Super Steeler Sunday! It was gonna be a tough game against the Colts. We decided to have some people over for the game. Most of the same people but the game was earlier this week. I thought that Lola would run around & eat up all the attention. Ya know what she did during the game? She SLEPT! On a big pillow in the middle of the floor. And the game was really intense so there was lots & LOTS of yelling. She didn't wake up till it was over. Silly girl.

But we won! Steelers are going to Denver for the AFC championship! WooHoo!!!!! It's gonna be another tough game. But we're on a Roll. If ever we were to make it to the Super Bowl & win...it should be this year. With this most likely being the last year for the Bus...we need to roll into his hometown & get him that ring!!

Here we go Steelers, Here we go!!!!!!

Lola made her first public appearance today (aside from the vet). We took a trip to PetSmart so she could ride around in the cart & socialize w/ people. She was pretty clingy in the car at first, preferring to ride in my lap than on the seat, but she soon settled in and curled up in her blanket on the passenger side.

I put her in the cart when we got there & fed her chicken when people approached the cart. Not that she needed any reinforcement...she loves people! We walked around for a while, making friends & just having a lovely time.

A funny thing happened on the way out. We were approached by two girls (who I'll refer to as #1 & #2). They looked 15 or 16 yo.

#1 "What a cute puppy! What is she?"
#2 "That's a pitbull"
me "Er, actually she's a Boxer"
#2 (looking at friend & rolling her eyes) "She's a pitbull"
me "Umm, no, she's a Boxer. I met the parents & saw the litter at 6 days old. She's not a Pitbull."
#2 (to #1) "Well white Boxers are very, VERY rare"
me (laughing now) "Not quite...25% of a litter can be born white if the parents have white on them. I wouldn't call that rare"
#2 (again to #1) "Well, almost all white Boxers are born deaf"
me (laughing out loud now...) "The statistic is appx 18% are born deaf. Thanks for the warning, but I did my homework before getting this puppy"
#2 walks away in a huff.
#1 scratches Lola on the head, smiles and walks away. I think she knew her friend was a dolt.

Lola was pooped from our outting. She slept for the rest of the night!

It was another beautiful day & we spent our lunch hour outside in the back yard. Lola is discovering the joys of sticks and leaves. It's so cute to see her discover all kinds of new stuff. Spring is gonna be a blast.





We took advantage of the last 1/2 hour of daylight & hung out in the front yard. Lola got to meet a bunch of new people and charmed them all (of course!). She's really learning to sit for everything and it's becoming automatic.

So, Lola has figured out how to get out of her ExPen. Piece of junk from JB Wholesale. First of all, the pins to close the door are too short and there is too much play in them. A couple of bangs on the door and they work their way open. So I tried putting a clasp on the top & she wiggled out the bottom. Second time I put a clasp on the top & bottom & apparently there was too much play so she wiggled out again ~sigh~.

I got smaller clasps and some wire & made SURE the door wouldn't open. As of yesterday afternoon, it was Ft. Knox.

I can't wait to get her out & about in the world. Hanging out in the front yard is a small step (and she's fascinated), but I wish I could take advantage of this nice weather and explore more. We're hitting PetSmart on Saturday.

The pups had a ball hanging out in the backyard at lunchtime. It was 55 degrees and sunny.

I started doing some targeting w/ Lola. Just my hand right now. And I used praise & yes, rather than the clicker. She's a natural!

Things get a little better everyday. Lola has really settled in. She knows she is home & is really starting to show her personality. She is exactly what I wanted in a puppy...confident, smart, attentive, friendly, social & very comical. She's surprisingly not overly clingy either...with the exception of being separated from her pack. I find her often playing by herself w/ a toy or chewie when the other dogs are resting. She & Penny continue to be best buddies. It was warm again today & they play outside for about 20 minutes at lunchtime.

The DAP thingy seems to be working pretty well (the technical term being ComfortZone w/ Dog Appeasing Pheromones). I'll admit, I was skeptical & it really could be coincidence. But the nighttime crying is completely gone & the screaming when we leave for work is noticably reduced. Scott said she settled down w/in 5 minutes after being put in the ExPen. The ExPen is working out well too. I put one of Scotty's t-shirts in with her & when I came home at lunch, she was curled up on it. Looks like we have another Daddy's Little Girl. I still have a lot of work to do w/ her before she's crated during the day. I want her to love her crate like Penny did.

