Adventures with Patty
I'm behind in updating folks on Patty since I've been under the weather. Tom_Caesar , her foster dad, and her foster brother Gordie are anxious to know what the heck is going on. Well, here we go...
Patty is acclimating more and more each day. She runs around the condo, follows me into the kitchen and even out on the balcony, loves to throw her doll meerkat around, and flop onto her back anytime she thinks she get a belly rub. She's very sweet and lovable. She's giving Lance his space and a few days ago, they actually played together. So I think he's adjusting to her. Poms seem to be poopy, and I put Lance on Eukanuba Lamb & Rice because it kept him more plugged. Even though Patty's been switched to it, she's a poop machine. She poops each and every walk every four hours, big ole things out of this tiny dog. I'm hoping she will adjust to the dog food soon. I've hired Nicole the dog walker who will start walking her next week while I'm at work.
I knew she had some behavior problems caused by the fact she's not been trained, only housebroken. We had an altercation a few days after she got here. She decided to stand there and pee on the floor as I was getting them out for their walkie. She bolted, I took her to the spot and scolded, she growled, I went alpha, she decided that was cool. After that, she started pawing me and trying to run to the door to tell me she needed to go. Very good. Score 1 for little doggy. She loves people but if she can't get to them fast enough, she barks like a maniac, which sends the opposite signal and is not good in halls and elevators. This has to stop. I'm hoping to gain more control when she starts school in January.
A few days ago, I stupidly did not take her out soon enough so she pooped at the hallway door. And I stepped in it and screamed PATTY! She bolted, crawled under the futon and peered out at mad mommy. My fault. Score -1 for bad mommy. Yesterday, I got out the duster for some housekeeping and Patty disappeared. I found her huddling under the bed, refusing to come out. I tried to touch her, she jerked away. Since she doesn't really know me yet, and I wasn't sure how negatively she might react to being pulled out, I left her there and took Lance for a walk. She was her old self when we returned. Tonight she disappeared again. I found her hiding under the bed. Then I realized the duster was still lying on the TV stand and she saw it. When I went back, she was in the back of her crate. Between my coaxing and Lance licking my face and peering in, she allowed me to take the top off the crate and pick her up. Clearly she is terrified of the duster. And that could only mean she's been abused with one. This might also explain why her tail is broken. I feel ill.
In view of this, I've got to study on how to train her without exacerbating her issues. Lance was such a stubborn little alpha male, his training went from very polite schooling to me applying emphasis with a little rolled up piece of paper. Today's behaviorists would scream "oh doggy abuse!" but when I resorted to the old-fashioned way, he suddenly understood everything perfectly from then on. Lance got a tap on the nose. Obviously somebody beat Patty with a stick or something resembling a duster. And probably broke her tail. Grrrrrr.
Patty is acclimating more and more each day. She runs around the condo, follows me into the kitchen and even out on the balcony, loves to throw her doll meerkat around, and flop onto her back anytime she thinks she get a belly rub. She's very sweet and lovable. She's giving Lance his space and a few days ago, they actually played together. So I think he's adjusting to her. Poms seem to be poopy, and I put Lance on Eukanuba Lamb & Rice because it kept him more plugged. Even though Patty's been switched to it, she's a poop machine. She poops each and every walk every four hours, big ole things out of this tiny dog. I'm hoping she will adjust to the dog food soon. I've hired Nicole the dog walker who will start walking her next week while I'm at work.
I knew she had some behavior problems caused by the fact she's not been trained, only housebroken. We had an altercation a few days after she got here. She decided to stand there and pee on the floor as I was getting them out for their walkie. She bolted, I took her to the spot and scolded, she growled, I went alpha, she decided that was cool. After that, she started pawing me and trying to run to the door to tell me she needed to go. Very good. Score 1 for little doggy. She loves people but if she can't get to them fast enough, she barks like a maniac, which sends the opposite signal and is not good in halls and elevators. This has to stop. I'm hoping to gain more control when she starts school in January.
A few days ago, I stupidly did not take her out soon enough so she pooped at the hallway door. And I stepped in it and screamed PATTY! She bolted, crawled under the futon and peered out at mad mommy. My fault. Score -1 for bad mommy. Yesterday, I got out the duster for some housekeeping and Patty disappeared. I found her huddling under the bed, refusing to come out. I tried to touch her, she jerked away. Since she doesn't really know me yet, and I wasn't sure how negatively she might react to being pulled out, I left her there and took Lance for a walk. She was her old self when we returned. Tonight she disappeared again. I found her hiding under the bed. Then I realized the duster was still lying on the TV stand and she saw it. When I went back, she was in the back of her crate. Between my coaxing and Lance licking my face and peering in, she allowed me to take the top off the crate and pick her up. Clearly she is terrified of the duster. And that could only mean she's been abused with one. This might also explain why her tail is broken. I feel ill.
In view of this, I've got to study on how to train her without exacerbating her issues. Lance was such a stubborn little alpha male, his training went from very polite schooling to me applying emphasis with a little rolled up piece of paper. Today's behaviorists would scream "oh doggy abuse!" but when I resorted to the old-fashioned way, he suddenly understood everything perfectly from then on. Lance got a tap on the nose. Obviously somebody beat Patty with a stick or something resembling a duster. And probably broke her tail. Grrrrrr.