11 day re-cap of dog and human learning life together

Some things we’ve learned about raising Penny in the last 11 days…

1. She has a very small bladder.

It is getting bigger everyday but she really can’t hold her pee in for more than a couple of hours. So frequent trips outside to pee, or a well-placed wee-wee pad(s) will help ensure your house doesn’t get peed all over. The first thing she usually does after awaking from a nap is pee, so if you hear her waking up, grab the leash and urge her to go outside for a pee right away.

2. She has a very short digestive tract.

She poops about 4-5 times a day! It usually coincides with about an hour after eating a big meal. But it isn’t like clockwork. And sometimes it takes her a good 10 minutes of walking around outside before she poops. Other dogs’ poop or remains of her own seems to trigger the impulse for her. So  if you are trying to get her to go, find dog poop for her to smell!

3. She hasn’t learned to “come” yet.

We haven’t been very consistent on using the same vocal cues for Penny to come to us. Maybe its because none of them seem to work. We’ve tried just “Penny”, then “Penny, come!” then just “Come” then a kissing sound or a clicking sound. But she doesn’t seem to pick up on any of them. A hand, palm up, near the ground while looking away seems to work, especially if there is a bit of kibble involved. All of this is to say, we walk Penny on the leash because we’re scared she’ll wander off and not come back. Plus, she is so small there is a real possibility that she may become lost from us.

4. She doesn’t really drink water yet.

We’ve seen her drink a little bit but she really likes to drink water when it has been mixed with powdered milk formula. We’ve been slowly watering this milk mixture down but we want to make sure she is getting enough fluids so if that means mixing in the milk powder, we’ll do it.

5. She eats periodically throughout the day.

We try to feed her 1/3 a cup of food (kibble mixed with canned) 3 times a day, but she doesn’t eat all her food in one go. So she ends up having food available all day long. Which is fine. General rule of thumb, total of 1 cup/day of food.

6. She likes her crate, her bed and her toys.

The crate is her safe place, especially if it is filled with her toys, the towel/blanket that smells like her, etc. She’ll often run to her crate if she gets scared. She also really likes her dog bed. She has an assortment of toys that she periodically moves into her crate or into her bed. She knows these are her “places”.

7. She doesn’t like hands coming toward her.

Everyone’s impulse is to pet and touch Penny. However, our little girl doesn’t seem to like this very much. This may be behavior picked up from her feral mom, but she really only allows people to touch and pet her when she is in her bed or crate. She also doesn’t like to be picked up (this is new) and will wriggle and fight to be let free.

8. She likes her sleep and morning ritual.

Penny has been quiet through the night since Day 5 with us. She seems to have picked up on our sleep schedule and stays quietly in her crate throughout the night. We leave the crate open to allow her access to food/water/wee-wee pad, but we keep her gated into a small area to ensure she doesn’t get into trouble. First thing we do in the morning is stumble outside to let her pee and poop. This is usually a quick trip because both human and dog are still sleepy. Then comes everyone’s favorite part of the day – morning cuddles. We bring Penny into bed with us for 15-30 minutes for snuggles in the bed. She seems to really like this and sometimes burrows to the bottom of the bed under the covers.

9. She understands “chtt” as a signal she is doing a behavior that we don’t approve of.

Whenever Penny is doing something that we don’t approve of, we use a short “chttt” sound to signal this to her. She totally understands this sound and will usually quickly drop the behavior. We use this when she is pawing or pushing at the gate, whining, howling, chewing on something she isn’t supposed to, etc. If she doesn’t respond, a quick and assertive tap of the finger on her neck should do the trick.

10. She loves other dogs but they don’t always love her.

Penny is fascinated by other adult dogs, but her puppy nature is sometimes a turn-off for other dogs. She has also not finished all her vaccines, so interaction with other dogs should be limited. If she does come into contact with other dogs, keep her on the leash so that if the other dog shows signs of aggression, you can pull her away. You can always let the other dog meet her by picking her up and turning her butt to the dog for a smell.