Pupdate

I'm ready to come in now!

Mariah loves playing outside in the snow, doing laps in the yard, chewing sticks and digging for leaves.  She'll eventually be confined to the dog yard when she's out with the others, but this time of the year there's not much damage that can be done to the yard, especially by a small pup.  They've gone from peeing in the yard to peeing on the sidewalk which is not good, but will make the transition to peeing in the pen much easier. Allows me to have dogs AND a nice yard with unblemished grass and lots of flower beds. 

Ike will be departing today, weather permitting.  His new owner will have a long weekend to continue the house training.  Ike has done really well, with only one accident inside that we've noticed and he ALWAYS pees when taken outdoors.  Marcia will borrow a small crate and an exercise pen, so Ike can be in his pen on papers during the day when she is gone, and can work on house training when she is home.  He's too young to stay in a crate all day, and an ex pen is safer than shutting him in a room where he can chew wallboard or cabinet corners when he gets bored.   I've lent my pens out many times and it works well when small pups must be left for the day.

Poor Ike will miss the other dogs at first, but will quickly adopt Marcia's family as his new "pack".   With the long weekend, he should settle in easily.  It will be a lot harder when she goes back to work, so hopefully someone can check in on Ike at noon at least for the first few months.  He'll be OK, but he will stress over being left for that long, and he'll demand a lot of attention in the evening.  It's not the optimum situation for a young pup, but they do adjust.  If having someone home during the day was a requirement for adopting a puppy, very few families would be able to own a dog.  It's all about "quality time" just as it is with children. 

My dogs are lucky, as Ron is retired and is always there.  However, they all get some crate time even during the day.  If our situation changes, the dogs need to be comfortable with less freedom.   New pups need to be confined and left behind even when it's not necessary so they will just accept that as part of their routine.  A pup who is with you 24 hours a day has far more trouble adapting to a lifestyle change than a pup who is comfortable being crated and left behind on occasion.