Dex

Here's Dex!


So we've had Dex since Saturday and we've made big progress.

Day 1 - Saturday

Drove to PA to pick up Dex. Discovered he'd been living on an Amish farm for the last 4 and a half months so he was completely blown away by my car and the ride home. He in fact threw up the entire way home. By the time we got him home he was covered in barf and drool and wouldn't come out of his crate. Poor guy! I gave him his first bath and he did really good and smelled much better!

Day 2 - Sunday

Dex had not had a bite to eat or gone to the bathroom since we brought him home. He's a bit of a nervous dog. Not sure if that will go away. I tried putting chicken stock in his food and that didn't work. He also won't eat treats. I was successful in getting him to eat a couple of chicken nuggets (he has no problem with people food we discovered) and around 9pm he eventually peed/pooped in the kitchen when I wasn't looking. Great!

Day 3 - Monday

Dex is crated during the day when I'm at work and someone lets him out at lunchtime. So either I go home and let him out or Eric does it. If I can't make it home I will lean on my neighbor Anne to do it. Monday night I got home and tethered Dex to me and took him out every 15 minutes until he peed/pooped. He did it and I gave him major praise but no treats since he won't eat them. Once he went to the bathroom we allowed him freedom of the house.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Same deal. Dex crated during the day and taken out every 15 minutes until he successfully relieves himself. I give him major praise b/c he still won't take treats! I mix his dog food in with 2 tbsp of wet dog food and he eats! Yay!

Day 5 - Wednesday

Crated during the day and then went potty when I took him out. He had one pee-pee accident on the back porch but it was just a little squirt so I think he was excited/scared? Mixed in more wet food with his dog food and he ate again! Took him out to poo and was successful! He was then given freedom to roam the house. Also (!) I tried giving him these tiny soft treats that I found at the store AND HE ATE THEM! So I now have a better, treat-related reward system!

Day 6 - Thursday

Got up at 7am to let Dex out. Big pee this morning with "Good boy!" praising and doggy treats! Looking forward to more rewarding tonight with him. He's been a great dog and I'm realizing now after writing all this down that he's come a long way. Eventually I'd like to enroll him in obedience training at PetCo just to get the basics down (sit, stay, etc.) but for now I'm really trying hard at helping him figure out the potty thing.

Aside from the potty stuff -- he's a VERY affectionate dog and never leaves my side. I trip over him all the time. He's still pretty clumsy and fall off of stuff a lot. Or trips up/down the stairs. He's even lost his footing on the hard wood floors and rolled a few feet. Sometimes he bonks his head in to things. It's comical. I can't take pictures of him because he's always right up underneath me. So I need to get Eric to start taking pictures of us together, I guess. He's my buddy.

Carly really likes him and thinks he's "so soft". I haven't noticed any jealousy with her and that's good.

So I'm happy. I'm happy with my dog. I was very nervous at firs that I was going to get Dex home and realize A) i can't take care of this puppy B) the potty training wouldn't work C) Carly will be jealous D) Eric will hate me E) I will hate the dogs personality...and I could go on and on with examples of things I was nervous about but I'm happy to report that it's all worked out.