PJ & Me

Animals are such wonders; most are truly gifts from God. 

I mean that. 

Loving animals as I do, being able to communicate with them during play or fostering or training feels so good.

It's the animal that makes it wonderful. 

Especially, yep, my new puppy!

The AKC breeders are 358 miles from me. Oklahoma City is a good halfway point. Any excuse to go to The Old Spaghetti Factory will suffice. On my trip to fetch PJ, I stopped in Oklahoma City to have lunch with a buddy. Old Spaghetti Factory - oh, yeah!

It's in Oklahoma City, OK.

Well, OK, ha ha.

Before fetching my puppy from the breeders, my excitement was peaking. Along with that, a bit of self-doubt. Wondering if I could remember enough to train my 3-month-old puppy as I had trained previous dogs of my own as well as the dogs of other people. Firmly, I believe that an untrained dog is just as annoying as a spoiled child, except, the child will have the capacity to wreck more mayhem on the world. One "child" in particular is 15, pregnant, living with her grandmother, thinks she knows so much she tried to give me financial advice. Tried. It was more comical to me than annoying.

Just a bit annoying. I considered her lack of education & lacking life experience.

An untrained Doberman will be so bored & anxious he could demolish your new sofa in less than 20 minutes. Even some trained dogs will do this. 

Caveat emptor.

It had been a minute since I had a dog. The only dog for me is a Doberman. My last Dobie, Sammy was said by many people to be a one in a million dog.

I am a high energy person, very inquisitive, adventurous, loyal, affectionate. 

Funny.

Those characteristics are also used to describe Dobermans. Most Dobies seem to think they ARE people.

In the weeks before I was to fetch my puppy, I boned up on training techniques. Video after video covering everything from how to comfort a crying puppy so both of you can sleep, to house training, teaching the puppy their name. 

Then, obedience training, which I feel is absolutely necessary for a dog that will live with people.

It was an exciting time, for sure! I had seen photos of my pup as he grew. I was feeling myself falling in love with him. Breeders will color code the collars on puppies to tell them apart. My puppy had a green collar, which is so serendipitous. Green is my favorite color.

On the drive back to Texas, I said my puppy's name to him over & over to get him used to it. He sat in the passenger's side front seat. I had brought a blanket for him to nest & cuddle during the drive home.

He was so sweet, so quiet, watching the scenery go by. I felt my oxytocin spike over & over.

It was hard for me to imagine loving any other dog as much as I loved my previous, Dobie, Sammy. That went out the window.

I LOVE this puppy. I love the way he smells, his expressive eyes, his playfulness, the sheen on his fur, how smart he is. He has little white hairs that stick out from his tan markings just above his eyes. So adorable.

It was close to 1 am when we arrived back at home.

The less than adorable aspects which are also to be expected is that the pup has been taken from everything he has known. Some puppies only cry in their crate, a bit at night, some will let you know, full force how scared & lonely they are......sometimes for 2 weeks......or more.

My bedroom is my sanctuary, I wasn't going to take him in there, just yet, crate or no crate. Many people have their puppy sleep in their bed from the start. 

I'm not that kind of girl.

Having never been one to let a pet sleep with me, I doubt this will change.

My boy's name is PJ. A shortened version of Poseiden Jack.

PJ cried, screamed, barked, howled, whined very loudly. He also has what sounds like his "man voice". Vocalizing in a deep, low-pitched yodel. It's kind of cute, less cute when it's been going nonstop for hours at 3 am when I have to get up at 6 am.

To me, it's the toughest part about getting a new puppy. It's heart breaking to hear, then I just want it to stop, then it begins to annoy me. So, I placed a futon in front of the door to his crate so he could see me. I bedded down with the futon, a pillow & blanket every other night.

FINALLY!

He only whimpers a little, now. Then, he chews on his puppy teether, then, I hear snoring. 

Yep, my boy snores really loud. Love it. 

I recorded his pitching a fit in his crate as I knew it would pass quickly. He changes a little every day. He learns more, grows bigger, even is slightly rebellious at times. That's okay. I still love him. I hope he knows how much I love him. I hope he loves me, too.

Most puppies will follow the human in charge, everywhere. 

Like Velcro.

That, it seems is also a stage.

When PJ stopped listening to me when I called him, I knew it was time to start training. A leash is a protective measure as well as a means to control, do some training.

That's phase one.

The fears that had niggled at me vanished as the knowledge from training other dogs came back to me. 

To establish dominance, I taught PJ to wait until I walked through a door, then gave him the hand signal to go through the doorway. He learned this in 2 days! I still have to reinforce it occasionally. Now, I give his commands in French or German in addition to English.