We spent 10 minutes or so in the front yard on a long line taking in the neighborhood. I wish we had a little more daylight. I'm trying to get her used to her leash. She's not fighting too much...she'd prefer to chew it! I confirmed that we're signed up for KinderPuppy class at Animal Friends beginning 1/21. If the WPHS has their Tuesday night class, she'll be attending that one too. I'm waiting to hear when it will be starting up...quite possibly on the 31st.

My perfect little canine family!

~Sigh~ We're still having major screaming fits anytime Lola is left alone. I'm continuing to ride it out, but really need to make a commitment to working w/ her everyday on enjoying her crate & her ExPen. We have it set up in the 2nd floor kitchen w/ papers, a big blanket, a fleece blanket, lots of toys and I've stuffed several kongs (which she's yet to be interested in). I'm sure she'll do better crated w/ Sherman & Penny downstairs, but I'm not putting them through all her fussing.

I'm using the DAP thingy at night in our bedroom & it seems to be working at night. She goes right in her crate and she snuggles up & goes right to sleep. The crate is almost too small for her. We'll get another week or so out of it & then we'll have to move to the wire one. I need to make it smaller though. It's still way too big.

We had our second vet appt. She weighs 11 lbs. Right now she's all legs & big feet. She got her second set of shots and was pretty tired for the rest of the night.

Steeler Sunday! Today was the first playoff game against the Cincy Bungles. Scott invited about 10 of his friends over for the game. There was going to be an 18 month old there too. Excellent opportunity for socialization!

Penny & Lola were wired Sunday morning. They played inside for about 45 minutes and then we went outside. We're having unusually warm weather (almost 50 degrees) so they ran around the yard and had a ball. Penny was getting really wild & flipped Lola in the dirt a few times. I decided it was time to take a break & herded everyone inside. I let them chill out for 20 minutes or so then took Lola upstairs for her first bath.

I adjusted the showerhead so a slow, thick stream of warm water flowed. She shivered a bit & tried to escape, but after a minute or so, started to enjoy herself. The whole bath took about 3 minutes (gotta love that short boxer fur!) and I wrapped her in a fluffy towel, sat down on the floor and dried her off. She loved that part of the whole experience & fell asleep in my lap. She slept till about 3:00 when the guests started arriving.

Once the baby got there, we put Sherman in our bedroom w/ a couple stuffed Kongs. He is not very tolerant of little kids and they just gravitate toward him. He's soft, fluffy & has a really cool tail that's fun to pull. He shouldn't have to deal w/ that and I'm not putting someones child in the position to get hurt. Penny & Lola, on the other hand, were great with Aidan. Penny is so wonderful w/ kids. She's so patient & if they're too much, she just gets up & moves. Everyone fussed over Lola & she had lots & lots of great interaction w/ everyone. She's pretty wiggly & wild w/ new people and I'm going to start insisting that she sit before being petting from this point forward. Never too early to start that!

Steelers won!!! We face Indy next week...I'm scared.

By the time the game was over, the pups were pooped. We all settled into bed @ 9:00 and had a good long snooze.

I had Lily & Jez, two of the neighborhood kids, over to play w/ the dogs today. I put Sherman & Penny upstairs b/c they can be really jumpy & rough w/ kids. Lola seems to love kids. I'm very happy about that. She is pretty nippy w/ them, Jez in particular (she also seems more fond of men). It starts out as a lot of licking, then they giggle and the nipping starts. Since the kids like coming over to help, I'll take advantage of that and let them help me train her.

We took a quick car ride later, just to get her used to being in the car. I drove about 1/4 mile to Kuhn's. We just sat in the car & she looked out the window & observed. She was a little nervous & shivered a bit, but I had her sit in my lap & fed her chicken when someone walked by. We stayed about 15 minutes & then went home.

Well, it's been quite the whirlwind week! And I'm kicking myself for not updating each day, but HEY!...I have a new puppy I'm taking care of!

