Moviedust
Well-known member
Holly has been with us for two weeks tomorrow, so I thought I'd take the time to write an update. Everything has been going pretty well. The girls are getting along fine. There are a few squabbles now and then, and it's almost always between Cedar and Holly. They are still working out their relationship and who is top dog. (Willow is happy to let the two of them fight it out.) Most of the squabbles are just growling, although just tonight something happened that caused one dog to squeal. Not sure who, but Cedar was the "winner". After such a fuss, I went to see what they were fighting over. It was a highly prized, extremely valuable carrot root! A wimpy little wispy carrot root. Aside from these little encounters, the girls are playing with each other full force, and they are even learning to eat near each other.
Holly's issues of focus right now are her careless actions. She steps on others (people and dogs!) and jumps on them. She often does not look where she's going, and it does not bother her to step on someone's head. At first, both Cedar and Willow would react negatively, as you might imagine!, but now they either put up with it or move out of the way. Holly's behavior needs manners, so we're working on it.
To help, Holly has been attending puppy classes. At almost 12 months, she's a bit old for puppy classes, but I'm teaching the obedience classes. So we go to puppy for one-on-one time and socialization. Holly is a very social pup with people and dogs. The one-on-one time is helpful for her training, but it's also allowing me to get to know her and bond with her away from the other dogs. Since she's such a little spitfire at home, it's nice to see her act like a normal dog when she's not in such a comfortable situation.
When she is comfortable, Holly is--well--often a little sh*t. I can see how she was too much for some people!! She is a perfectly well meaning little dog, but she is the most selfish little cavalier I've ever met. I dont know if dogs CAN be selfish, but if there is one, its Holly! She's learning how to share, and she's learning to wait and take turns with treats and food. And she's learning that someone else can be on my lap besides her, which is still a foreign idea at this point. She figured out the doggie door, and now freely comes and goes in and out with annoying frequency. She likes to bring sticks in with her to eat inside. We'll take the stick away, and she'll go back outside to get another, bring it in, and repeat the process. She can try one's patience!
Although she's a spitfire and our little family is still disrupted somewhat as the dogs find their places, Holly's hard not to laugh at or make excuses for. She's picked up the middle name "berry" (Holly Berry) from me, and I use her middle name much as my mother used mine! Despite all her naughtiness, Holly has only found herself in time out once in the past two weeks. She did not like her punishment, but I draw the line at stealing food of a person's plate!! She wasn't even sneaky about it. She came in from outside in a dead heat, ran at full speed, jumped on the sofa (where I was having lunch), and immediately stole a bite of pizza off my plate before I knew what happened. As I was in the process of reacting, and saying "holly berry," she took a second bite and jumped down to the floor. I chased her around the coffee table a few times before I caught her. She had the nerve to wimper while in time out in the xpen. Can you believe it?!
I tried to get some updated pictures of the dogs to share. It was quite difficult as Holly doesn't hold still for 2 seconds at a time. Still, I'll share what I managed to get!
Holly learning NOT to take food from people's plates:
Getting along with Cedar:
Getting along with Willow:
All three playing together:
Holly playing chase around the coffee table:
Holly obviously being naught about SOMETHING. I titled this shot: "Are you talking to me?"
Holly's issues of focus right now are her careless actions. She steps on others (people and dogs!) and jumps on them. She often does not look where she's going, and it does not bother her to step on someone's head. At first, both Cedar and Willow would react negatively, as you might imagine!, but now they either put up with it or move out of the way. Holly's behavior needs manners, so we're working on it.
To help, Holly has been attending puppy classes. At almost 12 months, she's a bit old for puppy classes, but I'm teaching the obedience classes. So we go to puppy for one-on-one time and socialization. Holly is a very social pup with people and dogs. The one-on-one time is helpful for her training, but it's also allowing me to get to know her and bond with her away from the other dogs. Since she's such a little spitfire at home, it's nice to see her act like a normal dog when she's not in such a comfortable situation.
When she is comfortable, Holly is--well--often a little sh*t. I can see how she was too much for some people!! She is a perfectly well meaning little dog, but she is the most selfish little cavalier I've ever met. I dont know if dogs CAN be selfish, but if there is one, its Holly! She's learning how to share, and she's learning to wait and take turns with treats and food. And she's learning that someone else can be on my lap besides her, which is still a foreign idea at this point. She figured out the doggie door, and now freely comes and goes in and out with annoying frequency. She likes to bring sticks in with her to eat inside. We'll take the stick away, and she'll go back outside to get another, bring it in, and repeat the process. She can try one's patience!
Although she's a spitfire and our little family is still disrupted somewhat as the dogs find their places, Holly's hard not to laugh at or make excuses for. She's picked up the middle name "berry" (Holly Berry) from me, and I use her middle name much as my mother used mine! Despite all her naughtiness, Holly has only found herself in time out once in the past two weeks. She did not like her punishment, but I draw the line at stealing food of a person's plate!! She wasn't even sneaky about it. She came in from outside in a dead heat, ran at full speed, jumped on the sofa (where I was having lunch), and immediately stole a bite of pizza off my plate before I knew what happened. As I was in the process of reacting, and saying "holly berry," she took a second bite and jumped down to the floor. I chased her around the coffee table a few times before I caught her. She had the nerve to wimper while in time out in the xpen. Can you believe it?!
I tried to get some updated pictures of the dogs to share. It was quite difficult as Holly doesn't hold still for 2 seconds at a time. Still, I'll share what I managed to get!
Holly learning NOT to take food from people's plates:
Getting along with Cedar:
Getting along with Willow:
All three playing together:
Holly playing chase around the coffee table:
Holly obviously being naught about SOMETHING. I titled this shot: "Are you talking to me?"
