All things puppy

It's almost 12:30am. I'm up and Harley is at my feet sleeping. I took him out so he could pee and when we came back he stopped at my chair and down he went. I don't think he wants to go into his kennel. He'll have to at some point, but for now I'm fine being up and having Harley at my feet.

I think I got as overstimulated at puppy class as Harley did. There was so much to take in and so much to do that you just couldn't do it all at one time. Everyone in the class is at different places so there was always a side thing going on that wasn't really relevant to the moment but I wanted to pay attention to get as much information as I could. For example, while I was working with Harley on down there was a side conversation about when to feed the puppies. Christine said that she would have them on a schedule, three times a day, for food and water. Well, I wanted to know that but I also needed to focus on doing down with Harley. Get what I mean. I'm not saying there is anything wrong, there isn't, but I'm trying to not multi-task as much and I'm finding that with a puppy that I have to be in the moment and focused on him. I can't do laundry and dishes AND watch for Harley. Something will lose out (laundry takes days to do instead of hours or Harley gets into something he shouldn't have been allowed to do in the first place). I'm going to have to learn how to make those side conversations more peripheral and put my focus, in the moment, on Harley or whatever task we have been assigned with the other puppies.

I think I need to take more notes while in class. I should let David do most of the training so Harley gets better acquainted with him and I have time to pay attention to what is going on in the room. I'll have to talk to David about that and see if we can come up with a compromise. I really would like to be able to take some pictures and video but I can't do that and do the training. If David did the training Harley would bond with him too and I could document the behaviors. I'll have plenty of time during the week to practice the behaviors with Harley so I definitely wouldn't lose out on time with him. In the long run, I'd probably have more time since I wouldn't have to spend so much time trying to remember what was going on. (Just me and my analytical approach trying to make puppy class easier. LOL)

I really do not Harley to listen to David. He'll go just a bout anywhere with me but he won't listen to David much at all. If we're going off in two directions, David to the back door and me to the hallway, even if David is calling him to go out, Harley will turn around and follow me back into the house. I want it so that even though he can see both of us he'll come to the one that calls him. I don't want him so attached to me that he won't listen to anyone else. I can see how taking the time in class to work with other people's dogs helps with this issue. Harley needs to learn to do his behaviors no matter who is asking him to do them and that includes children and David.

I also want to work with Harley on doing his business in other places when it's appropriate (there's a little back yard beyond the classroom where the dogs can relieve themselves). I'd rather that he pee and poop in the back yard, here at home and there at class, than to do it while on a walk. I'm committed though to clean up after him wherever he does his business. I'm doing an excellent job keeping the backyard cleaned up. It makes owning a dog a much more pleasant experience. He's still had no accidents in his kennel and I think he's had one accident in the house in the last week. I didn't catch that he needed to go out and he couldn't wait. My bad, not his.

When I first went to bed last night I was thinking about how Harley has saved my life, literally. I never saw my life going into my older years and didn't care if it did but now that I have Harley I want to stick around to be with him as he grows old. I'll be honest and say that there have been times in the past that I've contemplated ending my life but now I couldn't even think of that because then who would take care of Harley. I used to just sit in my chair in the living room, doing nothing but thinking about what I should have been doing but now I'm up and awake during the day so I can take care of Harley and me. He really has given me a reason to live my life fully every day and to want my life to continue on. That is a miracle.

I need to take my time and look back over the first class and remember any of the important things that I learned. Playing brain games with Harley is important. I need to use the Kongs more (stuffing treats and peanut butter inside) and I need to start hiding his food so he has to hunt for it. That will definitely give him something to do instead of just sticking his face in a bowl. They are bred to hunt and giving them the opportunity to do that will only make them happier. Harley needs to have his mind exercised at much as possible. I on the other hand would like for my mind to be less exercised. Right now I have Harley's class, the Healthy Starts class and raising Harley to do over the next six weeks. I also need to add walking back into the mix too. It seems like a lot to me because I was mostly sleeping or sitting and staring most of the day before Harley got here. Now that he's here, I want to enjoy every second of it all.

I was checking out Karen Pryor's site and saw a cool training tool. It's a leash that has a clicker built into the handle. That would allow you to clicker train the dog on a leash. I could go back to just the clicker for times he's off leash. The clicker/lead costs $40 though. So I don't know that it will be on the priority list. I've already way overspent on the budget this month just getting Harley and all of his stuff (crate, bed, toys, food, etc.). It wasn't a budgeted expense so it's coming out of other categories in the budget. I know that there is the initial output of money when you get a puppy but it doesn't really stop because you're always updating toys, getting larger kennels, and working on training. There will always be something to spend money on. But that's life. I've decided that I want to enjoy my life now, while I have it and not wait until that glorious day when all things are perfect to live my life because that glorious day is never coming (not in this lifetime).

I could have told myself that a puppy wasn't in the budget and that puppy supplies and vet visits weren't in the budget either. If I had done that, then I wouldn't have a puppy. I could have sacrificed for the future but at what cost to the present? The reality is that we don't have tons of money just sitting around and we don't have the potential for more money in the near future. We could definitely live like no one else now and deny ourselves things but what would be the payout for that action? I was miserable without a dog. Now I'm happy again (as much as this depression, PTSD and BPD allow me to be). I guess what I'm saying is that I'm more interested in living my life today while my life is here for me instead of waiting until there's no time left to enjoy anything. I'm not going to go to Heaven wishing I had saved more money but I would go to Heaven wishing that I would have gotten another dog. Money just isn't the be all and end all anymore.

Well, that's about as profound as it's going to get on The Dog Blog this morning. I've been at this for an hour! What the heck could I have had to say that would take an entire hour? LOL