Labradoodling

Dog Blog #14 – February at last!

Feb 3rd, 2023
I know I have made a few comments over the last few blog posts about my lack of love for January, but looking out of the kitchen window on the first day of February, it feels positively spring-like. When I went out into the garden with Margot this morning, I left my coat inside (and didn’t regret it) and the air was filled with birdsong. I haven’t had to scrape the ice from my windscreen over the last week before taking P to the school bus and 5 degrees in the morning now feels balmy compared with the -5 degrees a fortnight before. This week we have ventured a bit further afield in the car and I have noted some small improvements in our pup’s behaviour. They may still be small steps, but they are headed in the right direction at least!

Travelling in the Car

Last weekend we drove to two different locations to walk Margot. To shake things up even more, we travelled in J’s car this time. I wasn’t sure if our pup would remember the only other occasion she had been a passenger in this vehicle – on the day we brought her home 14 weeks ago.

That box contraption I bought to try and encourage her to curl up inside is now a bit small for her, especially since she prefers to lie flat as you can see in the pictures above. I can understand why she might wish to cosy up to P on the back seat. Perhaps a towel would work better as a protective measure? I’d planned to transform the box into a seat cover but only time will tell if that’s worth it or not.

You may recall that Margot chewed through the first dog seat belt restraint we had. I got hold of a tougher version, which was marketed as ‘chew-proof’. So far, so good. Although it’s fair to say that she has given it a go… However, this restraint is also shorter than the previous one so Margot can’t fall off the seat into the footwell. She did seem much happier – or at least far more settled – on the longer journey. When we first started taking her out in the car just five minutes down the road, she would whine continually. So in that respect, she has come a long way. It’s certainly encouraging in terms of taking her further afield for walks in the future.

Updates

Walking has become far more enjoyable this week. I think P’s resilience in stopping every time Margot pulls on the lead has paid huge dividends – even though J found it incredibly frustrating on the weeeknds. Still, I’ve been really impressed with both the speed and the patience our pup is showing when walking on the lead with me during the week. I’m looking forward to an organised puppy social with my brother coming up though as Margot’s socialising with other dogs still leaves a lot to be desired. But more about that later.

Another tooth fell out onto the kitchen floor this week and we have seen traces of blood on some of her chew toys as well. Margot has stopped biting me almost completely, but she continues to put her mouth around J’s hands when he arrives home from work. We can’t work out whether it’s because she is tired, excited to see him or she remembers that when she was much smaller, he used to let her mouth him. (One source we read said this was a good idea, but we soon all agreed that it wasn’t as P and I weren’t happy to receive the same treatment.)

Tricks and Toys

With Margot seemingly being a quick learner, we have been trying a new trick this week: placing a treat on the end of her nose or on her head and seeing what happens next. I’m hoping for a quick flick of the nose upwards, followed by a deft catch using her mouth. First we need to establish that control to wait but she is getting there. I’ll keep you posted…

Some of Margot’s toys are beginning to look a little worn out, particularly the soft ones where she has pulled out the stuffing. Foxy on the right still has both legs, but his head has now lost its shape. My favourite, the yellow latex dog #2 (you may remember that the first one was purple) has a few gashes along its sides already. Olaf – from the Christmas stash – no longer has his felt stick arms or hair, but the exterior remains intact. He isn’t a white snowman anymore though, but a dirty brown one. (I wonder how long the new, bright pink pig will stay that colour?)

Margot spends time looking out of the glass doors at the birds in the garden and once outside, either hares around at top speed or sits and ponders. (She also paws at the grass next to the patio slabs as you can see in the picture above. I’m all ears for any suggestions in preventing this.)

Looking alert and less like a puppy in this photograph

Fostering Dogs

I promised to tell my brother’s story a few posts back. He and his wife have an incredible love of dogs and a very well-trained Dexter – a Labrador mixed with something else – as I mentioned before. They are also great supporters of the charity Blind Dog Rescue UK. Last September, G and N fostered a partially sighted border collie called Fly, who had been mistreated, was malnourished and very thin. Nervous around people, particularly men, the vet only gave her a cursory check before they took her home.

Imagine the entire family’s shock when we received a What’s App call during the October half term which began with the words: ‘We’ve got a situation here!’ To begin with, I couldn’t understand what the problem was until the video started… The image was of two tiny puppies on a blanket. My brother and his wife had both been delighted to see that Fly was beginning to put on weight, but nobody had any idea or even suspected that she was pregnant. At the same time as talking to me, G was also trying to get a vet on the phone, needed to speak to the lady at Blind Dog Rescue UK and was asking the oracle that is Google what they should do to support Fly. Five hours later and we were sent a photo of eight puppies. All boys. All different coat patterns. G had to revive one of them when he stopped breathing. Even more amazing is that they agreed to keep Fly with all her babies for so many weeks afterwards as well as holding down their full-time jobs. G turned his utility room into a whelping den.

Currently, as I write this, my brother and his wife have two puppies left with them, one of which they are keeping. Some of the litter have found their forever homes, as has Fly, but a couple of them have now been fostered elsewhere in the country – Tony is still featured on the Blind Dog Rescue UK website as being available for adoption. I think it’s an incredible story and that they have shown incredible kindness. My sister-in-law’s words were: ‘It will never happen again and it’s a real privilege.’ Apparently, it has never happened before either. Is there some sort of animal kindness award I can nominate them for? If there isn’t, there should be!

Margot Asleep

Margot says…

‘I like travelling in the car with P now. Her legs are the perfect size for me to rest my front paws on. She’s fun to play with too although on most days she disappears off in the morning and doesn’t come back until later in the afternoon.

On the days when there is only one big person in the house with me, it is much quieter and calmer and I can sleep more during the day. I can’t help being so excitable when the others come back in the evening.’

Next week… puppy socials, six-month vet nurse check and more flea, tick and worm treatment.
Dog Blog #13 – Who is Leading Who?

Jan 27th, 2023
This week, I have continued in my mission to be more assertive with Margot to ensure that I am in charge and behaving as a leader should. (I know that sounds a bit strange when I am dealing with an animal. But for someone who still feels very new to this, it seems to be working for me.)

Many weeks ago I mentioned in a previous blog that I didn’t think that our pup was ruling the roost, but more recently I have been starting to wonder. One of the things that Fleur, our trainer, was adamant about was that dogs do not try and dominate their owners. I agree wholeheartedly with that concept – I don’t feel dominated at all, but there are times when I do feel like I am being manipulated. And there is a subtle difference.

Because I am a words person, I got straight onto my library app and ordered another book to read on the topic of training – this time from the Dogfather himself, Graeme Hall. (The man from the TV show ‘Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly’ on Channel 5.)

I found this book both helpful and fascinating, reading it from cover to cover over the course of a few days. The stories of his experiences are relevant, in some cases humorous and in another, quite frightening, when he recounts an occasion when things went wrong and a dog bit him.

Graeme starts off by outlining his three and a half golden rules near the start of the book: ‘1. Any behaviour that feels rewarding will increase. 2. Any behaviour that feels uncomfortable will decrease. 3. Some behaviours that are ignored will fade away. 4. Practice doesn’t always make perfect.’

This fits in with the philosophy we have been working with so far. We treat Margot when she shows us positive behaviour and we are continuing to ignore much of the jumping up. (Apparently, you have to be careful not to give in at any point in terms of your reaction or you could be right back at square one!) Do we ever make Margot feel uncomfortable in terms of her behaviour? I’m thinking about rule number 2 here and trying to decrease the bad stuff? Possibly, at times, when we show our disappointment.

However, it was chapter 12 which resonated with me the most: ‘Leadership – who is leading who?’ I read it three times. Benny, a cocker spaniel, knew exactly how to get what he wanted and his owner allowed him to dictate in terms of his food, when he wanted to play and when he was after more room on the sofa, for example. This dog was described as taking the lead, while his owner in her ‘desire to give him what he wanted placed her in a follower role’. I really related to this. Graeme’s advice not to jump to things straight away made perfect sense as well as taking the initiative when outside and walking her on my terms. Now if Margot decides to play the stubborn card, I pause, look ahead towards the direction we are headed and wait for her to follow me. I also don’t rush immediately to fill her bowl with the second half of her meal; she has to show good manners and wait patiently for a few minutes – especially if I am in the middle of making a cup of tea.

(In my previous role as a teacher, I always shared the old proverb that ‘Manners maketh man’. I still believe that both men and women are judged by their manners or conduct and the same can probably be said for dogs. I certainly feel judged by other dog owners when Margot jumps all over their pet. However, our quick learner now sits and waits at every door following the new command ‘Me first’ rather than pushing past to get through before anyone else. Let’s hope that we can encourage better manners when meeting other people and dogs in the future. Fingers crossed…)

Thank you, Graeme. I certainly feel a bit more of a leader now, whilst continually showing kindness and using praise to reinforce the good behaviour.

Crate Training

The crate training has been a success all round. I still can’t believe it has taken us this many weeks to see the benefit. Well, I can, because in one sense it seems a bit mean shutting Margot inside a cage, but if it keeps her safe, everyone is a winner. Our early morning routine is so much less stressful now because she lies quietly on her cosy mattress inside the crate while we eat breakfast and rush to get ready in time to take P to the school bus. She’s always so pleased to see me when I get back and let her out too, which is lovely. Rather than excitedly jumping all over me, which she used to do in the past, she will circle around my crouched position and let me stroke along her back. So an improvement in manners there too. I don’t play the ‘Crate Game’ many times during the week – only when I leave the house and she is left on her own.

Lead Walking / Jumping Up Update

Margot is definitely making progress with walking on the lead. Last weekend we drove to a new spot and walked through some local woods. The thing I noticed immediately was that she didn’t pull once when J held the lead. His natural walking speed is much faster than P and I, which I think our pup enjoyed. (Since then, I have donned my trainers this week and stuck to the less muddy routes which means I can also increase my stepping speed – there is certainly less pulling, but are we back to the question of who is leading who?)

You can see in the pictures below that we are continuing to juggle between two ways of attaching the lead to Margot’s harness. With one of the clips attached to the front, her leg sometimes gets caught, which can be frustrating. Personally, I still prefer having both clips attached to the back. I have also noted a slight improvement in terms of her reactions to other dogs. This morning she followed the command to ‘sit’ even though there was a dog passing by on the other side of the road. A small win, but a win all the same. (And we also had our first experience of using a dog poo bag outside of our back garden this week – I’m not sure I’d class this as a win, but there you go.)

I had a friend over this week, another experienced Labrador dog owner, who was eager to meet Margot. It was a bit of a shame that our pup’s jumping up was the worst I had seen when she was here. And I was worse than useless with my control – or lack thereof. H was very sympathetic and told me that one of her previous canine pets had been carefully managed as a puppy and turned out to be the most wonderful adult dog.

