Rain
I know what you guys mean when it comes to loss. In fact, for over 10 years, I refused to adopt animals after having had to have my cat put down.
Then one day (actually, that was exactly 9 years ago yesterday), as my then girlfriend was heading out for her appointment at the hairdresser salon, she asked me if I needed her to pick up anything on the way, to which I jokingly replied: one black kitten and one grey kitten.
Turns out that the good folks there had just rescued a couple of kittens from the alley behind the salon and kept them in a box in the corner, while they were desperately trying to find people to take care of them. They were merely a few weeks old.
So she came back with exactly what I'd requested. :)
And now, since my wife and I have decided not to have children, we figured out that we might as well go as pet crazy as we want to and share our life with a bunch furry companions.
Danny: Man, your lovely lady does indeed seem to be an amazing person. Saving wolves? That was sort of an impossible dream of mine when I was a kid. I had a fascination for wolves. That's a very noble mission!
And as you say, at this point, though it'll break my heart when they go (especially my cat Googlie, I can't imagine life without her), I wouldn't want to miss out on all that they bring into my life and all the love they give.
Astrid is doing pretty fine for a young puppy - most of the time. She's a very intelligent dog. She already does most of her business outside, or on the training pad. There's room for improvement as she does leave tiny spots on the floor every now and then. Looks like she's not 100% in control yet. But she's doing surprisingly good.
She does have a tendency to chew and destroy things - like the training pads, but we will also get that under control with training. She still spends every night in her cage and doesn't complain much at all.
I did spend quite a bit of time with her for the last few days but I need to get my ass back to studio work today, so she'll spend a bit more time in her cage.
As for the rest, it seems that there's nothing she likes more than when we let her sleep in the bed. So anytime we watch series on TV or anytime I read a book, she just sleeps there with us for hours. She's surprisingly well behaved and quiet, most of the time, and likes to sleep with her head on my lap.
Compared to a cat, she does require a lot of attention, but then, the interaction is entirely different.
Those dogs of yours look terrific Danny! How I wish I could adopt a Rottweiler! But I guess that little Astrid is a better option for us at this time, with the rest of our menagerie, and our cats with special needs. Takes a good chunk of time to take care of all those guys and give every one their daily does of attention.
We spend at least an hour every night when my wife comes back from work preparing meals, feeding, playing with/walking everyone... And that does not include all the time I spend cleaning litters and picking up stuff and taking care of them during the day.
In terms of insurance, we're all covered for cats - with older cats and special need ones, it just didn't make sense to go without - and my wife has been shopping around for the dog for the last couple of days, creating excel lists, compiling, comparing. She's a master organizer. We should be able to pick the best one for our needs w/in a couple of days.
We're fighting with the no children thing too. Might be too late...tell ya next week. LOL!
Astrid is a great name...and she looks perfect for you guys. Great kitten story, thanks for sharing!
As for training, you have to spend as much time as possible....while trying to break things up in 15 minute increments. With dogs, think of it like practicing guitar scales. Repetition and memory. When my dogs go outside, I say "who wants to go outside" and then keep saying "outside". Once outside, I say "go pee pees" over and over again and when they do, you have to make a big deal out of it. Pet while saying "good boy/girl" and even give them a treat so they can associate that it's good to relieve themselves outside.
Now when I say "outside" they both go the door and when we get out and I say "go pee pees" they do it on command 9 out of 10 times. they just get it after a while. I've never had to say "go poopies" or anything....they just know that anything that comes out of them needs to come out outside. Chewy, the little one....is so conscious of this that if he throws up in the house, he's sick thinking he's going to get a beaten. I have to tell him it's ok and that him throwing up is not a bad thing and that I know he didn't mean it while petting him.
Now, if you catch them in the act, you HAVE to nip it in the bud, Rain or they will walk all over you. I came from the school of "no hitting" but guess what, nothing else works. So....here's the new plan.
Roll up a newspaper. The sound of that sticks in their mind. When they are bad, if you hit them a few times with the paper (this also stops you from putting force on their butt/hip with your hand...paper is a lot softer and just stings) just rolling it up usually makes them stop in their tracks without saying a word.
But when you catch them, I always make them smell it without touching their nose in it and say "outside" loud and forceful. Then you pick them up and take them outside to the place where you want them to relieve themselves and say "pee pees" or "go potty". They have to associate that or nothing will ever change.
When you don't catch them in the act, you don't hit them because they may not know why they are being corrected. In that situation, put their nose close to it...say "outside" and bring them out where you want them to go.
Another thing to remember, they need your support and understanding at first. Don't ever just let her out in the yard without you. Two reasons...
1. If you have hawks or any big birds of prey around, they WILL snatch her up and take her....I promise you.
2. Walk her to the place you want her to relieve herself. This allows her to associate that spot for potty time as well as keeping it in one general area so you're not cleaning up your yard like mad.
Wee wee pads: None of my dogs have ever used them. Put one near the door where you let her out just in case she goes near the door and you don't see her, she may leave you a present there. That's what mine do if I don't see that they went down the steps. I have stair that go into my entry to my house. Normally the dogs wait at the top when they have to go out...but if they wait too long, they literally go down the stairs to the door. If I don't see that, I could have some goodies waiting for me. But...even so, they have associated the door with going out.
The wee wee pads do nothing but make the dog eat them in my opinion. If you get scented ones, they will really eat them. I kept them around in case I saw one start to do something....then I could grab the pad and run it under the dog. I always kept one in my living room, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom...you get the idea. They won't use them but it may stop something from getting on your carpet if you react in time. :)
Crate training: Be careful with this. A lot of people use the crate for punishment. Try to avoid that or the dog will hate it and will never gravitate to it. Yeah, I get enough of mine too and throw them in the crate from time to time, but mine walk in without me saying a word.
This is what you want. Always leave the cage door open so she can go in or out at will. I have mine loaded with blankets, pillows, dog bed and toys. If she chews the bedding, remove it as punishment. Any time she chews a pillow or a pet bed, remove it. She'll control that when she feels the plastic shelf in the cage. My Goliath lasted 3 days on the cage plastic shelf because he ate a $40 bed I bought him.
Now days, our cages are always open and the dogs go in there by themselves. It's their little safe haven. To get them to like the cages, you only put them in when you have to work or when it is time for bed. Each time before you put them in the cage, say something or just tap the cage and say "get in" or what worked for us "night night".
I always put my radio on for my dogs when they are in the cage with the doors shut. These days, I tap the cage when it's time for them to get in and they run right in. You can give a small treat after if need be. There are several things you can try, but bribing is always good. You will stop eventually and they will forget you used to give them treats for doing common things.
So try some of this stuff out and see how you fair. Some dogs are faster than others. Chewy took about 5 months to be totally potty trained to where I could trust him. I worked really hard with him. Shorkies (half Shih Tzu, half Yorkie) are VERY stubborn and set in their ways. So as smart as that little guy is, he's a rebel. LOL! Goliath was potty trained to point of trust in less than 2 weeks. Big difference. I've only had the Rottie about a month. But all the same things I did with Chewy, I did with him. One last thing....whatever command you decide on for them to go potty, never say it in your house. LOL! When I tell you they literally go on command, I'm dead serious. Dogs need repetition and short words....keep at it and you should see improvements in about 2 weeks. Good luck....and let me know if I can help with anything. :)
-Danny