Getting a New Dog Check-List

So you're thinking about bringing a new family member home? That's great! Whether your newest family member is from a rescue, shelter, re-homing situation, or breeder, here is my check list for bringing your new fur-baby home!

#1: If the dog is not potty trained, be sure to invest in some stain removers for your hard wood floor, tile, carpet, ect. You will also need some newspaper or puppy pads for training purposes, unless you strictly plan on training the dog to go potty outside. In that case, really stock up on those stain remover cleaners, because for the first few months you'll need it!

#2: A crate appropriate for your dogs ADULT SIZE. I highly recommend investing in a crate. A crate to a dog is not like a cage or a place of punishment. It is their bedroom. It is a place they can go to sleep, relax, and settle down. It is also a secure place to have them while you are out of the home for long periods of time. When you buy a crate be sure to buy the size that will be appropriate for your dog when they are full grown. They need enough space to lie down, stretch out completely, stand up, and turn around.

#3: A dog bed. This is not in replacement of their crate or "bedroom". It is a place where they can lie and be relaxed with the members of the family. Again, buy a bed appropriate to the adult size of the dog.

#4: Collar and leash! During the obedience and potty training experience, and walks in general, the collar and leash will be your best friend! If your dog's breed type is bred to pull, do not buy a harness, instead buy a regular leash or an easy-lead or gentle-leader. My 90lb newfoundland uses a gentle-leader and it works wonders with her instinct to pull. My 25lb terrier mix, Remus, is on an easy-lead harness for his pulling since he weighs much less and has the natural instinct to chase as opposed to pull. My smallest dog, a 10lb shih-tzu, wears a regular harness. He does still pull, but that's because we didn't properly train him to "loose leash walk" when we were training him.

#5: Name tag for their collar and micro-chip (will need to be done professionally by a trusted veterinarian). The name tag should have the dog's name, your name, your current phone number, and on mine I also have put "needs meds" to dissuade dog-snatchers from stealing the dog. It is the hope that ff your dog "needs meds", dog-snatchers will be less-likely to steal and sell your dog. Microchips are essential in case your dog becomes lost and the collar falls off or snaps off. Microchips will help vets and shelters locate you as the dog's owner.

#6: Dog food, duh! And this includes bowls for water, bowls for food, and the food itself! There is a large and complex debate about the "best" food for dogs, so feel free to do some research on raw food vs dehydrated food vs grain-free food vs regular dry food. I currently have one dog on a raw/wet diet due to his teeth, and the other two dogs on a grain-free dry/wet diet. Pay attention to the dog's stool! If it's regularly runny then it's time to try a higher-quality food! When buying food, pay attention to the ingredients. Dog foods with water and a meat listed in the first 2 ingredients are best. If a grain (like wheat or rice) is listed in the first two ingredients, continue your search!

#7: Recycled bags for picking up your dog's poop!

#8: Toys, toys, toys! Dogs LOVE toys and they will LOVE to play with YOU! But it's good to buy both toys that dogs can play with by themselves and with you. Also look into toys that are tough and durable, especially for teething puppies as they will be chewing and gnawing on everything! Also be sure to watch your dog with their new toys to make sure that they do not choke or eat their new toy. Toys will also be valuable tool during their obedience training!

#9: Treats, treats, treats! If dogs love toys they seem to love treats even more! Most dogs are treat-driven so treats will be crucial for obedience training, but they are also great to give as rewards for desired behavior and to give to your dog whenever you leave them. The mentality is person leaves = treat = nothing to be sad about.

#10: LOVE. Obviously, this can't be purchased, but be prepared to give your new family member a lot of time, devotion, commitment, patience, and love. They are looking to you for family, friendship and companionship. Loving and taking care of a dog and seeing how much they love you back in return is extremely rewarding!

Hope this helped and have a great time getting to know and love your new fur-baby!

Puppy Training Instructions

I have three dogs. One is 13, one is 2, and the other is only 9 weeks old. It is because of him I am posting this post, since he is a little more high-maintanence than my 2 year-old and 13 year-old were when they were puppies. Below I have posted training instructions for puppy basics that include potty training, barking, nipping/chewing, and jumping. All of these rules I have learned from a great dog trainer whose name is David. He trained my female 2 year-old and he will be training my new male puppy. After the instructions I will post pictures of my three love bugs.

David’s Puppy Training Tips:

Potty training:

#1 MANAGE HIS WATER. Give him a drink every two hours when the weather is cool, every hour when the weather is hot, and water after a meal. Take him out within ten minutes of his drink. It is most likely he will need to pee multiple times per drink and will need to poop multiple times after each meal.

#2 IT’S OKAY TO USE TREATS. Most dogs actually won’t go pee just randomly for a treat. And since Remus is so food-motivated, rewarding his good potty behavior with treats would be helpful. If the puppy is more praise-motivated then use that as your main tactic with treats every now and then.