She also kindly showed me what had been recommended to them by a trainer. We put on her harness and the indoor lead, but instead of removing Margot from the kitchen, she stood on the lead to prevent her from jumping up. It did seem to work until Margot managed to somehow squeeze herself out of the harness! (Who is leading who now?) Nevertheless, J prefers it as a strategy and even just wearing the tightened harness and lead sometimes keeps her four paws on the floor for longer – I think she might know what it means when she wears it inside the house. Unless she is overtired, of course, when nothing seems to work. That’s when the crate game just has to be played…

New Tricks

P tried to teach Margot a new trick this week, by encouraging her to walk through her legs continually. I was quite impressed with the pair of them actually.

Shaking paws is not really a new trick and one we do every time she comes back in from the garden to check for moisture and dirt.

Garden Pics

Back to the roses this week… I still find it strange that she will chew on the thorny stems. I love the photo on the right because it looks like Margot is smiling at me – and you can see some of her adult teeth.

Margot says…

‘I am starting to enjoy my walks a bit more now. The new red harness is more comfortable than the old one and I don’t make a fuss putting it on anymore. They all seem far more relaxed in getting me ready to go outside than they were before. I’d like to be able to run around without all that extra clobber on like I do in the garden.

They have started putting those restraints on me inside. I’m not sure why. I continually bite the harness and the rope hanging down from the back. Sometimes it tastes really bitter, but that doesn’t stop me from chewing at it. My mouth still feels strange at the moment with bits wobbling and falling out.’

Margot asleep

Cuddles

There are times when Margot loves being stroked under her chin and down the side of her neck. However, there are occasions when she clearly doesn’t like it. Her bitey mouth has reappeared, especially when J returns home in the evening. I could blame it on being tired and irritable, but she also bares her teeth in my direction when she has not long woken up from a long nap during the afternoon. When she is open to receiving affection, it is so sweet.

Next week… February at last – will Margot experience the first signs of spring soon?

Please feel free to comment, share and spread the word…
Dog Blog #12 – Over Halfway Through January

Jan 20th, 2023
January is still not my favourite month, but at least it has stopped raining. Instead we have to contend with literally freezing temperatures again but can now spend a bit more time in the garden and enjoy a dry walk or two – by sticking to the pavements and wrapping up warm with lots of layers. This week we have had our third hour-long training session with Fleur. It is fair to say that Margot was not on her best behaviour at all. Subsequently, we have lots to reinforce as far as her training is concerned. (It made me think back to a conversation I had with my brother over the Christmas period when I asked the guru how long it took him to train his dog Dexter – who is extremely well-behaved. His answer: “About two years.” I wasn’t expecting that. We’re in this for the long haul then.)

And this morning on our training walk, Margot and I crossed paths with a sweet, calm Bassett which she predictably jumped all over. I didn’t blame him for barking at her and hoped it might teach her a thing or two. I’d love to know how to encourage our pup to show better manners towards other dogs or indeed better manners all round. She gets so excited and jumpy every time. Even the very basic command ‘Sit’ goes out of the window or falls on completely deaf ears.

It’s stopped raining – Back outside

It is clear that Margot certainly feels at home in our garden when she has the chance to trot around the flowerbeds and bound across the lawn – what’s left of it anyway. With all the rain we have had, the grassy ground had become waterlogged which meant Margot would stick to the less boggy outside edges. All of the photos above see her in and around the plants in the flowerbeds. (Fortunately, the roses have had a bit of a break this week!)

As she still avoids all of muddy puddles when we walk across to the common (a feat in itself at the moment) this labradoodle demonstrates that she really doesn’t like to get her feet wet. I’m pretty sure that somebody told me once that this breed loves swimming – the oracle that is Google describes them as ‘natural swimmers’. Interesting. I guess only time will tell if our pup fits this mould or not.

It was cold back in December but this is Margot’s first experience of ice in the garden after the puddles of rain froze overnight. I’m not sure biting at it with her teeth is a sensible option, but maybe it is soothing on her gums – more about the teething situation later on. (I think she looks really big in this picture. At five months old I wonder what proportion of her adult size she has reached?)

Training Update

Our trainer Fleur was kind enough to come and see us on a Sunday last weekend for our final session so that we could all be involved again. Hugely important if consistency is the key. The first aspect of Margot’s behaviour that we touched on was her constant jumping up at the kitchen work surfaces – and us – as well as scratching at the door and whining when we are eating and we put her in the room next door. We have been trying to ignore the jumping up as much as possible by turning our backs, folding our arms and walking away, therefore not giving her any attention for the behaviour we are unhappy with. I’m still not sure that was working. Therefore, in terms of the consequence, Fleur had us try levelling up. Making sure that Margot is wearing her harness and we have a lightweight puppy lead attached, if she jumps up, she is removed out of the kitchen until she calms down. Fleur gave us a few examples of this and thought we would have to work on it for some time. (When I said before that our pup was naughty whilst Fleur was with us, there were ample opportunities to demonstrate this consequence…) We have tried it a few times and so far are not 100% convinced. I’d love to hear other people’s success stories with this aspect of training.

So, it looks as though we should have been actively crate training since the beginning too. It isn’t acceptable for Margot to scratch at the door or on the glass whilst we are eating in the kitchen and if she was secured in the crate, this problem would be solved. Here our pup demonstrated just what a quick learner she is as it took very little time to entice her in and to encourage her to lie flat. She didn’t appear distressed either when we shut the gate and pulled the two latches across. There was a little bit of whining at first when we walked away but this didn’t last long. Fleur also suggested that we put a marker down in front of the crate door which shows Margot that we are unavailable. (She recounted a story of a Labrador whose owners used the same method and even once they stopped using the crate, their dog would stay on its mat all night and not move until the marker was picked up in the morning. That level of understanding and behaviour seems off the scale to us at the moment.)

When we went outside into the garden, Fleur asked us to show her our method of walking Margot on the two-point harness. P was keen to take the lead on this and she did a great job. The trainer told us to keep the lead short and to continually praise and treat the good behaviour. If she pulls, stop and wait for her to come back.

I have to be honest and say that I prefer using the clip on the back of the harness but attaching both ends of the lead to this. It’s easier to reach initially, avoids any biting or chewing of the lead as it’s away from Margot’s mouth and I find that I have more control as I don’t have to juggle the front and back of the harness at the same time. The lead is automatically short too. In the spirit of openness, I discovered this after a frustrating case of not being able to attach one end to the front ring. You can see in the picture above that this week she has a new red harness, which fits her better as it’s not so tight around the belly. The lead has the tendency to twist, but otherwise walking her is a more positive experience. Margot will sit and wait at every kerb before crossing the road and also when I stand still to counterbalance the pulling. Next we need to work on her stubbornness at times. Small steps and all that.

J took her out for a second short walk this week when he arrived home from work. I’m still not really clear about whether our pup needs one or two walks a day. However, later that evening she was shattered, completely overtired as if she didn’t know what to do with herself. Perhaps we should stick to a bit of extra lead walking in the garden instead?

Teething / Chewing

This week we have seen actual evidence of Margot’s teething – one of her molars fell out into J’s hand and another one landed on the kitchen floor with a plink. No wonder she is continually chewing like mad. Her mouth definitely looks different and her teeth aren’t as sharp. Therefore she must have lost quite a few of her puppy teeth. Occasionally, she seems a bit bitey, but I am pleased to say that this aspect of her behaviour has definitely improved. I feel like my clothes are certainly safer than they were…

Imagine our shock then when we came back from a walk on the weekend to find that our pup had taken a chunk of plaster off the wall. Just like with children, I wondered if this was attention-seeking behaviour or simply down to boredom being on her own. J has filled the hole with Polyfilla to fix the problem – and we will continue with the crate training for when we are out of the house to ensure that Margot (and our walls) are safe. (We have also bought a second bottle of the bitter apple spray as this works as a deterrent too!)

Margot says…

‘I have the big people wrapped around my paws. When I want a treat, all I have to do is something naughty, like biting on one of the mats or jumping up at the counters. You see, all it takes is catching their attention, I stop, lie flat or sit and I am given a treat. Easy peasy. I hope they don’t catch on. I’m spending a bit more time in my crate during the day at the moment. It gives me an excuse to rest as there’s nothing else to do, which is a bit of a relief to be honest. Being out in the garden is still fun even if it is cold and the ground is very hard.’

Margot Asleep

And finally…

Final photos from this week: Foxy is now completely armless and I have been trying to train Margot to identify a specific toy from a selection on the floor and bring it to me. She takes toys out of the box to play with – if I can teach her to pick them up and put them back inside the box, that would be amazing. Next stop… Britain’s Got Talent?

Next week… who is leading who? and we will almost be into February at last.

Please feel free to comment, share and spread the word.
Dog Blog #11 Rain, Rain, Rain…

Jan 13th, 2023
I have literally just got back inside from walking Margot and the heavens have opened – again. Hearing myself say out loud that I am ‘glad we are not out in that’, as the wind gusts across the back garden, I look down to see that our pup has crashed out. I guess a bout of exercise and a full stomach have resulted in another favourite pastime. I’d love to be able to ask her to rank them in order. This week we have had to dodge the showers as the rain falls in swathes across the country and it has been harder to just hang out in the garden throughout the day for some fresh air. Already I am looking forward to the spring and longer daylight hours. January is not my favourite month.

Five-month check up

Last month we had an appointment with the veterinary nurse to check Margot’s weight. As she was just below 10kg, we were advised to come back in four weeks to keep the monitoring up, particularly as the monthly flea treatment changes once she has passed the 10kg threshold. We were delighted to see Alice again, the nurse we saw first all those weeks ago. She seemed just as pleased to see Margot and made that obligatory comment about how much she had grown. Our pup did not let us down and sat beautifully on the weighing scales. With her now weighing in at 11.7kg, we did indeed need to change the flea and worm treatment, which was very straightforward. (I’m so impressed with Lynwood vets every time we step inside the building.)

P asked Alice if Margot was overweight, as overfeeding her is something we remain paranoid about. It’s a minefield trying to navigate the portion guidelines on the bags of puppy food and we are continually using treats in our training – but more about food a bit later. I am pleased to say that according to the posters in the consulting room, and reaffirmed by Alice, Margot is well within the normal category in terms of her weight so all those training treats aren’t causing a problem.

The day after our vet visit (and once our friends had left the house after our lunch date) we separated the fur on the top of her back and squeezed out the liquid medication to keep the fleas and worms at bay. It has a horrible smell and always causes Margot to writhe a little on her back a few hours afterwards. The alternative of a possible parasite invasion is not an option though and it’s only once a month. I hope it’s not too uncomfortable for her.

Food Switch

In a previous post I mentioned the problems we were having with some of the batches of the More+ puppy food. Pets Corner had been brilliant in swapping the paint-smelling bags for alternatives and I had been hopeful that we were past the worst. However, when I opened one of the small bags last week, the same foul aroma filtered out once again. At this point we decided that we had had enough and would investigate a different dry kibble for Margot. I remembered that my brother had recommended AVA puppy food. They sell it at Pets at Home, which meant that Pets Corner would lose our custom. (I did feel a bit bad about that after their wonderful customer service, but needs must.)

