Bringing Willow home

I brought Willow home on August 30th.  She was quite nervous about getting in the car. She was also quite a bit scarred and ended up having an accident in the back seat.  I was so happy I took the precaution of buying puppy proof seat covers for the car.  It was easily wiped up and never reached the cars upholstery. Because I had a company barbecue I needed to be at we came home and spent some time with Willow and then took her to a very good friend who will also be her groomer.  KayLynn of Pup Cutz Grooming in North Salt Lake.  Willow had a great time playing with Nacho KayLynn's Chihuahua.  We had Willow till Monday morning when she went to Laurie's home for some board and train time.  We were not doing well with the potty training thing. I kept forgetting that Willow didn't know how to tell me she had to go potty so she kept having accidents.  Laurie, bless her heart, spent 2 weeks working with Willow on her potty training, basic manners, touch, focus, and name training.

On Sept 3rd Willow had her first vet visit with me.  The vet office I am using is the Animal Care Center in West Bountiful Utah.  The vets there are wonderful and caring!  She saw Dr. Pam for her check up, shots and worming.  Willow also went to her first puppy training and socializing class that evening at the Utah Dog Park. The class is led by Laurie, of Side by Side Dog Training. Willow and I had a great time. On Sept 6th Willow was diagnosed with an UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and started on antibiotics.
On Sept 10th Willow went to her 2nd Puppy Class and seemed to really enjoy it, I know I did.  On Saturday, the 13th  (Today) Willow came home.

When we got home, I immediately took Willow outside to potty.  After she pottied we played a few minutes and then went inside to set up her crate.  Willow kept looking at me and I could just imagine her saying, "What do you think you are doing?  This is my crate, leave it alone. She had me laughing so hard at one point I had a difficult time putting it together.  She kept trying to get in it as I was trying to get it set up.  I think it took 3 or 4 times as long as it should have because she was trying to "help" After that I fed her using one of my puzzle feeders and laughed really hard then as well because it was so funny watching her work the puzzle to get to the food.  She is one smart puppy! We spent most of the day together with her taking rest periods in her crate.  At one point we went for a walk.  I now know 2 things we need to work on with her.

There was a boy about 12 yrs old in a cul-d-sac that we walked by.  He was on a skateboard and she was fine with that.  She was wagging her tail and being her usual happy self but stopped for a rest (we were on the way home and she was getting tired).  All of a sudden the boy made a circle around the cul-d-sac and went up his skateboard ramp and did a big jump.  that startled Willow and she took off and yanked the leash right out of my hand.  Now the yanking the leash out of my hand was my own fault.  I had become too complacent because she was doing so well I was holding the leash very loosely in my hand.  It took nothing for her to pull away.  We must have looked quite the site, me with my walker chasing her across the street into the park, the kid behind me and Willow deciding it's a game.  After her first startled reaction and my trying to chase her and catch her she decided to play.  So I know she wasn't overly traumatized.  In fact she went right up to the boy to be petted.  That's how I caught her.  The little stinker. So lesson learned.  She doesn't like airborn skateboards.  She's also not overly fond of lawn mowers. The rest of the day was uneventful. We just did playtime, crate time, training, food.

More next time...