Full steam ahead– but calmly

My hope for mankind has been restored a little

I decided to order 2 boxes of food for Tera, instead of one, since I wanted a good stock on hand, to prevent having to order online again, risking running out. At the store, I found out that the first shipment would be 2 weeks from now, on 6 January. The food will run out next week, though, so I was in quite a bind. I was looking online for a store that would ship this week, or at least this year, but most of them were closed until early next year. I found one shop that did not have this mentioned on their website, and ordered the food to pick up at the store the next day. Soon after, I got a call from the store, telling me that they were closed until early January as well, but she saw that it was puppy food, so she wanted to help me out. She had to go to the store anyways to pick something up for herself, and asked me if I could come there and look for a solution, since the food I ordered was not in stock. Since the store was close by – hence my choice for pickup– I got into my car and went there. Luckily there was raw puppy-food from another brand in stock, so I took that – puppy food is puppy food, and I was in no position to be picky.
She really took the time to help me out and also give me some advice and tips as well. They are a store with a more holistic approach, seemingly without all the 'woo woo'. I got some flyers for some people she works with, like a vet. A lot of things she mentioned were in line with my view on things; like titering before needlessly vaccinating your dog all the time. Not only did she really help me out greatly, the vibe was good as well. I will order from there again, since she has a good selection of healthy treats in stock.

Afterwards I had some other shopping to do. I was away for a good one-and-a-half hours, and Tera slept the whole time. She changed position a few times, so I know she knew I was absent and seemingly did not fuss about it. I am proud of you, my little lady. Separation anxiety does not seem to be a thing.

Christmas

For Christmas I decided to take Tera for a walk in the local 'forest'. I have been training a bit with car rides with her, and hoped that she would not get sick in the car. The ride there was great; she whined a bit as per usual, but she seemed happy enough when we arrived. We had a wonderful walk for around 20 minutes– despite the freezing temperatures. Yes, she darts from left to right, but she does not pull. One moment she started to walk a bit faster, so I decided we should have a little race. She is still young enough so I can quite easily outrun her, so she could go full speed for around 100-200 meters. The return ride was also without issues, so a big win.

Boxing day was a bit more of an ambitious day, where I pushed Tera quite a bit. She will have to get used to that, since that can be my life.
The last few days, I am aiming to teach her to settle and not be so hyper all the time. This means lots of treats when she lies down or is clearly calm.
The big thing I did that day was visit my mom. She lives in a nursing home around 40 minutes from me– a big ask for a dog that gets car sick. I used a new tactic– a frozen kong filled with her food. The initial plan was to go to the garden center to socialise a bit, but she was so calm that I decided to go to a garden center a little further out. She was whining a bit, so I thought that was a good distance. When we approached the parking lot, I saw that the garden center was closed for the day... After waiting at the side of the road for a few minutes to let her calm down, I decided to visit my mom, regardless of the car sickness– she almost made it. Had I arrived a minute earlier, she would have made it.
Inside, she behaved great; she was polite– for a pup– and she actually sat on my lap for a bit to take everything in. My mom really enjoyed her presence, so that instantly made everything worth it. Being sick in the car probably exhausted her a bit, so that helped. After about half an hour, I could clearly see that she was exhausted, so I went home again.
Just like on the way there, she was very calm on the way back– to the extent I was convinced that she fell asleep. When I entered the road towards my house, she got sick again.
Maybe gross to us, but she eats her vomit– like all dogs do. This saves me cleanup and gives her most of the nutrition back. I patiently wait for her to be done– I just won't allow her to lick me in the face afterwards– even I have my standards.
Interestingly, once she has vomited and has 'recovered' from that, she is happy-go-lucky like nothing happened. This tells me that it is not fear based, but really a physical issue that should resolve itself. I try not to make it into a mental issue, so I will still be careful.
The kong was not the big success that I was hoping for; she barely touched it. I can understand, though– if you are feeling sick, eating is the last thing on your mind.

Big girl

On Christmas Eve when I put her in her temporary crate upstairs, I saw her lay down and noticed that she barely fit in the crate. Since I had been transitioning her to sleep downstairs permanently anyways, I decided that it was the last day for her in that crate.
From Christmas day onwards, she would sleep downstairs. The little champ did so without much complaining. She slept through the night without any issues.
Just to be sure, I still need to brace the puppy-divider in the crate, since she can push it away– giving her access to the full crate. If she does this when I am asleep, she has a perfect place to wee and poo without having to foul her nest– but setting her toilet training back immensely.

Clever girl

She is doing great with manners. I have been teaching her to stop at curbs, and more and more she starts to understand that she needs to 'sit, stay and wait' until I give her the okay. It is hard for her due to all the distractions, but she is making good progress.
The 'barrier to entry' when it comes to fun things is getting a bigger part of our lives. Want to get your snack?– sit, stay, wait. Want to go outside for a potty?– sit, stay, wait at the door, even when it is open. Want to go outside of the crate?– sit, stay, wait. Want to eat?– sit, stay wait. You get the point.
Since getting her to settle is a major focus for me, I am constantly walking around with the treat pouch on me. When she lies down when I prepare her food?– reward. When she lies down on her place bed– reward. When she settles in her crate– reward. When she settles anywhere– reward. Settling down must be awesome.

Eat the treat, not me

Something that I neglected for too long, is how she sometimes takes treats. Most of the times she does so perfectly fine by licking it and gently taking it out of my hand– but once she has to work for it, like with the heel command, she starts to get frustrated and will gnaw at my hand. With those needle teeth, she drew first blood, and second, and third. Nothing serious yet, but I don't want her to think that biting will get her the treat. I can almost hear her at those moments: "GIVE ME THE TREAT, YOU $%^&^*"! Firstly, watch your mouth, young lady! Who taught you those profanities? Secondly, calmness gets you what you want.
Due to this, I am teaching her the 'easy' command to let her know that she only gets the treat if she does so politely.

The future

All in all, we are moving forwards at our own pace. I would have liked her obedience to be a bit further along, but if she is too excited to properly train, or tries to eat me when we do, it is not a productive effort. We will get there, and I am by no means dissatisfied with our progress– I am just a bit greedy.
Her manners are going great, and we are making headway with the socialisation. I am afraid I do have to take her for more and more car rides for the socialisation, since the ideal period is starting to close.
For those interested: the plant rack is also finished.
In the new year, I really need to start focusing on my own career as well. I want to use as little of my savings as I possibly can. Not only do I need to get my career on track, I also will need to get my emigration planning up and running, since– as weird as it sounds in December– August comes way faster than I think. All of this will take some time away from focusing on Tera; even though a lot of it can be done when she is snoozing in the crate. December was reserved for her, but from January onwards, she will have to adjust to my life.

How did Christmas go with your pup?