Having checked with the veterinary nurse and asked the oracle for advice, it is clear that you must gradually introduce a dog to their new food. If done in one go, it will interfere with their digestive system and probably give them diarrhoea. Again it depends on which advice you follow, but some recommend a teaspoon of the new food at first and building up the amount slowly over two weeks. Another suggested mixing in 25% of the new food for the first few days and monitoring the toilet situation. (I’ve never been so interested in poo before!) Alice said something in the middle and that it could be done over a week so we started off with 5g and have been adding a further 5g each day – and obvioulsy lessening the More+ puppy food at the same time. The balance is important for quite a few reasons, not least that we don’t want to run out of the old food before fully establishing the new.

This is what happened when someone left the downstairs toilet door open whilst we were eating breakfast. Memories of those Andrex puppy advertisements spring to mind. We did hear some slightly odd noises through the door but thought nothing of it. P now checks carefully that the door is closed every morning.

Teething / Chewing

Margot remains keen to chew on lots of different textures as expected. Recently, I have noticed that her teeth look as though they have changed. Every time I can see her chewing on something, I try to take a closer look at her jaws.

According to this Pets at Home article, ‘As your puppy grows, his or her jaw grows, too. This causes the milk teeth to fall out and the adult teeth to grow behind them shortly after. This process usually begins when your puppy is three to four months old when the incisors begin to fall out. The canines usually fall out by four to six months of age and the premolars fall out when your pup is four to seven months old.

Some extra premolars and molars will also appear by five to seven months of age, leaving your pup with a grand total of 42 adult teeth by the time they are six to eight months old.’

If this information is correct, Margot should have quite a few of her adult teeth already. We have seen evidence of tiny blood spots on some of her toys and the puppy bone she gnaws frantically on. There’s also that obvious incessant chewing, but she has always done that so it’s nothing new. Others have warned us that puppy teeth are a bit like Lego bricks if you step on one that has fallen out, but so far we have all avoided that too. I’d love to know what her current adult tooth count is – and I even googled some images of puppy vs adult teeth to see if that might help me in my detective work. Sadly, I’m still stumped.

Got to love that Amazon packaging – now with so many more uses. Hiding bits of food inside is our favourite…

Still chewing up the garden too – see below! (I would have thought that the thorns would have been been a good defence for my roses, but apparently not. I hope the flowers will bloom when the spring finally does arrive.) And with all the rain, our grass has certainly seen better days.

To be honest, I am so over all of this rain – Margot and I just got caught in a shower on another morning jaunt / training walk. Surprisingly, she was her best behaved in terms of staying close to my heel when the wind picked up and the rain poured down. And she looks rather sweet and fluffy when her fur is damp. It’s like her doodly bits come to life…

Margot says…

‘I love rooting around in my toy box and picking out things to play with and chew. That yellow and blue thing is quite heavy but I can just about get my jaws around it to pick it up and it makes a satisfying noise when I push it around on the slippery floor.

I don’t mind getting a bit wet when I go outside as I can have a really good shake which is so satisfying.’

Margot asleep

I think her favourite place to have a nap is still in the kitchen in front of the radiator. It is clear that Margot still loves her original Foxy cuddly toy. Sadly, one of its arms has been chewed off, yet she will continue to cosy up to it in her room. For some reason she has taken an aversion to the blanket we put on the top of her crate for warmth and has this last week been pulling it off. We have moved it upstairs for the moment to avoid a battle. However, you can see her curled up on it in the third picture. One of our questions at the moment is does she actually sleep in her crate at night? Maybe it was too claustrophobic in there with the blanket on the top?

And finally…

Just another excuse to add in a few more photos. You can see in the second picture that our pup has a new collar. Forgive me for giving in to stereotyping, but after the many comments referring to Margot as a boy with her blue collar, I gave in and went for a pink one. I did think it looked redder than that in the picture on the internet, but the contrast with the colour of her fur is lovely. (Emphasised by the adjoining picture where she is camouflaged by the underside of the mattress having turned it over!)

Next week… another session with our trainer Fleur adding recall to name to our armoury, and hopefully an improvement in the weather so that we can return to the outdoors more readily.

Please feel free to comment, share and spread the word.
Dog Blog #10 – Happy New Year!

Jan 6th, 2023
I can’t believe that I have reached my tenth blog post already. That means that Margot has been living with us for ten weeks now and she is 20 weeks old on the day of publication. Where did that time go? When I think about how much she has changed in those two and a bit months, it’s incredible really: not only in size, as she now looks so much bigger when she trots around the garden, but also in terms of her temperament and behaviour. We seem to understand each other so much better, most of the time, especially in this last week now that all the excitement of Christmas and the new year have passed.

I love this latex dog toy so much that I replaced the purple one with a new yellow one for Christmas. Hilarious face…

Reflections on the Festive Period

I know I made some reference to this in last week’s blog, but I hadn’t really considered quite how much of a difference having a puppy over the Christmas period would make. Well, I had, but the theory is one thing and the practice something else. On reflection, I think Margot handled all the upheaval and the constant flow of strangers in and out of the house rather well. There may have been a couple of awkward ‘bitey’ moments, but most of our visitors had prior experiences with dogs and were confident in their interactions with our pup.

New Year’s Eve exceeded all my expectations. Having established a routine of going upstairs not much later than 9pm so that Margot can settle in her crate without any distractions, we weren’t sure about how seven of us in the next room ‘seeing in 2023’ at midnight would compare. As has become tradition over the last few years, we had my oldest friend from school here to stay along with her family. (Being a farmer’s daughter, she has had lots of experience with animals in her formative years and she wasn’t phased in the slightest.) During our meal, Margot stayed in her room, but later in the evening there was too much going on in the living room for her to settle and sleep, so after quite a bit of intermittent whining, R and I allowed her to come into the kitchen at 11pm. Perhaps she just wanted a bit of company (or not to be able to see the games being played in the living room through the glass) because she promptly went to sleep while my friend and I had a much-needed catch-up.

Training Update

New year, new training session… We were so grateful to our wonderful trainer Fleur in coming to see us on the Bank Holiday so that we could all hear her pearls of wisdom. And what amazing pearls they were. Once again she listened to our concerns, gave us some suggestions and showed us some practical ways to distract Margot when she is behaving in ways that we might not be happy with.

One of the battles which has seemingly evolved over the holiday period is wiping Margot’s feet after she comes in from the garden. With all the rain we have had recently, there are constantly puddles on the patio and patches of a quagmire rather than grass. (The pup’s digging doesn’t help much with this either…) Therefore, rather than having a trail of muddy paws across the dining room through to the kitchen, patting down her paws and wiping down the backs of her legs has become somewhat important. Fleur talked to us about teaching our puppy to focus on a treat on the floor and encouraging her to wait before she is allowed to eat it. This is something we have introduced, but not as a method of distraction. (There is something similar I have seen on the internet called ‘The Bucket Game’ but we aren’t using a bucket here.) If we place a treat on the towel, which she will sit on after coming in from outside, the idea is that she will be so distracted by the food, we can lift up her paws and wipe them gently. J is better at this than I am as you can see in the pictures above, but there has certainly been an improvement rather than Margot running about the room to get away. (It is also a strategy I have started to use when putting her collar and harness on for a walk. Sometimes it works and sometimes I have to walk away and have a few minutes’ break before trying again.)

Clicker Training

Walking on the two point harness is steadily improving. One of the pinch points is when we meet other people or dogs – Margot rises up onto her two back legs to try and get closer so Fleur introduced us to ‘Watch’ as another distraction and showed us how to use a clicker to help with training.

What are the benefits of clicker training with dogs?

According to the Blue Cross website, ‘A click is more effective than your voice for two reasons. Firstly, your mood will influence how you sound and can make your voice inconsistent. Secondly, by the time you’ve praised your pet they might have moved on to something else. A clicker gives a quick, clear and consistent signal to your pet.’

Why is clicker training successful with a whole manner of animals?

‘Clicker training uses a distinct and consistent signal to mark a desired behavior in real time and then follows that signal with a motivating reward. Because animals understand precisely which action earned the click and their reward, they learn new behaviors quickly, easily, and enthusiastically.’ – American Kennel Club (In fact, Fleur told us that even hens can be trained using a clicker – now that is something I would like to see!)

The ‘watch’ command involves placing a treat by the dog’s nose and moving your hand up to your eye so that they are looking at you and you have their attention. Success is rewarded with the treat and the command word is added in a bit later. We also tried it with the clicker. The trick here is to click as soon as you see the behaviour you want and reward immediately after. (When out on a walk, there is definitely a knack to holding the lead, the clicker and a treat all at the same time. I have been successful when crossing paths with a couple walking, but failed when meeting another dog so it’s still a work in progress, but also still early days. My first impressions of the clicker are really positive, so much so that I have ordered two more so that we can have one each in either red, white or blue. My next question is how long are you supposed to use it for?)

The other training point Fleur demonstrated was to encourage Margot to lie down. We have chosen the command ‘Flat’ for this to avoid confusion, as up to this point we have using the word ‘Down’ for get ‘down’ from the counter or from people.

So, the get ‘down’ from the counter didn’t appear to be working. Fleur’s thinking is that every time we tell Margot off in this way, we are actually giving her attention so she won’t necessarily stop doing it. Instead, we should be rewarding her when her ‘four paws are on the floor’ and ignoring the jumping up by completely turning our backs. We also watched a video about this on YouTube with a trainer called Chirag Patel, someone our guru recommends.

Back to School

After the excitement of the holidays, and with all the extra support, it is strange being back on my own again with Margot during the day. Of course, on the first day when the other two went back to school, it poured with rain constantly which made getting out for a walk and time out in the garden rather tricky. We did manage it – just.

I did think that with the new year I could set up a new routine: I would try and work upstairs in the study for a few hours so as not to be in the same room as Margot for most of the day, but she whined intermittently so I failed at the first hurdle. But I have to say I also thought it was rather sweet when she moved the mat from other room to lie next to me while I worked in the kitchen – see above. (Not so much today – she is happier in her own space in the other room for her naps. Perhaps ‘fickle’ should be her middle name? Or maybe we are both finding our new boundaries.) However, there are still elements of the rollercoaster in terms of the constant puppy training so I am not out of the woods yet. Nobody said that it was going to be easy.

Margot says …

It’s really quiet in the house again, with only one big person with me now for much of the time. A lovely lady came back with some very smelly beefy treats and a small handheld thing which makes a clicking noise. I’ve noticed that every time they press on the round thing, it makes a shrill sound which is followed by something tasty. They all seem much happier with me apart from when I chew on the mattress.

