Ten tips for bringing home your new puppy

Did you or someone you know get a puppy for Christmas this year? Are you sitting with an adorable puppy snoozing away in your lap right now, wondering what exactly you are supposed to do with this thing for the next 10-15 years? That puppy breath with be gone before you know it, but don't worry, with my top ten tips to a new puppy you will be ready! 1. The first night: your puppy may very likely cry. I know it's heartbreaking, but you just have to let him cry it out. I suggest to set an alarm every 3 hours and get up and take him out to potty (you shouldn't have to do this more than the first few nights). You don't want to ignore a cry if he really has to go, but you also don't want to reward crying. Put a blanket, towel or sweatshirt in the crate that they can snuggle up with. I also like to put a warm water bottle (a Nalgene or some other hard plastic they can't chew) and also a clock with a second hand that ticks - these two things act like the warmth and heartbeat of his litter mates and can be very soothing.

2. Potty training is a full time job. Some puppies pick it up much easier than others - it can take 2 days or 2 months. As a general rule, take your puppy out to potty within a couple minutes of eating or drinking. Their little bodies are so tiny whatever goes in comes out almost instantaneously. When you go outside, wait until they go to come back in. If they try to play, ignore them. Use a command, I say "go potty", and use it consistently. After they go potty, praise them in your best cheerleader voice with love and treats. 

3. Socialize, socialize, socialize! According to Dr. Ian Dunbar, "as a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to meet at least a hundred people before he is three months old." (read more here). Socializing your puppy will play a huge role in determining your puppy's temperament for years to come and you only have about 4 weeks before the socialization window closes! This article talks about socialization with people mostly, but I think it is important to expose puppies to people, babies, sights, sounds, other dogs (as long as you know they are fully vaccinated and healthy), car rides, etc...  You can't socialize your puppy enough during this time and please believe me that you will be very glad you did in the long run. If you think I'm a little too excited about this socialization thing, maybe you can relate to this: excuses to not socialize your puppy.

4. Bite inhibition. Puppies like to bite, partly because they are exploring their world and biting is how they play with their siblings, and partly because they are teething. Those little puppy teeth can be needle sharp, but not nearly as painful as a grown dog, so now is time to teach them how to have a soft mouth. This is surely something you will go over in your puppy kindergarten class, but here is a great article to give you a head start.

{my life of dogs} when I was 9 our black lab had 11 puppies at our home. It was summer and I spent most of my dogs playing with the puppies. We have a hilarious home video of 11 puppies chasing me down the hill and I am screaming and running full speed to dive onto the hammock. My legs were full of bloody little scratches from the herd of puppies biting at my legs.

5. Puppy classes. Your puppy may be a very quick learner, he may have mastered "sit", "down" and "stay" at 9 weeks, but I still highly recommend a puppy class for these reasons: 1) the training is more for you than the pup, 2) it's great socialization and supervised play - it's easier to prevent behaviors than try to fix them later, and 3) you have a professional to answer all the questions that come up over those crucial 4-6 weeks - google has it's limits ;) Here are a couple I recommend:

Jeff Tinsley and Sound Animal Services

Paws 4 Training first week at home

6. Teething. Your pup isn't necessarily trying to be a troublemaker, he may be teething and actually be in pain! Try giving him an ice cube. Also, you get a rope toy wet, put it in the freezer overnight and let you pup work on that for a little numbing relief.

{my life of dogs} My lab, Bailey, used to love to push an ice cube around the hardwood floors and slowly gnaw on it.

7. Toy basket. If you are anything like me, the 2nd most exciting thing after getting a puppy (1st being the actual puppy of course...) is going on a dog toy shopping spree. Make sure to pick up a toy bucket or basket while you are at it. Only let you pup have three toys out at a time, and rotate them every couple days. If they are all laying out at once, your pup gets bored of them and can possibly think that everything on the floor (your shoes?) are fair game. 

8. Pet Insurance. I know, this may sound crazy, but this is essential. I hate to break it to you, but something, at some point, is going to happen with your puppy. Maybe they ate a lego and now aren't eating or pooping right, or maybe they get a cough, or who knows.... but it will happen, and you will feel a lot better about swiping your credit card knowing that you will be getting up to 90% of the bill back. I highly recommend it to all of my clients and every time they go to the vet they tell me how happy they are they have it. My favorite company is Healthy Paws Pet Insurance - use this link and save 10% off for life. Another great company is Trupanion - both are local!

 {my life of dogs} My fiance has a 9yr old German Shepard without insurance and he has spent over $20k on surgeries from eating socks, tire biter toys, etc.... Don't learn the hard way!

9. Keep a routine! Dogs are very routine based animals and they like things kept the way they are supposed to be. Routine will keep your puppy happy, so try to feed them, walk them and everything else as consistently as possible.

