Puppy Update

Joy, our Toy Poodle puppy, is almost 3 months old now. Since our last blog on her 2 weeks ago, she has grown from a skinny puppy into a little fat dog with a big tummy now... hehe (yes, we have overfed her to make up for her bony frame previously). However, this physical difference is not always visible as her body shape is easily covered by her soft furry hair.

Do I look fat... or just chubby?

Joy has also grown from being a sleepy and inactive puppy to one that is hyperactive now. When she runs out from under some furniture, she would sometimes get kicked as she was so small and it was hard to notice her when she ran out all of a sudden. So we got her a dog collar with a tinkle bell so that we can hear where she is.

Joy with her new "tinkle-bell" collar...

Joy uses the teddy bear for biting practice... hehe.

Joy standing tall with Eunice, who is sporting a new hair style...

With Joy going through the teething stage now, she likes to chew almost everything, including live electrical wires! She is still partially toilet-trained and does not always eliminate at the designated spots. We have thought of sending her for dog training but then, we read that obedience training (from a dog school) could make a dog Sit, Stay and Heel (obey commands)... but it would still chew wires (does not solve behavior problems).

We also plan to move Joy from our bedroom to the front yard of the house when she grows a little bigger in the future. The thing is, we have so many questions and we are not quite sure what to do. So Sze decided to buy Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book as we needed some expert guidance from an experienced dog professional and he also wanted to understand dog psychology better in order to train Joy more effectively.


The following is the Table of Contents from Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book - you decide if the topics listed below are what you would like to know as well...

1. TEACHING & LEARNING
WHAT ARE DOGS?
THE BIG FOUR
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DOG
LIFE WITH YOUR NEW DOG
THE FEAR IMPRINT PERIOD
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TEACH YOUR PUPPY
YOU CANNOT TEACH NOTHING
DOGS ARE IMITATORS
TRAINING YOUR PUPPY
MASSAGE FOR FIDO?
HOUSETRAINING
YOUR PUP’S FIRST COLLAR AND LEASH
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR DOG
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
CORRECTING YOUR DOG
CONTROLLING VS. ELIMINATING A BEHAVIOR
MEAN BUSINESS FROM THE START
HOW TO PUNISH
WHY IS YOUR DOG MISBEHAVING? FIND THE MOTIVE
PRAISE AND PUNISHMENT: TIMING IS CRUCIAL
INTRODUCING A NEW DOG
SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS
SUMMARY

2. HOUSETRAINING
HOUSE DOG VS. OUTSIDE DOG
HOUSTRAINING VS. PAPER-TRAINING
UNDERSTANDING DOGS’ ELIMINATION BEHAVIOR
WHAT IS A REWARD?
WHERE SHOULD YOU GET YOUR PET?
THE BIG FOUR REVISITED
DAILY SCHEDULE FOR HOUSETRAINING
FEEDING ROUTINE
ELIMINATING ON COMMAND
CLEANING A SOIL SPOT
MEDICATIONS CAN AFFECT ELIMINATION
EXCITABLE URINATION / SUBMISSIVE URINATION
IGNORING A PROBLEM AS “PUNISHMENT”
TWO DOGS: WHICH ONE IS SOILING?
NEUTERING AND HOUSETRAINING
THE CRATE: A HOUSETRAINER’S BEST FRIEND
SIMPLE, BUT NOT EASY
WHY DO HOUSETRAINED DOGS SOMETIMES REGRESS?
DOGS WON’T SOIL WHERE THEY EAT
CLUES FROM YOUR DOG’S STOOL
SUMMARY

3. CHEWING & DIGGING
WHY DOGS CHEW: TEETHING
WHY DOGS CHEW: TOO MANY TOYS
WHY DOGS CHEW: STRESS
WHY DOGS CHEW: THEY ARE REWARDED
WHY DOGS CHEW: PHYSICAL PROBLEM
WHY DOGS CHEW: TO GET ATTENTION
WHY DOGS CHEW: BREED SPECIFIC DRIVES
WHY DOGS CHEW: THEY ARE SPOILED
WHY DOGS CHEW: REACTIVE RESPONSE
WHY DOGS CHEW: ASSOCIATIVE
WHY DOGS CHEW: INADVERTENT LEARNING
WHY DOGS CHEW: LACK OF EXERCISE
WHY IS MY DOG CHEWING?
CHEWING REMEDIES
IMPLEMENT MANY CHEWING REMEDIES AT ONCE
WHY DO DOGS DIG?
WHY DOGS DIG: THEY’RE TOO HOT
WHY DOGS DIG: GET THAT SQUIRREL!
WHY DOGS DIG: FEMALE NESTING
WHY DOGS DIG: COPY CAT
WHY DOGS DIG: FREEDOM
WHY DOGS DIG: SMELLS AND TASTES
WHY DOGS DIG: BOREDOM
WHY DOGS DIG: STRESS
WHY DOGS DIG: DENS
WHY DOGS DIG: TETHERING
WHY DOGS DIG: REACTIVE RESPONSE
WHY DOGS DIG: ASSOCIATIVE DIGGING
WHY IS MY DOG DIGGING?
SOLVING DIGGING PROBLEMS
DIGGING MUST FAIL
RESOLVING BOREDOM IN YOUR YARD
MOTIVATING FIDO TO CHANGE

