Still in love.

Lucy continues to amaze us. One accident that filled the entire house with the most ominous stench. Even Gary took a whiff, turned to me and said, "What the hell IS that?"

Otherwise she's settling into a routine, made her way onto the sofa and has finally realized what all these "things" the people keep tossing at her are for "playing" with.

Nights are better. I warned Logan that when he leaves town on Thursday, if the dog wasn't done crying in her crate she'd be in her crate in my closet when he returned.

Here's how we've gotten her to stop whining in her crate. Step one: 45 minutes to an hour of walking spread out between 3-4 walks a day.

Step two: the kids put their dirty clothes in her crate before bed (I move them to the laundry in the morning)

Step three: after the kids go to bed I let her sleep in front of the fire or next to me for an hour and then I tuck her into her crate (lured by a treat) and the crate is covered with a sheet.

Step four: When I go to bed I leave the tv on so she thinks I'm still there.

Blam-O!
Us: 1 Dog: 2

I sneak off to bed so I don't wake the dog, in my own house.

I praise her bathroom habits and feel guilty when my errands take more than two hours.

I feel like she's holding me hostage but thankfully I have Stockholm Syndrome so it's working well!

(computer cord on order, (please dont ask what happened to the one Laura gave me "hi laura!") so I'm still typing from my tiny phone. Lucy doesn't like it when I sit at the computer. I KNOW I'm being silly, next week I'll take a stand.) (probably).

Comments

[Sarah]

Sounds like you are a great puppy mom!

[LInsey]

I am sure you get plenty of recommendations, but I thought I'd chime in with a book that we really found helpful when we got our dog, Augustus. The book is The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller. It had some really helpful advice on crate training. One other thing that we found really helpful was putting the crate at the foot of our bed for a few weeks (we have a small dog and a king size bed so this might not work for you), then moving it to the bedroom floor and then to the living room. It didn't take long before he was sleeping in his crate all night without a peep. Of course, that's when we decided to let him out of the crate to sleep with us on the bed...

[lisa marie]

Puppies really do make much stinkier poops than kitties. Ew.ew.ew.

Lucy is a DOLL. I'm surprised she's not already sleeping with you or Madison.

[Bailey]

Our three year old beagle has to sit in my lap when I'm on the computer, makes typing a little difficult. I'm glad you are loving being a dog owner! They have a great way of making you feel better when you're sad, and laugh when you most need it. Now you can take her for an end of the year swim at the pool.

[Lydia]

You're not being silly at all! You're just a new puppy mom. I wish I had some wise words in regards to crate training, but I don't. Our three dogs were so easy to train. We didn't struggle with any of them. Good luck and Lucy is soooo adorable!

[Alison of a Gun]

I forgot to mention that my two dogs were both adult dogs so were already housebroken when I got them, hence the not finding a crate necessary. Also I'm a huge sucker and I really like having the dogs near me when I sleep. Ruby even gets to sleep in the bed with me when my boyfriend's out of town, but uh, don't tell him that.

[Cee]

No, you never learn to take a stand with dogs. Our dog rules the household and he's definitely the favourite child.

I would put the crate in your bedroom at night. Dogs are pack animals and they are happiest when the pack is together. She might sleep better with you in the room, no need for trickery.

[Dawn]

Sounds like you all are doing great, and I didn't expect anything less. Just a couple of tips from the mom of a very happy 10 year old Lab that we raised from pupdom.

To give yourself a break from entertaining her, the Kong is a great tool. Kongs are those hard rubber pyramid shaped toys with a hole in the middle. No need to buy the stupid Kong can stuff, we always just used what we had on hand, including cheese, peanut butter, and cut up veggies and fruit like apples and bananas. Fill the Kong with anything you like, then let her have at it for a while. Plus, the Kong is dishwasher safe.