Margot Asleep…

And finally… I said in the last blog post that I would mention Graeme Hall and the ‘Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly’ TV show. We watched a couple of the programmes over the holiday period. Initially, I was reassured that our puppy wasn’t as badly behaved in comparison, but the turnaround of behaviour of these difficult dogs is incredibly quick. Of course, part of the show’s purpose is for entertainment, so it would be dull to watch the reality of the consistent and constant reinforcement. The presenter Graeme Hall is clearly full of charisma. Perhaps I should order one of his books from the library… I wonder what our trainer Fleur thinks of his methods. I must remember to ask her.

Next week… 5 month update, weight check at the vet and how many puppy teeth has Margot lost?

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Dog Blog #9 – It’s Christmas week…

Dec 30th, 2022
Happy Christmas, one and all. I hope you had a good one. Ours was certainly different this year. We all wondered how it was going to work with our pup in tow. Would we be able to open our presents together as a family after breakfast as we have done in previous years? The traditional family Christmas jigsaw would have to wait a few months and maybe we would have to play the new board game upstairs or in the lounge when Margot was asleep… P was worried that she would chew the cardboard pieces to pieces!

Christmas Toys and Games

Not wishing to leave our puppy out from the receiving of presents at Christmas, we bought and wrapped a selection of cuddly toys for her to chew on: a teddy with a striped, fleecy scarf, a soft Olaf I picked up from a charity shop, a pink unicorn and my personal favourite, a Christmas mouse as part of the Pets Corner food order – more on the food calamity later on… Margot made short shrift of the wrapping paper, tearing it into shreds and it certainly looks as though she enjoyed chewing on the different cuddly toys. (Foxy is still her favourite though – he occasionally makes an appearance from out of her crate when she drags him around the kitchen floor. Both of his long arms are just about intact!)

We have continued to hold back a small portion of Margot’s meals to use in the mental stimulation games throughout the day, mainly by hiding small kibble bones in her toys and encouraging her to sniff them out. (There are times that we wonder about her seeking and finding skills to be honest, but it makes the games last longer. And thank goodness for Amazon boxes and envelopes as these have perfect second uses, even if some of them only last a few minutes before she tears them apart with her puppy teeth. We don’t think she has lost any of these just yet.)

I love this picture of a milky bone hidden inside the beak of one of her bird toys!

Food Calamity

So, after seven weeks with us, Margot has slowly eaten her way through the 12kg bag of More+ puppy food we ordered online from Pets Corner. I had ordered a replacement large bag before Christmas as well as some milky bones and some bacon and cheese ‘sausage rolls’ as extra treats. However, when we opened the new bag, it smelt of paint, as if the plastic of the packaging had permeated the dry food. It was hardly surprising that Margot also turned up her nose at it – well, she actually walked away from her dog bowl! Usually, she hoovers up the lot within 30 seconds. I phoned our local Pets Corner and was pleasantly reassured when they agreed to replace the bag for me as long as I could prove I had bought it online. They also asked me to bring in the smelly food so that they could see (or smell) it for themselves. Apparently, some of the batches of this dog food had been recalled. I suspected that it had been ‘extra baked’ during that hot spell in the summer months. (The Pets Corner staff were just as repulsed by the smell as we all were…)

Imagine my disappointment when I returned home to open the new bag to be greeted by the same foul and pungent aroma. Back on the phone to Pets Corner again and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Having checked the batch numbers, the other large bag they had in the store they suspected would also be ‘off’, but the smaller 2kg packets had a different number printed on them. J went back there this time and before he left the shop, they opened one of the smaller bags to perform a ‘sniff test’ of their own. Success! And because of their amazing support, it makes me want to shop there in the future so everyone’s a winner! Margot, too, as it meant she would have her dinner after all.

Cosily curled up – it’s difficult to work out where her head is!

Visitors over the Christmas Period

With a new puppy, we would not be able to take her to visit our friends and family at this stage, so we found ourselves hosting rather more than usual this year. Unsure of how the extra people inside the house would affect Margot’s behaviour, we warned all our guests to wear old clothes and to be prepared to continually tell her to ‘get down’ – as would we. Although we had already decided that she would ‘settle’ in her room whenever we were eating a big meal in the kitchen. (That had various levels of success as there were episodes of whining, scratching and biting at the door as well as periods of lying quietly on her mat in the next room.) Overall, I think our guests and Margot found a positive rapport between them, particularly those who had past experience with dogs and were therefore far more assertive in their interactions with her. My brother (previously referred to as a dog guru in an old post) told us we were doing very well, which was high praise indeed.

Walking Update

We have continued with the two point harness and leash as you can see in the picture above with some success. Personally, I don’t really understand how this process is supposed to help with preventing pulling, but P is very patient and stops every time there is tension on the leash. I think there is more control of our pup with this method, but I would like some practical exercises to convince me that this method is beneficial. Our next visit from Fleur should help with this.

Margot says…

There have been lots of strangers in the house this week, which seems to have made the big people cross at times. I have tried to be on my best behaviour, but sometimes it has been hard. I really want to see what is going on, which is why I keep jumping up at the table and there have been lots of new meaty smells in the kitchen. I have enjoyed chewing on the different soft toys, especially the arms of the snowman and the scarf of the teddy bear. These have all disappeared now. The head of the bear has also lost its shape as I have pulled out so much of the stuffing.

In other news, the travelling in the car is slowly improving. This week she curled up in the box and seemingly went to sleep for a few minutes on the way back from our walk in the park. I was too late with the camera as Margot’s head popped up as soon as the car stopped in our drive – but to be fair, before then I had been driving! She looks a bit scared in the picture below, but I can promise you she wasn’t seconds before.

Margot asleep over Christmas…

Next week… Dogs Behaving Badly and Graeme Hall, practical lessons and a new year!

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Dog Blog #8 – The Build up to the Festive Season (with a puppy)

Dec 23rd, 2022
This week we have been decorating the house in preparation for the festive season, but with puppy proofing in mind as it would be a shame not to put a tree up in our living room this year. We have also met with a professional dog trainer to give us some tips and to advise us as to what we are doing wrong so far – she was very kind, as well as being an outstanding listener, for it turns out that we still have a great deal to learn (although you probably knew that already if you have been following this blog since its inception)…

Christmas decorations

J put up the outside lights as usual. (No issues there as he needed to climb a ladder so nothing for Margot to interfere with at her level. We kept her occupied while he perched carefully at a great height!)

Inside our house we usually put up a Christmas tree in the lounge as well as having lights around the door and freestanding festive lit-up animals. However, this year we wondered just how it would work with a puppy in tow… As the only carpeted room on the ground floor, Margot is only allowed in during the evening when she is sleepy, cuddly and curled up on the mat we have brought in from her room. However, a tree and fairy lights would surely be an invitation for the wrong sort of puppy play, wouldn’t it?

First of all, J had the idea to raise the tree up onto a pedestal and create a barrier around it. You can see from the photo above that the sofa acts as a natural defence mechanism and we also brought down the wooden ottoman from P’s room to complete the look. (This took a bit of persuasion, but we promised it would only be temporary.) Our lighted reindeer adds to the Christmas theme although the matching polar bear has been promoted to the first floor. So far our pup has shown no interest in the tree, its hanging decorations or the flashing lights – let’s face it, she would probably be able to climb over the box if she really put her mind to it! (I actually think that the room looks cosier with the sofa further forward so I expect it will stay like this in the new year – minus the ottoman, of course.)

Asking a professional for advice

Many people we have met when walking and stopped to talk to have asked us about puppy classes. Some dog owners are very positive and say how important the socialisation is, whereas others have said it’s more about educating the owners. The first set of puppy classes we were interested in started its six-week course just before Margot’s second set of vaccinations. The sessions would take place inside, which was certainly advantageous with the wet weather. But they were also in the evening during the week, at around about the same time as what I describe as the ‘witching hour’ when Margot goes a bit mad. We investigated classes with a different trainer. These took place on a Sunday, but outside in the New Forest and that weather I mentioned before kept pushing back the start date. It seemed that neither was a good fit for us.

Instead, we made the decision to go back to our first choice of dog professional recommended to us by the veterinary nurse, but rather than wait until the next set of puppy classes in January, we booked some one-to-one sessions with Fleur’s Happy Hounds. Dog guru? Dog whisperer? Whatever name or title we could give her, she was calmness personified, completely professional and she offered us over an hour’s worth of advice on her first visit. Initially, she completely ignored Margot when she jumped up at the table and waited for our pup to make the choice to put her bottom on the floor.

Having checked out Margot’s crate, she told us that we must take her collar off at night or when we left her alone because it could become caught on the metal. (Apparently, leaving her is really important, which I was very relieved to hear as it meant that I had been doing something right – even if it was because I needed 30 minutes’ fresh air or had to pick up P from the school bus…)

So, it turns out that we have probably been walking her for too long each day and not encouraging Margot to have enough sleep during our waking hours. Although to be honest, when I take her out of the house during the week, she does an awful lot of sniffing about and I don’t think we actually walk that far. Still, according to the pdsa: ‘Puppies that are exercised too much, or do too much high impact exercise, are at risk of joint and bone damage, which can lead to conditions such as arthritis and hip dysplasia. However, limiting your puppy’s exercise too much could cause boredom, frustration and lead to behavioural problems.’ That happy medium is so important though isn’t it? Fleur re-iterated the ‘five minutes per month of her life’ so that’s still only 20 minutes a day.

She also talked to us about walking Margot on a two-point leash, attaching the lead to the front and back of the harness. This is to prevent pulling. We had already bought a training lead with a clip on each end so we were able to try this the following day – as you can see in the photo above. It does give much more control over her walking. We stop when she starts pulling or trying to forge ahead. It also means that there is less tangling of the lead too. I do hope we are doing it right. In the next session with Fleur she is going to go through some practical exercises, so again we shall see. I will keep you posted.

Mental stimulation

Rather than trying to tire her out with too much physical exercise, Fleur suggested we make Margot work for some of her food by playing games with her. This would encourage mental stimulation instead. Much of this involved hiding bits of her kibble in various objects: an egg box, kitchen towel holders, her latex sausage dog, Amazon envelopes, inside the broken ear of her toy duck and the empty supplement pot you can see in the middle picture above. (We only used this once as although I thought it was an ingenious home-made puzzle toy, she broke off a bit of plastic from the lid so we deemed it too unsafe in the end.)

In the pictures above, P is training Margot to sit and wait before she can find the treat hidden inside the pink ball at the bottom of the tower. It seems to be working very well. Margot can show the same level of patience and good manners with her food too.

Margot says…

The big people have started walking me on a much shorter lead. It means that I can’t run off ahead with as much freedom as before but I still enjoy going out with them. A strange lady came round the other day and sat at the table in the kitchen for ages. I really tried to get her attention, but she wouldn’t budge. After her visit, the big people changed the way they try to handle me. I haven’t decided yet if I like this new way or not. There have been lots of different visitors to the house this week, which has been great fun. One of them gave me a chew toy with some antlers sticking out of the top.

