Well so much for being trying to be good about starting a puppy training blog. I apologize to those of you that read it and were disappointed that I dropped the ball. I hope that if you do have any further questions, since I can't seem to commit, that you would message me or contact me to ask. I would be more than glad to help!!
So much has been going on in our lives!! Paul has been busy with work as a new test conductor for Boeing and I started a part time job at a private pet store called Peppers Pet Pantry in Callaway! I really do love it! Its a great way to get me back into the public while being able to socialize Brew and spend time meeting new dogs! I didn't realize how much stuff would be involved with this new job, such as lifting bags of dry dog food and stacking cans, but its a great way to keep me in shape!!
Just a short blog for now so I can go spend time with my hubby!! I will blog later about the fun experiences we have had watching Matt and Steph's golden doodle Raleigh! (aka Brew's girl)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Puppy 101
Okay so maybe I didn't get to it at the beginning of the week but I just now, finally, have enough time to blog! My real motivation is that the Wallers got their beautiful puppy Raleigh Belle yesterday!! YAY, she is totally gorgeous!
Now, just to make clear, I am by NO means an expert. I had an amazing trainer in Seattle who helped me to understand the natural way a dog might think, but every dog is different. I also had an amazing dog, Norbert, as my guinea pig to work with being a new raiser and he DEFIANTLY gave me a run for my money and kept me on my toes! Brewski seems to be much easier this time since I have more of an idea of what to expect! Every week I am going to highlight 3 things that are important. I am using Brew as my pacer, so when I have an issue with him, I'll write it down so I can blog about it! I have made a huge list and I'm trying to go from the MOST important to ones that can at least wait a week. (You have no idea how hard it is for me to choose because I realize that they are really so important but I don't want to put you guys into overload!) Also, if you have questions that I can answer place them in the comment section and I can be sure to answer to the best of my knowledge, or do the research to find some answers! So, here it goes!
Getting puppy used to their crate is going to be a huge lifesaver for you in many ways. This will give them comfort of being in a confined space and feeling protected since everything they are going to experience in the next few weeks will be brand spanking new to them! For a puppy, I recommend a plastic crate that isn't too big and keeps them nice and snug verses a metal airy crate since the added bulk of plastic gives them added protection and makes them feel instinctively like they are in their "den".
Never use their crate as a "timeout" or punishment! You want them to feel like this is their safe spot and don't want them to ever feel resentment about being in their den.
Their crate is also great for their sleeping area. I know it seems like a great idea to put puppy into bed with you for that special bonding time but your bed is wayyy to big for a little puppy. When puppy's have too much room they will decide that they can go potty on one end and sleep on the other. Thats why a crate that doesn't give them too much room is perfect. A puppy will never go to the bathroom in their sleeping area so this will also help force the puppy to find a signal that works for the both of you to let you know he has to "hurry". For example, Brewski starts sounding extremely restless in his kennel and it sounds like he is doing some type of ti kwon do in there! If I ignore that sign he will start flat out barking! However, don't let the puppy out of the crate if they are barking for no reason for instance if they are unhappy and just want out. If you give in to them they will associate the bad behavior with getting their way and it will make crate training a nightmare! This goes for a lot of different things.
My next big point is to start cradling and if anyone has ever known Paul and I while we were raising Norbert than you know exactly what I am talking about! Its when you place puppy on their back in-between your legs with their head on your lap. This helps to give puppy "down time" and is says that "I'm in control". Another thing that this helps with is to establish is dominance (this is will be most important for the girls since guys naturally have that deep voice and stance that establishes dominance with puppy). If Brew starts getting too wild or even if I just want some cuddle time with him I'll cradle him. Don't always cradle him for the same behaviors mix it up, keep this a positive exercise! Again, once puppy is in the cradling position don't "release" them until they are completely calm and relaxed. If you let them get up when they are antsy and throwing a fit they will associate that bad behavior with getting their way and getting out of the cradle, so only release them when they are finally calm.
My last point to this blog is to remember that your puppy is only a puppy. Everything they experience in their first 4 months is very new to them! Sounds, smells, objects, animals, water, anything is unique and very different. Be calm, let them explore! The first 14 weeks of life is called "the imprint stage" (I researched it ;)) Your puppy uses this time to start to develop their personality and they are extremely impressionable during this time. Correcting their behavior so they understand what good/bad behaviors should be is extremely important! They say that the puppy learns more in this time period than they can learn in a lifetime!
Hope this helps!! I'll be blogging next week with three additional points!! YAY, this is fun!
