Lame Excuse, Brown Shirt, New Baby

Lame Excuse: My husband took my camera with him on a business trip. So I haven't had any photos to post. (It's a lame excuse because I still have my big camera. And my daughters both have cameras that I could have borrowed. I've been a slacker, but I've got some post ideas brewing.)

Brown Shirt: Last call for brown "Born to Lead" shirts and sweatshirts! I'll be placing the order on Friday, so please let me know today or tomorrow if you'd like one.

New Baby: There's a cute new baby in blogtown! Meet Barbara, pictured below, who is being raised for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Click here to follow her daily adventures.

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It's Never Too Late!

I wish I had known about this book a long time ago--but I also believe it's never too late to teach a dog new tricks. Or actually, it's never too late to teach a human how to be a better dog owner. "Before and After Getting Your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar is an extremely easy-to-read and positive book. In fact, many rescue groups require their adopters to read this book, and I totally understand why.

The major premise of the book is that by 3 months of age, the puppy must learn errorless housetraining and chewtoy training, socialization with people, and bite inhibition. Interestingly, Guide Dogs for the Blind's e-Bark recently was about bite inhibition. Their new trial program about bite inhibition sounds like it might have come directly from Dr. Dunbar!

I love Dr. Dunbar's recommendations for housetraining and chewtoy-training. Even though I didn't know about his method when we first got Cabana, as a first-time puppy raiser, I made potty training my MISSION IN LIFE during Cabana's first week with us. I saw each potty as an opportunity to teach her...and each mistake as a sadly missed opportunity. Thankfully, Cabana learned quickly, and after about 3-5 days, she was housetrained! But during those 3-5 days, I spent a HUGE amount of time standing outside in the rain with her, waiting for her to go--and a lot of nervous time inside, hoping she wouldn't have an accident. Next time, I'll be much better prepared and less stressed about it, emotionally and mentally, armed with Dr. Dunbar's technique. Still, even with my previous inexperience, I believe that giving Cabana a strong start with almost-errorless housetraining has contributed to her currently stellar potty track record.

Here's a short excerpt:
"You need to institute an errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training program the very first day your puppy comes home. This is so important during the first week, when puppies characteristically learn good or bad habits that set the precedent for weeks, months, and sometimes years to come....With a long-term and short-term confinement schedule, housetraining and chewtoy-training are easy, efficient, and errorless."

Dr. Dunbar's website is www.dogstardaily.com, and is packed with information about training, manners and obedience, and dealing with behavior problems. He is also considered the forerunner of off-leash dog walking. On his site, you can download a free PDF of "Before You Get Your Puppy." For those of you who are welcoming a puppy into your home soon (so exciting!!), I would highly recommend it (with slight revisions, depending on your service organization's rules).

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New Pup in Town

We have a new puppy in our group. Meet Ginger, an adorable little bundle of energy!

Here's Ginger meeting Cabana.

And here's Ginger meeting Poppy.


We haven't had babies in our group for such a long time. It's so great, though, because being around the new babies gives me a puppy fix without having to go through the sleepless nights and puddles on the floor myself.

The debate rages inside me everyday. Regardless of whether Cabana makes it as a guide dog, do I have it in me to raise another puppy? I lean one way one moment, the other way the next. I'm so conflicted! But I know there are lots of other in-between options, like starting a puppy (raising for the first 2-3 months for someone who isn't in a situation to have such a young pup), or being a puppy sitter. Good thing I don't have to decide right away!

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Tuesday Topics 7 - New Puppy Tips

These are photos of Cabana during the first month we got her--December 2008. If it weren't for blogging, the past four months would all be a big blur. I didn't start blogging until January, though--so for many reasons, December is still a big blur.

But I know that the GDB Puppy Truck is making its rounds now and that there are lots of folks waiting patiently (or not) for their puppy to arrive. Many people know what is in store for them with a brand new puppy, having raised before. But others are probably like I was--newbies without a clue.

So for today's Tuesday Topic, I thought it'd be great to share our best new puppy tips. Of course, we all know NOTHING is as wonderful as snuggling a little 2-month old puppy, smelling her puppy breath, and massaging all that loose skin that will take her months to grow into. But what helped you make it through those challenging first weeks, when the puppy is completely tabula rasa?


My tip: get ear plugs. Cabana barked and cried in her crate at night for the first two weeks, sometimes for as long as 45 minutes. It was really difficult to wait it out. I worried that she needed to relieve, even though she had just relieved. I worried that the neighbors could hear her and that she was keeping them awake. I worried that my kids couldn't sleep and would be tired at school the next day. I would lay in my bed, looking at the digital clock on my nightstand, and literally count each minute until she'd stop. Finally, I started using ear plugs, which didn't block out all the sound--but it helped me feel a little more relaxed. The barking didn't sound as loud, and I was able to stop watching the minutes on the clock.

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