I thought Great!, but I didn't expect it to be so fast and so drastic. While I am pretty certain that Haddie has mellowed due to age and situation of having her heat cycle, I am a bit curious if she feels good or is ready to return to work full time. Perhaps tired? I'll see how it goes this week, but so far - she is one huggable girl!
I have previously mentioned how all three of those responsible for her during the past month had the common thread opinion about Haddie's sweet personality. I was so happy to hear that. The only negative that I have heard were similar by all parties involved.
The first being that she would bark when startled, or uncertain. I heard this from the kennel and from the Puppy Sitter. This really surprised me as Haddie has only barked once in the last seven months of her being with us, and that was when she was just two weeks into her training. However, so far so good - Haddie remains quiet. I'll have to be on the ready if she shows this behavior with me.
The second was something that I've known, but have yet to figure out how to correct and that is getting into and out of the car. I admit that we got into a bad habit and I was planning to work on it when she was older. It had been shared at class that pups should not be jumping in and out of cars until their hips are developed after their first birthday.
So, I took that to mean that we should just hold off on jumping in and out of the car until that age. Our work around has been that she would get started by putting her front paws on the back of our car (cargo area) and then I would help lift up her rear to get fully into the car.
That only works until you have a Puppy Sitter that does not know she doesn't know how to jump into a car. Slight error on my part in not sharing in advance. It just didn't dawn on me. The oops continued because the Puppy Sitter then thought that he had spooked her somehow and that she wasn't jumping into his car because of him. So, all week he was worried and trying desperately to get her to jump in with out assistance. He thought he had really messed her up.
I felt bad about that - and was highly motivated to get this settled. I spent yesterday afternoon in the back seat of our car motivating Haddie with sweet words and chicken jerky to follow me into the car. I chose the backseat because it was lower to the ground than jumping into the cargo area.
Haddie was a pro at the army crawl leaving her back end to the last possible minute secured to the ground outside of the car door. I was home alone, otherwise I would have had someone video tape it - because it was really funny!
Eventually she did make it in and a huge party ensued. Multiple times in and out to secure her confidence and we had it licked. Yay - so happy!!
Today we practiced getting in and out of the cargo area. A much bigger jump, but we had worked on a higher table platform at class last night and she finally got the confidence to go for it. Transferring that confidence to the back of the car meant real chicken today. Haddie eventually transferred her courage and can now get in and out of the car with out hesitation. Double happy!
The rest of today has been spent unpacking our family vacation and getting our bomb's of suitcases and laundry put away while Haddie calmly chilled out wherever I was. She would follow me around the house, and then promptly plop down and sleep when I stopped in any room. Such a sweet girl. The photos sprinkled here are of our cuddle time just after dinner. She was snoring and grunting her happy kitty-cat-like-purrrs.
Question: how do you transport your puppies in your vehicle? In a crate, tie out in the cargo area, or seat belt attachment in the backseat? Haddie has outgrown her medium size crate and we are upgrading her to the last size. It will barely fit into the back of our vehicle. I may need to think of a new way to transport and would appreciate my reader's input.
Yeah, they all seem to calm down a lot after their season!
ReplyDeleteI have one of those doggie "hammocks" for my car. I like it because it keeps my seats clean and allows me some storage room underneath. It also keeps them away from anything on the floor. It is kinda cozy for them too. I have blankies and a bunch of toys.
It does, however, pretty much take up the whole backseat. I don't drive many people around so it works for me.
Yay for Haddie!
ReplyDeleteI have always transported puppies on the passenger floorboard. When I was a puppy sitter for Guiding Eyes, they told me that if they can't be crated, then that was the the safest way. I like it for little puppies better then the back seat, because then I can see what they're doing. But I would love to hear others' comments too!
My dogs either ride on the passenger floorboard or in the cargo area of my SUV in a kennel. I have a soft sided easy transporting kennel and it has a side door on it so they just load up into from the side which makes it easier. I also (once they are older and know the rules of the car) have them ride on the floor in the back seat. I know with GEB we aren't really suppose to let them up on the seat of the car so we are told to practice in the back of the car too like it was a taxi.
ReplyDeleteFirst off I am a college student and drive a Prius so it varies for me. I used to use a crate (back before I started driving) but found that to be difficult because it simply does not fit in my car. What I do now is that I have a dog bed in the cargo area of my car and I have a tie down very similar to those that the GDB puppy raisers use. I hook this to the cargo tie down things on my car and then hook it to a car harness. This way in the case of an accident the dog is "buckled in" and not going to hurt their neck. It also helps because the back seat is there too vs. having the dog sit on the back seat. I've found this to be very effective because the dog can move around while still remaining safe and secure. I've tried practically all these methods and found this to be the best choice. Though sometimes at the beginning when they are babies I pair this with the bottom part of a travel crate (so no door, no top).
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