crate training a puppy

Puppy’s first holidays

Published on January 9, 2019 by Jamie ShugartLeave a comment

Blue update #3—3 Months Old!

Our girl Blue is three months old, growing like her life depends on it, and loves spending time with us and her toys.

My favorite things about the past month:

Blue’s explosive growth
How she is finally learning that her crate isn’t a negative place
Watching her run behind a grown dog and how cute and clumsy she looks
Watching her with my 10 month old nephew and how quickly she has learned to be gentle with him

My least favorite thing:

How she won’t stop chewing on my bathroom rug

Things I have learned:

She looooves learning
She notices when one of us is gone
She is still a puppy and new to this world

Blue turned three months old on her 13 week birthday! She has changed so much since we brought her home just a few weeks ago. She weighs over twenty-five pounds now and her paws are ginormous. She got her rabies shot and has only one set of shots left in her puppy vaccines.

Around week thirteen, she began to become a little more aware. She recognized that things can be scary, or that she can get hurt, or that some things are unknown. She would get nervous and distrusting of things she didn’t know or understand, and if there was a loud startling noise, she reacted more dramatically than she would have just a week before.

Blue has gotten better since then and is growing in confidence in her own home and den. She got too big to ride on my lap in the car, so she is relearning about car rides by riding in the back and isn’t the biggest fan. She started playing with my sister’s dog, a five year old chocolate lab named Coco, and has so much fun with her in her fenced backyard. Coco is really good with her, being gentle enough but still having fun rough housing and being pups together.

She is growing like a crazy pup! She is super playful, but her eyes will suddenly droop and she absolutely must take a nap. The other day when we were wrapping presents, she couldn’t sleep through the noise so she went to our bedroom to take a nap by herself. That’s the first time she has done that! She always loves being underfoot or napping with her head on our feet.

We are excited to start taking her on walks, to dog parks, and to keep teaching her more things. She loves sitting and laying down, and her new chew toys she got for Christmas are her favorite toys still. She loves her big fluffy bed, but isn’t so sure about baths or being brushed. The last time I had to give her medicine, she did great and ate the whole thing.

Over the next month we expect her to continue growing quickly and hope that we can accomplish more leash training. We hope to get her a fenced backyard ASAP so that she can explore and enjoy, as well as become comfortable outside on her own.

Until next time,
Jamie out.

our puppy is a genius

Published on December 26, 2018 by Jamie Shugart1 Comment

Blue update #2—Weeks 10 & 11

In the past two weeks we dog sat another puppy, marveled at Blue’s genius, and had a potty training regression.

My favorite things about the past two weeks:

Transitioning to only getting up with Blue once every night.
Getting lots of good puppy snuggles and kisses.
Watching tiny Blue climb up and down our stairs.

My least favorite things about the past two weeks:

The great potty training regression of 2018.
Hand bruises from sharp puppy teeth.

Things I have learned:

That Blue is really really smart.
That Blue is already great at posing.
That Blue loves to please us.

Blue has gained over five pounds since we brought her home. At her eight week vet visit she weighed 10.8 pounds and at her 11 week vet visit, she weighed 15.8 pounds. We feel pretty good about her size and are hoping she is right in the sweet spot when she is an adult, which should be between fifty-five and sixty-five pounds. She is happy and healthy and still learning daily. It is amazing to watch her pick up on things.

For the most part, things got easier for us as a family these weeks compared to the first two. I have definitely grown more attached to our high energy fur ball and absolutely love her snuggles and puppy kisses. She is really good at hugs and snuggles, especially when she is tuckered out after playing with a puppy friend.

On the weekend Blue turned 11 weeks, we dog sat our friend’s puppy who is one month older than Blue and twice her size. He is a shepherd mix—a herding breed—and is much more calm and less high energy than our girl Blue. He is also better at sleeping through the night than she is. And while they were both mostly house trained in their own homes, this weekend turned into utter chaos that caused both dogs to regress a little bit.

Our visiting pup wasn’t sure how or where to potty at our house, so he decided that inside was the perfect spot. We had a lot of accidents the first couple days, especially because he refused to go outside. At first Blue just observed this, but eventually she started to go inside as well. As you can imagine, this got pretty frustrating.

The short story is, we got the dogs on a strict schedule for going outside. If they weren’t in their crates, they were going outside every twenty minutes, whether or not we thought they had to go. This cut down on the accidents dramatically, and improved our relationship with them as well.

