Entering week 2 with Abby..

[Krystle]

Wow. How easy it is to fall in love!
We knew we loved her the moment we found her but my goodness..after one week with her, she completely has our hearts!
It's interesting to look back at the labradoodle puppy we picked up 9 days ago and compare it to the one we have now! She is a completely different doodle. All shyness has disappeared.. and cheeky abby (often dubbed Darth Abby) has taken over! She'll eat anything except her toys (I honestly think she has learnt she gets more of a reaction out of us for chewing our belongings than her toys - clever little abby!) and loves her bed. 9 days ago she would not sleep anywhere except our laps or next to us. Now, if I put her on my lap, she'll get off and go and sit in her bed on the other end of the lounge! Well thanks very much Abby! In saying that, she still hates when we all go to bed and she has to sit on hers and not up with us!
In the past 5 days, she has learnt 'sit' and 'lie down'. Some times she won't obey, but we know that SHE KNOWS what she's meant to be doing! Selective hearing at it's finest! Once again, cheeky abby!
Apart from this funny behaviour, we are having a couple of issues (nothing massive - just normal puppy behaviour!) :

1) We feed her outside so she associates our backyard with good things for when we need to go out. She refuses to eat unless we're standing outside with her. I don't shut the door when I walk back inside, hoping she will understand that she's free to walk back inside when she's done, but as soon as I move away from her, she follows me. We feed her once in the morning when she wakes up and starts nipping (usually around 5:30 - 6), and once at night after we have dinner (usually about 6:30). I would love her to trust that she can have her dinner and come back inside but she doesnt seem to like eating alone out there at all (even though we attempt to spend at least 2 hours playing out there with her in the afternoon)
Also on a similar line, she wont sleep without us in the room. If she wakes up prematurely on the lounge during a daytime nap and sees we aren't there, she will wake herself up and find us to hang out.

2) She HATES her leash. She didn't like her collar when we first put it on her, and still scratches at it (5 days later) trying to get it off but is much better. We tried putting her leash on last night and she went absolutely mental, running around the backyard attacking it and jumping about like we've never seen. I'm scared that if we try again she'll hurt herself flipping about.

I know she has a bit of seperation anxiety but she has come a LONG way in just 9 days so we're hoping she will continue to get better and more independent.

We love our Abby like she was our baby (which I suppose she is!) and she is such a smart little pup so we'd love to be able to help her with these couple of issues she has. Any advice would be so fabulous!

P.S - I am new to doodlekisses and absolutely adore it already! Thank you for all your warm welcomes and I am constantly amazed at all your beautiful dogs!

[Adina P]

nothing to be sorry about -- just wanted to be sure you got the most help when you have concerns/questions or want a fun discussion.

[Krystle]

oopsies..sorry!

[Adina P]

P.S. IF you have questions in the future for which you'd like advice, I HIGHLY recommend you write those questions as a discussion in the forum. Blogs are more for sharing (without any need of advice or discussion) and sometimes get missed by members since they are on the side of the page toward the bottom.

[Krystle]

Thanks Janie - Fabulous looking page you have there!
And thanks so much for your help, Adina. I think Abby may be getting a crate for christmas ;)
Will keep everyone posted on the progress!

[Adina P]

Get the size crate that will fit her as a grown up dog. Get a wire crate that has a divider so you can make it smaller for now. Feed her meals IN her crate....toss treats (when she can see you do it) into her crate so she will go in there...don't close the door. Just let her explore. When you do start closing the door do so only for a few seconds...next time longer...then a full minute...little by little. She may still CRY at first...but just ignore it and know that she WILL get better about it.

[Janie]

Enjpyed reading your blog!

[Krystle]

Actually, the neighbour (and friend) is a lovely retired lady who adores pups and just loves Abby to bits.
Any tips on initiating crate training? For example, what size crate should I look at and should I keep it in another room at night or in our bedroom?
We might brave it until next week until my boy is on holidays and doesn't need a good night's sleep..haha

[Adina P]

It's not too late! And puppy will get over the initial crying. It is just such a wonderful thing to be able to use a crate when you need it. It makes potty training easier and a whole lot of preventing bad habits much easier. It gives you a safe place to put your puppy when you are unable to watch her.

I don't think you need to feed her outside all--the connection isn't strong enough for something like that. Most dogs enjoy being outdoors--but they enjoy being with their people far more. So I don't think you have to teach her to like the backyard--it won't make a difference in whether are not she gets upset when she is left alone. Plus most puppies sleep 16 to 17 HRS per day... So whether she's outside or in a crate--it doesn't much matter. Right now she won't be able to hold her potty for 6 to 7 hours while you are gone. But by six or seven months she will be able to and you can leave her in her crate for that time... Safely inside the house. Personally I don't trust puppies alone in the yard. It's too easy to learn bad habits like digging. Not saying that it can't be done, I just feel safer with my dog indoors so I'm biased.

Is there any option to have a friend or a hired person stop by the house halfway between those 6 to 7 hours that you're gone? Not just a neighborhood child, but a responsible adult?

[Krystle]

Oh and we aren't crate training her. I think I underestimated how hard it is at night with a puppy! I thought I would be able to settle her with a gruff "No. Lie down". (Which works half of the time..but not all!)
I was going to try crate training but I know the crying would kill me.. not the 'no sleep' part.. the 'im sad coz im confined' part. Do you think it's too late to start at 9 weeks?

[Krystle]

Thanks for the feedback Adina!
Me and my partner both work full time so Abby amuses herself outside for most of the day. My partner took 2 days off so Abby could settle in before we just left her at home but usually we aren't there for 6 - 7 hours a day.
Our neighbour pops in and plays with her for a while each day so she doesnt get lonely but she is outside for until we get home, whether the neighbour is over or not.
At first we didnt know how she was going to go and both agreed that if she couldnt adapt, we would get a playmate for her. However, she's adapted unbelievably well. According to my neighbour (who is retired and is always home), she cries for a couple of minutes when I leave of a morning but is quiet during the day except for a little whimper when she wakes up from a nap and remembers we aren't there. She hasn't ruined anything outside (which is impressive because there's baby passionfruit vines there that are in a prime position to be pulled out!) and leaves her toys all over the yard and is playing with her kong when we get home so I know she's having fun with those.
I just assumed we should feed her outside so she finds it more attractive when we aren't home but somebody has said I should try to feed her inside and walk away. I just don't know what's best for her on this one. It's not hurting her but I'd like her to trust us on this so she can trust us on other things later.
It's completely natural I guess. She probably associates the backyard with us leaving her (although we try to spend loads of time out there). Ideally, I would like to be at home all day every day with her but like most people, we just can't do that at the moment!