Busy weekend for the dogs

All the adult dogs needed a break from puppy Efeste. So Catty got to go for walks all by herself (which she loves).  Then off to the small dog park we went with Aurora and D'light.

 

Again if you have a puppy in the house, you have to be mindful of how that ball of energy is affecting the adult dogs.  A lot adult dogs don't have tolerance for pups.  We are lucky that Aurora does so well with Efeste and she too gets tired of Efeste.  I will say that Catty is NOT a fan of Efeste and D'light's anxiety has clearly increased with Efeste at our house. 

 

It's the humans responsibility to adjust your days to make sure all dogs are getting what they need.  As I keep saying puppies are a lot of work for everyone in the home.



Lots to smell

 There were only a couple dogs at the small dog park but, that was just fine.  D'light and Aurora had a good time.  Both dogs love to go for rides in the car so that was a bonus of fun for them as well.

 



Such a cute girl

Once we were home it was time to wash the kitchen floor.  Which meant time to introduce a broom and mop to Efeste.  As you might imagine, she's not keen on the vacuum so, that's a work in progress.

Given our work schedule - we baby gate Efeste in the kitchen when we are gone to work.  So while the floor gets cleaned up of daily poop and potty (her accuracy of using the puppy pads isn't so hot),  a good floor washing is frequently needed.
 

Once I started moving Efeste's crate/blankets and toys out of the kitchen she started getting nervous.  Then I brought out the broom.  You can see her reaction and that's she's conflicted.  She's worked up about the broom but, she wants to get to me.

 

 

And we lower the criteria so that she can have success.  Instead of using the broom to sweep, it's put on the ground and we move at a slower pace.  No forcing her to interact with the broom.  She has full control over moving away.  We did the below this a number of times.

 

 

And now we try the very, very slow motion of the broom sweeping.  She's still concerned about the broom. But, she's able to move away and "goof off".  Dog will "goof off" as a way to release stress pressure.

 

 

And she decides to come into the kitchen to watch the broom moving.  Notice in all the video's she has an exit.  I would never lock her in the kitchen with me while we did this work.

 

 

Once the sweeping was done, in came the mop.  She's not as afraid of the mop but, she's still not sure.   We will continue having the broom and mop out and around.  The hope is that soon, Efeste won't care about either of them.

 

 

And with the broom and mop out of the kitchen she now realizes that all her stuff is also gone.  The environmental change of the empty room perplexes her.  Efeste does well once she has visually established her environment.  When it changes she gets nervous.  So, we continue to mix things up for her in a slow and controlled way.