In our backyard

The watering can has been in the garden for as long as Margot has been with us. I can’t explain why this week it was a toy…

I love this photo – I managed to catch Margot standing with one of her paws raised. It looks so sweet when she does this.

Margot asleep…

Now that we have been advised to encourage our pup to have more sleep time, there will be lots of photo opportunities to prove we are doing our bit!

The puppy bed is still a firm favourite, but now looking very sorry for itself… it’s easy to see why from the picture above on the right!

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Next week… how we manage to cope with all our guests and hosting Christmas with a puppy, kibble calamity, plus an update on the walking training with a two-point harness.

Please feel free to comment, share and spread the word…
Dog Blog #7 – Socialisation

Dec 16th, 2022
There’s that word again: socialisation, or trying to introduce our puppy to as many new experiences as possible while she is still young. I think travelling in the car is becoming a little bit easier each time we do it and certainly taking her walking where we live means many dog interactions on every occasion. Margot appears to be getting more used to this too even though I still question her manners at times. Other dog walkers are very kind in their responses – most suggest saying ‘hello’ to their dog and how important the interactions are. And the ones who know that their pets really would not like a puppy jumping all over them have been very clear and waited for us to walk on by. (After much tugging on the leash from mine!) I have been very impressed with my fellow dog owners on the whole actually – with nearly all of them it will have been the first time we have met, and they are ever so friendly.

Harness Headache

You might remember from a previous post that we initially bought a harness that was not great – it was too big and a bit of a disappointment to be honest. After a more careful made to measure approach, we invested in the Julius K9 mini mini, thinking that it would last a few months. How wrong we were…

After a few weeks (three and a half to be exact) the feted Julius K9 is not fit for purpose. I partly blame myself because I wasn’t prepared to fight Margot for it after struggling to attach it without her puppy teeth latching on and tugging as if her life depended on it. (And I had been doing so well up to this point – honest!) Realising that she had bitten through part of the strap, I patched it up temporarily with my trusty needle and thread and tried again. I managed to put it around her tummy this time and clipped the two ends together. And off we went to hit the streets for a walk on the leash.

Imagine my horror, when we returned home and I couldn’t undo the clip… I tried and tried, pulled and pulled as all the while Margot was nibbling at my hand (and I can hardly blame her really because it can’t have been comfortable and she was surely sensing my stress at this point). In the end I managed to release the velcro from around her neck and take the harness over her body and under her back legs. J discovered on his return that she must have also chewed on the prongs of the clip – the centre ‘post’ was misaligned and that was what prevented the two pieces of plastic from coming apart. A trusty set of pliers again created a temporary measure while another harness was on order – this time having done some research on ‘no chew’ versions first. I will keep you posted.

Who’s there?

Margot has discovered her reflection in the water bowl. I’m not sure at this point if she knows that the dog she can see in the water is actually herself or she thinks there is another pup, but seeing her put her paw into the water to try and touch the other canine creature is so sweet…

How you’ve grown…

J and I have had many conversations about how at times Margot still looks tiny and puppy-like, but on other occasions she appears to have grown massively. When we took her back to the veterinary nurse for a monthly weight check, we were staggered that she had not quite doubled her weight in five weeks – but almost. It was reassuring to hear that this was perfectly normal and it wasn’t anything to do with overfeeding her, which is quite often a concern of mine. We have now been advised to change her number of meals from four to three portions a day so it will be interesting to see if that has any bearing on her daily routine. (Cue some careful maths going on to make sure we don’t suddenly increase the amount of dry food and upset her now settled stomach. We will definitely start gradually…) I have written out new measurements and times because otherwise I will never remember!

In the photos below Margot looks very much like a small puppy. I still love playing with this latex dog toy. Its poor head now has various gashes or tears in it and one of the ears is no more. Sometimes when she holds it in her mouth in a specific way, the wide grin looks like it is coming from her, which is hilarious… (I must try and pick up a new one for Christmas – I think we found it in Sainsbury’s of all places when we were scouring the shelves for another bottle of enzymatic spray to clear up wee accidents. No spray was forthcoming but the rubber dog has clearly been a hit.)

Her favourite place to lie at the moment – next to the radiator, especially when the heating is on in the evening.

Our Backyard

It’s turned arctic over the last week or so although the respite from the rain has been wonderful. When the sun breaks through the clouds, it’s still icily cold, but more like the winters I remember from my childhood. We’ve had to wrap up warm to take Margot out for walks in our neighbourhood and she continues to enjoy running about in the garden. I’m surprised that we have any grass left on the lawn as our pup like to dig (!) and my roses have taken some bashing from those gnawing jaws. It will be interesting to see what grows back in the spring, if anything. I have stopped worrying about it for the moment.

Time for a new ball?

You can see in the pictures below the current sorry state of the large tennis ball. Miraculously, there are days where it seems to re-inflate itself through the punctured gash, but sadly it doesn’t stay that way for long. Margot doesn’t seem to mind though as she will continually pick it up in her jaws and sprint around the garden, only returning to tease me with it, taunting me to release it from her puppy teeth. (Incidentally, the veterinary nurse told us that we should start looking out for her teeth on the floor as they could start falling out soon. She couldn’t see any adult ones protruding just yet though. Does that mean that the ‘bitey bitey’ stage might end soon? Oh I do hope so…)

Margot says…

The big people have given me the puppy bed back. I can still fit in it – just! They used to get a bit upset when I chewed at it before, but now I can get my nose right inside and pull out loads of the white fluff. And nobody bats an eyelid. I heard one of them say something about me being sorry when it was completely flat, but I didn’t really understand what she meant.

One of my favourite photos this week…

I started this blog post bemoaning the shortened lifespan of the K9 harness #2. So far, so good with version #3. Although it has two clips rather than one to keep away from her mouth, I like the colour and the reflective sections. Another dog walker verbally admired her ‘little vest’ too!

The final socialisation experienced this week was a visit from my aunt and uncle – new people in the house for quite a few hours at once. Margot was on her best behaviour for almost all of the time they were with us. She did constantly jump up though, something we need to continually remind her not to do – with little success at the moment. Whilst we were eating, she was sent next door to her room so we could have some peace to enjoy our meal. Perhaps the whining and scratching at the door for a few minutes clearly demonstrated her displeasure. However, her audible complaining didn’t last that long and we found her sat happily in her crate once we had finished. I’m not sure why we hadn’t got into this routine weeks before now. You live and learn – it seems that we still have quite a bit to understand with our pup and her behaviour.

Next week… hopefully some lessons and advice from a professional and the build up to the festive season.

Please feel free to comment, share and spread the word.
Dog Blog #6 – Walking on the lead

Dec 9th, 2022
We are all so excited about taking Margot out for a walk on a lead, having been confined to the garden for what seems like so long. This in itself is not without careful thought and preparation however – do we walk solely from our house given that we are limited to the amount of walking time while she is still a puppy? Or do we mix it up a little and venture a bit further afield which involves a journey in the car? And what happens when we will inevitably encounter other people with their dogs?

The first time we tried walking Margot on the lead in our road, we walked as far as the grassy area a few hundred metres away. At first it was a pretty slow process as she wanted to sniff at everything new along the way – yep, that’s right: everything. Still, it must be a sensory overload for her with all the plants, grass, drains and other dog detritus lingering around. Each day I can see minor improvements in the way she checks in with me (undoubtedly for the treat she knows is coming) and she will sit on the edge of the pavement before we cross the road or if a car is coming. (It will be interesting to see what happens with this once we graduate to the main road…)

Harness or collar? Depends on which articles you read. One train of thought suggests that a collar stops your dog from pulling and a harness encourages it. Other dog trainers argue that a harness is kinder for puppies learning to walk on a leash. Certainly our pup is so overexuberant that attaching the lead to her collar would worry me that she could hurt herself. So, harness it is. But yes, she does pull on it, especially when she spots something living and moving – other humans and other dogs…

Walking in the woods on the weekend. This was great fun and a lovely family activity until we crossed paths with another puppy.

The more times I take Margot out for a walk (twice a day for short bursts) the more we are both growing in confidence. The harness slips on and off really easily because I feel that she is excited to get out into the big, wide world for a walk and she knows what’s coming. She has almost stopped biting at the lead completely, which is also a positive. My fears now involve her unpredictable behaviour when we meet other dogs. The first encounter in the woods (when the photos above were taken) involved an entanglement with another puppy only a few months older than Margot. It looked like a full-on fight to me, but the other dog owner was not the least bit phased and said they were ‘just playing’ and we should let them get on with it. To be honest it didn’t look much fun, especially when Margot had one of her ears nipped, and J picked her up in the end.

The following day we met a lady with two dogs. We explained our nervousness and she was brilliant, encouraging some gentle interaction between the three of them. Her words made me smile: ‘She will be able to feel your fear down the lead!’ Is that so? I felt a bit sorry for her two hounds as they didn’t seem that happy to be jumped all over, but I was really grateful for her attitude.

During the week I have bumped into a few people I have seen in and around our local area as well as a couple of neighbours. Margot didn’t like it when one dog barked at her to leave him alone. ‘Her tail’s gone down between her legs. She’s not happy. We’ll walk on ahead.’ I was grateful for his understanding too. You would think it might have taught her to be a bit more mild-mannered in the next encounter, but no. Our neighbour’s cockapoo, another dog just a few months older than Margot, is the epitome of calm – I am hoping that some of her role model behaviour might rub off on our pup in time. She too seems a bit nonplussed by all the excitement. (And it’s a good job there’s a grab handle on the top of Margot’s harness too!) Another couple out walking simply laughed at my efforts to stop our puppy from jumping all over them. Baby steps and all that…

(Btw can anyone tell me when dogs start using other outside areas to toilet in – or is it a case of not being able to go anywhere else apart from ‘your own place’? I know a few humans who are like that.)

Travelling in the car

After a suggestion in the comments from a friend a few weeks ago, I decided to try putting Margot inside a box-type contraption with the aim of making her more comfotable in the car… (I liked this one as it doubles up as a seat cover when she gets bigger and there’s an extra connection too. The box has a belt on it and we have the seatbelt bungee so it should be completely safe.)

As with everything, I started small. The first time on my own I got Margot into the box and we sat in the car for a few minutes, her in the back and me in the front, before I even started the engine. I didn’t go any further than in and out of the drive. The following day we tried again and I drove a few hundred metres down the road before turning around. The whining continued. Third time lucky – we made it out of the road and along to the roundabout and back again. On this occasion she lay down on the fleecy baby blanket I had retrieved from the airing cupboard. We could be onto something here… (I’m not going to lie, there was still some whining this time too, but I feel once again that we are making positive progress in small increments.) I’ll keep you posted.

Am I in or am I out?

I’m in! Question is for how long…?

