The First Week

 In hopes of getting the blog caught up and current rather than two weeks behind I am going to condense what I can and do highlights as nessacery. Our first week together went very well. Etta first big test was to meet the kitty. Etta had not been around cats much, if at all, and to make the situation even more exciting, the cat had only seen a couple of dogs through high windows. Etta was, as I have come to find out to be her normal; polite and tentative. The cat was deeply disappointed we would bring this thing in to her house but she handled herself surprisingly well.

We crated Etta the first night as I wasn't sure if she needed protection from Artemis (kitty), if she chewed, and how her potty manners were. Turned out there was no need and we took the crate out after a few days. The cat did enjoy ambushing the dog and smacking her through the bars. We also started switching her kibble. We have a large bag of her old food that R so graciously gave us and we are still currently switching just trying to finish what we have. Etta seemed a touch 'well padded' so we have been working on the amount of food she gets. I want her to have the correct amount but I am clicker training her and want to use her regular kibble as her common reward. Right now she is getting one cup of kibble in the morning and then two more cups are set aside for the rest of the day and anything left after training/work I give to her for dinner. We also use high value treats for introducing new behaviors or in more difficult environments, such as a park with lots of distractions. The high value we are using now is cut up hot dog. As far as training we really just wanted to see where she was at and really cement the basics in. She knows sit, stay, come, down and heel. We are still working on these as we develop our relationship and work ethic. At this point I was keeping her 90% on leash as the property is not fenced and we were told she was not car savvy. To break up the monotony we did some target training and scent training. All training sessions were kept to about a 10 minute max and 2-3 times a day. We also visited N's ranch a couple of time and got a bath! It was a big week for pup!  

 

Posted with Blogsy