Hil, best of luck training Buffy. I have no puppy advice at all.
I've been awake for an hour, and so far everyone is annoying me. My doctor's office called to say my ferritin levels are still low and I should start taking two iron pills a day. Firstly, no way could my stomach handle that, and secondly, my hematologist (who I would think knows a thing or two about iron levels) says everything is fine. And, of course I missed the call, and now they're not calling me back. H canceled my babysitting job for next week, which I was both looking forward to in terms of money and seeing G. And the cooler I asked TCG to get from the basement this morning is still in the basement.
It's probably a really good thing I have a therapy appointment today.
Yikes, that's a no-good start to the day, sj. Hope things improve, and quick!
Hil, you are doing great, even if it is stressful right now. You and Buffy are both adjusting and it will all work out eventually.
Whoo, Friday.
I had a folded up towel for her to sleep on on one side of the playpen, and a pee pad on the other side, and it looks like she got up a least once during the night to pee on the pad and then went back to sleep on the towel.
Aw, good girl. She will get there!
OK, getting there. I noticed her circling in the spot where she seems to like to pee on the carpet, so I got the leash on her and got her outside, waited about five minutes, and she peed on the grass. I tried giving her a few pieces of kibble and saying "Good girl!" but she was totally uninterested. I waited another five minutes or so for her to poop, but she didn't, so we came back inside, and she ran over to the pad and pooped there.
(Sorry about all the potty-training talk. I kind of have no idea what I'm doing, so any advice is great.)
Hil, Frankie wasn't motivated by treats at all until a couple of weeks in. She may just be anxious. You can also get "training treats," and generally the stinkier the better.
She's already making progress! Good girl, Buffy.
It took Darby a long time to take treats at all, but you may want to try upping the value of the treats you give - like a bit of raw meat or something. (I was able to find at the grocery store a package of tiny pieces of cut up ham, intended for soup, that made it super easy, but I don't know if you'd be okay with that.) But if you got a small package of stew beef or boneless chicken and cut it up that could do it. Some dogs really love sweet potato too.
Plus the praise alone is as good as a treat for many dogs, or a ball if she's into that. You cannot go overboard on the effusiveness of praise, I think.
Hil - maybe she is more toy motivated than food motivated.
Mystuff: not going well. I had to give them the attorney's no so thst they could fax him a court order because they've scheduled demo for Monday morning.
Ack, what? This sounds like it's all moving super fast.
I tried a crate. She totally freaked out.
Oh, yeah. My dogs have never been very cratable, and it's difficult. The Beast and TNG both destroyed crates, and damaged their teeth trying to get out.
However: Leave the crate set up, feed her in it if you can, don't force her. It can become a refuge for her if she doesn't get scared by it.
As for the training: she's anxious and terrified in a new environment, which is why she's not taking the treats or eating much. I really recommend getting some fabulous training treat--cooked chicken livers, or raw hot dog, or cheese. Use that to reward her when she goes outside.
You could try moving the pad towards the door, as well, so that when she goes to the pad she's going towards the door, and you can take her outside to do her business, and reward her.
I'm sure you know already, but try to avoid correcting her if you can: she's clearly very anxious and you don't want to make that worse. Whenever she does something right, praise her and treat her.
Oh, and try ignoring her entirely when you feed her: for some dogs, feeding is a vulnerable time and they are uncomfortable doing it with people nearby. TNG usually starts her dinner by picking up kibble, carrying it into the living room, dropping it on the floor, and eating it there. After a few rounds of that, she'll eat the rest in her bowl, but it's very odd.