Margot says…

I’ve got them wrapped around my paws. All I have to do is sit by the French doors and someone rushes over to let me out. Sometimes I’m happy just looking through the glass at the birds when they fly over. It’s got cold outside all of a sudden and the big people don’t always come out into the garden with me. No matter, there’s still plenty to bite, chew and explore with my mouth out there, especially the big patch of green stuff. They have stopped chasing me when I pick up stones, which makes it less fun chomping on those.

Toys

The purple latex sausage dog doesn’t look quite as intact now as in the first picture below. But it’s one of my favourite toys we have bought for Margot so far because it is soft and squishy. It started off with a squeak inside – cue a number of comedy moments when one of us trod on it in the kitchen by mistake and woke up the sleeping puppy. I continully pushed the plastic piece back into the right place at the bottom end but the squeak seems to have given up the ghost now. Margot likes to play a tug of war game with it – as she always chooses to grab onto the head with her vice-like grip, I’m surprised that the two ears and arms remain in existence. I don’t think they will for very much longer. Bits of stuffing have started sprouting out too, which was most unexpected.

Check out the sorry state of the oversized tennis ball… Margot likes competing with me to keep hold of that too, and for those of you who know me, I promise you that I do let her win sometimes! The knotted sheet remains popular when we hide food inside the tied sections and my dad’s old flip flop is now even smaller than in the fourth picture. (It’s a good job that none of us find wearing that kind of footwear comfortable in the slightest!) I am continually picking up tiny pieces of red and blue foam from the kitchen floor.

Obligatory (!) photos of Margot asleep…

Look at that tongue!

Cosying up to P… just look at the size of her paw!

Next week… venturing further afield, more socialisation and hopefully some puppy classes.

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Dog Blog #5 – Bonding

Dec 2nd, 2022
In the spirit of honesty, I’m not going to lie: I have found some of this puppy business really challenging. Nobody tells you just how much hard work it is, and for someone with little experience of any type of animal, let alone a dog, it has been a proper rollercoaster. In the first couple of weeks I sometimes felt as though I had lost my freedom completely, I was stuck in the house and worse still, extremely wary of being bitten by Margot. When you look at her sweet face, you must wonder what I am talking about. However, in these last couple of weeks, she and I have bonded properly. She clambers up to sleep on my lap and whines when I go upstairs or if I leave the house to meet P from the bus. (More about leaving her on her own later…)

Being Assertive

Was Margot ruling the roost? I didn’t think I was allowing her to do what she wanted when it was just the two of us during the week. According to information I read via the oracle, dogs don’t seek to be dominant, but they do show certain behaviour we might find annoying if there are no boundaries. I’m not sure I had set those boundaries clearly enough in the beginning and I wasn’t sure how to respond when she was grabbing at my clothes with those sharp teeth and turning it into a tugging game. Part of my pre-reading suggested not using the word ‘No’ or ‘Leave’ so I didn’t. So what was the answer? Trading with a treat wasn’t working and I’m sure Margot could ‘smell my fear’ or at least my helplessness at times…

Here’s where my friends with dogs came in to support. My old neighbour popped round one afternoon on his way back from work. (He has had dogs for as long as we have known him – and that’s more than 20 years.) Within moments he had Margot eating out of the palm of his hand. (Actually, not literally – perhaps that’s the wrong expression!) A simple ‘No’ when she jumped up in a low stern voice and her bottom hit the floor. There was no shouting, and it was clear she understood what he wanted her to do.

The following day a second friend phoned to offer me some advice about play biting after reading a previous blog post. Having convinced me that Margot would not bite me, and telling me to speak firmly and to gently push her mouth away from my clothing, it gave me the confidence to be more assertive with her. (After all, I had had no problem being assertive with up to 30 pupils in a classroom in my previous teaching career, so why should training a puppy be any different? Before these two interactions with my dog-owning friends, I had considered teaching the far easier option – so I publicly thank them wholeheartedly here! You know who you are…)

I can honestly say that now I feel so much more confident about dealing with the biting and Margot does ‘leave’ my clothes alone when I command her to.

Toys

The range of toys we have for Margot are so much fun. From the homemade old sheet tied in knots at intervals in which we hide treats for her to sniff and seek out, to the squeaky duck she can make ‘sing’ on demand and the bouncy moonball in the garden which she will chase and chew on. (The oversized tennis ball pictured in a previous post is now looking a little worse for wear – her puppy teeth have managed to pierce the inner skin so it has a puncture and she has also managed to tear away some of the outer fluffy covering. I still kick it across the garden for her from time to time and she will grab it between her jaws and shake her head from side to side as if she is wrestling with it. I’m assuming that’s normal playful behaviour…) We swap the toys around periodically so that she doesn’t get bored – I seem to remember the veterinary nurse saying that was a thing. (And I promise you we have many more than the ones pictured!)

Margot says…

Another fleecy mattress has appeared in the kitchen next to the metal plate hung on the wall. At certain times the metal object is really warm. It has become my new favourite place to lie down and sleep during the day. One of the big people sits at the table with some sort of machine so I have some company. They don’t like it when I jump up and put my paws on the table, especially when they are eating. I just want to see what’s up there though – what’s wrong with that?

Lead Training

As you can see from the pictures below, the lead training is a work in progress. In the last few days, we have passed the ten-day threshold of confining Margot to our back garden after her second vaccinations. This means that we can explore out the front of the house and down our road – although long walks are out of the question at the moment. Again, having consulted the oracle, the suggestion is five minutes of walking per month of age starting at eight weeks. So if my maths is correct, that’s currently 15-20 minutes, but different websites state that it could be once or twice a day. To be honest, she has probably been running and sniffing about in the garden for at least that up to this point so the priority at the moment has to be venturing out a bit further than the garden and getting used to being in the harness and on the lead.

The first few times were a disaster. Well, perhaps not a total disaster, as I managed to get the harness over her head and clipped under her tummy. But she kept biting the lead and using it as a tug of war game. (One of the friends I mentioned before told me not to be so hard on myself. ‘Don’t forget to empathise. You have just wrapped her in rope and then attached her lead to a strange feeling position.’ When you put it like that, it sounds obvious that it is going to take time to get used to.)

I struggled with taking the harness off at first too. Margot puts her head through the hole now with ease, taking the treat offered to do so, but getting it back over her head without her biting on it was tricky initially. It is fascinating though, because once we go through the back gate and she can see a whole new world, the lead becomes less interesting as a chew toy and she is sniffing everything on and around the drive. I’m a big fan of the concept of ‘loose lead walking’ so that the shape of the lead resembles a smile and Margot has the freedom to explore. I’m really looking forward to taking her on proper walks. (Remembering to take lots of treats and poo bags with me!)

In the garden she absolutely loves this planter my dad made – sorry about the chewed off corners, Dad! The spring bulbs have been dug up and out (by Margot, and disposed of by me) and the level of earth diminishes slightly each day. Maybe she feels secure sitting inside it as it has definitely become one of her favourite places.

Who can resist pictures of a puppy asleep? I also love the one inside the circle where you can see the white of her eye – that’s optimum chewing time when her teeth must be hurting.

I have started leaving Margot alone in the house for short bursts of time. It allows me to go for a brisk walk around the block, and when you have a doctor’s appointment, it’s a case of needs must. Sometimes it looks as though she is strutting off in a huff back to her crate whilst whining as I’m sure she knows I am popping out when I shut the kitchen door, put my shoes on and pick up my keys. I hope she knows by now that I will always come back too.

Next week… venturing further afield, travelling in the car in the ‘box’ and more photo opps.

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Dog Blog #4 – Second Vaccinations

Nov 25th, 2022
Another week has gone by as the days have become shorter, the nights seem even darker and our puppy continues to grow. Margot remains puppy-like in so many ways though – certainly she has made excellent progress in some areas, yet there is certainly room for improvement in others. (This is starting to sound like a school report. Maybe I should categorise the sections into subjects? Once a teacher, always a teacher…)

At the Vet…

One of the main events last week was taking Margot back to the vet for her second vaccinations. As you can see from the photos, we did measure her properly and bought a better fitting harness, a Julius-K9 Mini-Mini in dark green. (I think she looks rather fetching in it. Interestingly, the lady we crossed paths with inside the vets’ reception area immediately assumed she was a male dog due to the colour of her collar and harness.)

Once again, I was so impressed with the two people who helped us at Lynwood. The vet, Luisa, took a good look at Margot, feeling her legs, tummy and looking in her ears. (With typical chewing acumen she managed to get the stethoscope tube in her mouth – that’s Margot, not the vet.) Luisa asked us what food we were giving her – it’s a brand called ‘More+ First Steps’ for dogs up to a year old, which Sarah the puppy lady had started feeding the litter. Being careful to check the amount, I weigh out four scoops a day. It would be wrong to overfeed her and to be honest she does seem very greedy (or perhaps hungry!) but you do worry that you are giving her the right amount of food. The guide on the 12kg bag gives a daily measurement for a dog’s adult weight – which is clearly where some guesswork comes in, as well as googling the average adult weight of a female labradoodle. I mix the dry food with warm water to soften it a little which has helped with Margot’s digestion. (In the first week she regurgitated some of her food and ate it again…)

Actually the vet appointment wasn’t too bad after all that!

The second vaccination is to boost Margo’s immunity further from Leptospirosis and Parvovirus (sometimes referred to as lepto and parvo – of course…) Initially, we were disappointed that we still couldn’t take Margot out of the garden for another ten days after this jab, but having read the information on the PDSA website about the nasty parvo virus and the severity of the leptospirosis bacterial disease, we completely understand that it is absolutely vital to ensure our puppy’s safety for a little bit longer.

We were also offered the Kennel Cough vaccine. If a dog catches this, it can result in (not unsurprisingly) a nasty cough as well as a raised temperature and sometimes also a lack of appetite. P didn’t want to watch when Margot’s skin was pierced with a needle and she was relieved when the kennel cough dose was administered by liquid from a pipette up one of her nostrils.

On our way out, we picked up a box of Advocate, a triple liquid dose of flea, lice, mite and worm control to be squeezed onto Margot’s skin in between her shoulder blades every month. The nurse also gave us a Droncit tablet, ‘a highly effective treatment against all common species of tapeworm infecting dogs’ according to the vetuk website. Instructions were to space out the doses over a few days to avoid overloading Margot. Phew, that’s a lot of medication for a small dog!

Chewing and Biting Update

I know this is an aside, but to start off with something positive, the toilet training seems to be going very well… mostly. As long as we send her outside for a quick wee before we go to bed, she will sleep through the night without any trouble. During the day, unless I miss her silently waiting by the dining room French doors to be let out into the garden, she will go to the toilet outside. (Once I missed the signal… Margot trotted back into the kitchen and seemingly did a wee directly in front of me as if to say ‘See, you weren’t paying me enough attention.’) I’m hoping that the next stage will be some sort of whine or noise to give me a bit more of a clue that she wants to go outside.

