Hi, Callie here again. Fred just got back from his travels, but I had this blog all ready to go.
I thought I’d give you a little status report on my puppy crate training. Actually, all things considered, I’d say my strategy is working pretty well. I keep finding more and more ways to earn puppy treats, and, at the same time, Fred and Barbara are giving me a little more free time out of my crate.
For example, I’ve learned that if Barbara lets me run loose in the kitchen, I get a puppy treat once in a while, as long as I don’t get into the trash or eat the newspapers in the storage bin. It’s pretty neat. Barbara is especially easy to train; she’s the main puppy treat person. Fred doesn’t use them as much; with him, I just get to hang out in his office more if I don’t mess things up.
Don’t misunderstand. I really like my crate. It’s a great place to relax and eat my meals and sleep at night. But it is really nice to get out of it during the day, so I can spend more time with Fred and Barbara.
If Fred’s working at home, he usually closes off the the other part of the house, so I can just be in the hallway or in his office. So I have my water dish in the hallway and some of my favorite toys. I know Fred’s pretty busy, so I try not to bother him too much. But once in a while he seems to like it if I take one of my toys to him and play a little “give and take.â€
“Give and take†is a good little game that I invented. I present one of my favorite toys to Fred, like I want him to take it. But if he really tries to take it a away, I grab hold really tight so he can’t. Then he gives it back to me, and I give it back to him. And we go back and forth. I don’t think he wants it to turn into a game of tug of war; that’s why he always gives it back to me. I really like it, because he’s paying attention to me, and we’re doing something together – with a toy that I really like.
The rest of the time, I take turns playing with my toys. Or sometimes I just munch very gently on one of my toys – sort of just gumming it. This is really mellow and relaxing for me. Sometimes it makes me so relaxed I just fall asleep and take a nap.
I especially like it when we’re at Lake Arrowhead, because the house there, at least the upstairs, is more like one big room, with a door out to the deck. And it’s pretty puppy-proof. So Fred and Barbara let me go pretty much where I want. I really like that, and I’m looking forward to when they will do that at our other home.
So I’m working real hard at just chewing on my toys and not on Barbara’s rugs or plants. I have a couple of nice, hard chewy toys now; that makes it easier to stay away from rugs and plants.
See you next time!
