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  1. #1
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    Puppy Diaries: Day 1

    We picked up Stormy from the breeder at 8 am yesterday. As I filled out final paperwork, DH played with the sire and dam, who are just sweet, sweet labs. We also got to see Stormy play with her mom, which was fun. And then into the car we went! I sat in the back with Stormy, who went from Sleepy Puppy to OMG WHAT IS GOING ON I NEED TO CLIMB UP ON THINGS AND CRY PUPPY in about 5 miles. Since we had 100 miles to travel, we knew this could be a LONG trip. Luckily, she settled down for a nap about 30 minutes into the trip, and when she woke up about 20 minutes from home, we found a place to do a pit stop and she pottied like a pro.

    Once home, we settled into the schedule we'll use during the week, with structured play times and nap times. (DH works from home which helps a lot, but he still needs time away from puppy to earn that paycheck.) We walked around the yard, and she was super curious about everything. She really wants to chew the (non-toxic) mulch, so we'll need to watch that. We have a statue of a lab with a bone, and she spent some time trying to take the bone away from her competitor, lol. We noticed she was inclined to stay near us and liked it best when DH and I walked together so she could be near both of us at once. We lucked out with a beautiful Sunday so play time outside was easy. We just had to fish things out of her mouth.

    She slept a lot- and she's a snuggler! During her naps, she would curl up next to one of us, and sometimes rest her head on our laps. Kimber, for all her awesomeness, was not physically affectionate, so I hope Stormy retains her cuddle tendencies.

    It's never too early for training, right? Luckily, Stormy seems food motivated and loved running towards us for a piece of kibble. I also started luring her into "sit." The rest of the day, she would run up to one of us and sit, looking for a treat. Who's training whom?

    We took her outside whenever she woke up from a nap, and every 30 minutes when she was awake and playing with us. That got us through Day 1 with zero accidents! I have Nature's Miracle at the ready when we fail to catch her signs.

    All went really well! And then bedtime. After a last potty outing, I put the crate next to my side of the bed so she could see me, and set my alarm for 1 am. We had the t-shirt with her mom's scent and a Snuggly Puppy toy (it has the heartbeat) in the crate with her. But as soon as I closed that crate door, she started crying. It was very loud, very high-pitched, and so sad it almost made me cry. I put in earplugs to at least cut back on the highest frequency portions (it was making my ears ring), and ignored the hours of crying. I knew she just really wanted to be in bed with us, and that you can't do that with crate training. She finally cried herself to sleep shortly before 1 am, and I made an executive decision to let sleeping dogs lie and not wake her up for a potty outing. I think we all finally caught a few hours of sleep. She started fussing around 4; when I took her out she immediately peed and poo'ed, hurray. Back in the crate, where she barked until 5 am, sigh. I then got 38 minutes of silence (but who's counting) before she started up again. (I did a quick forum search this morning and confirmed I'm doing everything you're supposed to, including everything I myself recommended, lol.)

    Sorry for the novel! TL;DR version:

    #of accidents: 0
    #of hours humans slept: 4
    #of smiles: beyond count
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



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  3. #2
    Senior Dog
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    Ooh...I'm going to enjoy this diary!

    I always pre-empted crate whining. Stand somewhere where you can hear really clearly but she can't see you. The moment you detect a whimper coming, say "no". Repeat as long as necessary. It never took me that many times to get a quiet puppy (5 minutes max., if I recall correctly) and you will probably have to go through that again for a couple of days. Never failed for me.

    There's no way I could allow myself to let them cry themselves out...not for me or for them.

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    kimbersmom (11-12-2018)

  5. #3
    Senior Dog JackK's Avatar
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    She sure is cute! This should be a fun journal of your adventures. Let the fun begin.

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    kimbersmom (11-12-2018)

  7. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Sounds like a pretty successful first day! Poor little Princess of Darkness, singing the song of her people at bedtime! Did you take this week off to get her settled in or are you hoping your husband will have her tuned up in time for your Thanksgiving festivities? I look forward to hearing more of the adventures of the Stormageddon!

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  9. #5
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by SunDance View Post
    Ooh...I'm going to enjoy this diary!

