Zoey started her Puppy Training on Saturday. It is a 8 week course every Saturday at 10am. The 1st week she learned "watch me". She is a very smart dog! And I'm not being biased either... Other people have said so too.
We decided on Puppy Training because they also teach the dog using hand signals which is very important because the dog might not always be able to hear you and some dogs go deaf. Next week we are learning the Sit command with only hand signals.
Week 2 we learned sit without saying the word sit. I thought this was going to be difficult but it wasn't... She did it right away and is still doing it every time we use the hand signal. She is such a little smartie!
Week 3 was a big week. She learned "take it" & "leave it", "drop it", "wait" and "down". She is very good at leaving it but then does not want to take it. Hmmm... When Casey and his owner was here, Casey's owner taught her "up" & "round about". So many tricks! And we are not even half way... I do not know what week 4 holds for us, but because we are out of town, we will go early week 5 and catch up!
Week 4&5:
Week 4 was come & sit stay. We've been working on "come" with Zoey since before we took her to training.
Week 5 was reinforcing come & wait. The other dogs did down-stay, while Zoey learned sit-stay from the week she missed.
Zoey Gradutaed from Puppy training on the May long weekend!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Socializing Zoey - Update
I am proud to say that I have been successful in socializing Zoey! She is no longer shy and plays with all dogs big and small. This was apparent when we went to the Vet & Puppy training as she no longer hesitated & played shy. I think a big part of it was on our 2nd trip to Petsmart to hang out she made friends with another pup there that is only 4 days older than her but twice her size. They have since had a playdate and are in the same puppy tarining class. His name is Casey and he is a Border Collie Mix.
She also had success when Libby the 3 year old Jack Russell came for a long weekend. They got along great and Zoey only wishes that Libby would play more.
She also had success when Libby the 3 year old Jack Russell came for a long weekend. They got along great and Zoey only wishes that Libby would play more.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
My Must See List of Movies 2009!
I hope Sarah doesn't mind me taking a page from her book and doing one of my own...
March:
Sunshine Cleaning
I Love You, Man - gotta love Paul Rudd!
Adventureland - I Love Ryan Reynolds!
Monsters vs Aliens - Awesome cast of voices!
April:
Fast & Furious - I'm so excited for this one!
Crank: High Voltage - Jason Statham, need I say more?
The Soloist - Robert Downey Jr. & Jamie Foxx
May:
X-men Origins: Wolverine - Speaks for itself & I was happy to learn about Ryan Reynolds in it
too!
My Life in Ruins - the Big Fat Greek Wedding chick
Angels & Demons - Based on the book by the same author as DaVinci Code, hope they don't ruin again!
June:
Land of the Lost - A Will Ferrell flick that has potential
My Sister's Keeper - Based on the Jodi Picoult Book
July:
Public Enemies - Johnny Depp AND Christian Bale!
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince- Never thought I'd say that...
Ugly Truth - Katherine Heigl flick!
Funny People - Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, a dream come true!
September:
The Informant - Matt Damon flick with a Bourne feel to it
March:
Sunshine Cleaning
I Love You, Man - gotta love Paul Rudd!
Adventureland - I Love Ryan Reynolds!
Monsters vs Aliens - Awesome cast of voices!
April:
Fast & Furious - I'm so excited for this one!
Crank: High Voltage - Jason Statham, need I say more?
The Soloist - Robert Downey Jr. & Jamie Foxx
May:
X-men Origins: Wolverine - Speaks for itself & I was happy to learn about Ryan Reynolds in it
too!
My Life in Ruins - the Big Fat Greek Wedding chick
Angels & Demons - Based on the book by the same author as DaVinci Code, hope they don't ruin again!
June:
Land of the Lost - A Will Ferrell flick that has potential
My Sister's Keeper - Based on the Jodi Picoult Book
July:
Public Enemies - Johnny Depp AND Christian Bale!
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince- Never thought I'd say that...
Ugly Truth - Katherine Heigl flick!
Funny People - Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, a dream come true!
September:
The Informant - Matt Damon flick with a Bourne feel to it
Socializing Zoey
So, in my reading of my puppy books it is said that it is important to socialize your dog so that it likes everyone; Male, Female, Adult, kids & other dogs.
I had always thought they liked everybody as long as they didn't have a bad experience with someone ie: dog hates kids because a kid kicked it or something, hates men because they mistreated it etc
But, I guess you need to help this along. So, the adults is easy as we have company over, we are adults etc. But, I never thought I'd be having puppy play dates! It is hilarious just writing this! My dad's girlfriend brings her dog when they visit anyway, but I got together this past weekend with a friend of ours and her dog!
I was really stressed and worried about getting her with children right away as our friends have not had them yet and we don't live near the ones in our family. I thought that it would happen recently when we were going somewhere to visit that usually has children around, but Zoey wasn't welcome. So, I kept saying to Jay, What do we do? I was so worried about my dog not getting along with children. After weeks of this, Jay finally said "Take her to Petsmart. There are always kids there!" So, I did! We spent almost 2 hours hanging out at Petsmart and I guess I was worrying for nothing as she treated them like she treated adults. She loved them! And the trainer at Petsmart said just toplay with her like a kid would... Jay's cousin has a kid and they are coming Saturday so that will be really good too!
