us, though, that we're pretty darn resilient and can handle what these pups throw at us. I'm glad your gf is back so you can share the duties again - it's so nice to have even a Little break here and there.

I'll toss in a vote for capturing. It's one of the most useful tools I've learned so far. I've noticed Gertie and Esther pick things up far quicker via the capture method. Perhaps because it was something that came naturally to them and they got rewarded. Esther is pretty much bell training herself to go outside, for example. I didn't even think to start that training with her until she was done with accidents, but she's been curious about it and each time she's tapped it I've taken her outside and said, "potty." She did it today and I Almost missed it, but she came over to me right after, tapped me with her nose and stared at me. Okay, girl, I get it - let's go. :D Gertie learned "bow" through capturing. Same with "roll over." Roll over is a tough one to teach, imo, but she did it a couple times and I rewarded her so she started offering the behavior all the time, lol. Esther was resistant to "down" unless we were outside and it was time to go inside. Then she was happy to plop down in the grass. I could have captured down then, but I was running to the door and shutting it instead of trying to chase down a puppy who has Far more energy than me. That door close and "bye!" gets her moving - she doesn't want to miss the party! Getting her inside was more important than down. :p Ultimately I ended up putting a treat under my hand to where she couldn't get it. When she got tired of trying to paw and lick at my hand she'd eventually do a down and she was rewarded for that. With the girls I didn't have much success with the "L" and I think it's because I move too fast. Momo did the "L" but he was brilliant and learned most things within a few tries. As an aside, I got a visual of trying the bridge method with a Great Dane - HA!

That's Fantastic! You strike this lovely balance between care and discipline and Loki is so very fortunate to be in your care. Your gf will be so proud of y'all!

You're not forcing him so I think you found a good solution. :)

Surprise, I have experience with this, too! 😆 Abbi is attached to my husband. Abbi and I tolerate one another - we never really bonded. Same with Brownie, his other Dachschund who passed in 2015. Both is dogs were utterly untrained so there was a lot of change when I arrived! Knowing that history / information, Abbi and I get along fine. She's high maintenance as I mentioned in your boarding post and that's a bit difficult for me because she's so low to the ground and my back from top to bottom is arthritic and my hips are starting to get angry as well (I'm not even 50, yet!). Other than her toileting, though, we do fine together. When it was just the little dogs and me (Momo was outdoors during the day) we got along with no issues except for Brownie's insistence on toileting indoors. Abbi and I used to play and she'd sit on my lap while I worked or played games in the office or crocheted in the living room. Brownie would sit on the couch with us. As soon as the husband came home, though, I was a piece of furniture and they were hopping, panting, running, whining, and in the case of Abbi - making all sorts of unnatural sounds for a dog (she's part seal, part banshee, and part chimpanzee, I just Know it). They didn't really care when he left and didn't act out, it was only upon his return that all Hell broke loose because they were happy to see him. I think what you'll experience is a little more work for you and more bonding with Loki. This can be a special time for you guys. Bumping the evening feeding time up to 7 or 8 pm may not affect the morning feeding so you can try that. If he gets too overwhelming and you need a break you can put him in his play pen with a treat. In my opinion, it's a good idea to teach them about breaks in the routine because life is unpredictable. For instance, what if a glass breaks in the kitchen and you need your gf's help cleaning it up, but it's not Loki's normal play pen time? Well, you don't want him walking on the glass and whatever was in it. If you're both cleaning up it's going to be tough to keep him out of the mess. This weekend sounds like an opportunity to teach him about these impromptu stays if / when you're needing a breather. I've never been one to allow the dogs to tell me when it's time to eat or get out of bed. Over time they've learned that I don't get up just because they want me to. As long as their potty needs are taken care of this isn't an issue. The husband takes them out at around 7 am because Abbi is pestering him at that time every morning so it works out. I also work from home and I stay up late (2 am - 4 am is common for me because no one is bothering me and I can get a Lot of work done in those wee hours) and thus I "sleep in," some would say. Waking at 10 am is 6 - 8 hours of sleep for me so I say it's not sleeping in, it's just sleeping, lol. Another example of unexpected situations: I get migraines, and those are unpredictable, so who knows when I may need to take the pups into the room with me so I can wallow in pain in the cold and dark. I usually have a good sense of when a migraine is coming on (it feels different than a headache) so while I'm still able to I take the girls outside for a potty break and then I prepare my migraine "kit" (A/C to 74°, my tablet playing soothing music (usually Liquid Mind), 4 ibuprofen, a glass of water, and two of the 6 flax seed rosemary / chamomile / lavender / peppermint eye pillows I keep in the freezer - in case anyone needs migraine tips). I guess the pups either pick up on these preparation queues or maybe sense that I'm out of commission because they all settle and let me wait out the pain as I drift in and out of consciousness. Having the bedroom well managed helps - nothing for them to get into unless I forget a sock on the floor.