The reality of a puppy - Part 2

So you read about the basics of having a puppy. Well here's the more time consuming part.  Puppies need to be socialized and exposed to everything you can think of!  Before I started fostering, I often thought lots of dogs were abused.  Thinking that's why they were scared, skittish, generally freaked out and/or reactive.  Well guess what - a lot of that behavior is due to lack of socialization/exposure as a puppy - not abuse.  If you met Efeste you might wonder if she was abused and I would say no, she's just not been socialized/exposed to much of anything.

 

So in having a puppy it's the humans responsibility to make every effort to socialization/expose a puppy to everything possible.  Is this a lot of work - YES and it's exhausting.  And this is the commitment you must make in having a puppy.  If this seems like too much work, then you should be looking at older dogs.

 

Here are just a few things we're working on:

 

SOUNDS

 

Listen to the sounds in this video...

 

 

The first couple days out on the deck Efeste was worried about all the noise.  Having Bailey around  helped Efeste work through being comfortable with the noise which was super.  This video was taken roughly a week after Efeste arriving to us and we'd been out on the deck like this multiple times a day - you can see the noise no longer bothers her while on the deck.

 

We live in the SeaTac flight path and near Lake Washington.  So, lots of planes and helicopters fly over our house. Then we also live in city with lots of lawn mowers, weed whackers, loud buses, lots of garbage/recycling trucks and there's a house being built by us that is creating lots of noise.  These are all great noises for her to become accustom and figuring out they won't hurt her.

 

At the TTouch workshop back in July a force free trainer (teaches in Gig Harbor) recommended a series of canine noise phobia CD's.  She plays them in her puppy class and I thought, what a brilliant idea!  I now have all 3 CD's that we are using with Efeste.

 

Here's more about the CD's:

Victoria Stilwell & Through a Dog's Ear

 

Fireworks

City Sounds

Thunderstorms

GETTING OUT & EXPERIENCING THE WORLD

 

Efeste's new buddy - The Outward Hound front pack

Efeste is tiny - roughly 2.5lbs and walking her isn't going to work right now.  So, here's what we are doing when it comes to getting out in the world. Because Efeste's tiny size, she gets cold really easy so we've stuffed in a blanket for warmth.  It also give her space to retreat if she gets too worried.  This pack is a great size for her and it gives her the choice to come out and take a peak at the world when she feels brave. 

 

So were has Efeste been while in her front pack?  Lots of places (stay tuned for more posts about Efeste's adventures):

 

Walking in the neighborhood

Going with D'light to TTouch & she watched his session

Dog park

Hair salon

Grocery store

Sitting outside the coffee shop

Sitting at the park where kids are playing

Sitting by the tennis courts

Local pet store

Post office

Meeting people of all shapes and sizes

WORKING ON HOUSEHOLD SCARY THINGS:

This is where Efeste is having the most difficulty.  Indoor noises scare her and she will shake, tail tuck, lip lick, cower and run away.  So we are taking it slow.  The trick with this work is to make the event/situtation a good experience overall for the pup. If it's very unpleasant, you've just reinforced to the pup that the world is really scary.  There are times when she's in the front pack and other times when she's on the ground.  Here's a short list of the items that we are currently focusing on:

 

turning on the kitchen & bathroom sink

dishwasher loading

dishwasher running

gas stove igniting

toilet flush

shower turning on
noise of the shower curtain

hairdryer

washing machine

me wearing a shower cap

the sound my flip flops make

we also move furniture around so the environment looks different to her

 

So while we are not flooding her with all of these items, we are keeping track, watching how she reacts to and with them.  Then working at helping her to process that they are nothing to worry about.  She's doing ok, she just need continue work, patience and dedication.
 

Efeste (on left) and Bailey (on right ) sitting for a sliver of chicken while the dishwasher is running.  This took a good while for Efeste making the choice of moving into close proximity of  the dishwasher.  Baliey was a very good influence on Efeste and  I'm guessing progress may be a bit slower now that Efeste is the solo puppy in the house.