{my life of dogs} Bailey knows when I pick out my clothes whether we are going to play or I am going to do something out her. She dances or pouts accordingly.

10. Don't get overwhelmed! As I'm sure you are already aware, a puppy is a huge responsibility and a lot of work. It will get harder before it gets easier. It can be frustrating trying to communicate with a little pooping/peeing/chewing/barking/whining creature that just looks at you with that head tilt and puppy eyes after chewing your couch cushion. The time and commitment you put into this puppy will all be worth it one day. Bailey was one of the most stubborn trying puppies I've met to this day - but I consider her (and her faults) my biggest accomplishment and every day I look at her and am proud of how far we have come. If you need a hand, hire a dog walker! One of the services I provide at ballwalkpark are puppy visits - myself or Nancy comes over for a 20 minute visit and help reinforce potty training, provide socialization and play time, and help guide you through the stages of puppyhood. I also provide a puppy package that are two puppy visits a day - timed to be 3-4 hours apart so your puppy is never alone too long while you are at work. There are a lot of great dogwalkers in Seattle - set up consultations and make sure you are a good fit with your walker and it is someone you feel comfortable with.

Training a puppy can seem like dieting - there are hundreds of books and methods and opinions on how to teach the same thing. It can get really frustrating and if you try to take everyone's advice you will lose your mind. Figure out what works best for you and your puppy and stick with it - consistency is key. We are all a little different and so are our dogs - what works for one dog may not for another and there is nothing wrong with it.

And most importantly, take lots of pictures!!! Puppies grow up way too fast - capture these precious moments!

Puppy vs. the Christmas tree

In the past week or two there have been a few incidents of my clients (the dogs, not the humans!) eating Christmas tree ornaments. The ornaments almost always seem to have sewing pins, glass, or something else a puppy definitely shouldn't be eating. It brings me back to my first Christmas with Bailey....

It was my first Christmas tree of my adult life, my roommate and I picked it out, set it up and decorated it with cheap ball ornaments from Fred Meyer.  The next day I came home to find broken shreds of glass (or whatever they are) all over the ground. A red, green, silver and gold glass shred confetti party on my living room floor. We turned the tree to hide the bare spots and display our other ornaments. Moments later, I watched little puppy Bailey leap up into the branches of the tree and CHOMP down on an ornament. How did I not realize this ball-obsessed retriever could understand these ornaments were anything but her favorite thing in the world - a ball for her to play with?! So, needless to say, we had a very bare Christmas tree that year.... Bailey was fine, going to the bathroom wasn't her favorite activity for a few days, but other than that she was perfectly healthy.

Here are a few of my suggestions for making sure your puppy and your Christmas tree both survive the holidays:

- Do not use tinsel on your tree, or if you do, make sure it is far out of puppy-reach. Tinsel can be very very dangerous for dogs - from the American Dog Trainer's Network:

Tinsel and Other Christmas Tree Ornaments

When ingested by a dog (or cat), tinsel may cause obstruction of the intestines, and the tinsel's sharp edges can even cut the intestines. Symptoms may include: decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, listlessless and weight loss. Treatment usually requires surgery.

- Be mindful of ornaments that may seem like a toy to a dog or puppy - anything ball shaped or plush stuffed animals. Bailey had a heyday with some little wooden Nutcracker men that had white poofy hair.... Keep these ornaments high up, or keep them in the box for this year... A sparse tree is better than destroyed ornaments and a puppy in the ER!

- Don't leave any presents under the tree that have food, especially Chocolate! Dogs can smell much better than we can and they will find that bar of chocolate or fruitcake or whatever else you may be gifting.

- Other holiday dangers you'll want to avoid with your pup are on the ASPCA page. Take a look - there may be some things you didn't know about - Holly? Mistletoe?

- Most of all, don't leave your pup unsupervised near the tree. Confine them in a different part of the house if you are gone during the day, or if they are crate-trained, this is a great time for them to hang out in their "house".

- When your pup is allowed to be near the tree, try giving them a super amazing toy (this is my new favorite - the only toy ever that has proven to be indestructible to Miss Bailey - you can get it at All The Best). If they only get this new toy whenever they are around the tree, it may help distract them from all the shiny fun toys hanging from the tree. Stuff with peanut butter and freeze overnight for longer lasting effects.

- Remember, this too shall pass! It's all a part of the joys of having a puppy. Yes, even if your puppy is 3 or 4 years old.... or older!  If you come home to a ornament confetti like I did, I highly suggest taking a picture before you get too mad or start cleaning it up. And post it to my facebook page ;)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!  

Happy Birthday Bailey!