I just will have to try and plan more puppy playdates and will be looking forward to Jay's mom's dog coming to play with her on the weekend of the 14th.
I had always thought they liked everybody as long as they didn't have a bad experience with someone ie: dog hates kids because a kid kicked it or something, hates men because they mistreated it etc
But, I guess you need to help this along. So, the adults is easy as we have company over, we are adults etc. But, I never thought I'd be having puppy play dates! It is hilarious just writing this! My dad's girlfriend brings her dog when they visit anyway, but I got together this past weekend with a friend of ours and her dog!
I was really stressed and worried about getting her with children right away as our friends have not had them yet and we don't live near the ones in our family. I thought that it would happen recently when we were going somewhere to visit that usually has children around, but Zoey wasn't welcome. So, I kept saying to Jay, What do we do? I was so worried about my dog not getting along with children. After weeks of this, Jay finally said "Take her to Petsmart. There are always kids there!" So, I did! We spent almost 2 hours hanging out at Petsmart and I guess I was worrying for nothing as she treated them like she treated adults. She loved them! And the trainer at Petsmart said just toplay with her like a kid would... Jay's cousin has a kid and they are coming Saturday so that will be really good too!
I just will have to try and plan more puppy playdates and will be looking forward to Jay's mom's dog coming to play with her on the weekend of the 14th.
Having a Puppy is like having a Baby
Hey There!
I cannot believe how much work getting a puppy was! I expected to have to train it and what not but... WOW! I feel like a mom with a new baby! It is getting better though and don't get me wrong, I love her to death, have no regrets and am handling it ok!
First of all, I had to watch her like a hawk at first. It made getting stuff done hard and Jay was on me about not getting it done! Sheesh! Men have no clue! I eventually learned that I can do stuff while she naps and she doesn't even wake up when I make noise. But, she is trained now and I don't have to watch her as much anymore, I can go down and get laundry etc.
Second of all, I have not slept all the way through the night since we got her, which I can't believe has been over a month now! Her bladder is still not able to go all night so I get up with her every 1-3 hours so she can pee... Good thing I'm the light sleeper out of the 2 of us. I hear her wake up and Jay just sleeps through it pretty much. (Which is great because he has to get up for work in the morning) I'm surprised that I'm surviving this lack of sleep/interrupted sleep thing. I thought I'd be tired all day, I'm not but I do go to bed early though.
Third of all I have to try to figure out what her different cry's are ie: I'm hungry, I have to pee, I want up, I want down etc. Like a baby!
However, I am so lucky! She is like the perfect puppy for me! She is so cuddly and snuggles with you and doesn't mind when I want to hold her, or kiss her or whatever. She just goes with the flow. I also am lucky at how well behaved she is! Now that she is potty trained she is good to go! I was expecting to have some behavoural problem of some type but no. And she is so smart! Honestly, this is an unbiased opinion. When people that have dogs hear how much progress I have made with her and how quick she learns they are impressed. It took less than a day to teach her come! and she is still responding to it. I was prepared that my dog may shed, but she doesn't even do that!
Oh, and I forgot... My dog is even more like a baby as she had a not completely developed skull like a real baby & we have to be careful of it. It's a Chihuahua thing.
I cannot believe how much work getting a puppy was! I expected to have to train it and what not but... WOW! I feel like a mom with a new baby! It is getting better though and don't get me wrong, I love her to death, have no regrets and am handling it ok!
First of all, I had to watch her like a hawk at first. It made getting stuff done hard and Jay was on me about not getting it done! Sheesh! Men have no clue! I eventually learned that I can do stuff while she naps and she doesn't even wake up when I make noise. But, she is trained now and I don't have to watch her as much anymore, I can go down and get laundry etc.
Second of all, I have not slept all the way through the night since we got her, which I can't believe has been over a month now! Her bladder is still not able to go all night so I get up with her every 1-3 hours so she can pee... Good thing I'm the light sleeper out of the 2 of us. I hear her wake up and Jay just sleeps through it pretty much. (Which is great because he has to get up for work in the morning) I'm surprised that I'm surviving this lack of sleep/interrupted sleep thing. I thought I'd be tired all day, I'm not but I do go to bed early though.
Third of all I have to try to figure out what her different cry's are ie: I'm hungry, I have to pee, I want up, I want down etc. Like a baby!
However, I am so lucky! She is like the perfect puppy for me! She is so cuddly and snuggles with you and doesn't mind when I want to hold her, or kiss her or whatever. She just goes with the flow. I also am lucky at how well behaved she is! Now that she is potty trained she is good to go! I was expecting to have some behavoural problem of some type but no. And she is so smart! Honestly, this is an unbiased opinion. When people that have dogs hear how much progress I have made with her and how quick she learns they are impressed. It took less than a day to teach her come! and she is still responding to it. I was prepared that my dog may shed, but she doesn't even do that!
Oh, and I forgot... My dog is even more like a baby as she had a not completely developed skull like a real baby & we have to be careful of it. It's a Chihuahua thing.
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