But back to the chewing…

The accepted chew toy is on the left…

See how she chooses the wrong option here too…?

There’s been little improvement here, unfortunately. My fleece has holes bitten into the hem on both sides from where she has jumped up and tugged with quite some strength. That sweet little fleecy pad she was pictured sleeping on in last week’s post (and in one of the photos below) now has a ten pence piece sized hole on the underside. I managed to pick up trails of stuffing from the kitchen floor and poke it back inside. (I’ve already sewn up a seam on this cushion once – it looks like I will need to fish out my needle and thread again both for the seat pad and my jumper.)

And cue another embarrassing moment when P had a friend over to meet Margot and he left 45 minutes later with a hole in his shorts. (They had been having fun playing with her in the garden up to the point where she must have been overexcited – or not yet understanding the word ‘No!’ I texted the young man’s mother to apologise and she was very kind and understanding in her reply…) I am still waiting longingly for the play biting stage to end.

Is Kong the answer?

On a normal working day, J comes back home with nuggets of ‘dog info’ (and sometimes presents) from his colleagues who are also dog owners. One very kind lady gave him a treat ball – see above – and a tube of dog pate to try. The ball looks like it has rows of teeth on its outer surface and you can fill this with treats that can be licked or chewed out as well as providing an allowed chew toy. For the first time I used it, Margot was amused for 30 (!) minutes, rolling it as well as licking and chewing on it constantly. When it rolled under the cabinet, I was quick to retrieve it! Again she has given it a good going over, as it is quite soft rubber so I don’t expect it to last very long. The more substantial, tougher green ball in a similar style doesn’t appear to have the same attraction, even when daubed in pate. I’m not sure why.

Another nugget said to be the chewing magic wand is something called a Kong. ‘The Kong Puppy soft rubber formula is customised for a growing puppy’s baby teeth and gums. This gentle, but long lasting toy helps satisfy instinctual needs and provides mental stimulation.’ On the face of it, this toy sounds amazing (and this was definitely reiterated by J’s colleagues) but both Margot and I are a bit nonplussed by it. Its strange shape results in a revolving, circular movement, which is entertaining for a few minutes, but it isn’t a miracle solution. Even putting it in the freezer so that it is soothing for her gums hasn’t added to the attraction – or lack of it. Apparently, Kong Puppy is ‘even more enticing’ when stuffed with dog peanut butter. (I have some of that on order so I shall keep you posted. Perhaps we weren’t using the Kong properly. I am prepared to have my mind changed. Let’s hope Margot is too!)

Margot says…

‘I’m getting used to the garden. There are lots of places to run about and hide in and loads of sniffing opportunities. I like digging in the gravel and the wild flower bed. The other day I fancied a game of tug so I dropped the rope ball at the big person’s feet. She joined in but going around in circles made her a bit dizzy.’

She never goes to sleep on my lap… Remember when I made a comment about wondering which member of our family she would form the biggest attachment to. My guess was spot on!

Socialisation

I keep hearing this word ‘socialisation’ and how essential it is to introduce Margot to new experiences whenever possible. The night before going back to the vet, P and I sat with her in the car. I didn’t drive anywhere, but we wanted to make her feel more comfortable inside the strange metal box. I think it worked in preparation for the next journey as she seemed less stressed the following day. There’s so much more to introduce her to, but we are still quite limited being tied to the house and garden at the moment. Our time will come…

Margot is used to being picked up by the other two members of our family and I have been growing in confidence every day. Below is my attempt at a first selfie – I’m not sure if Margot is impressed or not.

Next week… being more assertive, lead training and getting out on the streets!

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Dog Blog #3 – Establishing a Daily Routine

Nov 18th, 2022
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With anything, a routine is hugely important to settle both humans and canines – we have been trying to do just that to become even better acquainted with each other over the last couple of weeks and to form long-lasting bonds. I’ve seen on the internet that Labradoodles can become attached to one particular member of a family – I wonder who that will be…? This week we have been for a socialisation visit to the registered vet and we are trying to learn to cope with the constant chewing and biting.

Doing a Recce at the Vet Practice

We had registered with our local vet, one of a group in our area, before Margot joined our family. When I went in to ‘check them out’, comparing them with the alternative down the road, never having stepped foot into a similar establishment before, the lady behind the desk was so excited for us. She asked what type of dog it was, when she was arriving and genuinely showed an interest in sharing information about the practice. Another two visits later and I still feel the same – the people we have dealt with at Lynwood have been nothing but friendly and supportive.

Having booked an appointment to see the veterinary nurse for Margot’s ‘Look/See Socialisation visit’, we were once again back in the car for the first time in a week. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. J and P sat in the back to try and keep Margot calm and reassured whilst plugged into the seat belt clip for security. (I bought one of the short bungee ones which attach both to the car and onto a harness – not the collar!) It’s fair to say that she either doesn’t like my driving, the sound of the air conditioning or the feeling of the movement – I wasn’t driving fast, I promise – because she whined and whimpered all the way there and all the way back. I’m not sure who was the most stressed out of the four of us…

Therefore, we also needed to introduce Margot to the small harness we had chosen for this very purpose. J was brilliant at this. When I tried to put it over her head, she simply chewed it. But there is definitely an art to putting it on. First of all you have to choose the correct hole to put her head through, sort out her front legs, followed by securing the band under her tummy by clicking the two clips together. Tbh it’s a little on the big side, like the new blazer you buy your child when they start secondary school that they will undoubtedly grow into. We may need to buy her an alternative and actually measure her properly. With a tape measure? I wonder how that will go?

‘How do I look? Smart or silly? I like the colour, but I’m still a little unsure about this harness.’

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long before Margot was called in to see Alice, who was both friendly and professional in the way she asked us questions, gave us advice and information and made us all feel reassured that our puppy was doing well – and so were we. Perching her on a metal table which stood quite high up off the ground was a bit scary. It was difficult to focus on all the details we were being given and make sure that our inquisitive friend didn’t fall off. Alice covered a whole range of topics such as feeding, sleeping and socialisation – a topic for a future post. Next week we are back again for Margot’s second vaccinations so I hope she remembers how much fun she had…

Incessant Chewing – does this ever end?

The incessant chewing is relentless. I’m not going to lie, it’s the most challenging aspect of her behaviour. When those little puppy teeth take hold of my jumper, fingers or shoelaces, they certainly latch on and sometimes she keeps on tugging like her life depends on it. There are holes in the bottom of my fleece where she has jumped up and pulled on it showing the whites of her eyes. (Jumping up – something else to try and train her out of!) I try to be ready with a rubbery alternative, but she has caught my hand a few times… it really hurts. Poor old Foxy continues to be given a right going over. Can anyone tell me when this stage ends? (I put the question into Google and according to the Blue Cross, ‘play biting is a phase that puppies will typically grow out of once they reach between three and five months of age’. It can’t come soon enough for me to be honest.)

Time Spent Outside

I did think that spending time in the garden might prevent the biting and chewing – I suppose it does in terms of chewing inside the house. Plus it gives us all a break from trying to find suitable chew toys, Amazon boxes or the inside tube of a roll of kitchen towel. However, instead outside in the back garden she has her nose to the ground 80% of the time rifling through the grass and leaves for… I’m not sure what really. I am constantly scouring the ground for acorns which have fallen from from the oak trees behind the fence because these are toxic. She has started weeding the grass from in betweeen the patio slabs, digging in amongst the small stones and chewing on the corner of a wooden planter. Any ideas? Another friend with a dog suggested a dog deterrent spray – I had no idea such a thing existed. I might try some for the skirting boards and radiator knobs in the kitchen, but I can’t really spray the entire garden with bitter apple. Where’s the fun in that?

Margot says…

‘I love my new family and I show this through my play biting, but the big people don’t seem to find it as fun as I do. I don’t hurt them on purpose. It’s lovely scrambling to sit on their laps for a cuddle even though they are always presenting me with different objects to chew on. I find the wishbone-shaped one tricky to hold onto with my paws and it skids across the floor sometimes. I wish my teeth didn’t hurt so much.’

Nap time…

What’s that poem called? The first line is: ‘Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair…’ (It probably just has the title ‘Cats’. The oracle Google confirms it as ‘Cats sleep anywhere’.) The pictures below show that our puppy will sleep anywhere there is a fleecy mat – when she isn’t chewing on it, of course…

A

B

C

Next week… second vaccinations with the vet, walking on the lead, chewing updates and more photos!

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Dog Blog #2 – Basic Training

Nov 11th, 2022
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There are three aspects of what I like to call ‘basic training’ or the most important bits we wanted to nail as soon as possible: using the crate or ‘den’, toilet training and perfecting the sit – which I referred to in last week’s blog in terms of it not being perfect… yet. Where did we get our inspiration from? A book called Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy by Steve Mann, marketed as ‘Your simple step-by-step guide to raising and training a happy puppy’. (It’s a very informative and entertaining read. If you are thinking about preparing for a puppy, I would highly recommend it.)

I read this book from cover to cover (twice) on the recommendation of one of J’s work colleagues. I really like it because it is all about positive reinforcement, a mantra I swore by throughout my 23 years as a teacher. I remember one of my previous heads talking about the behaviour management of children when we were gathered in the staffroom for a meeting: ‘Catch ’em doing something good… and reward them for it.’ The same goes for Margot – when she shows that she understands what we want her to do, she receives a small treat. It sounds so simple, but when you are tired, it’s easy to focus on the negative whether you are dealing with children, young people or a puppy. Patience, and a positive mindset is key.

Another friend suggested that background reading was useful, but that it was important not to take every piece of advice as gospel – that it had to work for us as a family. I drew the line at having the crate in our bedroom for the first few nights or even moving it upstairs as I thought it would be confusing for her. Other gurus have advised the ‘start as you mean to go on’ approach. Everyone here was in agreement with this philosophy so we set up the den in our dining room downstairs which has now become her room. Whether she is allowed upstairs in future remains to be seen, but for the moment we have a stair gate in the hall so that the front door and the stairs remain a no-go area.

The Den

The transformation of the den has evolved naturally over time. The photo on the left shows our lack of experience with the pristine colourful mat on the floor by the entrance. I showed Sarah the puppy lady a photo of the crate before we brought Margot home. Her response: ‘Your house is so clean and tidy!’ I sensed from her reaction that we might be in for a shock and it might not be so clean and tidy for long…

My dad’s old army blanket works around the three sides for warmth and we put the tiny puppy bed close to the entrance with the foxy cuddly toy inside it. The next question was whether we locked her in at night or not. If we did, what would she do if she needed the toilet? Another dog guru made the suggestion that we put a puppy pad or some newspaper near to the entrance as she wouldn’t wee on the mattress she slept on. Apparently, dogs don’t do that…

We shut the crate door on the first night but she didn’t like it. Fearing she would be traumatised and never want to go into the den again, we compromised: the gate was left open and all the other doors to the downstairs rooms were firmly shut. Making sure anything we didn’t want chewed was out of reach, J and I made our way tentatively upstairs. (As I said in the first blog post she cried on the first night but not since.) So far it appears that night time is not the preferred chewing time – each morning Margot is waiting patiently inside the den until J comes downstairs. Her morning routine is quickly becoming established… (One word of warning – you can see in one of the pictures above that the blanket is folded up and over the top of the crate. That only happens when she goes nuts for absolutely everything in the room she can possibly chew – or drag – usually in the late afternoon. Distraction is still the key but temporarily moving the blanket out of reach also works! The puppy bed didn’t last long inside the den either – I think she prefers the space of the fleecy mattress.)