Lola started off last week w/ diarrhea. She's been up 2-3 times every night to go to the bathroom. It started to improve w/ a bland diet (boiled hamburger & a bit of white rice) and canned pumpkin, but I started adding her puppy food back & it snowballed. I finally took her to the vet yesterday and they put her on prescription food and Flagyl, which is an antibiotic to clean up any funky bacteria in her body. Her stool sample was fine, her temperature was normal and she's gained 4.3 lbs. And I thought she was losing weight. So, no more Puppy Chow. I was in the process of weaning her off that anyway, but we're gonna start right in with the Chicken Soup once she's about 1/2 way done w/ the prescription. The vet said no treats, but I boiled some boneless chicken breast for training.

She continues to adore Penny & Penny seems to really like her. It must be nice for Penny to have a dog to play with. Sherman continues to tolerate her, but still gets really, really snarky at times. Usually when Lola gets near him when he has something good, or gets too wound up & tries to play. My good friend Debby scolded me for not allowing Sherman to communicate w/ her and teach her to keep her distance at times. So I started allowing this & Lola does respect his space 90% of the time. There have been moments when he gets really grumbly when Penny & Lola play...and he takes this out on Penny. As I view this as very unfair to Penny, Sherman gets a time out when he tries to pull his crap. We've also had several "Come to Jesus" meetings, but I try to reserve these for times when he is really being a punk. I try to be very consistant w/ reinforcing calm behavior from him when Lola is around and when we have moments where he doesn't growl or tolerates a bit of puppy play, he gets the motherload. We're all going through an adjustment w/ the new puppy and it's just gonna take some time.

As I tend to be a pretty anxious person to begin w/, this week & a half has been pretty stressful for me. I recognize that I can make myself nuts and trying to follow all of the "rules" was making me insane. I went through the same thing when Penny came home. I lost 8 lbs in 3 days and was a wreck 24/7. I'm trying not to go through that this time around. So, I'm making my own Rules!

The issues were having & how we're solving them:

Housetraining - being a very small puppy, Lola can only hold it a short time. I've been very consistant about running her outside to potty every time she wakes up from a nap, after she's been playing, about 20 minutes after she eats and about every 30 minutes when she's awake. We have had many accidents, though. For example, last Wednesday before class...I was home w/ her for about an hour. In that hour, she peed outside 4 times & had 7 (yes SEVEN) accidents in the house. I was cleaning up pee everytime I turned around! In addition, we had 3 days of heavy rain and cold days. A little puppy, w/ little fur & fat does not want to be out in the cold & rain. So I'd take her out, she'd run to the door and shiver. Not to mention the diarrhea...

So we've taken a new approach to things. Papertraining, sort of. Not the way most will tell you to do it. And it will likely take longer to housetrain her. I recognize this. But it's working!! We were at Scott's parents house on New Year's Day & they just got a new Rotti puppy (a little cutie named Barron). They had newspaper & pee pads EVERYWHERE. This wasn't an excuse for them not to take him out b/c they did, numerous times. And the outside potty policy still stands...lots of praise & reward when they go where they should. So we're taking her out often, but if she's running around and the urge to go hits her, she runs to her papers & goes. My carpet is much happier!!

Screaming while alone or crated - This she'll just have to grow out of. When separated from her humans or her dogs, she *screams*...bloody murder. Fortunately, she does not do this at night. There is a bit of fussing when she first hits the crate, but I try to keep her awake till 8:30 running around alot & playing w/ Penny and she's pooped at bedtime. She usually wakes at 12:30 and again at 3:30. We pee the first time out & do both on the second run. I know this won't last forever and it's really not that bad.

We bought an Ex-Pen for her as she's crated while we're at work & is forced to pee in her crate. The crate is too big, but I'm not comfortable leaving her for 4 1/2 hours to hold it at her age. Once she hits 12-14 weeks, we'll really concentrate on using the crate for what it was designed for. I've read a lot that once they learn to go in their crate, they never adjust to not soiling it. Well, that didn't hold true for Penny. She peed in it everyday for the first 2 months we had her and was forced to lay in it. She eventually got the hang of things and her crate was clean until we stopped using it about a year ago.

I also bought one of those DAP thingys...it's supposed to help her calm down when she's alone. We'll see.