Like you, I hate waste, and am pretty frugal when it comes to finding new uses for things that may otherwise be tossed. We have a container that we keep all of our dog's treat in, and inevitably, we would end up with lots of broken treats and crumbs at the bottom. So, one day, I decided to sprinkle those broken treats in ice cube trays, then fill them with some old beef and chicken broth from my pantry that was out of date. Holy bejesus...treaty meat cubes! To this day, they are a favorite of Baxter's. Also, if Lucy starts losing teeth, baby carrots from the freezer feel great on their gums.

[Alison of a Gun]

Also I was proud of everyone yesterday. One commenter said we were "ripping each other apart" on the crate debate, but I thought everyone was pretty nice. Maybe I missed something? ALSO forgot to mention my dogs don't chew or get into the garbage or any of that but maybe that's because they're small. And lazy.

[Stacey]

Sounds like you guys are surviving! However don't let her get the best of you when it comes to bathroom breaks. They can hold it - just like humans. Our dog sleeps inside at night and will go 12 hours without going outside. He knows it's a treat to be in the house and has never had an accident. I think it's crazy when people get up in the middle of the night for their dogs; 90% of the time all they want to do is go snoop. Be strong!

[lee]

i use my laptop on the coffee table and i sit on the floor. my jack russell figured out that if he gets between me and the coffee table, i will HAVE to pet him as i type.

yes, he has trained me well!

[Mir]

Hooray! Friendly word of warning -- her personality may change a lot in the next month or two (almost certainly for the better), and in the "coming out of her shell" part of it all, she may discover chewing. So I would be careful about throwing any clothes the kids actually like into the crate. ;)

We were told our rescue pup would "never play." That she was too far gone, whatever. She is now a totally goofy play machine who will toss and attack her toys if you're too busy to throw them for her.

[Kris]

Awwww. I love that you feel guilty if you're gone for over 2 hours. I'm so happy you & Lucy found each other. :)

I know it's hard, but you just have to muddle through & figure out what works best for you. If it's the crate, fantastic. And if not? You'll find something else, whether it be a dog bed on the floor or just letting her sleep next to you. Above all else, just remember that she loves you & just wants to be near you.

We're adopting our 3rd dog from the humane society on Friday. With a Great Pyrenees & a St Bernard already on the bed with us, I have no idea where she'll fit in. But we'll make it work, and so will you.

[Cassie]

I know you don't need more advice, but I can't stop myself.

We kept our dog crated at night until he was about nine months old, then we only crated him when we left the house. That lasted another six months or so.

We initially kept the crate in our bedroom, so he could sleep with us. Then we put a dog bed in the same spot. When we go to bed, we tell him "It's 10 o'clock" (even though I go to bed around nine these days). He would get in the crate, and then get a treat. We found that tricking him just led to us jumping through ever more ridiculous hoops.

The key to a good dog is walks. You're on the right path! Hank gets two walks a day that are about 25 to 40 minutes a piece. As puppies, they need more exercise to wear them out but once they're about a year and a half, they mellow out a little.

[Melissa Summers]

I bought her a tennis ball and zomg!!!! She's so happy!!!!!

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[Ashley, The Accidental Olympian]

We'd only had our puppy for a week, and suddenly my boyfriend wanted to take me to a birthday lunch. The puppy was alone, in a safe place for TWO hours and I sped like a crazy person to get home.

New puppy life is confusing and crazy! I wish you all the best.

By month one you'll be old pros.

[Laura]

Sounds like the cord went the same direction as the computer it came from! Must be like those couples where if one dies, the other one dies soon after.

Bummer. Sorry you had to spend the bucks afterall. :(

[Ariel]

So my dog Buster Boo says he wants to be friends with YOUR dog (and also? She is S-E-X-Y!)(He doesn't know what's happening to him next Saturday! Snip!Snip!)
He also wants Lucy to know that he now has us perfectly trained and he sleeps RIGHT BETWEEN his mom and dad!
I totally stole Buster from my little sister, I needed him!

[Mandee]

I second the Kong - it saved my sanity more than once. Also, second Mir's warning about putting things they like in the crate. My girl is a nester and ends up shredding everything I've ever put in her crate with her incessant arranging and rearranging. So glad you guys are enjoying her.