Now, just to make clear, I am by NO means an expert. I had an amazing trainer in Seattle who helped me to understand the natural way a dog might think, but every dog is different. I also had an amazing dog, Norbert, as my guinea pig to work with being a new raiser and he DEFIANTLY gave me a run for my money and kept me on my toes! Brewski seems to be much easier this time since I have more of an idea of what to expect! Every week I am going to highlight 3 things that are important. I am using Brew as my pacer, so when I have an issue with him, I'll write it down so I can blog about it! I have made a huge list and I'm trying to go from the MOST important to ones that can at least wait a week. (You have no idea how hard it is for me to choose because I realize that they are really so important but I don't want to put you guys into overload!) Also, if you have questions that I can answer place them in the comment section and I can be sure to answer to the best of my knowledge, or do the research to find some answers! So, here it goes!
Getting puppy used to their crate is going to be a huge lifesaver for you in many ways. This will give them comfort of being in a confined space and feeling protected since everything they are going to experience in the next few weeks will be brand spanking new to them! For a puppy, I recommend a plastic crate that isn't too big and keeps them nice and snug verses a metal airy crate since the added bulk of plastic gives them added protection and makes them feel instinctively like they are in their "den".
Never use their crate as a "timeout" or punishment! You want them to feel like this is their safe spot and don't want them to ever feel resentment about being in their den.
Their crate is also great for their sleeping area. I know it seems like a great idea to put puppy into bed with you for that special bonding time but your bed is wayyy to big for a little puppy. When puppy's have too much room they will decide that they can go potty on one end and sleep on the other. Thats why a crate that doesn't give them too much room is perfect. A puppy will never go to the bathroom in their sleeping area so this will also help force the puppy to find a signal that works for the both of you to let you know he has to "hurry". For example, Brewski starts sounding extremely restless in his kennel and it sounds like he is doing some type of ti kwon do in there! If I ignore that sign he will start flat out barking! However, don't let the puppy out of the crate if they are barking for no reason for instance if they are unhappy and just want out. If you give in to them they will associate the bad behavior with getting their way and it will make crate training a nightmare! This goes for a lot of different things.
My next big point is to start cradling and if anyone has ever known Paul and I while we were raising Norbert than you know exactly what I am talking about! Its when you place puppy on their back in-between your legs with their head on your lap. This helps to give puppy "down time" and is says that "I'm in control". Another thing that this helps with is to establish is dominance (this is will be most important for the girls since guys naturally have that deep voice and stance that establishes dominance with puppy). If Brew starts getting too wild or even if I just want some cuddle time with him I'll cradle him. Don't always cradle him for the same behaviors mix it up, keep this a positive exercise! Again, once puppy is in the cradling position don't "release" them until they are completely calm and relaxed. If you let them get up when they are antsy and throwing a fit they will associate that bad behavior with getting their way and getting out of the cradle, so only release them when they are finally calm.
Hope this helps!! I'll be blogging next week with three additional points!! YAY, this is fun!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
WE'RE MARRIED!!
Paul and I are really enjoying married life! We are so extremely blessed with everyone who helped out at our wedding. Our family and friends are truly rockstars and I'm not sure that we could have had everything come together glitch free if it wasn't for them! Paul and I, from the depths of our heart, are amazed at the generosity that our friends and family have shown to us! Thank you all so so much! Here is a beautiful picture thanks to Chris Music
After coming back from an amazing trip it was a rude awakening that we had all these things piling up that needed to get done! We now have an amazing puppy, Brewski, that we needed to take care of, we had to move out of our apartment in which we hadn't even touched a packing box, and we had to clean both the apartment and the house we moved into (I'm a little OCD)! Can't we just go back to Florida!!! I would LOVE to be sitting on the beach right now and soak up the sun! Its officially fall here in Maryland and its very bittersweet! Anyway, we are now settled into our new house and Brew has a whole 3.5 acres that he can run and play on! Brew is settling nicely in our new home with his new parents. I wonder how I survived life without a dog since May! I already love him sooo much!
Here are some pictures of our boy!
I'm so excited for my friends Matt and Stephanie Waller on their new puppy coming next week a golden doodle named Raleigh Belle and Ramy and Dalia Mourad and their doberman puppy Diego to become part of their family in about a month! Paul and I were discussing with our friends the other day and I've determined that my next few blogs are going to be for our friends who are going to be getting puppies and some issues that they may run into. I want to try to talk about the things that I have noticed with Brewski and explain how to correct some of these behaviors! Brew is now the second dog that Paul and I have raised together so with the experience that I have with both Norbert and Brewski, and the knowledge that CCI has given me, I hope that I can help make some of their issues a little easier since they will be first time parents! Im working on an outline now and will have the blog up early next week!
