In Preparation....

I've discovered that owning a dog -- nay, a puppy -- is a lot like having an infant. Practice, shall we say.

A week ago, I adopted a 6 week old Golden Labrador Retriever. And I do say 'I' because although hubby knew I was doing it, I didn't have his 100% support -- it was most definitely my idea. Since then, I've been learning to live with said puppy, whom we named Lucy, and she's been learning to live with us.

Now, after upwards of five "accidents" in the house, and untold chewtoy-mistakes, we're starting to reach a peace. The goal is to reach a balance where Lucy is as happy being inside as she is outside, and able to behave and content herself equally well in both places. And we're not there yet.

But we have made progress. Lucy can now be inside under supervision, or restraint. That is, I can secure her leash to the table, and trust that she'll behave herself, or at least try to. I don't have to worry about cleaning up little yellow puddles anymore when she's inside. And as long as she has an appropriate chewtoy in reach, she doesn't tend to take out her teething frustration on the furniture. (Thank God for Kong products!)

But all of this, although progress over one week, has not come easy. The first day home she whined incesstantly every moment I wasn't actively playing with her. She cried to be let in when she was outside, she cried to be let out of her crate when she was there. She cried when she was let out if I wasn't playing with her. In fact, the only time she wasn't crying was when she was asleep or chewing on some random piece of clothing, hardware, or furniture. Consequently when hubby came home he found the puppy sleeping peacefully and his wife bawling. Which elicited, of course, a prompt "She's your dog."

So I did what any good student would do. I went to the library and armed myself with every training book currently available, and quickly found my favorite. (Which, for those geeks amoung us, is "Before and After Getting your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar) Although his methods are far easier read than done, they do (eventually) work. And best of all, they're all gentle methods that teach the dog to work for praise (and sometimes bribes) rather than punishing the poor pup for not knowing the rules in the first place.

I've also picked up several tips from friends. A good friend of the family suggested using rolled-up newspaper. I, of course, was horrified -- I don't hit my dog! But after a fruitless training session today I discovered a trick. I don't hit the dog with the newpaper. I hit anything else and the noise is sufficient distraction that it gets her attention back to me. Whether that's what said friend meant, I'm not sure, but it works for me.

So while I don't have an infant yet, Lucy (affectionately, Lulu) is a suitable microcausm. And, perhaps, exactly what I need at this point.