Training Commands

Echo is going on his 3rd week of puppy training and so far is doing GREAT! This post may be updated as we learn new training commands. 

With covid-19, it was difficult to make the decision of training one-on-one or waiting until things got better to start doing puppy socializing classes. Because Echo was in his prime age for training, we opted into doing the one-on-one sessions. I know that big store training has been looked down upon in the past for having trainers that aren't very good, but I don't agree. Petco was one of the only options for training during covid and to be honest, we're very happy with our trainer! He's done so well with Echo in the short time that he's been training him and my mind is blown every time I see a completely transformed dog in our sessions. 

Below you will see some of the training commands we've learned so far and if you need more detail, please use Google as I'm not a professional source. 

Training treats are a must! You'll need quite a few of them, so make sure that you buy some that are easy on your pup's digestive system.

- SIT -
With a treat in your hand, close your fist and point your wrist to the ceiling. Hold your fist over your pups head which makes him look back and forces his butt to the ground. Say "sit" (obviously) and give him the treat once he is fully seated. Be careful with lunging... don't reward him if he lunges for your hand. Also, follow-up after the treat with "good boy!". 

- SIT PRETTY - (or what I'm calling the bear)
Echo did this automatically, but essentially you want your pup to sit back on his hind legs and lift his front paws off the ground (which then makes him look like he's a bear). Usually if you hold your hand over his head like you would for "sit" and then lift up slightly, it'll make him go up on his hinds. It's pretty cute, but Echo does get confused between "sit" and "bear" often. 

- DOWN -
This one can be a struggle and so far I only get Echo to go down when I have a treat in my hand. It'll definitely take a lot of practice, but essentially you just want your pup to lay down. From the "sit" position, say "down" and lower your hand to the ground, forcing your pup to lay on his belly. So far I haven't been able to get Echo to do it without leading him, but it'll come to him one day. 

- WAIT -
By far, this one is my favorite. It tells the pup that he needs to back off, but not forever. Just at the moment. Telling them to "wait" just let's them know that they can't have what they want YET, but they eventually can. I use this one quite often with our cat, whenever Echo charges Beau. He immediately backs off the cat and comes to me for his treat. Place a treat in your hand and close your fist. Hold it near your pups face and say "wait" and then let him sniff out your hand, trying to get to the treat. The first few times, he will be pretty persistent and want that treat, but you can't back down. He may bite and nibble at him, but stand your ground! I usually say "Echo wait" and after he finally realizes that he won't get to the treat in my hand and backs off, sitting down and waiting, I'll give it to him. This one definitely takes practice and eventually you should be able to get to the point where you can set the treat down, tell your pup to wait and he won't move until you tell him it's ok to have the treat. Once you can get your pup to understand the word wait means to back off, you can try putting the treat on the ground and caging it with your fingers. It's a little harder because not only can he smell the treat, but he can see it, but eventually he will back off and then you can let him have it. Another method learned recently is by putting the treat in your flat palm and lowering it to the ground. If he goes after the treat, lift your hand. I know it'll seem like you're teasing him, but he is learning PATIENCE. Eventually he will stop going after your hand and that's when he gets the treat. A little more difficult, but it mentally exhausts them which is exactly what a puppy needs. 

- LEAVE IT -
This is one of the most important commands as it is probably one you will use a lot. Jumping up on the counter, going after something he shouldn't, trying to eat rocks or other items. "Leave it" is a good command to tell him not only to back off, but that he CANNOT have what he wants. Use something desirable, like a big cookie, but not something you will ever give him. Keep a training treat in your left hand while holding the no-touchy-item in the other. Tell him to "leave it" and do the same as with "wait". Keep holding on to that treat and DO NOT let him get to it... eventually he will back off, but instead of giving him the cookie, give him the training treat. Try caging the cookie with your fingers on the floor and once again, don't let him get it. Say "leave it" and once he backs off, give him the training treat. A slightly more difficult one is putting it under your shoe, make sure he doesn't get it and again when he backs off, give him a training treat. 