My baby Bailey is turning 7 years old today! For those of you that don't already know, I get overly excited about my dog's birthday. I find it more exciting than my own birthday. I really like to celebrate her birthday, and despite what everyone says, I am convinced that she knows it's her birthday. On her first birthday, I remember we went to the Lower Woodland dog park and it was a miserable December day - freezing rain, windy, just horrible. I forced myself to spend at least two hours there, throwing the ball up and down that hill, so that Bailey could have a great first birthday. It wasn't until after that day did I learn that dog's don't have a concept of time like we do, and she didn't understand that I suffered through two hours of cold her for birthday celebration. Although I now know better, it hasn't changed how we celebrate.

When she turned 6 last year, someone mentioned that she was reaching her senior years. You would have thought someone just called her an old hag the way I reacted. I tried to defend her and say how active and energetic she is and how she could not possibly be considered a senior. Maybe if she was a Great Dane, but no way my little girl. Well, now that we have reached 7 years old, and her white mask is more noticeable, and her naps are more frequent, I am starting to accept the reality. My little girl is growing up.

This has been a pretty great year for Bailey and I. We did a lot of growing together, and even after all these years, I feel like I have come to understand her so much better.

First of all, age isn't going to calm this dog down. She is insane, intense, neurotic and 100% retriever. While at a neighborhood park, she was off leash and a couple of our dog friends were chasing her around to play - she took off on the other side of the fence, went into the 6' tall shrubs and started  frantically jumping up and down. I knew she had some sort of a plan, and seconds later, she popped a soccer ball off the top of the hedge that she must have smelled from 30 yards away. Honestly, I am totally amused when she does these things, but when we are at someone's cabin and trying to relax and she is scaling a tree to find the ball someone hid from her, I just really wish there was an "off" button. I'm afraid those instincts are with us for the long haul.

Second of all, we have learned how precious our time together is. The moment I decided to start ballwalkpark, it was after a long horrible day at the office and I came home to go on an "adventure" (think 2-3 hours trying to get lost on Queen Anne) with Bailey. I realized that walking with her and my iPod was the most therapeutic wonderful thing in the world and the one thing that could never fail to change my mood around. People ask me why I don't bring Bailey to the park with me every day, and while she definitely hates me walking out the door without her, we both enjoy our walks together much more than with the pack at the park. I've never seen a happier dog than when we are out walking, just the two of us. People stop me all the time and say "your dog is smiling!". She can go to the park every single day, but she is never more sweet, relaxed and just generally happy than when we have a lot of time together to go on walks and adventures. With that being said, you can probably imagine how she feels about "The Boot".

Third of all, she has learned to cuddle. After we brought little Bam home and everyone wanted to hold her and cuddle with her, Bailey finally caught on and realized why I was always trying to grab her and lay with her. When she was a little puppy I remember I asked the breeder why she didn't want to cuddle with me - she said some dogs just aren't cuddly dogs. I have to admit I was disappointed. I grew up laying by the fire with our labs and thought that was kind of a part of the deal. These days, she has no sense of personal space. I think she learned a little something from her little sis. When I wake up, she always comes to greet me, and in the past year she has decided that the best way to wake me up is to lay on top of my head and borderline suffocate me/not let me get up. I love it.

Lastly, Bailey has learned that I am not going to leave her. This may be our biggest development in the past year, and possibly in her life! I have always wanted the kind of dog that I could take everywhere, and could sit outside the coffee shop while I run in, or that could sit outside the grocery store while I go and grab dinner. I have never given up on this mission, but for the past 6.5 years she has sat outside and anxiously panted and barked at the top of her lungs - I swear it is the loudest bark I've ever heard. It has been described by many as "intense" - such as, "oh that's your dog outside? Wow... she's really.... intense." Needless to say, it was humiliating and made it hard to take her places. Especially when I tell people I work with dogs for a living, but yes, that is my beast outside. Well, all of a sudden, a few months ago, she realized she could just relax and I would come back. I kept looking at the window expecting her to have escaped or something horrible, but she was just laying there watching people go by.... My heart melted. For whatever reason, that was a turning point for her, and now we can go everywhere together. She loves going to the grocery store and seeing the rest of the Queen Anne dogs tied up at various locations along the ave. This simple little thing makes both of us so happy and able to spend even more time together.

Bailey may drive some people crazy, but I am pretty damn proud of this dog I have raised.  For 7 years I have paid more attention to her health issues than my own, bought her new toys when I couldn't justify buying myself anything, decided to use my college degree to give her the best doggie life possible, and nearly seriously put my relationship with my fiance on the line when bringing her on long car rides.... I never knew it was possible to love anything as much as I love my little girl.

Here's to turning 7 B- I hear you're supposed to be "mature" and in your "prime" now.... yeah right! 

