Back to School

“So what kind of dog did you get?” the librarian asked today as I checked out 10 canine training books. It had been a month since my last visit, but pre Shadow I was at the local library several times a week picking up manuals on how to prepare for a puppy. I thought I had all the theories down… but evidently Shadow didn’t read the same books.

This second round of studying was spurred by the worst of several horrendous nights and mornings, the frustration from which hurting my interactions with my husband. Something had to be done.

It all started when – realizing we couldn’t get up at 3 a.m. for the rest of our lives to take Shadow to the “bathroom” – we didn’t answer his cries last night.

The experts say answering a puppy’s cries will only reinforce the behavior (with some leeway for the first week when he can’t hold it). I knew that before Shadow arrived. But the experts don’t specify that dogs can literally cry/whine/bark for hours in a row, until their throats are hoarse. Then it’s a hoarse cry/whine/bark for another hour.

At 5 a.m. this morning, under the sheets with my iPhone as Shadow yipped and yipped away, I searched Google for some magic bit of wisdom that I’d missed. Unfortunately, all I found were things I already knew and inane rants from people with no business responding to online forums. (What gives with that, really?)

But how do you train that out of a puppy, aside from going four weeks with nightly sleep deprivation and crossing your fingers when the light goes out.

They say some of the greatest ideas come under duress. Well, today I brainstormed and implemented a technique that can be done on the weekend if all owners work elsewhere, or throughout the entire day if someone is home.

Rather than going out of my way to make him feel like a part of my routine, today I sunk into my work and paid only enough attention to take care of his needs. I spent the next eight hours moving Shadow between his playpen and his crate, exiting either room the moment he began barking, and remaining out of sight (telepathically praising the creators of Google Docs) until he stopped and I could return.

I can’t quantify it in terms of volume or pitch, but there have been no more three- (or even one-) hour screeching sessions, and my stress level has plummeted like investor confidence in Greece.  A few more days of this and I expect to have a quiet, confident puppy in no time.

As a novice dog owner who frantically and frustratingly read every article I could find on the subject, I strongly advise giving this a try if you’ve got Fido-induced raccoon eyes. Or if you ever plan on getting a puppy, jot it down. Trust me, you’ll need it!

Check back later for highlights on all sorts of other puppy problems, and what techniques worked (or failed) for Shadow and his new puppy parents!