Good idea?? I hope so!! :)
Friday, September 9, 2011
15 Days until Mr. & Mrs.
Well guys, we are almost there! Everything is coming down to the wire and I couldn't be more happier for this day to get here! 15 days until all the preparation with be through and I can start my life as a Mrs..
A lot of things are really looking up. Paul and I have been living in limbo and uncertainty for the past 10 months, wondering when/if are we going back to Seattle? How much longer will we be here? When can we get out of this crappy supposed "temporary" apartment? We were living on the edge not knowing what the next week would bring (we all do this to some degree I suppose, you can't plan everything ;)). Well we now can confirm that we are not going back to Seattle :( and we will be in Southern Maryland at least for a year and a half. Paul has accepted a job as a Test Conductor on the P-8 here in Southern Maryland, which will be nice to be close to family for awhile. He is really looking forward to this new responsibility! Since finding this information out we immediately started house searching and decided it would be best to continue renting but wanted to move to a place that we could make feel more like home. Ironically, it looks like we will be moving to this small island in Southern Maryland called Saint George Island. Sound familiar?? Yup, same name of the island that we will be getting married on in 15 short days! I think it was meant to be! ( I hope that I am not jinxing this since we haven't signed the lease yet). It will be fun to start our new life in a new big house (and hopefully a puppy ;)).
I cannot wait for the next 15 days, and yet, I can. Even now I am trying to soak in every moment that I can to take it all in and not take, even a second, for granted. I know that all of this hard work in planning this wedding is going to fly by and I have no control over it. I have been blessed to be able to take the time since not working and put everything I can into the preparation for this big day and I can only hope that everyone has an amazing time! I have been so luckily to have amazing friends willing to help prepare and family who have spent many hours trying to decide how to make my vision become reality! I have one amazing fiancé who has bent over backwards to just make sure that I am happy. In 15 days my best friend will become my husband. I am truly blessed to have all these amazing people in my life and a girl really can't ask for more!
-A
A lot of things are really looking up. Paul and I have been living in limbo and uncertainty for the past 10 months, wondering when/if are we going back to Seattle? How much longer will we be here? When can we get out of this crappy supposed "temporary" apartment? We were living on the edge not knowing what the next week would bring (we all do this to some degree I suppose, you can't plan everything ;)). Well we now can confirm that we are not going back to Seattle :( and we will be in Southern Maryland at least for a year and a half. Paul has accepted a job as a Test Conductor on the P-8 here in Southern Maryland, which will be nice to be close to family for awhile. He is really looking forward to this new responsibility! Since finding this information out we immediately started house searching and decided it would be best to continue renting but wanted to move to a place that we could make feel more like home. Ironically, it looks like we will be moving to this small island in Southern Maryland called Saint George Island. Sound familiar?? Yup, same name of the island that we will be getting married on in 15 short days! I think it was meant to be! ( I hope that I am not jinxing this since we haven't signed the lease yet). It will be fun to start our new life in a new big house (and hopefully a puppy ;)).
I cannot wait for the next 15 days, and yet, I can. Even now I am trying to soak in every moment that I can to take it all in and not take, even a second, for granted. I know that all of this hard work in planning this wedding is going to fly by and I have no control over it. I have been blessed to be able to take the time since not working and put everything I can into the preparation for this big day and I can only hope that everyone has an amazing time! I have been so luckily to have amazing friends willing to help prepare and family who have spent many hours trying to decide how to make my vision become reality! I have one amazing fiancé who has bent over backwards to just make sure that I am happy. In 15 days my best friend will become my husband. I am truly blessed to have all these amazing people in my life and a girl really can't ask for more!
-A
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Gill, our Ring Bearer
For those of you who don't know Gill (mentioned in my previous post) I have attached a picture of him!
Wedding, wedding, wedding...
Well here we are at the 35 day mark. I have to leave for FL in about 26 days and I have soo much on my plate. The past week I have stressed about what needs to get done, what order I need to do it in and developing MANY lists so I remember its all. At first I thought a wedding planner would be a waste of time and money, thought they were too expensive anyway, right?!? Now I know why they are expensive! There is so much thought and detail that goes into planning a wedding. I thought I am suppose to be enjoying myself and taking it all in, right? Wrong, stressed about travel arrangements, caterer arrangements, table arrangements, honeymoon arrangements, everything arrangements! My life right now consists of 24/7 wedding planner mode. Then, as I was laying in bed, trying to take a nap with Paul, I had a revelation. These details and shenanigans don't matter. Who cares that if on the wedding fans there are streak or a bit of the "Lowes" logo showing through, all that matters is that Paul and I will take the vow to share our lives together. None of the other details matter, I really want to throw a great party but with the company we will have, how will it NOT be an amazing party! So here is to the next 35 days being stress free and being able to enjoy the details and decisions that go into wedding planning!