- STAY - 
We just started learning this one, but I'm excited for the results it'll produce. This training command is going to eventually teach Echo that when I leave, it's ok. Right now, he goes nuts and cries when I leave a room because he thinks I'm abandoning him. With "stay", it'll help him realize that I may be leaving... but I'm coming back eventually. Start by making your pup "sit" and then use your hand and make a stop motion in front of him and say "stay". Look around, but not at him, and count to 10. If he doesn't move, then toss a training treat by him and say "free". You can choose your own release word, I just chose something that was easy to remember. After he's stayed sitting without pouncing on your for the treat, up your wait time a little bit at a time until he sits still for as far as you can push him. Once you're confident he will stay put, try doing the same "stay" with the hand motion and turn your back on him. If he doesn't move, toss a treat and tell him "free". Once you are confident in this one... use the same motion with your hand and tell him to stay and then try walking a few steps away from him. If he doesn't follow you, he gets a treat! Keep practicing this one until he will sit still for one solid minute. Our trainer says that one minute is the threshold for a pup to start realizing that if he just sits still, he gets food. What's better than food without having to do anything?

- LOOSE LEASH WALKING - 
We are just starting to work on this one, so I'll have more to update on this one later!

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Our First Emergency

As a pet owner, no one ever wants to think about having to take your pet to an animal hospital for any kind of emergency. It's nerve wracking and unbelievably stressful. 

Earlier this year, we lost our beloved senior husky, Koda. Although I was thankful for everything our veterinary did for us, it scarred me. So when Echo got sick, I panicked. I knew something was wrong, but my mommy brain was in full blown panic mode and I took him to the ER. He had been having some serious diarrhea and I know that puppies usually have soft stool in general, but this was bad. It had been a few days too and when I one day decided to look at his stool, I noticed little white specks. Of course, my mommy brain once again kicked in and I immediately Googled it. Prepare to be seriously grossed out if you choose to Google something that has to do with your pups poop.

The end decision was to take Echo to the animal hospital (his actual vet too) and when I parked in the same spot that I parked in the day we took Koda to the ER before losing him... I broke. It sounds pathetic, but I wasn't in my right mind. I was already emotional from panicking about Echo, but to also bring back those heartbreaking memories just heightened my stress. Thankfully my mom and best friend calmed me down and reminded me that this was no where near the same situation and it was ok to feel heartbroken, but I needed to focus on Echo and his wellbeing. 

The first thing they wanted to do was test Echo for Parvo because of the diarrhea and thankfully it had come back negative. He had also come back negative for any type of parasite and by the time the vet told me this, I had started feeling silly. And then the moment came when he returned with his X-ray and asked if Echo had swallowed any bones. Uh, what? No... why would he swallow a bone?! First, we dont' ever give him bones, so that would be weird. I asked if it was rocks because unfortunately Echo is a rock eater, but he said no. Then I remembered that for the first time we were trying a bully stick to ease his teething. When he got down to the last couple of inches... he apparently had swallowed the dang thing WHOLE. So it was blocking his colon and causing the diarrhea 😲 

The vet didn't want to give him an anti-diarrhea because he wanted Echo to naturally pass the chunk of bully stick. Needless to say... it was a rough few days while that happened and in the end, I probably didn't need to take him to the ER. (thank god for pet insurance) The scarring from losing Koda and my mommy panicked Googling brain drove me to spend a little more money than we actually wanted to. 

So I tell you this... if you think your pup is sick... step back, take a deep breath, Google if you need to, but CALL YOUR VET. Tell them the whole story, every detail you can think of, they will be honest (hopefully) and tell you whether or not you should wait it out or bring them in immediately. Trust the professionals, people!

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Puppy Proofing Your Home

Step back and think about it... are you SURE you're 150% ready for your puppy to come home? You may have gotten everything off the puppy checklist, but have you fully puppy proofed everything? If you're not sure... here's my experience so far since bringing Echo home and some things we forgot and had to act quickly to fix it. 