I've started doing some clicker training w/ her & she's a very smart cookie. The only thing we've worked on really is sitting and some downs. I've also done some recalls w/ her and she's been great. Within the next week, I'd like to start getting her used to the leash & do some attention work. I'm also planning some outings over the weekend and will try to do 3-4 short car trips each week. Finally, Lola will have her first bath on Saturday.

While I'm looking forward to the time when she's a bit more self-sufficient, I'm trying to savor every puppy minute I can. She's growing fast!

Lola had her first Vet visit today. I took a bag of puppy kibble and dried liver w/ me to feed her while we were there. I always do this with Sherman & Penny. Sherman LOVES going to the Vet! Penny...not so much.

We need to wait a couple weeks for her to get her next set of boosters, but she got a good once over and our little girl is a happy, healthy puppy. She weighs 8.03 lbs, but growing fast.

Things are going OK w/ the other two dogs. They haven't been getting as much attention and Scott thinks Penny is a little depressed. She might be. I'm still concentrating on getting Sherman to ignore the puppy. I'm just afraid he might get in her face & really hurt her. But Lola LOVES Penny and Penny is SOoooo good w/ her. I

can't get over it. She is very patient w/ Lola and has been teaching her what is OK & what is not. And Lola listens to her. I think she drives Penny a little nuts at times b/c she's very nippy & likes to hang off Penny's collar and neck. When she's had enough, she pins her down w/ her paws or mouth and let's her know...chill out little dog.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day were nuts. Lots of people got to play w/ Lola & it gave me a chance to do stuff tend to stuff around the house. As easy as I tried to make things, there were lots of dishes to do and cleaning up. We did the families in shifts, so there was a constant inflow of people.

All in all, it was a nice couple of days, albiet a bit stressful having a new puppy.

Lola knonked out on her Uncle DJ

Our girls all tuckered out...

Chillin w/ Dad on Xmas morning...

Opening my first Xmas presents (which Sherman immediately claimed as his...)

Lola's Homecoming!!

Scott & I had a beautiful day for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Home, PA to pick up our newest addition. When we got there, another couple was picking up their little guy, a flashy fawn named George. While I Oooed & Ahhed over George, Ken appeared from the whelping room w/ our beautiful little girl. I don't know what I was expecting, but she was SO little. Scott & I took turns holding her while we went over all of the particulars. Mama Jessie just laid at our feet, probably looking forward to the peace & quiet she would be getting soon.

We put Lola back in the whelping box w/ her other brother...the last one was a white boy w/ a brown ear, whose family was driving from NYC right after work to pick him up at 11. We went out into the barn to meet Roxy & Buster. Buster is Lola's Dad. I had met them during my previous trip, but wanted Scotty to see Buster's personality. Both dogs are gorgeous and Scott later made the comment that any doubts about Penny being mostly Boxer were squished when he met Ken's dogs.

We signed all the paperwork and decided to keep the kennel name in Lola's registration just in case I do decide to compete. Her official name is K & L's SteelCity Copacabana.

Scott took the wheel on the way home so I could hold Lola. She was very interested in all things going on outside and just sat up & took it all in for the first 15 minutes. The poor thing shivered the whole time as the whelping room was kept very warm. She finally adjusted and fell asleep for the remainder of the trip.

I woke her when we got home & snuck in the back door. Scott took Sherman & Penny around the block and I got settled in on the steps. The plan was to introduce each of them separately with me holding Lola. Penny was first...her greeting was typical Penny, hackles up, nubbin' wiggling. She was cautious but interested. When that meeting was uneventful, we decided it was time for King Sherman to have his introduction. Penny went in the other room & Sherman came barrelling in. He sniffed around a bit and tried to jump on her...as I expected. Sherm can be a rough player. But I redirected his attention w/ liver treats and soon we were all in living room, getting acquainted.

Scott went to the Penguins game and I was left to fend for myself. It wasn't too bad...Lola was pretty tired and wasn't a very crazy puppy. I spent alot of time w/ Sherman rewarding him for ignoring her and redirecting his attention when he got the "look" in his eye. We all lounged on the couch till about 10 and then I took her upstairs for bed. I put her in the little crate and she screamed for 45 minutes. Then I did exactly what I'm NOT supposed to do...I pulled her in bed w/ me. ~sigh~ I was having my Mom, Carl, Kevin & Katie over for Xmas Eve the next day & needed some sleep.

