Week 1: There Are No Small Victories
Let me start this by saying, Cody is not our first puppy, but it still feels terrifying. Like those dreams where you have to do a maths test as an adult.
Our lovely dog Tilly was a bubbly puppy and as an adult she outsmarted most people in the neighbourhood. One of the many challenges with bringing in a new puppy, especially after an untimely loss, is there are shoes to fill.
But it's not your new puppy's responsibility to adhere to your expectations. Nor are you in control how you feel about how it plays out. The experience we have as previous puppy raisers and from dog training can be a hindrance as much as an advantage.
A new puppy is an extremely disrupting experience, whether it is your first or a second. In the first instance you paddle through sea of unsolicited or problematic advice. Books and videos with outdated or damaging approaches, which get plugged by advertising algorithms and, if you get lucky, you land a decent trainer who will steer you away from all of it. If not, you muddle through with trial and error like many others. If this sounds familiar while reading, do not feel bad. Dog training is still an uncontrolled industry. A fact reflected in the various harmful equipment sold and advice suggested by people.
That is a lot to deal with on top of wiping, mopping and chasing after a little landshark while sporting eye bags the size of salamis. We have already been through the puppy journey. As a trainer, I have helped many little sock thieves and seen lots of different challenges with puppies. Goes without saying - we should be well primed for puppy number two. Yet, the added pressure of the past is looming over our shoulders. One of the things we found out quickly is that we seem to have completely blacked how it all went the first time around. Probably because of sleep deprivation and how long ago it was. We cannot confidently compare Tilly and Cody’s first weeks. Our minds generate different recollections of how she was as a puppy from fractions of real memories and emotional concoctions of who we believe she was as a grown dog. I realised very early on that this is where my trainer hat needs to stay on much more firmly, because emotions cannot be trusted to guide us through the early weeks. I decided to focus on all the small victories we have gotten this first week.
He can go without needing a pee at night for at least 5 hours, incredible. What a treat! All the accidents which have happened, so far, we’re us figuring out the timings or missing his very clear communication. Nothing wrong there, see? I still despise standing around tiny grass patches hoping Cody starts generalising where he goes to the toilet. I wait, thinking of all the possible ways of getting him to pee, from bottle spraying his wee around the neighbourhood, to doing an interpretive dance while burning sage. I’ll be honest though, toilet training is easy. All you do is watch your puppy, take them out at the correct times and not punish them for accidents. Tracking it all appropriately is a must. It allows you to see your progress and eventually you find a solid routine that works for you, and the full bladder control arrives with it. What’s not easy is how your environment creates obstacles. Obstacle one: A busy city. Puppies love to forget they need to wee or poo when interesting, fun or overwhelming stuff happens around them. This is why we say, when they do start going, become a statue. In Steve’s words only when they have finished ‘make like a party’.
Obstacle two: It’s winter. It’s dark and things get even more scary and distracting. There is very little daylight to show the puppy the world around our building is not that scary, which brings us to… Obstacle three: We live in a high rise, so aside from calculating the times between each wee and poo we also have to make adjustments for how long it takes to ‘suit up’, travel down 20 plus floors and then walk over to the nearest absorbent area. Here we go to obstacle four: Not peeing on non-grassy surfaces. Lots of dogs aren’t used to peeing on pavement even when they are old. Being fully aware of this predicament, I made it one of my top missions to get Cody to evacuate on any permitted surface. Stay tuned, we’re still in the lab with that little nugget. On the flipside, we have made progress with getting him to go on different places, which is equally vital. Having dogs ‘dependent’ on one toileting area can become a complication to your everyday life. Travel or changes in lifestyle/routine could affect the dog.
Easiest example: What if the council puts up a ‘no dogs’ sign on the grassed patch near your flat - the only place your dog uses as a toilet? Dogs have a great sense of routine and patterns which can become source of comfort and security. If my favourite café is closed and I still really want a cuppa I’ll just go to the next one down the road. It’s not quite that simple when a habit has been formed for a dog. For that reason, we have focused this week on getting Cody to toilet in different places outside to help him generalise it and since last Saturday we are up to four different spots (if you ever toilet trained, you know this is like finishing a hard game level). Cody’s still deciding how he feels about the city, after all he is a country boy and he has never seen a bus or a Deliveroo bicycle, so he only gets to explore (and toilet) in the surrounding areas. Slow and steady wins the race. This race does not run in a straight line though. On Friday morning, I took Cody out after 7 am and he did both deeds in a less frequent spot.
When Cody does his business, we wait quietly and then we celebrate as if he discovered the Philosopher’s Stone. He finished his business and then promptly planted his paw into his ‘creation’ and then proceeded to approach me to collect his ‘post-poo praise cuddle.’ Jumping excitedly he slashed my face with one of his razor-sharp puppy nails covered in poo. Send help! I was so happy though because he hit another location milestone, I rewarded with treats and praise, then skipped with happy Cody by my side to the front door. I was not prepared for poo chapter 2, my dear reader. We arrived upstairs, where I started to serve breakfast in his den. Then it began to happen as if in slow motion, right before my eyes. The well known spinal upward curl, the butt tuck, my instinct for once were fast enough to whip out a dog nappy to place under Cody’s bum like some tragic fire trampoline. This distracted Cody enough to cease fire. Distractions, the thing which is a problem with toileting outside, worked in my favour indoors.
He forgot he was about to do a number two. Eureka, we bought time, and Cody was rushed downstairs to play out Act two of his morning toileting performance. No indoor poo counts as a win! The biggest highlight of Friday, and I will end on this terrific high note, was that we have successfully convinced Cody to wee in a new spot closer to home. After Cody had an accident indoors, we used a syringe to take a sample of his wee outside and spray it over a new spot (yes, we do weird things to get results with dogs). Two hours later the young man recognised his scent in that new spot and honoured it with his own fresh sample. The biggest highlight of Friday, and I will end on this terrific high note, was that we have successfully convinced Cody to wee in a new spot closer to home. After Cody had an accident indoors, we used a syringe to take a sample of his wee outside and spray it over a new spot (yes, we do weird things to get results with dogs). Two hours later the young man recognised his scent in that new spot and honoured it with his own fresh sample.
Our neighbours must think we are the weirdest couple in the area walking around with syringes of wee, but let’s face it after a week of having your vocabulary limited to “do it, have a wee, is it a poo or does he need to go?” we could be way worse off. We’re doing great and so are you if you’re getting through your first puppy weeks. If it’s getting tough, you know where to find me but in the meantime I will leave a little mindful homework in the caption of this post to do for anyone with new puppy or maybe just a little challenging chapter in their dog’s life. Do it you’ll feel loads better, I promise. Lastly, go take a shower! If you don’t have a puppy right now and don’t need a shower, go for a walkie or get a cuddle. Trainer’s orders. See you next week!