The last two weeks have just flown by. Luna (Lab mix) and the three puppies, Max, Logan and Lilly, arrived at my house about 10:00pm on Thursday, May 15. Usually when we receive a guest dog(s) they go into the laundry room for the first night because they are wacko from being moved frequently and it takes them awhile to adjust to yet another new space and another new set of house rules.

It didn't take long to discover that Luna was not an inside dog. We did the usual four tests (dishwasher, vacuum, shower and TV). She was not familiar with any of them, tilting her head and staring at them for a long time. The only one she growled at and repeatedly rushed was the dishwasher. OK - now we have established the starting point. The usual length of stay for a guest dog is just a couple of weeks (between the weekend adoptions at PetsMart). However, since Luna's puppies were so young, I knew that I would have Luna long enough to start her on the path to becoming an inside dog. I don't usually make any training demands the first couple of days - and that was true for Luna too. However, when she arrived with the puppies, I was told that she was refusing to nurse the puppies and I was handed two gallons of goats milk with a puppy bottle and told that the puppies didn't really like the goats milk so it took FOREVER to feed them and that I might be more successful wetting down some of the dry puppy food to see if they could start eating soft puppy food instead. Well, after one unsuccessful session of trying to feed those puppies -- Luna and I had our first heart-to-heart negotiating session. I told her it was a total and complete waste of my time to try to feed those puppies while she is sitting over there full of milk - what exactly does she need to have happen in order for her to feed those puppies? Luna stretched out beside me and basically said "I would lay here forever in the peace and quiet if you sit and pet me." I said "There is peace and quiet in the laundry room with those puppies, you go in there and stretch out quietly and let them nurse and I will sit and pet you." It was a win-win-win deal: the puppies got to nurse, Luna got petted and I didn't have to mess with the goats milk. At that very moment, I knew Luna and I could work well together.

Training aside, the first behavior we tackled together was getting her housebroken. Watching her like a hawk and going outside with her regularly and praise, praise, praise and voila - after a little more than one week, Luna is about 90% reliable in the house. I still need to be careful to feed her early in the evening and to go outside and STAY outside with her until she has done what she needs to do -- but if I do that - she is reliable. Whew. It's nice to get past that corner.

Since she was nursing the puppies and clearly a smart dog who is eager to please, I decided to start enforcing some of my ground rules. Every house has them and mine is no exception. Here are my basic rules:

(1) No jumping on me when I am dressed to leave for work. (Command: OFF)
(2) No crowding me at the front door as I'm getting ready to leave. (Command: BACK)
(3) When you are in the car, no jumping, whining, scratching or general hissy fits - sit or lay
down quietly. (Command: ENOUGH)
(4) When I'm ready to shut the car door, make sure all body parts are tucked into the car.
(Command: WATCH YOUR TAIL)
(5) When we arrive wherever we are going - don't jump out of the car as soon as the door
is opened. Wait for me to put the leash on and release you to jump out of the car when
I'm ready to have you jump out of the car. (Command: WAIT Command: BREAK)
(6) When you are in the kitchen and I'm cooking dinner - no walking around and absolutely
no paws on the counter or counter cruising. Generally, I try to give a mutually
exclusive command. For example, if the dog is on a DOWN/STAY - then, the dog
can't be walking around in the kitchen or putting paws on the counter. If the paws are
on the counter, they need to get off. (Command: OFF)

I figured we have about four weeks - we won't get everything done but we'll at least lay some groundwork. So far, Luna is pretty good at BACK, WAIT, ENOUGH and WATCH YOUR TAIL. She doesn't yet have the DOWN/STAY which means I'm constantly telling her OFF in the kitchen. We're still working on the rest of them.

On the weekends, I regularly walk with a group of friends. I don't work in the same office as any of them anymore, but we've all met through various jobs and we all have dogs so -- most Saturdays will find us out doing a three mile loop before 7am. Three of the four dogs are large: two Labs and a Dalmation. The fourth dog is a corgi mix. Luna is a young, healthy ENERGETIC dog so I told everyone that I had a new guest dog that I would be bringing on the Saturday walk. The group is fairly used to having new dogs join us for walks. Much to my surprise, when Luna got out of the car and went over to meet each of the dogs, she greeted them by sniffing and then WHAM! one by one she jumped them growling and snapping. Fortunately, each of these dogs handled it calmly: Dulce (Dalmation) gave her a look that said "That was RUDE - what did I ever do to you?" and then she turned and walked away. Isabel (Lab) snapped back at Luna and then said "Get a life" and turned her back on Luna. Otis (Lab) snapped back at Luna and said "Knock it off" and he also walked away. Luna continued to throw a fit. However, everyone just ignored her and started walking on our route. About ten minutes into it, Luna settled down and walked the rest of the way. The second weekend, I brought a Gentle Leader for Luna to wear (just in case she repeated the behavior) but she was just fine with everyone. One thing about guest dogs: They can be such a puzzle. Then, for the next test, I took Luna to PetsMart. She was so scared, her tail went between her legs and she was jumpy the entire time -- trying to look all directions at once so that no one and nothing could sneak up on her. Clearly, we're going to have to work on that - the question is: What is the best way to do that? So, I asked my neighbor if Luna could meet the two small dogs next door. Unfortunately, they are not calm dogs and together the three of them set each other off and we had such a barking, lunging, fit-throwing time -- it was actually fairly impressive. OK - well, obviously we'll need to work up to calmly being around other dogs.

Luna was found walking alongside a highway. I was looking in her mouth the other morning and noticed that all four of her long canine teeth are flat - she is missing the top "point" part on all of them. I don't know what she was gnawing on -- maybe a metal chain or perhaps some rocks? Something ground down those points. She is so funny - I can leave her just fine during the day - but if I put her in another room (like while I'm cleaning) she throws a fit until she gets to come back in and watch me work. Last Saturday I was working outside in the yard and Luna was keeping watch at the fence. She alloted one "WOOF" to each person walking by - granted, it was a deep, commanding WOOF but it wasn't ear-splitting, frantic barking. I've never before had a guest dog that just barks once per person.

I called the first foster family (they have five kids) last week and asked if they could watch the puppies on Saturday because we were having company for dinner. They were so excited to be able to have the puppies visit. I took those three wiggly puppies over to them and they had a blast (and the puppies got a bath - an added bonus!). When I picked the puppies up after the dinner guests had left, those three puppies were just like little sacks of potatoes - they were totally limp, they were so tired they didn't try to wiggle or kiss or squirm. When they got home to Luna, they nursed and promptly staggered a few steps away and were asleep for the night and we didn't hear one peep out of any of them. I think both the pups and the kids had a great time. Luna did a good job with all the company, too. All in all, a successful evening.

Well, we have another week or so before the puppies can get their first shot. After they have their first shot, they can go outside in the backyard and get out of that 4' X 8' play pen for a while. THAT is a day we are all looking forward to!!