Another Day Out of the Crate

I let Addison stay out of the crate again when I went to work today. Then when I got home I looked around for accidents and found none again. From my experience I would say she is almost completely house trained. Yay Addison!

The weird thing was that she didn't poop again on the evening walk. I don't understand that but today I decided to push her a little further by leaving her out of the crate while I went to play my basketball game. When I got home I still found no accidents. All great signs and I'm happy that I have her this far with the house training since I will most likely be passing her off to her adopters this coming Sunday.

A Goodbye Romp with Einstein

Today I had to put Addison in the crate during work because the cleaning service was coming to clean the house. She pretty much goes into the crate now with no objections so I think the larger crate is working out.

In the evening after work we went to meet Kristy and her dog Einstein for a walk. We all walked for about a half hour and Addison and Einstein played some. We went back to Kristy's place, ordered some food, and the dogs played with different toys. Addison seems to like toys of other dogs but when I get her things she doesn't seem interested. While we were eating the dogs would come in and gulp down lots of water. I should have picked up on that as a warning but didn't. After we finished eating there was a spot on the carpet where Addison had peed. I was upset because it was her first accident in a long time. I should have paid closer attention especially since she was in a foreign environment.

I cleaned it up for Kristy though, stayed for a bit longer, and then headed home. That is probably the last time Addison and Einstein will get to hang out but it was nice to let them get in one last romp.

Out of the Crate During Work

Today I decided that if Addison took care of all of her business I would leave her out of the crate while I went to work. Well, she did, I brought her back, fed her, and took her out again right before leaving. I was gone a total of 8 1/2 hours and when I got home I found no accidents. When I took her for a walk she only peed and then I wondered if I missed something around the house. When we got back I fed her and looked all around again and nothing. She usually goes when I walk her so this was different. I had to go play volleyball so I put her in the crate because I was afraid of an accident. She did great though and I will probably try leaving her out a couple more times this week while at work.

Weekend In The Attic

Over the weekend I was home most of the time. I went into the attic rearranging holiday things. Addison doesn't like it when I pull down the attic stairs and when moving things around she actually goes to the furthest part of the house. There was really no way I could try to correct this without having someone else around so I just let her do her thing. At least she was somewhat curious of the plastic bins I brought down after the stairs were closed up.

Addison is also very unsure about balloons. Sometimes we will walk by signs for open houses and they have balloons tied to them. She doesn't like them and it's hard for me to try to introduce her to them because she doesn't want anything to do with them when I hold them down where she can sniff them. If I remember and if I have time I'd like to buy some balloons and see if I can get her used to them. The issue is if she pops it the noise would really scare her.

Status Report - Two Months

I can't believe that I have had Addison for only two months. Since it's two months on the nose I guess it's a good time to see how far we've come. Here are the things I feel I have accomplished with her:

• She now walks on a lead at my side but still needs corrections. At the moment I would consider her an above average walker. I find that a check chain works best but a martindale collar also works. I will use the check collar when she is regresses and the martindale other times.
• She knows "down" in the house and is learning it outside and on the walk.
  
• She is now 42 1/2 lbs up from the 40 lbs when I first got her. She could probably use a little more weight but she looks much healthier. I think the runs have helped tone her up too.
  
• She is not as shy around people anymore and shows curiosity. She has made leaps and bounds in this department.
• She has really started to listen to off. Even though she will jump on the couch and my bed she actually listens when I tell her "off" and point where I want her to go. At times she still needs a little nudge but at least there is progress.
  
• She is almost house trained. I would actually say she is house trained except I have not let her out of the crate while I'm at work yet. That would be the ultimate test but she has been doing so well I don't want to set her up for failure. A jump from 4 hours to 8 is a long time. Maybe I'll try it this week.
• She is a great running partner especially on the gentle leader.
• She is still learning "come" and will respond to it but I always find that is one of the hardest commands for a dog to learn
  

What Addison has taught me:

• Affection can be better than treats
• I'm a slow runner
• Kisses get me out of bed faster than hitting snooze
• Running through the snow at top speed is fun

Playing in the Snow

Addison loves to play in the snow. Yesterday after I came home from work I played with her as much as I could outside. It was hard because I had to keep her on the lead but I used the longest lead that I had, went to a field close to my house, and ran as fast as I could next to her. It was fun to see her having such a great time living in the moment.

The walks have been a little harder with more corrections with the snow but that is because she wants to run through it full speed constantly. I've just been working with her and trying to get her to understand between play time and walk time.

After work today I went to meet my friend Kristy and her dog Einstein to walk the dogs and let them play. Einstein is a pure bread golden retriever that is just a year old and hey both get along great. So, we walked and let the dogs play. At times I wish I could let Addison off the lead just so I could see her run because she is so fast.

I told Kristy this may be the last time Addison and Einstein get to play because someone is interested in adopting her. The home visit is Dec 16th and I'm very hopeful because I think the adopters, Tony and Julie, will be great for Addison. I'll be at the home visit with Addison and as long as things are fine she will be left with them for a trial adoption.

Snowing

When Addison and I were coming back on our walk in the morning it started snowing. Addison would stop and put her paw up like a pointer and listen to the snow hitting the trees and dead leaves on the ground. Then she seemed excited. I assume she has seen snow before and hopefully I can let her romp around in it later after work.