For every plaything, there is a "spot". Ember has decided that cardboard tubes mommy gives her to chew to destruction should be played with in this spot. Different toys are for the staircase, or the cat tree, the TV room, or the parlor... and of course, there are special toys for outside!
Bunny goes in the crate or in the car as a comfort toy. I find it endearing that in the morning or after a nap, as soon as we come back inside from our potty opportunity, Ember "rescues" bunny from the den, and takes him to whatever room she (or Mommy) has chosen to play in.
Thursday was a good day! No overnight accidents, Mommy found the overnight poos to clean up, got a little yard cleanup done, with Emmy's help, and stopped before demon puppy came out in her.
She is responding to "let go" command better, along with a treat. When she has hold of your wrist, and you try to pick her up with your other hand, you're asking to start a dog fight. She doesn't know what else to do!
I managed to be calmer in issuing "let go", and offered the treat right away, as a trade: you let go, you get the treat. Also, I reintroduced the house lead. I had let her off it for a couple of days, but that left me with fewer options in getting her calmed down. She's getting to be a bit big for the scoop a puppy and get her to listen to mommy's heartbeat, so we've moved on to treat swap. Wouldn't you rather have a treat than feel scared and fight?
No broken skin or blood today! A calmer puppy, who took a nap by the couch while mommy nodded off in the chair in the photo in the 3 p.m. hour.
Today's adventures included attempting to get her into her new harness, and discovering she may still be a bit small for it. It's a size medium that purports to be for dogs 26-44 pounds, and I haven't tried to weigh her since that last vet visit, when she came in at 23.4 pounds. Soon, though. I managed to get in on her and buckled, but she could still grab the chest strap with her teeth. I called it a success, unbuckled, praised her when she "let go", and we'll keep trying as appropriate.
I have also acquired a puppy life vest in the hopes of getting her to get on a kayak with me sometime this summer, but the first attempt at sizing it onto her was not successful (this was before the vest arrived), and I have put it away for now. The harness is a higher priority.
Another adventure was a short car ride to the gas station. Ember had not been through this exercise with me, anyway. That was really why I wanted to get her in the vest: for the car ride, to see if it helped her stay calmer? Another day, another adventure. With a little one, patience and repetition will lead to eventual success.
Life is still good. Spark on!
❤️❤️❤️ Happy Friday! 🤗🤗🤗 ~Ace
ReplyDeleteSaw your RunKeeper walk! Go, girl!
DeleteBaby steps, as it were. Kayaking with Ms. Blueberry will make for interesting adventures and stories. 🛶
ReplyDeleteThe Dutch iris are really pretty. Mine are all in bloom, too.
Happy Friday! 🤗💖🐶😸
The problem with the "flags" or "Dutch iris" is that Miss Emmy thinks they should be edible. Yikes. Who knew a puppy could have herbivore tendencies?
DeleteHappy Friday!
Chuckling, because the 3 pm hr. seems to be the bewitching ‘tired’ hour here, too.
ReplyDeleteHope that the harness worked! Miss Lilly, fortunately, has adapted to hers. We went through 4 or them, all of which she hated and chewed. GRrrrrr. Now . . . she’s a big girl and keeps it on w/o a problem.
Miss Lilly loves playing w/paper towel tubes, too! A dog thing.
Hugs
Barb
1cd
Ya know, puppies, teething, and all that rot... the tube from the paper towel roll is a very cheap, disposable part of the solution!
DeleteGlad to hear that Miss Lilly adapted to the harness. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Ember!
I'll bet Ember will adjust to the harness as she gets a little more age on her, and when she associates it with fun or happy things. Our dogs did not like riding in the car too much once they'd been to the vet. But, we made sure they got loaded in the car for visits to Grandma and Grandpa's and soon were happy to get in their harnesses and fastened into the back seat of the car. Dear daughter made sure they got some extra G&G rides very quickly after any vet visit. Fortunately, we lived just about 1.5 miles from my folks at that time. :D
ReplyDeleteSuccess at getting her buckled into the harness today! And took her on a car ride around the block with the harness clipped to the seatbelt. I let her hang about the house and yard wearing the harness, just to get used to it, and took it off when it was time for a puppy nap.
DeleteI am sometimes amazed by how quickly something that was driving me nuts gets resolved as I get insight into how *I* am contributing to the problem. I sized the harness to its absolute smallest setting and clipped her in using the treat in my hand, slip it over her head while she's eating the treat... and quick like a bunny click the buckle.
She fussed for a bit but got over it when she was NOT choking by pulling at her collar. The afternoon walk was a joy. Did I still have to stop when she tried to pull a bit? Yes. But since I was stopping her at the chest level, not at the throat, it wasn't as distressing for either of us!
I like the idea of the swim vest as a calming jacket. Bet it works!
ReplyDeleteJust about any "hugging" garment can be a calming thing, like a thunder shirt, now that I think about it!
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