4. JUMPING & PULLING
JUMPING ON PEOPLE
JUMPING ONTO THINGS
PERSONAL CORRECTION FOR JUMPING
IMPERSONAL CORRECTION: THE COUCH CORRECTS GODZILLA
ELIMINATE THE REWARD FOR JUMPING; THEN MAKE JUMPING UNPLEASANT
PULLING
WHY DOGS PULL: OPPOSITION REFLEX
WHY DOGS PULL: LEARNED THROUGH GAMES
WHY DOGS PULL: FEAR OF FEET
WHY DOGS PULL: SUCCESS!
WHY DOGS PULL: USING A SHORT LEAD
PREVENTING/REVERSING PULLING
SOLUTIONS TO PULLING: FEAR OF FEET
SOLUTIONS TO PULLING: EQUIPMENT
MAGIC: PULLING FAILS; A SLACK LEAD SUCCEEDS!
NOT PULLING VS. HEELING
PULLING IN VERY LARGE DOGS

5. BARKING
WHY CURE BARKING?
ALL BARKING ISN’T BAD
SCAPEGOATING
DOES MY DOG BARK A LOT?
WHY DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY WHEN THEY’RE ALONE
WHY DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY WHEN THE FAMILY IS PRESENT
ASSOCIATION CAUSES BARKING
DEBARKING THE DOG
THE BARK MUZZLE
SILLY SOLUTIONS
ELECTRONIC TRAINING COLLAR
THE BARK COLLAR
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
INDOOR DOGS BARK LESS
BARKING IS OKAY; EXCESSIVE BARKING IS BAD
THE “QUIET” COMMAND MEANS TO STOP BARKING

6. AGGRESSION
DOG BITES ARE SERIOUS!
FALSE AGGRESSION
INHERITED AGGRESSION
DEFENSIVE AGGRESSION
PAIN CAN CAUSE AGGRESSION
AGGRESSION CAUSED BY FEAR OR SELF-DEFENSE
TETHERING CAN CAUSE AGGRESSION
REACTIVE AGGRESSION
DOMINANCE AGGRESSION
CONDITIONED AGGRESSION
ASSOCIATIVE AGGRESSION
DISPLACEMENT AGGRESSION
TRAINED AGGRESSION
PHYSICAL CAUSES FOR AGGRESSION
TREATING AGGRESSION
ELIMINATE THE CAUSES OF AGGRESSION

7. FIGHTING
PREVENTING FIGHTS
DON’T TREAT DOGS EQUALLY
MORE DIFFERENCES EQUALS FEWER FIGHTS
HONOR THE DOGS’ HIERARCHY
DO THIS AND YOUR DOGS WILL GET ALONG GREAT!
IMPORTANCE OF BREED
THREE’S A CROWD
NEUTERING AFFECTS FIGHTING
HANDLING MEALS WITH TWO DOGS
PAIN CAN CAUSE FIGHTING
TERRITORIALITY AND FIGHTING
INTRODUCING A NEW DOG
ACCIDENTLY TRAINING DOGS TO FIGHT
BE THE BOSS
DOMINANCE CHALLENGES BETWEEN DOGS
CHANGING PACK ORDER
PREVENTING FIGHTS WITH VISITORS OR UNFAMILIAR DOGS
WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S A FIGHT
PROGESTINS FOR FIGHTERS
WHEN YOUR DOG IS THE ATTACKER
WHEN ONE DOG DIES OR LEAVES
STOPPING A DOGFIGHT

* Table of contents from Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions.

Our New Puppy

On Sunday last week, Sze and I went to Klang to shop for a dog. I played around with several puppies there and saw one of them bully her puppy sibling. Immediately I thought to myself, “Ok, that’s my type of dog!”

And so we came home with our new puppy. She is a Toy Poodle breed and is expected to grow to no more than 10 inches in size upon reaching adulthood. She is only about 2 months old now and her very soft, furry hair is known as "super red" in color. We named her Joy as we hope that she will bring much joy and happiness to the family.

Joy's first day at home.

We have had Joy for a week already and she is adjusting much better to her new environment now than her first few days here. She has started to respond to her name being called and she is also improving in her toilet training (with her "newspaper loo").

Over the weekend, we brought Joy back to Sitiawan to visit my parents. With her "teddy bear" looks, she was of course, fussed over by everyone, especially by Naomi, my younger sis.

Joy and the teddy bear.

Joy's sock clothing design by Naomi, haha...

Godmom said Joy was very gentle and ladylike in her behavior while Mom said Joy's sleeping posture is like that of a baby.

And yes, Joy does sleep a lot!

Does Joy look like a hamster from behind?

Joy's pear-shaped body ;-)

To learn more about dog behavior, check out Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book.