In the first blog post I said I would talk about the ‘den wizard’ in a later instalment. (This is another suggestion from Steve Mann in his Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy book.) J was really excited about the den wizard visiting as a motivator in encouraging Margot to bond with her safe space. Our brief was to make the den an exciting place to be. Obviously, Foxy was already in situ, but we also hid treats in and around the small puppy bed. Ideally, the den wizard should visit regularly in the first few days and in secret so that there are treats to discover on a number of occasions. He did pay a visit a few times, but possibly not as often as J was hoping. (He talked about the den wizard alot…)

I think it is safe to say that Margot loves her den – it has definitely become her quiet go-to space very quickly. The newspaper remained by the entrance to the crate for a few nights. Those clips holding the back of the mattress up against the end of the crate were removed once she started trying to chew on them – but I don’t think they are necessary anymore. She trots in and snuggles up on the fleecy mattress whenever she wants a nap or some alone tme.

Margot says…

‘I love shredding the cardboard boxes. I can get through a big one in a couple of days. All the little pieces I leave on the floor disappear when one of the big people picks them up. There’s also this machine that appears every so often that hums and whirrs. If I get too close to it, I get a bit nervous and jump backwards. It doesn’t stop me from trying to bite it first though. She’s quick at moving it away from me but I like to try and catch it. I’m only really destructive before a nap when I’m tired.’

Toilet Training

If you search up this topic on Google, you will be faced with a minefield of contradictory advice. Good luck trying to work out what’s right and what’s not… Steve Mann, our Easy Peasy puppy man advises having a ‘watcher’ who keeps a diary and a look out for tell-tale signs, sniffing and circling the floor, for example. (Margot, not the watcher.) He is not a fan of putting newspaper down on the floor, but we did by the door as an alternative to a towel for coming in and out of the autumnal garden and she did use it once at night – let’s hope we are not teaching a young pup bad habits. (And please can somebody let me know what to do when it is pouring with rain outside – nobody wants to go out in that, but what’s the alternative? We can’t have a fairweather dog…)

Actually, I think Margot is doing pretty well on the whole. In the garden I follow her every move – it’s a bit like being on playground duty as a teacher – and I make a huge fuss of her when she goes to the toilet outside. (I had a special moment one morning when I spotted her looking out of the glass doors, whining, and weeing as soon as she got outside. My bubble was burst, however, when I spotted a yellow circle on the kitchen floor two hours later. My role as the watcher is not perfect… yet, but I am beginning to spot the signs.) When she is awake – and it isn’t raining – we spend lots of time in the garden. You can see in the pictures below that she lets me know when she has had enough of the fresh air.

I want to go inside now

Please can we go back in?

Perfecting the Sit

For this part of basic training, I followed the advice of two gurus: 1. Steve ‘easy peasy’ Mann and 2. My brother – he of the newly established K-9 what’s app group for instant answers and advice / fully-fledged dog whisperer. (He and his wife have an amazing dog story, but that’s for a future post possibly…) So, if you hold a treat above a dog’s nose, their natural instinct is to plonk their bottom on the floor as they look up at you with those irresistible puppy eyes. As soon as they do this, you should reciprocate with the word ‘sit’ followed by giving them the treat. This has to be repeated many times in lots of different places. The dog whisperer suggested that we do a bit of ‘sit training’ (or any other kind of training actually) every time we go outside for the repetition and consistency. (My brother also told me to let Margot out every hour to see if she needs a wee – that’s a lot of training opportunities then! We don’t do it every time…)

Margot caught on to this wheeze very quickly and frequently followed me about like a little shadow, perfecting the sit without being asked to. Sadly for her, she doesn’t get a treat every time she does this (even though I am tempted to give in) but only when following the command.

We have started moving away from Margot whilst she is in the sitting position, continuing to say the command aloud. She can run over and sit for a treat from a distance although there are times when her overexuberance kicks in and she jumps up first. Even though this looks really cute, because we are trying to discourage the leaping for the future, we then have to go back a few steps. (The dog whisperer advised us to fold our arms and turn away if she jumps up – I’ll keep you posted if this has the desired effect.)

Still to come… harness training, Vets’ recce with the nurse, second vaccinations, travelling in the car safely restrained, walking on a lead, more updates on chewing, recall to name – so much to learn!

As before, please leave me some feedback about the content of this week’s blog. I love reading your comments and replying to them. Next week I might try to incorporate a survey or a quiz after I have picked up WordPress for Dummies. Every day is a school day.

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Dog Blog #1 – Getting to Know You

Nov 4th, 2022
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The night before bringing a puppy into our lives, I went to a friend’s birthday party. There were lots of people I knew there from my previous job as a teacher. Nearly every single person I spoke to and shared my news with had a dog themselves. Everybody was so excited for us.

‘You’re going to have so much fun.’

‘I absolutely love my dog.’

as well as…

‘Make sure you put away everything you don’t want chewed: slippers, the remote control, wellies, P’s homework…’ (I thought that was an urban myth!)

‘For six weeks it was chaos in our house.’

‘Be prepared to live with the mess for a while.’

Let the good times roll. I’ll keep you posted.

The night before we picked her up, I had some very odd and vivid dreams. In one, Margot was talking to me through a computer screen. (She told me that I had aggressive eyes. I’m not sure what my subconscious brain was trying to tell me there…!) But it gave me an idea for a section of the blog entitled ‘Margot says…’ where she can ‘talk’ through the words I imagine she is thinking. Let me know your thoughts.

Margot says…

‘I like it here. The outside space is big enough for me to run around in – my favourite game at the moment is chasing the big people from one end of the grass to the other. The big yellow ball travels quite fast too but I can’t quite get my mouth around it yet. I bet I can soon. Whatever this pink object is has two great textures for me to chew on – I’ll have shredded it in no time! There’s a second one out here somewhere.’

Before Margot’s arrival, I had a number of unanswered questions running through my mind, not least of all how long it would be before I discovered the answers…
- Will she bond with us quickly?
- Will she cry on the first night?
- Will she like her den (and the den wizard – more on that in a later post)?
- How much will she eat?
- Will she chew the furniture?
- Will she miss her siblings?
- What will she make of her outdoor space?
- Will she like the fox soft toy we have put in her bed?
- Will the harness and the collar we have bought be too big?
- How long before she grows out of the puppy bed?
- How will we all cope with the change? (My stomach was churning on the morning we picked her up.)
Margot has bonded with us really well in the few days that she has been in her new home. She trots out of the dining room whenever she hears us coming down the stairs and waits by the stair gate. It’s a relief all round. She loves being cuddled.

I’m not sure the ‘puppy bed’ will last very long… We bought one to keep Margot feeling secure in her den, although she prefers the big, fleecy mattress. So we got hold of a smaller version of that too for use outside the den. (The seat pad inside this tiny bed makes a comfier ‘chair’ on the hardwood floor so all is not lost.)

The feeding is going well. We are giving Margot the same dry food as Sarah the puppy lady did four times a day, using a ‘slow feed’ bowl my brother, one of my dog gurus recommended. (She has just managed to drag the metal water bowl out of the blue holder though… cue a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. But at least it is only water.)

Exploring the garden and all the new smells in it is definitely a favourite pastime. She has given all of the flowerbeds a jolly good sniff and runs in a figure of eight around some of the larger plants in one area. With the typical autumnal weather, we are frequently dodging the showers and spending time outside when we can. Earlier there was a thunderstorm – are dogs scared of these like they are fireworks? I’m yet to find out as Margot slept through it…

There was a bit of crying on the first night – but let’s face it, who can blame her really? I’m sure I’d have been the same. J and I were up in the middle of the night with her, but we didn’t hear her at all on the second night. Result!

I suspect she misses her siblings although she was one of only four pups left (out of a litter of ten) by the time we picked her up. Another piece of advice we followed was to take an old t-shirt on our second visit to see Margot, which we asked Sarah to put in her mother’s basket for a couple of nights. The smell of mum we hoped would soothe her and help her to settle. I think it is working – I wish I could ask her opinion.

One of the key things I learned from my pre-reading (!) is that puppies need to chew to relieve the pain from teething. (Not so different from babies in many ways apart from the amount of chewing time required on a daily basis – quite a bit more for puppies…) Whatever you leave around that she can get her sharp, little puppy teeth into, you are accepting that each of those objects is fair game. We don’t want Margot to stop the chewing, but we should instead give her different textures to chomp on for several hours a day. Foxy is soft, my old flip flops and surfing shoes are rubbery, the toy bone is quite hard – and I discovered this morning that the cardboard box which her additional fleecy mattress came in also works brilliantly as chewing material. When she starts biting at our clothes, our hands or the furniture, we are usually able to distract her with one of her accepted ‘chew toys’. (However, we have had to move one of the chairs out of her room as the wooden arms are just too perfect a size and shape to get her jaws around. Shame – because it was comfy to sit on in there with her.) Btw every day is a school day: apparently, biting and scratching at her bed is perfectly normal before a nap. It looks quite destructive to me though. Thank goodness for Google!

The new collar we put on her yesterday didn’t seem to bother her too much. It’s great because the reflective material shows up in the dark. At first the ID tag hung down too low from the metal D-ring so we reattached it to a softer part, which works better. (Sarah had different coloured puppy collars for identification purposes all with cute paw prints on them. Margot’s was black – I can’t bring myself to throw it away just yet.) The puppy harness is the next stage. I probably need to figure out how it works myself first. I’ll let you know how I get on in a future post.

Perfecting the sit. I’ll be honest with you – it’s not perfect after only two days, but we are all getting there slowly and consistently. (Another word I keep hearing about from all the dog gurus in various forms I have consulted.) I was worried about how we would all cope with the change, and it is definitely a huge learning curve for us all, Margot included. But it is certainly fun, exciting and tiring all rolled into one!

I’d love some feedback on my first blog post. Do you have any other dog guru advice for us? Any puppy stories of your own? Is there anything in particular you would like to know more about in terms of our dog journey? What about the content – are there enough photos, enough text, too much writing? It’s been fun putting it together. See you next Friday. (If you subscribe you should receive an email reminder. Give it a try and let’s see if it works!)

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