It’s seems that Richard and I just can’t slow down and enjoy some quiet time. Every time we reach a lull in our busy lives, we find some way to rev things up again. Most recently, that involved adding to our family with the adoption of a puppy! Loki is a miniature Yorkshire Terrier about 4 months old. His parents were both about 5 pounds, so he’s not expected to get much bigger than he is right now. We settled on the name Loki, Lord of Mischief on his second day with us. The name comes from the Norse god, Loki, who had a reputation for being a trickster.
I don’t think either of us was fully prepared for the chaos this little man has brought into our lives. The first couple of nights were admittedly rough. We were getting up ever two hours for a walk outside, but he was still messing all over this kennel. This led to baths and walks every two to four hours. Haha! We joked a lot about Loki preparing us for parenthood. While Loki loved the trips outside, he didn’t seem to make any connection to outside being potty time. His accidents indoors were increasing and I was worried we were doing something wrong.
We both started doing additional research and decided to try litter box training. The few people we’ve mentioned that to have given us some pretty strange looks. However, given his size and our situation, it seemed like the right choice to make. Since we upgraded his crate size and added the litter box, his potty training has made a total 180! He’s been excellent at using the box and now that he has a little more room, he’s not stepping in it and tracking it all over his blankets and such. He’s an angel about his kennel time, too!!
He and I go for walks every day, right now just around the neighborhood. Richard and I got a yard tie, so we play fetch out back in the mornings and evenings. Of course, he also gets plenty of play time during the day. He’s as sweet as sweet can be and loves meeting new people. He still likes to chew on just about anything he can fit in his tiny little mouth, but he’s a puppy and we’re discouraging chewing on humans.
I’ve been reading Cesar Millan’s book Cesar’s Way, thanks to suggestions from my friend Robin and my mother. It’s been really interesting reading and we’ve been trying to incorporate what we’re learning into training Loki. I had been a little confused as to why Loki was so good with listening to me during the day, but less so when Richard was home. It’s totally because Richard is easily the leader of our little family pack. So I tried to step up my “calm-assertiveness” and Loki responded beautifully. We also started preparing his food by hand, per Cesar's recommendation, and making him calmly wait for it. We still have some work to do on that end, but he's really showing great progress!
He’s a puppy, so there is still room for growth and improvement. Right now, I’m looking into an obedience training class or something. While he’s learning a few commands (“no”, “wait”, “sit”, and the like), there is a lot more I’d like to do. I think learning how to train him properly is the way to go. I really do love the little guy and I want him to be a happy, well-rounded dog. We are so happy to have him in our family!! :o)
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