In case you haven't heard enough about my obsession with my dog, here is her birthday blog last year :)

Bailey turns 6!

adventures of bwp: ballwalkpark family

I can't believe how lucky we have been with the dry weather lately. It really makes life easier when I don't have to wrap the boot in Saran wrap and duct tape for each park trip, and save a ton of time hosing and toweling off the dogs. Not to mention less wet dog smell for all. I don't want to curse it, but I hope this trend keeps up! ballwalkpark has been going through some changes in the past few weeks, with Kendal joining the crew to help me while I am slightly gimpy, and Nancy has started taking daily park trips with Pepper, Jambo, Mokee, Woody and sometimes the little schnauzer puppies - Heinz and Rommel. Kendal is doing so awesome taking over the pack and the dogs just love her. She has just the right mix to discipline the dogs and still have the fun exuberant energy to play and have fun with the dogs. Nancy's dogs are are absolutely obsessed with her. They are her shadows, her entourage, her loyal followers. They get so excited when they see the other pack, it's all wiggles and fun, but as soon as Nancy starts to walk in another direction, they are like magnets, right by her side.

The newest addition this week has been the mini-schnauzer puppies, Heinz and Rommel. They are tiny, and shy at first, but have really opened up and seem to be having a lot of fun at the park! They are doing great in Nancy's pack. I have to admit, when she has them on leash, it looks pretty funny since they are so little and their legs move so fast and they wind in and out between each other!

Rex and Bonita have been on a roll lately. They have both been relentlessly stealing balls, dabbling with a little poop eating, and digging the occasional hole. Somehow those two always seem to get dirtier than the rest, even the other goldens.

Bonita has been pretty ridiculous about the ball stealing, to the point the other dogs have learned not to drop the ball when she is around, so I have enrolled her in my own version of bootcamp. In this case, I will call it "Bootcamp Bonita". What this means is basically that Kendal and I make sure to focus a lot of energy on the behavior we want to work on or change with Bonita. Every single time she steals a ball, we make her leave it and give her a treat and start over. In a normal situation, if she steals a ball that the other dogs didn't seem to care about anyway, she would take it over and seduce Harley into playing mouth-tug. Not this week. Bootcamp Bonita is learning to drop the ball like a big girl :)

Walker has rejoined the pack after spending the last two weeks at boarding while is mom is traveling. We ran into him at the park a couple times during those weeks, but we were so happy to have him back. He is sporting a new snazzy red coat. He had a great time running and being chased for the big blue ball with the Coopers, Sammy, Floyd and Bam.

Floyd, our new labradoodle, has been with the pack for a few weeks now. In the beginning he was very very attracted to Rex and was humping him nearly non-stop. He was recently adopted into his new home, received a new name, and has a lot of adjustments to go through. We moved him from the morning group to the afternoon group on Tuesdays so that he could meet some other pups and give Rex a break. He is doing much better in the afternoon group! He and Sammy are great retrieving/chase buddies. They both love the squeaky toy and it keeps them going in circles forever. I get tired just watching them. Floyd is very intense for the first 20 minutes or so - it's almost like he can't stop running even if he wants to - he just sprints in circles - round and round. There is almost no stopping him. After the initial period, he calms down and is a really well behaved pup who has learned recall pretty well and drops the ball and plays with the other dogs great. His owner texted me after the park today and asked how the "Furry Fury" had been - I definitely laughed at that! He was great :)

Milkshake was bouncing with energy. When he gets super excited he is literally like a Mexican jumping bean - bounding in the air on all fours. He got super excited when we found a huge stick that had probably been blown off a tree in one of the wind storms. He ran in circles almost taking other dogs out trying to invite them to play tug. He was missing his buddy Max, I'm sure!

In the past two years I've watched my pack change a lot and have gotten used to the ebbs and flows of new dogs and puppies adjusting to the pack and then eventually being the veterans who welcome the next generation. This constant flow makes for periods of time that can be very difficult, working to get new pups adjusted, or super easy going with all veterans. I love mixing up the easy times with a new challenge, and then I love when I realize the "new challenge" has settled in and things are running smoothly again. While I am used to this with my pack, I am not used to this with my humans (aka employees) and had a realization today. I was walking with Kendal and her pack, and realized my foot hurt and I would rather hang out with Nancy and her pack in the other field. All of "my" pack, even my own dog, Bailey, stuck with Kendal as she walked the other direction. I walked up I saw Nancy's pack attentively perched at her feet waiting for a treat. As I was walking in between the two, being that awkward person at the dog park without a dog, I realized that ballwalkpark is no longer just a girl with her pack of dogs. It's still all the same great dogs, but now spread between three girls who shower them with that much more love, attention and affection. I had that realization today that everyone is settled into the routine and things are pretty easy going right now... It's a great time to rest my gimpy foot, take some fun pictures of the pups playing at the park, and spend time with my amazing ballwalkpark family :)