Chloe has been having a listening problem lately. While she comes to me when I call her (most of the time) she completely "forgot" all the tricks I taught her and now whenever food is involved instead of listening to the commands and doing them, she just does all of her tricks in a row figuring one of them will get her the treat. So when I say "sit" she speaks, jumps, lays down, rolls over, paws at me (high five) and somewhere in all that she kinda sorta sits for half a second. It has been frustrating for me because it's like starting from scratch with her. But I've signed us up for puppy training, every Wednesday starting next week, and will hopefully be able to get her back on track with her training.
Also, she is loosing her teeth so she is in the chewing stage. She will begin to chew something and then Chelsea comes along and wants to chew it too and before I know it my wires are chewed or Rob's brand new $50 head phones are split in half. I've spent more money on rawhide bones and chew toys than you can imagine and it still doesn't stop the chaos.
But today, she went in to be spayed (which is why I had the time to finally write this blog) and just came home looking so groggy and sad. I immediately took her to PetSmart to get her a collar incase she tried to bite her stitches, and also picked up a brand new bed for her since she chewed hers up and there is no padding left. Figured she'd want something comfy since she's supposed to be "relaxing" for at least a week. So she got a cute little pink bed that came with a pink blanket and pink bone pillow/toy...
Chelsea has actually been having the opposite of a listening problem. She is actually listening to me which is big news because she is the same dog that would run away the minute you looked at her. Two weeks ago I called in a trainer to help me work with Chelsea and Chloe. The trainer suggested I have Chelsea on a leash, clipped to me at various times throughout the day. Most of the day I spend sitting at my desk or on the couch, so she just lays there next to me. Other times she is free to run around with Chloe. Well, I tried this for only one day and immediately she made an improvement. Once I took her off the leash she still followed me and when I'd call her, she came right to me. I was astonished. This was the same dog that would have jumped through a 3rd story window to get away from me 5 months ago. Now she not only knew her name but knew to come when I called it. So I let her loose most of the time, and when I noticed she'd start distancing herself from me and heading off to sit in a corner, I'd go put the leash on her and bring her back to me. But the best part is, from practicing putting her on the leash she has learned what "sit" and "stay" mean, and does them whenever I ask.
The other night, Chloe was cuddled up on a pillow under my arm while Rob and I were watching a movie. I looked down at Chloe and starting telling her what a good girl she was and petting her and kissing her. Well Chelsea's head perked up from her dog bed where she was sleeping and she immediately got up, came over to the couch, climbed up and laid down next to me with her head on my leg. She wanted to be my good girl too, and I made sure she knew she was. I was very proud of her for doing that on her own. I never thought she'd come to me on her own but she did. She also loves to lay on my lap and sleep. I pet her ears (her sweet spot) so she falls asleep. I definitely didn't think she be a lap dog but she is turning into one for sure.
Since Chelsea and Chloe are both doing so well at coming to us when we call them, we decided to try out the dog run nearby. At first, we brought them in and kept them on the leash incase they were startled and tried to run. The dog run is HUGE, like the size of a park but just fenced in. If either of them took off running it could take forever just to find them wherever they ran off and hid. So we then walked them into a smaller enclosed section of the dog run. There were about 5 or 6 little Yorkies there, playing and yapping away. We brought them in and immediately they all came running to greet us. Chelsea pulled at the leash to run away and Chloe began growling and barking like she was going to protect us from this group of dogs bigger than her. Finally when Chloe realized they weren't leaving us alone (all they were doing was sniffing) she began to yelp like they were trying to kill her. Her yelps are so loud and shrill it's enough to make even the meanest person's heart drop. I swear you'd think she was dying. But the trainer explained she does this out of fear because she thinks we'll either pick her up or protect her. The best idea is to let her realize she is a "big girl" and to stop crying about it (yeah, I laughed when I heard that too). So we took them both off the leash and they both just followed us and the other dogs left them alone. Both of them stuck to us like glue. When we walked away, they followed. Even when they went to sniff around they stayed close enough to get back to us in a short sprint, and made sure they could keep one eye on us.
Chloe did meet one dog she didn't mind. He was a Yorkie mix (almost Chelsea's size) and the two of them sniffed each other and sat next to each other and she didn't once bark or growl at him. So at least she is capable of making friends... Chelsea wasn't interested in any dogs at all. She did go face to face and sniff a bigger dog (as did Chloe) but they all realized they weren't mutually interested in each other and went their own ways. So the dog park was a success in the fact that we learned that off leash they actually won't run away from us and still listen to us. But not so much a success because they had no clue how to socialize, or maybe just didn't care to.
Chelsea and Chloe are both great in the car. They just lay there in the dog bed or look out the window. Charlotte has been great on past car trips with us, so we know she won't be a problem. I expect the dogs to be the least of our worries on the trip. Their choice of 3 dog beds, water, food, bathroom breaks with new scenery and fresh air, and the occasional chicken nugget from McDonalds (their favorite) and these girls will be loving life.
I've been taking them on short trips to PetSmart during the week, just to get them out of the house and into social settings. I'll take them and walk them around the isles and let them sniff and meet people. This way they get used to people wanting to pet them and hold them. They are usually very good about it. Chelsea still seems reserved and nervous, but once people start to pet her and she realized they don't want to hurt her, she relaxes. Chloe just loves all the attention. Everywhere we go people want to pet her and pick her up. In fact, today at PetSmart, while she was all drugged up, a baby reached out in the check out line and pet her. The baby was too small to even talk, but she reached over behind her mom, pet Chloe's face and then grabbed her paw. I was glad Chloe was drugged for that because the paw grabbing may have frightened her otherwise and she could have yipped and scared the baby. But I was shocked at how well she handled it. Ah if only she could be drugged more often... (just a joke).
So I'll leave you as usual with a few fun photos of the girls. Until next time...
Sleepy Chloe
Chelsea and Chloe cuddling together, as always.
Chloe holding Chelsea's paws. :)
One of Chloe's puppy teeth next to a grain of rice (the grain of rice is the bigger one...)
Chelsea follows me everywhere now. Including the bathroom...
Cuddling with Mommy. :)
Charlotte cuddling with the stuffed pig.
Wish I could make this into a portrait and hang it somewhere. :)
Chelsea and Chloe out to eat at Jollie Mon's (pet friendly) grill. They loved the catfish nuggets. :)
