Saturday Morning Play Date

Jireh had another play date with her pals, Mia & Jovie. The more she socializes with other dogs, the better her behavior becomes. I can't tell you the value of play dates, especially for first time puppy owners like me. I never would have crated if it wasn't for feedback from others.  Last night, Jireh didn't 'go potty' 30 minutes after dinner, and I had an appointment to attend, so I put Jireh in her crate for 90 minutes while I was out. The entire time, I was both worried and felt cruel about shutting her inside of a cage. When I came home, I let her outside and she immediately 'went potty'.

I learned today the importance of teaching the puppy to control his/her bowel/bladder, which is what Jireh had finally practiced. Dogs don't like messing in their den (aka crate), so they will wait to go potty. The crate needs to be big enough for the dog to stand & turn around, but not so big that they can potty in corner, while sleeping in the other.

Socializing is good, both for the dogs and owners.

Addy Proves She Rules the Household

Jireh, After Asking Her to PLEASE Let Me Write!

10 Minutes Later... All she wants is to please me. Makes me cry for raising my voice at her. She's so sweet. Not her fault I am having a hard time:

Not All Rosy

Jireh peed a lake in the living room yesterday, so I put her in her crate (for the first time) after taking her outside. She cried 20 minutes so I let her have free rein of the house while I shut myself in my bedroom. Due to recent circumstances, there isn't much in the house that she can get into. Basically, I am staying in an old, roomy much needed non-insulated house with no nice furniture. Perfect for puppy's first months.

After Addy and Jireh cried and scratched my bedroom door for 4 hrs, I let them in. Within minutes, Jireh puked on my bed, my hair, then my shoes and blanket all while Addy scratching was my iPad. God bless people with real babies.

I know this is my fault- they both sensed I was having a bad day, irritable and anxious. When I get like this, I distance myself from them until I calm down. Poor babies want to comfort me, yet when pushed to extremes, I want to be left alone. This only reinforces their acting out and it's an endless cycle.

So the positive point here is I am forced to block out all that upsets & stresses me so I can be the best mom for Addy and Jireh. Hearing Addy purr and seeing Jireh wag her tail are my motivations.