Scott took her out when he got home from the game and put her back in her crate. She fussed a bit, but I put my hand over the door so she could smell me. That calmed her down & she slept till around 6:00 am.

Lola comes home in less than a week!! I can't believe it. I feel like I've been waiting forever! If I'm not ready now...I'll never be! Her room is all ready & I've got lots of supplies:

3 crates in various sizes
puppy food for when she comes home (Puppy Chow)
puppy food for later (Chicken Soup)
a little pink collar w/ daisies on it & a bigger purple collar for later
a giant basket of chew toys (3 puppy kongs, a Premier chewie thing, 5-6 hollow marrow bones, 2 kong bones)
a lightweight leash, a 4' leather leash, a 6' leather leash, a 20 & 30 foot long line
a gallon of Nature's Miracle
a giant stack of newspapers & puppy piddle pads

We've scheduled a vet appt for the 26th and we should be in class by the 2nd or 3rd week of January.

I've read every book I can get my hands on:

BEFORE & AFTER you get your puppy - Ian Dunbar
Mother Knows Best - Carol Lea Benjamin
The Good Life - Uncle Matty & Mordecai Siegal
The Essential Boxer - Ian Dunbar
Good Dogs, Great Owners* & MetroDogs* - Brian Kilcommons
What all good dogs should know - Jack Volhard & Melissa Bartlett
The Culture Clash* - Jean Donaldson
Sirius Puppy Training (video) - Ian Dunbar (I watched this 4 times...Loved it!!)
Click for Joy* - Melissa Alexander
Bringing Light To Shadow: A Dog Trainer's Diary - Pamela Dennison

*Already have read...just a refresher.

I'm not real concerned about the training methods used in these books...I'm mainly interested in the puppy info. There are several different training approaches in all the books & while I'm not interested in using many of them...every book has something of benefit I will use. Kilcommons book is by far my favorite for puppy info & The Good Life was pretty helpful as well. I was thrilled w/ Dunbar's video...although it was shot in the late 80s & there's lots of bad hair, the content was spectacular. Too bad it was a loaner from the library.

So...in preparation for the new arrival, Sherman & Penny have been on a pretty tight NILIF schedule. It's been going quite well, actually & last night was the final step in my master plan...Dogs sleep on the floor - all night. As Sherman has been sleeping in our bed for 4 1/2 years, you can imagine how well he took this change in routine. Both dogs were tethered to their dog beds w/ a 5 ft leash. Poor Penny tried to jump on the bed a couple of times and was promptly flung back on the floor. I woke up @ 3:00 a.m. to Sherman at the end of his leash, laying on the floor smiling at me & wagging his tail. "Ok...enough of this Mom...I'm ready to get on the bed now". They'll adjust...and I had the best night sleep I've had in a long time.

My poor dogs have been so neglected. This time of year is so very crazy. Penny didn't go to class b/c I was teaching graduation. That was a lot of fun! I talked to a woman who takes her puppy (9 months) to Camp Bow Wow & just loves it. Lola will be going to day care once a week starting in February to keep her socialized w/ other dogs.

We did get a nice 45 minute walk in...it wasn't too cold & the dogs just loved it.






I found this picture from Penny's first Xmas w/ us. She was so little! I tried to put that Santa suit on her the next year and it didn't even come close to fitting.

Notice Sherman Scrooge at the bottom!! He's such a turkey!

Annette had emailed me on Tuesday saying that she would not be at class and Jan would be teaching the class & I would assist. Annette's dog, Apache, is having some health issues...maybe serious. Maybe very serious. Poor Annette is just a wreck & I can't say I blame her.

(Get well soon Apache!)

Then, Jan calls me & she is not feeling well & can I teach class by myself? By myself??? Eeeekkkk!! Yes, I know more than the average dog owner...yes, I know how to work w/ my own dogs...yes, I know enough to get me through one class. But I don't have very much confidence in myself. And Annette's method is quite different than most of the classes I've taken. But sure...I'll teach.