On March 20, I began leash training him.

Having taken him everywhere with me, even grocery shopping, he sat quietly in the cart on his blanky with his favorite chew toy. He would look to me for reassurance, petting his silky fur to reassure him was so nice.

First, I attached the leash to PJs collar, letting him drag it around for 2 days. Only taking it off when he went night - night in his crate.

When leash training him, I hold the loop with my right hand holding the business end, my left hand restricting his movement to hold his attention. I take 4 steps, stop, then, tell him to sit. He almost has it.

The next command to teach him is "down". 

"Down" is also useful to teach a puppy to keep from jumping up on me as well as other people.

Keeping a timer in my pocket, our training sessions only last 10 minutes at a time. Then, I give him a 2-minute break, then, we train for 10 minutes. Being mindful & watching his behavior, I can see when we have done enough for that session.

At first, it seemed that lavish praise was enough of a reward. Then, it stopped having the desired effect. I tried the clicker method, again, it was only working for a day or two.

As much as I would rather use other methods, I had to realize that PJ is treat or food motivated. He also loves ice, so, I use a small container of ice cubes in place of a food reward.

I rolled with it.

Whatever this puppy grows up to be, I will give him so much love, fun times, chest rubs, walks, treats & car rides. A good life.

I rub his chest instead of his belly. It seems a bit icky to rub so close to his Oscar Meyer Lipstick. 

Avoiding touching it is okay.

As many Dobie owners know, their dog's life span is an average of 12 years. It's important to relish every stage, all the idiosyncrasies.

that are part of the breed.

They are elegant goof balls. Most will hate going out in the rain, will sprawl out lying on their back, feet in the air. They communicate very well. Sometimes too well for their own good!

Dobie hissy fits are common, jealousy of other pets is common. Being a few steps ahead of their person is common as most Dobies are very smart, many have tendencies to try to dominate. They are owner focused, constantly looking at their persons face to get a good read on what the what.

Bonus content:

1. Giving a dog a bath can be a chore whether you bathe them at home or a local shop that has a dog washing area. I used to send care packages to deployed people. Mostly guys. A requested item was wipes to be able to keep clean when there was less time to shower or bathe. I bought Dude Wipes in bulk. PJ is a male dog, the scent of the Dude Wipes is very faint, has a masculine undertone. Instead of giving PJ a bath, I will opt to wipe him down with a Dude Wipe. Maybe a once-a-month bath or if he gets skunked or rolls in something really stinky.

2. PJ is a happy little guy. He's content with just about anything. I may have gone overboard on the chew toys - he has 10! He prefers an empty water container. I remove the label & cap before giving it to him. He even hides it if I try to take it from him.

3. Before bringing him home, I bought 4 separate beds for him. One for napping, one for the car, one for his crate, one as a spare. Next time, I will opt for sturdy instead of cushy & fuzzy. We are down to just one bed! He's a puppy, they chew on, rip apart anything they can. Those razor-sharp puppy teeth are lethal.

It's to be expected.

4. One big problem with many puppies is the puppy nipping. They put their mouths on everything & sink their razor teeth into it. This includes their people! I started wearing a long sleeve fleece hoodie. When PJ nips at my arms & hands, I pull the sleeve over my hand, when he grabs it, I gently push into his mouth. 

Telling him "No" has very little effect. It's a stage they go through. I have to keep him away from my chest & face as he goes after whatever body part is sticking out.

Use your imagination.  😁

5. Every stage in a dog's life is different with its pros & cons. It's best to ID possible problematic behavior to quash it before it develops into a habit. Being loving, gentle, firm is important. Most puppies want to please their people. If you reprimand them too sternly it will accomplish the opposite effect. From experience with this, I know to reprimand softly, praise lavishly. If the reprimanding softly is ineffective, bring it up a notch, just a little until it has the desired effect. Stopping the unwanted behavior. Verbal reprimanding, NEVER physical.

Dobies are so curious about everything. It doesn't matter how well I put things up out of his reach, he always manages to find a way to get into things he ought to leave alone. 

He's still just a 3.5-month-old puppy, still learning.

I'm writing this a few weeks later. 

PJ automatically sits, waits for me to walk through a door, then follows. No "sit" instruction required. When he is full grown, he will weigh over 100 lbs. Dobie personalities are to dominate everyone & everything. If he tries to beat me through the door, he could easily knock me down. So, to keep my position as Alpha, he has been taught to sit, wait for me to go through a door or doorway, then pass through after me.

He's learning so much so fast, Dobermans are very smart, I'm still in awe of him as he changes a little every day.