CHEERS!!
I do have to share one detail that I made yesterday, Gill's attire. (CCI puppy attire of the wedding). I ordered this amazing bow tie from etsy.com. The maker is Silly Buddy. So to set the idea of such a random color, I first want to explain that Paul will be wearing a linen orange tie. (we plan to use MANY colors to make our beach wedding feel beachy and very tropical festive). Okay, ready? Here it is?!
Let me know what you guys think!? So excited for the cute yellow boy to wear this!!
XOXO
Friday, August 5, 2011
Just starting this....
So ehhmmm, is this thing on...*tap *tap *tap... So I guess I am new at this, and I'm not the greatest writer but thought that I would give it a try anyway. I have been inspired by our friends Matt and Steph Waller to start a blog. Steph's blog is so inspirational and warming to read. I feel like I can catch up on their life in a matter of minutes. In general, when I read blogs it seems like a great way that others are able to de-stress, inspire others, get some thoughts in organized matter, and even a great way to look back on things a few years from now. In about 5 years I can ask myself what were my worries, current news, etc. and see how they compare to my life currently. It's funny to think about what life will be like in 5 years. Obviously I will be married, will I have kids? A job? What will this world be like? But for now, I think it will be fun to help fill everyone in on our status and whats new in our life! Paul's job is a big question that people ask. Are we going back to Seattle? When? Well, still no answer there...
Paul and I are still in Maryland and it doesn't look like we are going anywhere anytime soon. We started looking for homes in the area. We are both at a point in our lives where we are defiantly ready to settle down and have all of our stuff in one place! Stop living out of a suitcase!! Houses here are decently priced and very reasonable in quality. Some are even located close to a beach!!
The most IMPORTANT topic I think this blog can entail is NORBERT! We received his progress note yesterday. He is doing amazing as far as learning new things and being obedient and well mannered with his trainer, except that he is barking every time that she goes into or out of a room and he is barking at those who look though the window at him. Even when we were training him this barking thing didn't really start until we came to Maryland. He wasn't going to work everyday and his routine changed dramatically. Not sure if this has anything to do with the barking problem but I know he was affected by this change. Looking back I probably should have made sure that this change was a little more subtle just in case, but how was I suppose to know... We still did a lot of the same stuff that Terri would do in training class and he went to some classes in Silver Springs, MD but I'm just not sure what brought on this behavior. Well anyway, we will defiantly keep you all up to date since he is the "apple of my eye"(other than Paul). We are both SOO proud of our boy and stand behind him no matter what happens!
I guess I will conclude this blog post for now! I have to leave a few things to talk about later, I'm working on writing a blog, not a book! Farewell until next time (complements of Mr. Rogers).
XOXO
Paul and I are still in Maryland and it doesn't look like we are going anywhere anytime soon. We started looking for homes in the area. We are both at a point in our lives where we are defiantly ready to settle down and have all of our stuff in one place! Stop living out of a suitcase!! Houses here are decently priced and very reasonable in quality. Some are even located close to a beach!!
The most IMPORTANT topic I think this blog can entail is NORBERT! We received his progress note yesterday. He is doing amazing as far as learning new things and being obedient and well mannered with his trainer, except that he is barking every time that she goes into or out of a room and he is barking at those who look though the window at him. Even when we were training him this barking thing didn't really start until we came to Maryland. He wasn't going to work everyday and his routine changed dramatically. Not sure if this has anything to do with the barking problem but I know he was affected by this change. Looking back I probably should have made sure that this change was a little more subtle just in case, but how was I suppose to know... We still did a lot of the same stuff that Terri would do in training class and he went to some classes in Silver Springs, MD but I'm just not sure what brought on this behavior. Well anyway, we will defiantly keep you all up to date since he is the "apple of my eye"(other than Paul). We are both SOO proud of our boy and stand behind him no matter what happens!
I guess I will conclude this blog post for now! I have to leave a few things to talk about later, I'm working on writing a blog, not a book! Farewell until next time (complements of Mr. Rogers).
XOXO
PS. I added a picture of our boy to officially make our blog.....official.
I honestly look at this picture, and many of his other pictures, and can't help but start to well up. Who knew that a dog could touch someones life so dramatically! Sounds like a good topic for another blog article ;) We will see what this dog's purpose is in life....
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