Never enough chew toys

Compared to all my friend’s puppies, Dobie chews the most by far. He can’t help it! Dobermans are known to chew everything they can get their mouths around. But I didn’t expect him to love chewing this much. It doesn’t help that he has a very determined personality. If I don’t let him chew the rug, he’ll sneak back to it when I’m not looking and try to chew it again. Thank goodness for bitter apple spray which deters him instantly, thus providing a correction for chewing an inappropriate item. The best way to distract/correct him is to replace the wrong item with one of his chew toys. Then praise him for chewing one of his toys and not the furniture. His favourites are the linked rings and ‘Mr. Gator’.


Bear stealing a kiss while Dobie naps               Rope toy = WANT


Putting up with his owners                              Mr. Gator, I'm too tired to play now

House-breaking woes

I have had Dobie for 2.5 weeks now and I have to say that the most challenging aspect of his training is house-breaking. He learns commands extremely quickly, usually after just 5 repetitions. But his bad habit of pottying indoors has been tough to break. I’m sad to admit though that all his accidents during the first week have been my fault. Either I didn’t take him out quickly enough after playtime or I brought him inside before he was done.

The second week however, I’m certain he was going potty indoors on purpose. One day, he pooped in his crate 3 times. I figured out 2 days later that this trend was the result of wanting to get out of the crate. So his solution was to poop, cry, then we would let him out. My breeder suggested that next time he does this, clean up around him, but don’t let him step foot out of the crate. This worked like a charm. He was tricking us the whole time!

We’re on the 3rd week now, and yesterday we saw great improvement in his behaviour. Since he learned how to go down stairs, he has started indicating the need to go outside by going down the 2 steps to the doorway and sitting by the front door. When I saw him do this, I praised him like he won a Nobel prize. I think the worst is over now, so I’ll share what I learned this week. Here are some potty training tips to help out future puppy owners.

House-breaking DOs and DON’Ts

DO take puppy out often, every 2 hours, after naps, after play, after meals
DON’T crate for more than 2 hours at a time (until puppy is over 10 weeks old)
DO praise puppy exaggeratedly for his potty outside
DON’T bring puppy inside if he hasn’t attempted to potty
DO give puppy a treat as soon as he finishes the potty outside
DON’T give puppy water after 8pm (make sure he drinks enough during the day)
DO praise puppy for indicating the need to go outside
DON’T leave puppy unattended indoors or you can’t correct him for pooping inside
DO bring puppy back outside 5 minutes after a pee break for a chance to poop
DON’T let any indoor accidents leave a scent, clean thoroughly
DO repeat a phrase (command) while puppy searches for an appropriate potty location
DON’T let puppy out of the crate if he poops in it, clean around him

Precocious puppy

Dobie has been home for 1 week and I finally have some time to update this blog while he naps at my feet. He is a cuddly handful, always wants to play or sit in my lap, needs potty breaks every few hours and is a super smart pup. He has already learned that potty belongs outside, although the execution needs more practice. By the 2nd day, I saw him stop playing, go to the doorway and stare at the door. This was his way of indicating that he needed to go. His only accidents in the house have been my fault. The first time, I brought him in thinking he was done. So he left me a present on the mat by the door. At least it was by the door, so I knew he made the connection already.

Day 2 - 9 weeks old - Sleeping soundly in new crate

Day 2 - 9 weeks old - Stretching his legs

I’m going to train him to bark once at the door when he needs to go out to potty. But first, that requires attaching the bark to a command word. To do this, I’m waiting for him to bark, then I say the command word “AUS”, say “YES!”, then reward. After a few times, he’ll associate the command with the action that got him the reward. This is reward based training. I am using the methods taught by Michael Ellis. The key is using a marker to mark the instant in time that is good or bad behaviour. That word for me is “YES!”. Similar to clicker training (except I don’t need to carry around a clicker), I am marking the correct action with a “YES!”, then giving him a reward. He has already barked a few times, and I have marked the action, however, I think he is under the impression that the command is “woof” and not “AUS”! I’ll have to work on substituting the command I prefer this week.

