Its Me or the Dog- I Will Have the Perfect Pet!

I am so proud of my "wittleman"! All this weekend, Cayman has gone in and out of the puppy playpen we set up to put him in while we are away at work! He is actually comfortable with it and accepts it which is a huge relief for me as it means he will not freak out when left in it alone.

Yesterday Cayman showed a very nasty side of himself. What happened was he was in my mom's room, sniffing around as he normally does while my mom was cleaning when all of a sudden he started yelping as if in pain. My mom rushed over and scooped him up and then exclaimed that he peed on her. Well, we though it was pee at first but the telltale smell gave away what he really did...my mom got sprayed with anal gland secretions!

The anal glands are small, paired sacs located on either side of the anus between the external and internal sphinter muscles. Sebaceous glands within the lining secrete a foul smelling liquid that is used for identification of members within a species. In dogs, these glands are occasionally referred to as "scent glands", because they enable the animals to mark their territory and identify other dogs. The glands can spontaneously empty, especially under times of stress, and create a very sudden unpleasant change in the odor of the dog.

We searched the floor for anything that he could have possibly hurt himself on like a sand spur in the carpet or something. All we found was a pine needle. We think while sniffing around he must have poked himself with the pine needle in the eye or nose or something so he started yelping, then when my mom came out of nowhere and scooped him up, he must have gotten startled and excreted on my mom. It was really funny but I also felt bad for him at the same time, getting scared and all. So I washed his little butt off and sprayed him with his new dog cologne and all was better.

Cayman woke this morning at 5 am to be let out which wasn't too bad. Nils let him out and he settled down so I could lay in bed for another half hour till my alarm clock went off. If he continues to have this scheduled then its not so bad. But the waking up closer to 4 am is a bit more of a problem but we are getting a routine going slowly but surely.

He is getting really good with the sitting on command. I have tried to squeeze in a couple short clicker training sessions each day with him and I am seeing results already. He is practically throwing sits at me for a click and then a treat.

Today I finally got my "Its Me or the Dog- How to Have the Perfect Pet" by Victoria Stilwell!!! Victoria Stilwell is this brilliant dog trainer on the show with the same title, "Its Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet. In the show series, Victoria visits the homes of troublesome and problematic dogs and their owners and shows them how to correct behavioral issues while maintaining a leadership role with the dogs. Its really good, one of my favorites. She is kinda like a British (?) Cesar Milan in the sense that she looks at dogs as dogs- not furry children, accessories, or humans. Her training method has a lot to do with "speaking dog" and getting them to do what we ask of them in a language they understand. I even like how she incorporates clicker training into some of what she does. Sure, the majority of the dogs on her show have behavioral issues, something Cayman does not (and hopefully never will) but I watch her to get ideas on how to prevent them before they even happen.Everything is very positive, much like the same approach in the last dog training book I have been reading "The Power of Positive Dog Training" by Pat Miller meaning there is no physical punishment and gets the dog to think for themselves instead of just reacting in fear.

 I have been trying to get this book for about three weeks but it has been sold out everywhere. I got lucky- the Borders about 28 minutes away from my work had one copy on the shelf so I had them hold it for me so I could pick it up on my lunch break. Unfortunately, I was about 15 minutes late back from my break, but hey, I got my book! I plan on kicking back with my "wittleman" and digging into it tonight after work, maybe even with a glass of wine!

Other good news- I have gotten in touch with a local low cost spay and neuter clinic. I had left a message with them on Friday but it was after hours asking what the criteria was to qualify for a low cost neuter. Many of those low cost vaccination or spay/neuter clinics mention "low income or government assisted" on their webpages, which I am neither. I am just looking to save money! They returned my call and said it was pretty much open to anyone (which it should be- overpopulation is a real problem!) and the cost was only...get this....$80! Now that is more like it! I doubt that includes any pain medications or antibiotics but its a much better start. The woman also started quoting the prices for the vaccinations and they were super low too (my current vet quoted my $119 for my next appointment on July 12th). I like the idea of having a family vet, one that knows my pet, rather than some clinic, so it is something I will have to weigh the pros and cons for.