Dog sitting also emphasized repeatedly how intelligent our Blue is. Not in comparison to the other dog, but just in the way that she would help him when he didn’t understand. For example, he was terrified of going down our stairs, so Blue got right next to him and went down every step with him one at a time. He also kept chewing my carpet, so Blue finally laid a chew toy across his paws and showed him to chew on that instead. I have never been more proud in my life.

We are growing closer daily, and as Blue learns more and more, Will and I enjoy her more and more. Often times before bed you will find the three of us sitting on the floor and playing with a ball or rough housing. By the end of week eleven Blue weighed in at almost 19 pounds. It’s safe to say she is heading into a big growth spurt! She is still fearless and resilient. We didn’t go a lot of places during these two weeks and she is definitely learning that the house is her den. We still keep doors to a couple rooms closed to avoid temptation for her, but in the rooms she is comfortable, she is great at only chewing on her own toys.

Until next time,
Jamie out

Read more:
Weeks 8 & 9, Bringing Blue Home

the pitfalls of potty training

Published on December 12, 2018 by Jamie Shugart2 Comments

Blue update – Weeks 8 & 9

If you didn’t know we got a puppy, go read this blog post ASAP!

Being a puppy mom has been incredibly hard and incredibly rewarding at the same time. Blue is a smart cookie. I can tell when she’s just ignoring me, or when she’s sneaking off to do something she knows is naughty. But I also rejoice with her as she begins to get it. As she begins to ask to go outside so that she can “go potty” and as she obeys when we say “come” and “sit.” I am so surprised that at nine weeks old she knows so much. Obviously there is still a lot to learn, for BOTH of us.

My favorite things about the past two weeks:

When Blue learned to go up and down the stairs to the bonus room. She’s still so small that she looks like a bunny hopping up the stairs, and I have to encourage her down every step when we go back down. It’s adorable.
The first time she asked to go outside to “go potty.”
Watching her grow right in front of my eyes.
Her play date with our friend’s three month old puppy where they played until they literally dropped.

My least favorite things about the past two weeks:

Her tiny sharp puppy teeth as she grabs onto my hand and won’t let go.
How dry my hands got from cleaning up pee accidents inside and washing my hands afterward.
How much she cries at night and how much we had to get up with her the first week.

Things I have learned:

It is okay to change your mind and do what is best for your family and your pup.
She is really really smart.
If she is acting “bad,” it is most likely my fault, not hers.
I cherish my sleep.

Her first week here was hard on all of us. We coddled her a lot at night and she struggled to sleep. We got up with her seven or eight times one night. She learned that crying would be rewarded, so in her second week here we had to try to unlearn that. We all lost some more sleep. But we are confident it is what is best in the long run. We want her to be comfortable and confident when she is home alone and when she is sleeping at night.

It was our intention to not crate her, however after having her for a week we caved and got a crate. She went in voluntarily on the first night to go to sleep, but after that it got a little harder. She is attached to the stuff IN her crate—like her blankies—but she isn’t so keen on the crate itself. As her fur mama I know that she is safe in her own little den while I am gone, and I have peace of mind that my home isn’t being destroyed while I am at the grocery store. And I am certain that she will grow to love her place once she realizes it isn’t a punishment and she isn’t lonely.

Potty training is no joke. We are finding a better routine and schedule that we can all adhere to, but as our days are never the same as one another, that can prove challenging. After four or five days of training she asked to go outside. A week after we got her she asked us three times in one night to let her out. This is where I feel the rewarding aspect of training—to finally see results of hard work.

She is super smart and Will loves putting her brain to work to train her and then practice things they have learned. We got her a puzzle ball we can put treats in to help her work her brain also. A tired puppy is a good puppy, and even though she is very high energy, tiring out her brain is just as important as tiring out her little body.

Or not so little body. Two days after we got her I took her to the vet and they weighed her at 10.8 pounds. By the end of week 9, she weighed a little over 13 pounds. She is going to be too big to pick up and carry in no time so I am enjoying the lap snuggles while I can.

With full disclosure and honestly, we did not enjoy our first week with Blue. We were very sleep deprived and potty training proved to be very stressful. Once we got the crate, things began to improve and I started to get attached. We made a plan for taking her out at night that would negate some of her crying and got us all on a better schedule.

We are so excited to watch her grow, to learn with her, and to be the best fur parents we can to this little ball of energy. Stay tuned for the perils and pleasures of puppy ownership as I take you along for the sometimes bumpy ride over the next several months. There is so much that we will all learn and experience.

Do you have any puppy advice for me? The biggest one right now is how to make her happy with her crate and cut down on the crying. Please leave any knowledge in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a like and don’t forget to subscribe to join the family if you haven’t already.

Until next time,
Jamie out.