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Friday, October 5, 2012

Week 1

I have been trying to think a good topic to start out this blog, and I end up with so many ideas! But which one should I pick?

It finally came to me: The 1st week.

The main lesson I have learnt is: Do not take for granted your puppy's attitude in the first week at home!



It might sound logical, but the first week has felt like a month! You are paying attention, having short nights, running outside to keep the dog housetrained, reading all the articles you once found about dogs etc.

As you get used to your new schedule, your dog is also getting used to his new home. As to make this point clear, I will give some examples of our surprise moments:

Before:

  • Treats: Tjido did not seem very interested in food, which made a me a bit sad because I really wanted to start with clicker training. He even rejected sweets from the owner of the animal shop (which resulted in the old man opening all sorts of bags to find something yummy.. )
  • Barking: Everyone commented on how incredible it was our dog did not bark. The neighbors even asked if we had done something to him (?!) He only barked when he saw a dog and really wanted to go and play with him. 
  • Peeing: We had some trouble at the beginning to get his rhythm, but we realized waking up from naps = going outside. This worked like a charm the first week. 

Now: 
  • Treats: Food driven dog 100%! Ha! he's learning allot by clicker training, and if we go on walks with treats he's awesome. We try to mix it up since we might not always have yummy thing for him. 
  • Barking: Since 2 days ago he has found his voice... he now sometimes lets out a bark when he gets a bit frustrated/excited at training, on random occasions when the bell rings and hearing a dog bark sets him off as well. The last is the most annoying and we are doing our best to work on it, but he gets in a "tunnel vision" or in a "zone"... 
  • Peeing: Since he's becoming more active and comfortable in the house, sometimes we loose track of time, and this has caused some accidents in the house. 
 I don't know how other things will develop but I can say that it is too easy to describe your dog, but we forget that he is just a puppy and his first year will bring many changes. 

Some things haven't changed yet, and we try to praise these as much as we can! For example, at home he likes to lie down and relax = petting!!! Chewing? Only his toys and mainly on his carpet = petting & playing with him!!! He sits when the door opens to let us go in first = extra good boy praise! 



Hope you liked this first post, don't forget to leave a comment :) Did you have a similar experience? Any tips for the barking part? Do you have an icie and are laughing your ass off at our amateur reactions? :P
Next post I will properly introduce Tjido! Have a great day!




2 comments:

  1. He looks very cute. All I can say is to make intensive efforts to expose him to the world and do any kind of training, for at least 18 months. After 18 months of intensive effort, you can sort of slack off a little and bring it down to a more reasonable level of effort :-). It doesn't matter what you teach him, just always keep teaching him things, and take him many many places. Also teach him sometimes to stay alone in his crate, or stay alone in the car for a little while, because Icies get so attached, some of them really don't like being left alone, so you have to start with short times.

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  2. Oh, sorry but I did laugh :) Tjido found his voice... LOL! I just can imagine how it's going! I think you're doing a great job. It will be interesting to see what little Tjido will come up with next to challenge you. ;)

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