Battle of the Beds

This Thanksgiving, our friends dropped off their wonderful dog, Louie, while they traveled to be with family. The excitement that Penny gets from seeing and being around another dog is heart-breaking. It is like she finally feels comfortable in her own skin again. She wags her tail in a different way, puts her ears back as she approaches him, her little body vibrating with excitement as she moves in for a lick on Louie's enormous jowls. Louie is extremely tolerant of the little girl. He allows her to lick his face, touch noses, even jump on his face or shoulder. He gives a quiet growl when he's had enough and Penny backs away. But her desire to be loved and to interact with Louie tugs at some emotional heartstring in me. It is the eagerness to be loved and to please and the constant rejection. Every day, Penny makes an effort to sleep with Louie in his bed. Louie will have nothing to do with it. Everytime he gets up, walks away, and when she inevitably leaves the bed, he goes back and lays down. Finally I put Penny's bed right next to Louie's so that she'd be close to him but far enough that Louie wouldn't feel intruded on. Penny would put her paws and head on Louie's bed but keep her body in hers. In the picture below, you see her looking longingly toward him.

Soon enough Louie started leaving and sitting somewhere else, leaving our tiny little pup curled up alone in this huge bed. This morning however, I woke up to find Louie in Penny's bed! He didn't quite fit but had curled himself into the tiniest ball possible so that he would fit in the small dog bed.

This evening Louie finally started tolerating Penny sitting on the bed with him, but only for short spells of time. The most heartbreaking is that the people in her life who really do want to cuddle with her and love her are the ones she is most afraid of. She hasn't figured out that the weird two-leggeds in her life are her pack as well. She still shies away, trotting back to her crate with her tail between her legs when approached. Will this ever end or is this just the way she is?

Louie finally caves... but notice how he did manage to score her bunny toy.

Penny is 11 weeks (we think)

Penny has had lots of adventures in the past week!! She went the vet for the first time and took a road trip to LA where she met her Auntie Emily, Auntie Laura and Grandpa Freddo. She has been moved around to three new houses in the past 3 days and has handled it with courage. While a bit shy at first in a new home, if given the opportunity to explore on her own from the safety of her crate, she becomes comfortable quickly. She is immediately loved by all. It is because she is such a beautiful pup!

The vet visit was initially quite scary. Penny was shaking and nervous for the first five minutes and then relaxed. Dr. Megan told us that she can put on more weight and that she is generally a healthy pup. We plan to make an appointment for next week for her to get her second round of vaccinations. 

I am a nervous mother with all of this moving around, but it is necessary if I want to continue training for the half-ironman that I am doing in 3 weeks. Thanks to Emily and Laura for so lovingly watching over my little Penny. We love you!!

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.

10 weeks in the world

Penny is 10 weeks (if, in fact, her birthday is September 1) and she has grow so much in the week since we've had her.

Here is a picture of Penny when we first got her, curled up in her dog bed. She doesn't even fill up the short end of the bed:

And here is a picture of Penny a week older, sprawled out in the same dog bed, filling up the long end of it!

She moving around a lot more as well, exploring new territory around the outside of the house running instead of trotting. We recently discovered the joys of digging in wet sand and then laying down in it - a strategy that is essential for survival in the heat of the summer. 

Penny is also learning how to get the rubs that she so enjoys (we are pretty sure she learned this from Bravo). She lays on her back with her belly exposed just waiting for someone to pass by and rub her belly: 

Or maybe she is just a back sleeper. But she definitely hams it up a bit these days - getting all the rubs and love she's learned so quickly to enjoy. 

After only a week with us, this little pooch has learned so much and the growing physically and mentally is amazing to watch. There are changes everyday which makes us want to sit and watch her, soak in all her puppyness before it is gone. 

Happy 10 weeks little pup! 

getting down on the couch

This is a picture of Penny all wrapped up in Ethan's down jacket. Isn't she just too cute to handle? If we want to cuddle with Penny its either the floor or the couch or bed. So far she's had no problem convincing us that bringing her into the couch or bed is just fine. We rationalize it by saying "she is too young to understand" or "we'll teach her later" ... we'll see...

Penny and Bravo

I was excited to have Bravo come into our home for Penny's first days because I thought it would give her a chance to learn from him and an opportunity to play with a member of her own species. Penny is fascinated by Bravo and mesmerized by his every move, his wagging tail and his big snout. Unfortunately, Bravo does not seem to like Penny that much. When they first met, Bravo tried to play with her but then was almost immediately annoyed by her. And later on that first day together, he growled at her. That one growl instilled a fear in me that Bravo was going to hurt Penny. In some ways, this fear is irrational - Bravo is a good dog; one of the best dogs I've ever known. He is patient and gentle and loving. However, Bravo is also a hunter. He's killed things bigger than Penny and I started to worry that his prey drive got switched on. The other night he snapped at her and it scared me very deeply. What if a tooth hit her unintentionally in the wrong way? What if his mouth caught on her small body? But at the same time, I know that the only way for Penny to learn social skills is to be taught by dogs like Bravo. She needs to learn that after three growls, she needs to back away and leave the dog alone. As a protective dog parent, how do I let go of my fears and allow Penny to learn some hard lessons from Bravo? I feel as if my own fears are making the situation more confusing for both dogs. They pick up on my sense of fear and it makes them both act differently.

The fear is partially just a natural reaction to one protecting a baby but it also comes from a traumatic experience in my childhood. When I was about 13 or so, a dog that we adopted, a young brown boxer, killed my favorite cat - Perseus. On Thanksgiving. I don't think I was mature enough to process the pain that that experience caused me and the fear of that happening again has come up for me when I witness Bravo and Penny together.

Hopefully I can get over my fear, place my trust in the fact that Bravo is a good dog that I've never seen get in a fight, and allow Penny to learn some social cues from a beast of the doggie world.

Penny sleeps through the night

I actually don't know if she slept but she didn't make a peep. She is such a quick learner - it is truly amazing. In only 4 nights, her behavior has changed  from a freaked out little lonely pup to a calm, quiet crate-loving pup. When we woke up in the morning she was just lying in her crate, eyes-open peacefully looking up at us in the bed. She still can't make it through the night without a pee (her little bladder is too small but she always uses her wee wee pad.

Now we just have to bulk her up - still experimenting with foods and what she will/will not eat. While a bit skinny still, she is growing a little bit each day and learning a huge amount all the time. What an amazing experience to witness!