The first class went OK. I was really nervous, mainly b/c I didn't have a lesson plan & couldn't remember what the 3rd week covered. So I figured I'd just wing it...and it actually went pretty well. Only 3 people came to each class. We worked on heeling, down, started stay & wait at the door. The second class was actually fun...I was more relaxed and felt a bit more confident. There were only 3 dogs in this class too so that helped.

Well all of the practicing stays w/ Sherman have paid off. I got two good pictures to use for our Xmas picture. We're going with the one w/ the bows:

Penny continued her snark-fest in class today. It seems a lot of the dogs were feeling snarky. We just worked a lot on attention and it really helped. During the past week, we had done a lot of work on fronts & finishes. Shelley asked us to demo & I was so very proud of Miss Penny. Our practice really paid off. She was great. I've really been trying to phase out the lure for the finish. Slow & steady...it's working.

I was also corrected for my flailing arms during Recall. Penny doesn't need all the fan-fare. Her recall is one of the best things she does. *I* need to work on eliminating the hand signals and just using a voice command. That's really all she needs. It's hard to see that when you're working by yourself...another benefit to group classes!!

Shelley & Rita are both away for the last class and they asked me to TEACH the graduation class. I got a little nervous at first, but then remembered...graduation is just a bunch of fun games & stuff. I can certainly handle that!!

Tonight was our first class w/ dogs. The first was a teen intervention class and the second was a Basic Adult. There were 5 dogs in the first class and the last to come in was a wild 7 mo pit/lab mix. His owner was visably uncomfortable and a bit shakey. The dog was flailing around, got out his collar & ran straight up to a pitX. Annette managaed to corral him and we took him out side to get him secure. The poor girl started crying and although she mentioned that she was upset over something else, the dog wasn't helping. I explained to her that she's upset & frustrated and those emotions were running right down the leash. She couldn't possibly have an effective class being so upset & gave her the option of hanging out outside & calming down or going home and coming back next week. She chose the latter. I really hope she comes back next week b/c she & the dog both need help.

It reminded me so much of my first class w/ Sherman. I had no idea what I was doing & he was SO bad. I just kept getting more & more frustrated and he kept being more & more of a punk. That was 3 years & at least a dozen classes ago. What a difference between then & now. He is far from perfect, but I'm able to work w/ him w/ out wanting to kill him now.

The next class had the guy who never gave his dog treats. OK...I'll admit it, I was wrong. He didn't use any treats, but he also didn't use any leash corrections either. He was calm, confident and clearly in charge. She adored him & worked just fine for praise. That's one of the greatest things about assisting in these classes...I'm learning every dog is different and there is no one way to train them. I've b/c more openminded and while I still prefer to work my dogs MY way, that's not the only way.

Ken sent me some updated pictures of Lola...she is such beauty! I can't wait till she comes home. 3 of the longest weeks ever!!





Not much training done today...finished decorating the 2nd floor & put up the tree. Penny's not feeling real well and has been very sluggish. She's eating OK so it's possible she's till tired from yesterday. We'll have to take a trip back to Debby's soon!!

I took the dogs over to my friend Debby's today to give them some play time. Both are in serious need of some socialization and I'm just too leary about the dog park to take them back. Debby has 3 dogs (Merlin, Kera & Siri) and one foster (Trent). Here's their Xmas picture:

(From left to right: Kera, Siri, Merlin)

Sherman & Penny know Debby's dogs well, but neither have met Trent. He's a pit/sharpei mix & is just a sweetheart. I knew he & Penny would get along great...and they did. He liked to chase her & she likes to be chased. A match made in heaven. But my little Sherman...he's such a punk. All he did was chase after Trent, growl at him & try to hump him. Sherman has MAJOR little man syndrome. He has no manners & insists on being the boss. Fortunately for Trent, Siri was playing guardian & kept body blocking Sherm and getting in his face telling him to Back Off!! I guess Siri's giant teeth were all he needed b/c Sherman listened to her. He did try to find ways around Siri...but my boy's kind of on the stocky side and has trouble cornering. So he didn't get much of a chance to play bully.

We stayed for a couple hours and they pups were exhausted when we got home. They slept all night!

A tired dog is a good dog, indeed!