Day 9 - Too soon

Yesterday evening I started to give Tera more space in the house. I realised I did not let her sniff the living room properly yet, so everything was still very new to her. She bounced around the living room a bit and eventually seemed to be a bit calmer. Not unimportant; for me it was fun to watch her be crazy.

Too much freedom, too soon

I forgot an important lesson, that is cited as one of the most common mistakes; giving your dog too much freedom, too soon. Tera is not ready for that freedom, and for that I paid with a wee accident on the rug, and a few hours later, the beginnings of a second as well. She walked out of the crate, ate her dinner and before I could put the lead on her, she was walking to the rug and squatted. Then it dawned on me that she was simply not ready for this kind of freedom– yes it is fun to see her be a dog in the living room, but these 2 accidents clearly show me that it is just too soon for her. I will try this again in a few weeks. For now, small area, and watch her like a hawk. This was not fair to Tera–I set her up to fail. At first, I got mad at Tera– did not show it to her, but I am sure she sensed it–but soon after, my realisation forced me to redirect that at myself. I was to blame.

This does bring me back to square one, though; what to do with her energy? Too much freedom will get her up to no good, but keeping her in the crate all day will not help her either. She does not have the biggest toy drive, so that is a challenge.

Upsides

Some good happened today as well. I put her in her car-crate today, and after giving her treats for a while, she started to settle and almost fell asleep.
A few hours later, I tried again. This time I also started the engine and attempted a very short drive, 2 minutes at most. Halfway I stopped at a parking spot, got out and gave her some treats. At the end of the drive, she looked okay with a very short few whimpers. I will repeat this tomorrow.

Obedience

Progress. Good progress. I consider 'sit' almost mastered inside, and even outside, with minimal distractions, she sits on command–very handy at curbs. Her name feels a bit off at the moment, she seems to be guessing what to do. I will reintroduce the lure for that one.

Whiny little... female dog

Something that Tera has been doing more of the last few days is whine in the crate and when I hold her. This morning, when she was still crated in my bedroom and I was downstairs preparing her meal and drinking a cup of tea, she was positively howling like a lunatic. This would indicate some separation anxiety that needs to be addressed, but she also whines in the crate when she is crated downstairs and can see me– and she makes otherworldly sounds when she sleeps.
I do feel that she is just a vocal dog, but something that I cannot shake, is the possibility of a medical issue. For the last few days now, I have noticed that, when I give her a toilet opportunity, she wees normally, and often wants to go again a minute or so later, but nothing comes out or a few drops at most. Maybe she just wants my affection and figured out that this is a way to get it, or there is something more to it. To see if it is the former, I stopped praising these 'failed attempts'. Coming tuesday she has an appointment at the vet's for her second round of shots, so I will let him take a look at it.

What was your biggest 'too much freedom' mistake?