A Little White Puppy in his Ever Expanding World

Cooper's first month with us was our 'getting acquainted' time.  No real demands were put on any of us.  I was falling in love with this little dog.  Jesse was too.  He had never really lived with a dog.  His dogs were all outdoor dogs when he was growing up.  He lived on a farm and no animals came in the house.  The other Bichon he had lived with was one he and his former fiance Linda had taken in when her mother became too sick to care for her.  She was an older dog and already set in her ways.  Jesse, having never really understood how to live with a dog, had higher expectations of her than she could deliver.  He was correct in saying, they 'didn't get along'.

Cooper was a baby, a clean slate with no bad habits.  He was going to be encouraged in the direction we chose for him.  My expectations for him were high, but not unfair.  I wasn't taking an older dog and expecting to erase all he had learned and make him what I wanted him to be.  There are certain things you need to accept with older dogs and rescues.  You weren't there for his experiences that caused him to know what he knows.  With an older dog you work with them from where they are when they come to you.  This was my reason for wanting a puppy from a loving home, who was still so young that his world wasn't much bigger than his whelping box.

Our first order of business was easy.  We played, loved each other, bonded, learned to trust and POTTY TRAINED!  We actually spent a lot of time in our bed room right on the bed with him when he was a puppy.  It was easier there.  He had no where to hide.  He was afraid to get off the bed, so we knew his every move.  We lived on a soft warm island.  One where he had only us and his toys.  We took him out every hour to pee, but if he peed on the bed (not often) we caught him right away and got him outside.  He learned quickly.  We had been given pee pads, but I don't think they are logical, so we never used them.

One big problem with puppies and small dogs is that they will run and hide if they think they did something wrong.  When I was a teen I got a Llasa Apso puppy.  She was so cute, but IMPOSSIBLE to correct.  She had NO interest in peeing outside.  When I saw her pee on the carpet, I would try to catch her and bring her outside to finish so I could praise her.  We never found that level of success.  I didn't get to praise her very often.  She would scoot as fast as you can imagine and hide under a chair.  When I reached for her she would run out the other side and hide somewhere else.  Dealing with a dog in that manner is frustrating and by the time you get your hands on 'the little mutt' you're so angry that you send the wrong signal.  Not good.  You should never go after a dog in anger.  And when you catch the dog, you should never be angry that he ran.  If you scold after you catch the dog, you've just scolded him for letting you catch him.  A mistake he will avoid better in the future.

With this being my experience from the last time I had a small dog, I set in place a remedy with Cooper that would eliminate the possibility of that scenario becoming an issue.  I simply clipped a light weight, 4' long leash to his collar.  If he did something I didn't want him to do, I could reach for the leash in stead of him.  This was less intrusive, less threatening with no quick startling movements.  I didn't have to raise my voice.   I would just give it a light tug to get his attention and at the same time I would say 'hey', in a tone he would learn to understand was the sound of 'disapproval'.  I didn't want to be one of those people who screamed at their dog.  It doesn't work anyhow.  My tone was light, but when I objected, he knew the difference.  It sounded ever so slightly more stern/deeper than what he was accustomed to.   He eventually learned to understand and accept the guidance willingly even without a tug on the leash.  That leash NEVER came off him in his first year of his training, except for when he went to bed in his crate for the night so he wouldn't get tangled up in it.  

              I think that last paragraph is very important puppy advice 
              during training times.  It's so important not to become 
              frustrated and angry while you train.  Don't chase, scold or 
              yell.  Dogs focus on your energy, not your words.  You can 
              teach them words by consistently using them till they 
              recognize them, but you can't explain your intention.  They 
              learn that from your energy.  Don't train your dog when 
              you're frustrated.

The day Cooper and Andy met!

So Cooper spent his first month, busy and on the go much of the time, dragging his little purple leash.  We were 'socializing him'.  The lesson we focused on was, to be happy to take life as it comes.  A good lesson for people too.  We played and explored together.  He came to work with me (and still does) when I went to my PCA job where I took care of our friend Andy.  He was allowed to be curious and was encouraged not to fear anything.  He was shy.  When he met people he would draw back into my arms.  We were all he knew, so he felt safe with us.  I allowed that for a while, but his world was becoming bigger by the day.  He couldn't be shy for ever.