My puppy, other puppies
It's been a while since I updated on Elsa. She's almost six months now - and a seriously smart little thing.
She's getting fixed on Tuesday the 16th. I'm so nervous. Little dogs usually respond poorly to anesthesia. Or rather, worse than big dogs. But my vet is awesome, they have a great track record, and I comfort myself with the fact that if they can easily spay 2lb kittens, they can definitely spay a 4lb dog. Also, while she's under, she'll be microchipped.
She's also using the litterbox fully now. We're on step 3!
Step 1: Potty pads on floor.
Step 2: Potty pads in box.
Step 3: Litter in box!
She absolutely loves the litterbox. The transition went seamlessly, as I put in litter, she dug around, then went to the bathroom and came running over for a cookie.
The litterbox has some huge upsides. The house actually smells a whole lot better than when we used pads, we don't have to take her outside every 2 hours to relieve her tiny bladder, and she hasn't had an accident in the house since we made the switch, which is awesome. I guess since using the litterbox is fun, going to the bathroom has become an actively enjoyable activity. It also reinforces my theory that in her mind, pee on pads=pee on anything padlike. She'd thought it okay to pee on the kitchen rug and front hall doormat. But now with litter, there's nothing litterlike for her to generalize to.
Which further proves that she's a weird dog, since dogs typically can't generalize, and need to be trained to do so. Or maybe she's too smart for her own damn good.
The main downside to the litterbox is the fact that she loves to dig in it, and buries cookies in it to eat later. Nine times out of ten, she'll forget and leave it there, but still. We discourage her from doing that as much as possible.
She's on the head halter for walks now. I actually had to make one (thank god I can) since they don't sell one in Elsa's size, but it's amazing. She does spend about five minutes in "MOMMY I HATE YOU" mode at the beginning of the walk, but otherwise slips right into it. She no longer barks at geese (thanks to three weeks of threshold training) and has housebroken herself when she comes with me to the salon. Seriously. It's amazing. She learned that doors mean outside, and outside is where the strip of grass with all the pee is. So she runs up to the door and sits, waiting for me to clip her leash on.
Freaking genius dog. If this is what she's like at six months, I don't even know what she'll be capable of as an adult.
Speaking of growing up, she's in a chunkerbutt phase. See, puppies get lanky, then chunky, then lanky, then chunky, then even out to where they should be. And she is going from lanky to this slightly pudgy fluffball thing. And regularly spits out baby teeth into my hand.
On another note, Monday I groomed four Great Danes in a row. It was exhausting. My body is one big pulled muscle. It's very difficult to get a 180lb dog to do anything he doesn't feel like.
Time for tea and paperwork. And Ibuprofen.
She's getting fixed on Tuesday the 16th. I'm so nervous. Little dogs usually respond poorly to anesthesia. Or rather, worse than big dogs. But my vet is awesome, they have a great track record, and I comfort myself with the fact that if they can easily spay 2lb kittens, they can definitely spay a 4lb dog. Also, while she's under, she'll be microchipped.
She's also using the litterbox fully now. We're on step 3!
Step 1: Potty pads on floor.
Step 2: Potty pads in box.
Step 3: Litter in box!
She absolutely loves the litterbox. The transition went seamlessly, as I put in litter, she dug around, then went to the bathroom and came running over for a cookie.
The litterbox has some huge upsides. The house actually smells a whole lot better than when we used pads, we don't have to take her outside every 2 hours to relieve her tiny bladder, and she hasn't had an accident in the house since we made the switch, which is awesome. I guess since using the litterbox is fun, going to the bathroom has become an actively enjoyable activity. It also reinforces my theory that in her mind, pee on pads=pee on anything padlike. She'd thought it okay to pee on the kitchen rug and front hall doormat. But now with litter, there's nothing litterlike for her to generalize to.
Which further proves that she's a weird dog, since dogs typically can't generalize, and need to be trained to do so. Or maybe she's too smart for her own damn good.
The main downside to the litterbox is the fact that she loves to dig in it, and buries cookies in it to eat later. Nine times out of ten, she'll forget and leave it there, but still. We discourage her from doing that as much as possible.
She's on the head halter for walks now. I actually had to make one (thank god I can) since they don't sell one in Elsa's size, but it's amazing. She does spend about five minutes in "MOMMY I HATE YOU" mode at the beginning of the walk, but otherwise slips right into it. She no longer barks at geese (thanks to three weeks of threshold training) and has housebroken herself when she comes with me to the salon. Seriously. It's amazing. She learned that doors mean outside, and outside is where the strip of grass with all the pee is. So she runs up to the door and sits, waiting for me to clip her leash on.
Freaking genius dog. If this is what she's like at six months, I don't even know what she'll be capable of as an adult.
Speaking of growing up, she's in a chunkerbutt phase. See, puppies get lanky, then chunky, then lanky, then chunky, then even out to where they should be. And she is going from lanky to this slightly pudgy fluffball thing. And regularly spits out baby teeth into my hand.
On another note, Monday I groomed four Great Danes in a row. It was exhausting. My body is one big pulled muscle. It's very difficult to get a 180lb dog to do anything he doesn't feel like.
Time for tea and paperwork. And Ibuprofen.