#3 USE A LEASH. Use a leash more than not when he has access to the house. That way you know where he is at all times and can get to him quicker when he starts to go potty. It can be tedious, but it is better overall…for you and the puppy. Plus, the puppy gets introduced to the leash early on.

#4 USE NEWSPAPERS IN GARAGE. It’s time to teach him not only to potty outside, but to potty in the garage on papers, so that when he is in his play pen he isn’t pooping and peeing wherever he wants to. (This post is specific to my living situation.)

Barking:

#1 IGNORE UNLESS FOR POTTY. If he barks and whines to let you know he needs to pee or

poo, that is great. But if he’s just whining because he isn’t getting his way or wants attention, ignoring him is the key. As soon as he is quiet, reward him with treats and pets. This is a similar tactic to prevent him from jumping up on you.

#2 WAIT HIM OUT. If he’s already gone potty and he’s relentless in his barking, you have the power to go longer ignoring him than he has the energy to bark. Again, as soon as he does let up, reward him.

#3 REWARD WITH TREATS. If he’s in the crate and is whining and you know he just went potty and he is likely whining for attention or because he doesn’t want to be in his crate, go ahead and reward him with a treat every time he is quiet by slipping the treat through the crate. Remember, treats do not need to be large. The smaller the puppy, the smaller the treat, and you can get pretty small and they’ll still be satisfied!

Nipping/chewing unwanted items—including fingers:

#1 YELP. That’s right, yelp like you would if you were a dog in pain. He will learn to equate this sound to the sound he were to make if he were in pain. When you yelp, you pull your finger or whatever it is he is biting on away from him. Do this each time.

#2 TAKE HIM AWAY, NOT THE OBJECT. We want him to learn that these objects are going to be around him, but he’s not allowed to chew them. So you play the “keep away game”…with him as the one you’re keeping away. If he is chewing on the carpet, pick him up and move him away from it, then let him go. If he immediately goes back to the carpet, repeat the process. You may have to do this 40-50 times, but eventually he will get tired of the game and give up.

#3 MAKE HIM WANT TO STOP CHEWING. Don’t turn to giving him another object to chew most of the time. Use this only when you are confident that the item you have is more desirable to him than what he was chewing on and that he won’t go back to what he wasn’t supposed to be chewing on once he gets bored of the replacement object. Why shouldn’t you replace the object? Because HE didn’t choose to go to the other object, you pushed it in his face. This method can work sometimes, but the keep-away game seems to have more of an effect because they get frustrated and choose to leave it alone instead of momentarily getting distracted by something else.

#4 THE LEASH IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. The leash will also help with chewing as you can catch him when he starts and immediately go over and start playing the “keep-away game.” I also give his leash a tug after tug after tug until he gets frustrated and gives up. But “keep-away” is still best.

#5 TIME-OUT. Put him in his crate with a chew treat you want him to chew on for a short time-out. Take him back out after about 10mins, if he isn’t barking/whining, and see what he does. If he goes back to the same thing he was chewing on before you put him in the crate, either try steps 1-4 or do the crate time again.

Jumping up on you/other people:

#1 IGNORE! Until puppy is old enough for his puppy obedience classes where he learns sit, for now when puppy jumps on you back away and ignore him. When he sits on his own or goes back to all fours and doesn’t jump up again, reward him with pets and/or treats. DO NOT PICK HIM UP WHEN HE JUMPS UP ON YOU NO MATTER HOW CUTE/TINY HE IS. Any attention given will encourage bad future behavior and once he gets bigger and is an adult and you have a 15-100+lb dog (depending on what breed you have) jumping up on a four year old, things won’t be so cute anymore.

I strongly encourage anyone who has a puppy to enroll him into puppy obedience classes as soon as he has had his three shots. Obedience class is extremely important no matter what size or breed of dog.

                              Manchu: pure bred Shih-tzu, male. Photo taken Christmas 2011.

Tonks- pure bred Newfoundland, female. Photos taken in 2015.

Remus: Boston Terrier Miniature Schnauzer mix aka Miniboz (google it), male. Photos taken in November of 2015.

                                                                 Tonks with Remus

 Hope the info helped and that you enjoyed the photos!

My Book List

My Book List:

My Favorite Books:

Overall:

Shadow Mountain by Renee Askins

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Michael: through a brother's eyes by Jermaine Jackson

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

(during elementary and middle school)

Animorphs the Hork-Bajir chronicles by K.A. Applegate

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Growing Wings by Laurel Winter

The Dog With Golden Eyes by Frances Wilbur

The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Dog to the Rescue by Jeannette Sanderson

The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke

House by Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker

(during high school)

Blessed Child by Ted Dekker & Bill Bright

Evermore series by Alyson Noel

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

(post-high school)

In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien

A Fast And Brutal Wing by Kathleen Jeffries Johnson

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Last Night I Sang To The Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Books I Think Would Benefit Everyone To Read:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

1984 by George Orwell

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank

The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Homeland by R. A. Salvatore