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wordinistaOkay, so I didn't get as good a night's sleep as I thought I would, but this had more to do with The Cough That Would Not Die and less with Darwin, who has Lungs Of STEEL OMG.
Allow me to recap my evening:
11:00 PM -- Bunneh puts a sleepy D-bear into his crate, where he promptly cuddles down and passes out.
12:00 AM -- Bunneh goes to bed.
12:00-1:00 AM -- Bunneh tries not to cough so hard she shakes the bed.
1:30 AM -- Bunneh finally falls asleep.
1:45 AM -- Bunneh is woken by Tora-kun, who tells her she's snoring and needs to roll over. (Stupid congestion.)
1:55 AM -- Howling commences
1:55-2:10 AM -- Bunneh and Tora-kunbicker discuss what to do next.
2:15 AM -- Bunneh climbs out of bed, takes D-bear out for potty, and moves the crate to the dining room (previously it had been sharing a wall with the bedroom -- and an air-conditioning intake vent, which is great for accomodating passing soundwaves).
2:25 AM -- Bunneh returns to bed.
2:26 AM -- Howling re-commences. Not as loud, but still audible.
2:30 AM -- Bunneh and Tora-kun find their respective iPods.
2:30-?? -- Bunneh listens (and falls asleep to) Mozart's Requiem until the iPod dies.
6:30 -- Bunneh's "Darwin Alarm" goes off.
Needless to say, he was freaking out with joy when I went out to the crate (I have to wonder if he slept at all last night, really). The rest of the morning has been business as usual, and while I'm still a little tired, I'm nowhere near as exhausted as I have been these past few mornings. It's actually been a pretty rough morning for Darwin, because along with the Evil Night of Cratedom, we're also stepping up the "NO BITE" training (play got a little rough last night and Tora-kun got bitten -- it wasn't malicious, but it was a pretty nasty puncture), so this morning he's been scolded at least four different times for nipping/mouthing. I realize he's just a puppy, and a puppy's mouth is basically his hands, but all the same, he's GOT to learn that biting = BAD. (The only issue seems to be when he wants to play. He just gets carried away.)
All of that said, I'm getting a little frustrated with the various puppy behavior books/articles out there. One of them is all, "If you want your dog to be properly socialized, your puppy should be handled by at least twenty children before it's three months old!" And I'm like, Okay, there are two big problems with that statement -- the first being that I don't KNOW twenty children. The best I can come up with is four. The second problem is -- if Darwin isn't a master of bite inhibition, I'm NOT bringing him around kidlets until he IS. Now, mind you, when I take him to Petsmart, he's not at all shy around other people (including children), and usually I can keep him calm enough that he won't spaz out and jump up on the kidlets.
And these articles all seem to be saying the same thing: IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THIS ADVICE YOU WILL HAVE THE WORST DOG EVAR OMG!
But, you know... dogs are unique, and have distinct personalities. Bronte and Kisa came from the same litter, had the same upbringing, and are two totally different cats. If I don't follow Book A to the letter, or if I don't think the advice given in Article C is very helpful, I don't think it'll mean that I will eventually have an unruly, ill-behaved dog. Some of the advice is really helpful. Using positive reinforcement on Darwin is working really well for housebreaking, because he just eats up the praise with a spoon. (On the same token, he's very sensitive, and when he gets scolded, you can see how much it affects him. We had to stop using the "penny can" because it was scaring him more than it should have-- he'd huddle down in a corner, trembling, and it really wasn't helpful as a training tool.)
So, despite one night of heartbroken howling, this is not the end of Darwin's Crate Adventures. Not by a long shot.
I just need to load up my music library with some nice classical music. I think that's the only way I'm going to get any sleep.
Allow me to recap my evening:
11:00 PM -- Bunneh puts a sleepy D-bear into his crate, where he promptly cuddles down and passes out.
12:00 AM -- Bunneh goes to bed.
12:00-1:00 AM -- Bunneh tries not to cough so hard she shakes the bed.
1:30 AM -- Bunneh finally falls asleep.
1:45 AM -- Bunneh is woken by Tora-kun, who tells her she's snoring and needs to roll over. (Stupid congestion.)
1:55 AM -- Howling commences
1:55-2:10 AM -- Bunneh and Tora-kun
2:15 AM -- Bunneh climbs out of bed, takes D-bear out for potty, and moves the crate to the dining room (previously it had been sharing a wall with the bedroom -- and an air-conditioning intake vent, which is great for accomodating passing soundwaves).
2:25 AM -- Bunneh returns to bed.
2:26 AM -- Howling re-commences. Not as loud, but still audible.
2:30 AM -- Bunneh and Tora-kun find their respective iPods.
2:30-?? -- Bunneh listens (and falls asleep to) Mozart's Requiem until the iPod dies.
6:30 -- Bunneh's "Darwin Alarm" goes off.
Needless to say, he was freaking out with joy when I went out to the crate (I have to wonder if he slept at all last night, really). The rest of the morning has been business as usual, and while I'm still a little tired, I'm nowhere near as exhausted as I have been these past few mornings. It's actually been a pretty rough morning for Darwin, because along with the Evil Night of Cratedom, we're also stepping up the "NO BITE" training (play got a little rough last night and Tora-kun got bitten -- it wasn't malicious, but it was a pretty nasty puncture), so this morning he's been scolded at least four different times for nipping/mouthing. I realize he's just a puppy, and a puppy's mouth is basically his hands, but all the same, he's GOT to learn that biting = BAD. (The only issue seems to be when he wants to play. He just gets carried away.)
All of that said, I'm getting a little frustrated with the various puppy behavior books/articles out there. One of them is all, "If you want your dog to be properly socialized, your puppy should be handled by at least twenty children before it's three months old!" And I'm like, Okay, there are two big problems with that statement -- the first being that I don't KNOW twenty children. The best I can come up with is four. The second problem is -- if Darwin isn't a master of bite inhibition, I'm NOT bringing him around kidlets until he IS. Now, mind you, when I take him to Petsmart, he's not at all shy around other people (including children), and usually I can keep him calm enough that he won't spaz out and jump up on the kidlets.
And these articles all seem to be saying the same thing: IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THIS ADVICE YOU WILL HAVE THE WORST DOG EVAR OMG!
But, you know... dogs are unique, and have distinct personalities. Bronte and Kisa came from the same litter, had the same upbringing, and are two totally different cats. If I don't follow Book A to the letter, or if I don't think the advice given in Article C is very helpful, I don't think it'll mean that I will eventually have an unruly, ill-behaved dog. Some of the advice is really helpful. Using positive reinforcement on Darwin is working really well for housebreaking, because he just eats up the praise with a spoon. (On the same token, he's very sensitive, and when he gets scolded, you can see how much it affects him. We had to stop using the "penny can" because it was scaring him more than it should have-- he'd huddle down in a corner, trembling, and it really wasn't helpful as a training tool.)
So, despite one night of heartbroken howling, this is not the end of Darwin's Crate Adventures. Not by a long shot.
I just need to load up my music library with some nice classical music. I think that's the only way I'm going to get any sleep.
