As usual, Cayman woke us up at 3:30am with his whimpering and crying. Good news- still maintained a dry kennel ALL night! Hurray! I think he is an old pro by now. Bad news is we are still trying to get him to sleep through the night. Geez, sounds like I am talking about a human baby here! As usual, Nils got up with him and took him out to go potty and as usual, he did nothing except stay night at Nils' feet and as usual, it was me that continued to shush him while I snapped my fingers to get him to settle back down after being returned to his kennel. Ahh, the trials and tribulations of puppyhood! But we are patient with him, he is a baby after all, and he will learn soon enough.
Cayman did really well with pottying outside yesterday as well. Sure, he had the random accident (pee-pee) here and there, but mostly went to the puppy pad we keep out, just in case either he or our poodle, Zoey, have to go potty and we are busy doing something else. I did take him over to my grandmother's house when I went to pick up Shaylee, my daughter, and when we returned home he went #1 and #2 outside which means he was such a good boy, he held it the whole time I had him down on the floor in her house and on the passenger side seat of the car, and still no accidents. He is one smart pup!
Roxy, my parents' beagle mix, has taken a liking to Cayman. She is old, probably close to 10 years, but grew up with Ciji, our first weenie dog. She would walk over Cayman and gently knock him on his side while she stood over him, sniffing and licking in his ears, which was her favorite thing to do with Ciji. She is very tolerant of him except when he jumps on her backside. She is sensitive there, probably due to age. She even tolerated him sneaking a bite out of her food bowl. She protested with a whiny bark but did not act aggressively at all.
Zoey, our poodle on the other hand, is not as motherly towards him as we expected. Zoey has always taken a liking to smaller or younger animals whether they be Sterling, our cat, when she was a kitten, one of my pet rats I used to have, or any orphaned and abandoned baby animal I hand raised when I worked at the vet clinic. She isn't aggressive to him or anything, she just makes all attempts to avoid him. If he bounds happily after a ball that was originally thrown for her to fetch, she gets all bent out of shape and snaps at him. She never is close enough to actual bite him, and I doubt she would anyways. She is like a teen girl yelling at her baby brother to leave her alone. He just sits back and looks at her like "What's your problem? I only wanted to play with you!" Hopefully she will warm up to him more as she accepts the fact that he is a new member of her pack and here to stay. Everyone says it is because she is jealous of the attention we are giving the new puppy. Not that she has anything to worry about, she still ranks higher in our little pack structure. After all, she is the only dog allowed to sleep in bed with us.
As with so many different aspects in both Cayman's life, our other dogs, and our own, its all a matter of getting adjusted. I have to say, Cayman seems to be doing just fine and I have a feeling he is going to be one awesome dog!
Therapy dogs spread happiness, love, and cheer to people who otherwise might be lonely, sad or slow to heal. This is the journey of Cayman, a longhair miniature dachshund and his journey and experiences visiting becoming a therapy dog.
Did you know that pet visits often spark good memories of a person's own pets? Dogs often can reach people and children who have withdrawn from the world. It's been suggested by science that petting a dog can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and stress, and promote healing.
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