1) Baby Gates

I cannot stress enough that if you want to keep your pup either safe or out of specific rooms or from climbing or falling down stairs... get baby gates! And I'm not talking about the cheap fake wooden ones. I'm talking about the metal, tall ones that have a door. Your puppy WILL grow, so why not spend the money upfront, one time, instead of having to get a bigger gate later on. If you have a cat or other small animal that you want to let through, get the gate with the small opening at the bottom. We found that Echo could slip through the small hole until he got bigger, but for the most part we have always had two main gates. One at the bottom of our stairs and one blocking off a bonus room that we didn't want him in. Another thing to consider are the moveable cheaper gates for interim blocking... like from the kitchen. Echo had decided to make the kitchen his poo place for the first week, so in order to try and break that habit, we got a smaller plastic gate that we just put up whenever he was outside of his playpen. 

2) Play Pens

These are optional, but I highly recommend having two pens at minimum... one in a common space (like the living room) where you can seclude your pup if needed, but keep the pen open where his bed will be so that he realizes that when that pen goes away... this is still his spot. We custom made our living room pen, mainly because I wanted it to be super big and fit in a specific shape based on our living room furniture. We made sure that there was enough space for him to still play, a bucket of his toys and his feeding station and food bin. This became his "home" essentially... in our home. Since I work from home, I also needed a space for him to stay while I concentrated on work. While I'm working, we actually have the TV on to DogTV so he can stay distracted. We do have a baby cam mounted on the wall above the pen as well so that while I'm upstairs in my office I can spy on him and make sure he isn't trying to escape or needs to go potty. I know that not everyone can have this ideal setup and that's totally fine! It is all based on your own preference and just what has worked for us.

The other pen that I could not have lived without is our outdoor pen. We have a fairly big yard and keep in mind that puppies in the beginning will wake up several times throughout the night to go potty. The last thing we wanted to do was have to keep him on a leash at one in the morning and stomp around in the wet grass with him. We also didn't want him to have full access to the main yard yet, not only for his safety, but also not wanting to chase him around in the middle of the night. We got two of these Heavy Duty Pet Playpens and connected them together to give our pup tons of space to still run and do his thing. We attached two ends to the stairs on our deck and viola! You have an outdoor play space for your pup. 

3) Wall Outlets

This should be a no brainer... if you have exposed power outlets that don't have things plugged into them, get a pack of outlet plug covers. 

4) Power Cords

There are way too many ways to secure power cords, but I can tell you what we had to do. There is a section next to our couch that was exposed and also where the cat scratcher was. All of the power cords running to devices like phones, laptops, etc, were completely exposed and the easiest way for us to secure the area (and give our cat a space to escape to) was to cut that corner of the room off with a baby gate. The other piece of advice I have is to wrap any cords in tubing or cord protectors. When I puppy proofed my office, I had a serious mess of cables to clean up under my work station. I bought some Protector Wire Tubing and bundled up any cables that could be or wrapped them in this wire mesh to keep them from enticing the pup. And if he is still a chewer, the wire will stop him from hurting himself. 

5) Anything Reachable

This is another no brainer. Your pup will go after anything on the floor... so either put it up or put it away! Within a couple of weeks, our pup grew out of wanting to play with our shoes, so we were thankful for that because now we don't have to keep them in a closet. As your pup gets bigger though... he will put his paws up on tables, counters, couches, etc... so if there is something that could potentially be dangerous to his stomach... keep it away from the edges. Puppies will eat ANYTHING that is in their path and unfortunately, your pup may develop PICA like ours did and it doesn't matter what it is, he will eat it. It's best to just try and keep everything out of reach. 

6) Small Spaces

Our pup continues to go into small spaces. Depending on if you care or not, this could be a good or bad thing. We have a side table next to a bigger arm chair and behind that table is a space that our pup claimed as his "cave". We were ok with this because there was nothing he could hurt himself on back there, however when he started trying to go under the TV stand or under our dining room table base, it could potentially get dangerous. For a bit, I just kept telling myself that he will get bigger and eventually not fit under there. Our dining room table has a square base that sits about 6 inches off the floor and to this day he will still try to sploot himself under there. Now that he is bigger, he keeps getting stuck and we end up having to lift the table. For the TV stand, we ended up blocking the base with a cardboard box because it was just too dangerous for him to slip under there. Within a couple of weeks, we were able to remove the box and the excitement that he had earlier was no longer there. He didn't care about getting under there, which was good, and now he's too big. You may need to get creative in blocking off small spaces, just make sure it's safe for him, which is why we used cardboard.

