We will have another mouth to feed very soon (a little male yellow Labrador puppy that will be named Otis and eight weeks old when he arrives). In preparation I have had to get another job to supplement the veterinarian visits and the extra expenses not to mention pay for a pure bred pup. Working so much has cut into Ellie’s blog time but here are some brief notes to catch-up on how she is doing. I will keep some different information on Otis so stay tuned.
September 13 thru October 30, 2010
During the past month and a half everything has pretty much settled down at the house with Ellie. She is still full of energy and mischief but not too destructive.
We got her spayed in the last part of September. She did real well with the operation and keeping her calm for a few days was a challenge. She came home with one of the plastic Elizabethan collars or cone collars that the vets use to keep them from chewing stitches or infecting the surgery wound. We quickly did some research and found the Comfy Collar which is a soft version of the cone collar. Boy did it work like a charm. She doesn’t mind wearing it and it was very gentle around the house.
We went away on a little vacation that Ellie could not join us on. So we went through the first extended period away from home. We have a local business called Camp Bow Wow which takes day care and boarders. They have cameras installed and as we had a wireless connection at the hotel we could sit and watch her playing. It was quite addicting I can tell you. Lots worse than regular TV. She did real well and I think some time spent around other dogs was very good for her social skills. She played well with the others and was glad to get back home.
I have been researching Positive Reinforcement Dog Training and am working with a book by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz who is the trainer for President Obama and the family of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. This type of training really fits me as I have seen very little good come out of any type of punishment to try to train dogs. Using punishment has just never felt right to me. The theory is very straight forward and uses rewards to reinforce good behavior rather than punishment to avoid bad behavior. I am working with the five week training laid out in her new book “The Love That Dog training program”, just released. Ellie is doing well with it and the training sessions are fun for both of us. I am seeing results and I believe with constant work she will get the obedience I need to go out and share some fun with.
