 Barked: Sat Jan 5, '13 12:56am PST |
 | |  | | Thanks again for all the replies and help.
Tiller, thanks for the info on trainers, and I'm glad to see I come across as committed! I'm really trying, but have been surprised at how much more difficult it is to have a puppy versus what I was used to with just cats. But my dog gives me things the cats can't!
I feel like all I've done is complain about Stella, but she does a lot right. She came to me perfectly crate trained by the foster mom who worked with the rescue. She was also well socialized with other dogs, something I'm trying to maintain.
And just tonight Stella laid calmly on the chaise like the stately dog she is and watched an episode of "Elementary" from our DVR.  Of course, it was late and she was tired from an extra long walk and her digging time (I let her dig in an area of the yard). She did get up a few times to bug my cat, but was mostly good!
I'm going to try some of the scent games as mentioned. Also, to answer the questions, I've had Stella since July. And instead of the "wait" command we learned "leave it" which is I think used the same way. She responds well to it on walks when she wants to devour inappropriate things people leave on sidewalks. I've used "no" when she "plays" with the cats, but maybe another command would work.
On the doggie daycare, will it be a problem that Stella is a bit rough with her play? She plays with a Westie who lives in our neighborhood and they tumble around like crazy. I'm surprised the Westie enjoys playing so rough with a big dog, but he keeps coming back for more! (You can guess what happens when Stella sees her playmate when we're on walks! We try to avoid it.) Also, part of me is protective and I'm afraid she'll get injured or pick up an illness in daycare. She has all of her shots, but aren't there things dogs can still catch? When I got her she had a couple of parasites, despite having been on preventatives. I guess it's no different than the dog park, where she's been a couple of times.
Weather permitting I'm going to take Stella to the dog park tomorrow. I wish I could let her off leash, but she doesn't come when distracted, so bad idea. This is a huge sprawling dog park with two big lakes. I don't want to lose her, but I'd also like to let her swim -- not possible when she's on a retractable leash. I've let her wade before though.
So, I have a vet appointment for my two cats on Monday, and I'm going to be asking him all kinds of dog questions. 
By the way, I enjoy hearing all the opinions on what breed Stella is. It's much easier to talk about this here, versus when I'm on a walk and someone stops me and asks "What breed is he?" (they always think she's a he) And of course, Stella is trying to jump all over this person and it takes all my strength to hold her back and I just really want to get away from the person asking me a question I can't answer! I usually just say, "oh, she's a rescue mutt" and keep walking. People probably refer to me as that little lady with the big wild dog. My neighbor actually told me she thinks I should get a poodle instead! What they don't see is how much calmer she is when they aren't around. |  |  | |  |
|
| my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals | [notify] |
0