Day 5 - 9.5 weeks old - Practicing his sit for a photo

Dobie is incredibly smart. He has already learned more in 1 week than many adult dogs I have met. He learned ‘SIT’, ‘DOWN’, ‘PAW’, ‘Follow Me’, ‘COME’, ‘woof’, ‘That’s Enough’, ‘Shhh Bedtime’, and ‘NO!’ all in the span of a few days. This week, the goal is to proof his house-breaking, curb his night-time crate whining, and increase the amount of time he spends quietly in this crate during the day. As I return to work next week, I can’t allow poor crate etiquette to continue. And of course, the long awaited pictures:

9.5 weeks old - Smiley puppy invited for a nap on the couch

9.5 weeks old - Just woke up, so cozy!

9.5 weeks old - Good 'DOWN'!

The day before puppy comes home

… is the most exciting but also the busiest day of all. You’re likely scrambling to get everything ready for the puppy. Last minute shopping runs, cleaning the house one last time and making sure hazardous items are safely put into storage. And good luck trying to fall asleep! I know I’ll be waking up multiple times to check the clock, hoping it’s time to get up and visit the breeder.

In preparation for bringing your puppy home, it’s a good idea to make a list of all the things he might need on the way. Chances are you will be so hyped up that morning to visit the breeder that you’ll forget to pack important items like his leash or your cheque book.

Things to bring to the breeder when picking up your puppy:

[   ]  puppy collar (breeder may not give you the collar currently used to identify your pup)
[   ]  puppy leash (puppy should never go outside without a leash)
[   ]  puppy sweater (November in Canada gets quite cold, better be prepared)
[   ]  towels (can be scented with his litter-mates and put into his crate at home)
[   ]  potty bags (get in the habit of bringing these everywhere)
[   ]  box of kibble for treats (to reward him for good behaviour in the car)
[   ]  water bottle (pretty self explanatory)
[   ]  notebook and pen (write down any advice from the breeder, important dates, to-do’s, etc)
[   ]  video camera (record breeder’s ear posting demo so you can refer to it later)
[   ]  cheque (or money order depending on what form of payment your breeder accepts)
[   ]  paper towels (just in case he has an accident on the way home!)

Pet Insurance

There are many pet insurance providers available and they all offer multiple tiers of coverage. Try to select the plan with the best value that suits your financial needs. The whole point of pet insurance is to ensure your pet receives the care he needs when accidents happen. If you can’t afford to pay the regular veterinary bills, you should not be a dog owner in the first place. That’s something that more people should consider before buying a dog. Insurance companies work because they make money off uneducated people paying for inflated plans that are filled with loopholes. Here are some comparisons for the least expensive plans offered by the top 3 pet insurance providers in Canada:

PetCare - Overpriced, too many exclusions, poor value, insurance has many loop holes to deny you coverage. Take a look at this:

Their least expensive plan is mainly for accident insurance. If you read carefully, you’ll realize that this QuickCare First Aid plan for dogs only covers $1000 for 7 types of accidents. If your accident is not one of the 7 types, they can deny you coverage. Their QuickCare Optimum plan is $38.15 per month but it only covers $1500 first-time illnesses per year.

SPCA Pet Insurance’s Intro Plan - hardly any coverage ($1000 per year) for $35+tax per month?! Ridiculous!

PC Financial’s Value Plan - only covers $2000 for SELECTED illness over the pet’s LIFETIME. How is this good value? Saving $40 a month for 5 years will give me over $2400.

PC Financial’s Accident Plan - $1500 per accident, $100 deductible, no annual limit for $10 a month. For half the price of PetCare’s plan, you get $500 more per accident. Doing the math, $10/month for 10 years is $1200. Just one accident during the lifetime of your pet and this plan is more than paid for. This is the clear winner. This plan works for me in combination with saving for rainy days. Instead of signing on for a $50/month plan, I can save $40/month for illnesses and have accident coverage.

Finally, a pet insurance policy I can live with!