The Power of Positive Dog Training

FINALLY!

I am so very pleased to tell you all that last night was the first night that Cayman slept through the night in his kennel! Hurray!

So... right at 4 am I instinctively woke up, prepared to deal with the whole crying and whimpering. But heard nothing! He was still fast asleep! I actually laid in bed for a good 45 minutes, just waiting for the crying to begin. I eventually feel asleep and woke only to the sound of my alarm clock, set at 5:30 am, my usual time to wake to get ready for work.

I am still trying to discover the secret.... Last night my younger brother decided to move back in (Nils, my husband and Shaylee, my daughter and I all moved back in with my folks so we could start saving for a house of our own) with my parents and us. So last night, I went to bed with Shaylee as I always do around 11pm. Anthony, my brother, and Nils stayed up later. I am thinking that is was the fact that Anthony was playing with him so late that it might have worn him out?

Or maybe it was the fact that when I did get up at 4 am, I noticed that my brother had left a light on in the laundry room which shown just enough light to put a faint glow in our room down the hall. Could it be he just needs a nightlight?

Yesterday, while I sat at work, completely missing him, I Googled a bunch of information on crate training, puppy crying at night, and the like. I did find a pretty good article on www.phsspca.org, which is the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA on "How to Crate Train Your Puppy". I printed it because a line, in all caps, stated " DO NOT GO BACK TO PUPPY UNTIL AT LEAST 3:30 OR 4 AM" which was his normal waking time, and another sentence that said "The early mornings come with puppy territory, like 2 am feedings and babies". It had a lot more information and all the times outlined where that of Cayman's schedule! So it just confirmed that what he is doing is normal. And the best part of the article was that stated "Once he learns this lesson [ referring to the not being let out of the crate when he cries but rather when he is quiet] and it will take about 2-4 nights- he will look on the crate as his special place." Last night was his sixth night here, and therefore his sixth night in his kennel, so even though he drug it out a little longer than the experts estimate, he still did it! I am just hoping he will have another night like last night!

So tonight we are going to recreate last night- using a nightlight and keeping him up as late as possible to see if that helps. And he had another dry kennel this morning, by the way! Whoo hoo!

Okay so far having my little brother move back in has been good. Yesterday, since he did not have to work, Cayman got a free pass out of having to be locked up in his puppy playpen we set up to put him in when we all leave for work. Sure, Cayman had someone to play with all day which he had probably been getting used to since I spent the Saturday we picked him up till Wednesday with him. Downside is that Anthony is not so good with remembering that Cayman is still needing to go outside every so many hours to relieve himself. So after work, I came home to three little piles of poo, and two puddles of pee. Oh and the cat decided to puke so I had that to clean up too. Sigh. I went over the puppy rules with Anthony (no people food or table scraps, let him out whenever possible and actually go out there with him, no getting up on the furniture unless he is on your lap and never, ever let him jump off the furniture on his own).

Prior to coming home, I stopped by Petco and bought two clickers, that SPA dog cologne I blogged about before, and some Halo Dream Coat supplement for Cayman. Today after work I am starting clicker training with Cayman, with the help of the book "The Power of Positive Dog Training" by Pat Miller. Its one of the top ten dog training manuals out there. I bought it when it first came out in 2001, when Zoey, our toy poodle, was just a puppy, but never actually read or applied it to any pet yet. Lesson one is Turn On the Clicker. Basically you just keep feeding him treats after clicking the clicker so he learn that right after that click sound, comes a treat so that when you start applying actual commands like "sit" he knows that after the click comes a trick but only after he performs what is asked of him will he even hear a click. The click acts as a marker, indicating that whatever he is doing right at that moment is what is earning him the treat that follows. I will get more in depth into his training and the different lessons later.

Nils is off of work today so Cayman gets yet another day of not having to be confined to his puppy playpen. Spoiled puppy!