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Affentabulous

Training Plans

After much worry that Fritz would never go to the bathroom outside, we are down to having very few accidents. We are basically restricting Fritz's movement throughout the house and watching him closely for signs that he might need to go. We are also keeping him in his crate at night. The big problem with this is that it depends on us noticing when Fritz needs to use the bathroom, rather than on him telling us that he needs to go. So, I am thinking that we will try to teach him to use a bell to let us know. Not sure if this will work, but it's worth a try.
I would also like to start clicker training this weekend when I have some more time to devote to getting started. I'm thinking of starting with the basics, like come and sit. And of course we would be using the clicker to teach him about the bell also. One issue with the clicker thing is the treating. I can't find any ready made treats that I think are small enough to be clicker training Fritz with. Also, he does not get super excited about regular treats, so I don't know if he woudl eat them up fast enough to really get the instant association between the click, his behavior, and the treat. I'm thinking I'll pick up some hot dogs, because I can cut them up as small as I want.
That's the plan anyway.

Fritz is home!

well, we picked Fritz up from the airport yesturday. He is adorable and everything I had hoped for. Andy even likes him, and he was completely against getting a dog. But as soon as he saw Fritz's cute little monkey face, he was sold.
We let him out for a little walk and bathroom break at the first rest stop we came to. He stood there shaking for at least 3 minutes. He never did go to the bathroom, even though he'd been on a plane fir six hours and his crate looked clean. He was also pretty perturbed by the leash, but we didn't want him just running loose.
Finally got him home around 9:30 p.m., after a quick stop by my parents'. He had still not gone to the bathroom, although we walked him around outside several times. He explored the new house. We showed him to his little doggie bed, but he decided to stake claim to our large leather recliner instead.
For some reason, I decided not to crate him at night. Needless to say, I woke up to find he'd done a number one and two on the floor. Cleaned it up and tried to take him outside, but he still did not go to the bathroom. Fed him some breakfast, took him outside, still no potty.
So, seems like potty and leash are our first training priorities.

Fritz gets his fancy pants name

First, the count down to Fritz's adoption day is fast approaching. He will be here next Friday...or he'll be at the airport anyway, where we will pick him up.
So, I just received the AKC registration information from his breeder, and Fritz is now officially a fancy pants dog with a fancy pants name: Rosie's Belgian Fritz N Chips. I hope it doesn't go to his head.