    I always pre-empted crate whining. Stand somewhere where you can hear really clearly but she can't see you. The moment you detect a whimper coming, say "no". Repeat as long as necessary. It never took me that many times to get a quiet puppy (5 minutes max., if I recall correctly) and you will probably have to go through that again for a couple of days. Never failed for me.

    There's no way I could allow myself to let them cry themselves out...not for me or for them.
    I will definitely try this! Last night was traumatic for everyone!
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
    Hidden Content

    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



  10. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    Sounds like a pretty successful first day! Poor little Princess of Darkness, singing the song of her people at bedtime! Did you take this week off to get her settled in or are you hoping your husband will have her tuned up in time for your Thanksgiving festivities? I look forward to hearing more of the adventures of the Stormageddon!
    I'm taking Wednesday off because DH has to travel for work that day, and I have all of next week off. I just have to limp through until then. We decided to have a super quiet at home Thanksgiving- no visitors or guests- so it can be All Stormy All The Time!
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
    Hidden Content

    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



  11. #7
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Everyday will get easier, and all this will be a distant memory, the first 8-12 weeks are the hardest LOL

    I hope you don't mind if I share a document I send home with puppies that I wrote. I teach my families a different way of keeping unwanted things out of the puppies' mouths, and we start early, like right now.

    The Shelquin "Exchange" Program


    The best way to prevent your puppy from running away from you, with something he shouldn’t have, is to teach him to bring you what he has, for inspection, or exchange.


    They key is a “Happy Voice” when you call him to you, even when he has something dangerous, and a High Value Treat.
    You need to determine what is “High Value” for your puppy. It needs to be a special training tool, such as a small piece of hotdog, cheese, (string cheese is a favorite here), meat, packaged treats or other tidbit that they normally do not get to eat.


    If you want to inspect what he has, and it is something he is allowed to play with, or something you don’t mind he has, you “inspect” it and give it back. This object is his “prize” so unless it is a dangerous object, I allow them to keep most things they find. I start with fun toys they have and call them to me, in a happy voice, (always a happy voice!), pat them affectionately when they come to me, and ask to see what they “have”. I ask them to give it it me, and then give them a High Value treat, I praise them, “inspect” whatever it is, and give it right back to them, it’s like a fun game, and good practice for “exchanging” later. This is so they learn I don’t always just take everything away from them. I am pretty relaxed about what they can have, sticks, rocks or pebbles, tree leaves, (fresh) fallen oranges, objects that won’t hurt them, they explore their world with their mouth, so I allow that.


    If he has something you would rather he not play with, (shoes, socks, grandma’s handmade blanket, or worse something dangerous, (think poison, medication pills you accidentally drop, sugar free gum, sharp objects etc…) you must “exchange” it for something more valuable. Call them to you in a happy voice like above, (always a happy voice! Even when you are scared!) pat them affectionately when they come to me, and ask to see what they “have”, I ask them to give it it me, and “exchange” it with the High Value treat, and praise them. Most of the time, if you wave a piece of desirable food in a Labrador puppy’s face, he will just drop what he has, eat what you give him, and you can grab what they dropped. Everyone wins!


    It takes time, patience and training to teach this, but it is so worth it. Teaching them to bring you what they have, is a much better scenario than running after your puppy while he has something dangerous that you desperately need to get away from him. If you chase a puppy and just take away his prizes all the time, he soon learns that you take all of his fun finds, and this leads to them running from you, to prevent your taking his stuff, and then gulping or swallowing what they have to prevent you from taking it away. If you teach the inspect or exchange program, they will willingly bring you what they have, often just to show off what they found. Much more civilized don’t you think?


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  13. #8
    Senior Dog
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    That's great advice, Shelley!
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
    Hidden Content

    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



  14. #9
    Senior Dog
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    "little Princess of Darkness, singing the song of her people"

    Seriously cute way with words...I love this!

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    kimbersmom (11-12-2018)

  16. #10
    Senior Dog
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    Awww .... that sounds exactly like our first day with Scully, including the crying at night. Which went on for several days until we moved the crate into our bedrooom (it had been downstairs). I hope you have as many wonderful years with her as we did with our girl!
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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    kimbersmom (11-12-2018)

 



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