[Kelli Taylor]

Feed lucy in her crate so good things happen there. Also you can randomly throw a treat in there for her to find, another happy thing! :)

[Sharon]

Yes, you do sound like a great puppy mom. We have raised several dogs from puppies and it's always the same feeling when you are first getting used to them. Like that feeling when you bring home the newborn and think, OMG, what did we do? Congrats. She seems amazing.

[Sadie at heyMamas]

OH MY GAH! From the sounds of your stories I am going to freak out when I finally give in and buy my kids a puppy. They have been BEGGING but I am not ready for this at all.

Sadie at heyMamas

[Melissa Summers]

Wait until you're ready! Maddie is already becoming obstinant about taking the dog out for a walk. But I'm in love so I don't mind picking up the slack.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[The Domestic Goddess]

The Tv, walks and covering the crate? GENIUS!

[Vanessa]

Glad to hear things are looking up!
How is Gary adjusting to the new friend?

[Boulder]

Look, I won't say I'm *great* at dogs, but I do love them, and they are not poorly behaved. With my 2nd dog in this marriage, I was determined to select a less "alpha" dog & read the monk book. The dog selected me & she was still alpha, but well loved. Her sister? Also did the selection & she is a follower & mellow. The third dog, the one who is 7 months old? She's in between in temperment. High needs but only at specific moments, and otherwise a lovely pup. To deal with the high maintenance stuff, I thought, "I know, I'll look at Cesar's new puppy book!" Sadly, she was beyond the stages he discussed & it really didn't add up for us, depsite my loving his approach to calm, assertive energy, etc.

The book that really did it for us? "The Dog Rules: 14 Secrets to Developing the Dog YOU Want" by Kyra Sundance. She does a fabulous job of translating dog thought to human situations & we've had tremendous success with it.

Also, she has a couple of "trick" books - we checked out the 101 Dog Tricks Step by Step Activities book from our local library & it shows each trick in photos & how to do them - it would be a great way to engage the kids & work Lucy's mind.

We crate our new pup in our bedroom where she can see me (the others were not, they "roomed" together in our laundry room). The up side is that she's learned that she can trust that I'll respond to her need to go out & I have learned which of her barks (thanks to Kyra) mean she is looking for love, or looking for a walk.

Finally, you might find that one really long walk & then a few trips out to do her thing have a more calming, soothing impact on her pysche, since in a longer 30 to 40 minute walk she has the chance to get in to a zone, where a shorter walk can, for some pups, simply stimulate.

You & I have written before about an address I saw on Flickr, so, please know you can drop an email any time & I'm happy to help if I can. But, serioulsy, check to see if your library has any of Kyra's books.

Your Lucy is GORGEOUS!

[Bo]

PS - one other thing about the crate? To lessen the chance that she'll chew clothes, do you have a towel that you can fold up & put in with her? Before you put it in, you all can scent it by having it with you on the couch, etc. She may find comfort in having the same thing in the crate each night for a while, with everyone's scent on it. We've also found that if they have chewing from teething happening that ice cubes or crushed ice is awesome - they don't learn to tear up clothing like they do if you take a wash cloth, wet it & freeze it like so many books recommend. Then as they age, the ice cube becomes a treat (no, seriously! they love it!) to give that has no calories but can cool them off after a long exercise or on a hot day.

[JRM]

You are doing great! It's funny what crazy methods you take to train them but they do eventually catch on.

[Jane]

The KONG!! We had quite a challenging puppy, we got him from the Humane Society, he was supposed to be six weeks, but the vet thought more likely 4. He was a terrible biter, didn't respond to ANY behavioral modification, etc. But, around a year, he mellowed quite noticeably. Now he is three and is an incredible dog. The kong saved my sanity more than once. He still sleeps in his crate at night, because he CANNOT relax in the bed. Our routine is that I fix a kong with kibble and cheese layered, like a parfait. He goes into his crate and waits for it. I give it to him, and it is sort of like a nightcap for him. We did struggle with him whining in his crate, and putting it in our room made it much, much worse for some reason. The great thing is that Lucy's 7 months, and over the worst of it!