I am a mere 24 hours away from being down to 4 puppies. And less than 48 from being down to Archer. I can't express how happy this makes me. This litter has me experiencing flashbacks of the first litter and makes me wonder if I ever actually intend to do this again. Twelve was so much easier than 7 ... not sure why.
I can only imagine that living in my own house, not having neighbours above me, owning the floors they are peeing on, and being able to ignore the noise they make(because I can tune it out but the neighbours likely can't) is going to be priceless.
I am not afraid to admit the puppies have me right at the very tenderhooks of my patience at this point. Let's consider the facts; I am alone therfore all of the work they involve falls directly to my shoulders. I am moving in 4 days and moving, as we all know, is among the most stressful events of your life. I live below people with merely drywall and wood beams between floors. I rent and therefore am responsible at every juncture for any damage they cause.
I am not a bleeding heart breeder who has them out 24/7 because I can't bear to leave the little darlings alone in their room crying their hearts out. I care for the puppies, do the best I can to ensure their health and safety and raise them to the best of my ability. I try to offer them avenues of stimulation such as different surfaces, sounds, exposure to adult dogs to socialize, encourage them to interact with the cats and pay each of them attention in turn. However, I am not swayed by soulful puppy eyes as everyone else seems to be. Tough love baby. I do not accept that a yelling puppy needs to be let out. A yelling puppy gets told to shut the hell up. Door closed and lights out means GO TO SLEEP or play quietly. They are not in danger ... they are just in an expen.
Teaching your puppy good habits is paramount to a sane existence. Falling for the whining, pleading, crying and yelling means they are training YOU. I have started them on the road to habit but it is up to their new homes to carry that tradition forward. 2am whining to go pee is okay for the first week or two but if in month 6, if you are still taking that puppy out to pee you have been trained very well by that dog to cater to it's whims. A 3 month old puppy should be able to sleep through the night (7 hours at least) without soiling its crate. Heck, Leeloo could hold it at 10 weeks.
Sometimes I lose patience with them and let out a roar to which they all cringe and look at each other like "What's with her?" They are fast learners and only take a couple of corrections to think twice about jumping up, chewing on something or whining. They know to run outside and poop right away, they answer, unfailingly, to "Puppy puppy, puppy" in a high pitched voice so teaching their names is super simple; "Puppy puppy Archer. Puppy puppy Archer" gradually eliminating Puppy.
They are smart, sweet, kissy, wrinkly cheerful little blighters and while I look upon each one of them with pride ... they all need their own home. And I need to sleep past 6am.
I can only imagine that living in my own house, not having neighbours above me, owning the floors they are peeing on, and being able to ignore the noise they make(because I can tune it out but the neighbours likely can't) is going to be priceless. I am not afraid to admit the puppies have me right at the very tenderhooks of my patience at this point. Let's consider the facts; I am alone therfore all of the work they involve falls directly to my shoulders. I am moving in 4 days and moving, as we all know, is among the most stressful events of your life. I live below people with merely drywall and wood beams between floors. I rent and therefore am responsible at every juncture for any damage they cause. I am not a bleeding heart breeder who has them out 24/7 because I can't bear to leave the little darlings alone in their room crying their hearts out. I care for the puppies, do the best I can to ensure their health and safety and raise them to the best of my ability. I try to offer them avenues of stimulation such as different surfaces, sounds, exposure to adult dogs to socialize, encourage them to interact with the cats and pay each of them attention in turn. However, I am not swayed by soulful puppy eyes as everyone else seems to be. Tough love baby. I do not accept that a yelling puppy needs to be let out. A yelling puppy gets told to shut the hell up. Door closed and lights out means GO TO SLEEP or play quietly. They are not in danger ... they are just in an expen. Teaching your puppy good habits is paramount to a sane existence. Falling for the whining, pleading, crying and yelling means they are training YOU. I have started them on the road to habit but it is up to their new homes to carry that tradition forward. 2am whining to go pee is okay for the first week or two but if in month 6, if you are still taking that puppy out to pee you have been trained very well by that dog to cater to it's whims. A 3 month old puppy should be able to sleep through the night (7 hours at least) without soiling its crate. Heck, Leeloo could hold it at 10 weeks. Sometimes I lose patience with them and let out a roar to which they all cringe and look at each other like "What's with her?" They are fast learners and only take a couple of corrections to think twice about jumping up, chewing on something or whining. They know to run outside and poop right away, they answer, unfailingly, to "Puppy puppy, puppy" in a high pitched voice so teaching their names is super simple; "Puppy puppy Archer. Puppy puppy Archer" gradually eliminating Puppy. They are smart, sweet, kissy, wrinkly cheerful little blighters and while I look upon each one of them with pride ... they all need their own home. And I need to sleep past 6am.
1 comment:
I agree with you on the training thing. It's exactly the same thing when raising your own children - except my child has never been confined to an expen, but I suppose the crib is something similar. Yes, it's time for them to go to their homes. I'm so happy for you that you have found homes for all of them! Is Halo going back to those people with the kids now that you have Archer? I forget the family's name, but I remember the kids dressed her up as a hula dancer.
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