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

A Pup and his Cat

We all know that dogs and cats don't "naturally" get along. Well, what do you do when you have a cat that grew up with a dog and doesn't know how to protect himself against a little pup because he's used to cuddling with his last pup friend? 

Beau, our large, very fluffy cat, has been in our lives since he was a kitten. Recently turning 8 years old, the big fluff ball just doesn't know what it's like to have a chaotic environment. Our last husky, Koda, would cuddle and sleep with Beau daily and even when he became a senior dog, he still tolerated Beau enough that Beau never really had to learn how to protect himself. 

Echo being only 10 weeks old, doesn't know any better, but that doesn't mean we can continue letting him jump on Beau because the bigger he gets, the more concern we have of him accidentally killing the cat. We've tried to make sure Echo knows that Beau is not a toy and one day I'm hoping that Beau gives Echo a good slap just to warn him off, but I don't see that in the nearby future. 

Trainers will tell you that you don't necessarily want the pup to fear or think he can't have the cat, because technically in the future they can be cuddle buddies and we for sure want that! But instead, we just need to tell him that he can't have the cat YET. That comes in the form of a training command called "wait". (see my article for other training commands we've learned)

The "wait" command is pretty awesome. Definitely make sure that you have training treats and I recommend you find some that are gentle on your pups digestive system because you use A LOT of treats for training in the beginning. Put a treat in your hand and close your hand into a fist. Put your hand down at pup level and say "(name) wait". He will sniff your hand like a crazy pup for a little bit, eventually realizing that he can't get to the treat. He will tire or become frustrated and back off. Only when he backs off and/or sits and waits patiently should you give him the treat. Let me tell you... we only did this for a day before Echo caught on. He's so smart and easily understands the term. Since we started using the "wait" command, he backs off the cat quickly (with a couple mistake pounces here and there because no one is perfect) and comes right to us for his treat. The command also works for making him back off other things as well. But one thing I will tell you is in the beginning... if he's full speed ahead and charging at something he has in his sights and you yell wait? He will NOT wait lol. With puppies, if they're already dead set on that one thing that they want, no training command will break through that little head of theirs. When they get older, it should get better, hopefully...

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Do You Need Pet Insurance?

This one was a tough one because one, I didn't even know something like this existed when we had Koda... but I will tell you from experience that if I added up all of the emergency/accidental type situations that happened throughout the 12 years that we had Koda, the insurance for sure would have helped with a lot of the cost. 

For most plans, you want to make sure that you make your decision based on the type of coverage you want. Do you only want coverage for emergencies? Or do you want insurance that also covers preventative. Think of it like you would your own health insurance. Personally, I don't feel that preventative is something I want to have insurance cover and here's why before everyone gets upset... 

1) If you can't afford the preventative care (semi-annual exams, annual shots, regular testing, etc) then you should step back and think about whether or not you should be investing yourself in an animal. They are just like humans... they need health care just like we all do. 

2) Most pet insurance plans that cover preventative care will only cover certain things and most of them time if you want/need a certain vaccine, it may not be something that's covered under your plan. Therefore, in my own opinion, wellness packages from pet insurance are not worth the monthly cost. 

With that said... emergency and/or accidental coverage IS A MUST. Depending on who you go with, your plan could be anywhere from $40-$70 per month. That's not much when you consider the cost of an emergency. When Koda got sick and we had to take him to the animal hospital for treatment, after him staying overnight for two nights and the extensity of his illness, we ended up having to pay roughly $4000. And in the end... we still lost him 😥

If we would have had the type of plan that we have for Echo now, we most likely would have saved 90% of the charge (not including exam fees as most insurance plans don't cover exams). Although our hearts were broken and we would have paid anything to make sure Koda got the best treatment he could before we lost him... it would have been less pressure for us to not have to shell out $4000. 

So, do I think pet insurance plans are worth it? YES, YES I DO! Find the best one that suits your needs, choose the deductible you KNOW you can afford. Also keep in mind that most insurance plans require a 30 day no claim period. Thankfully, we got an offer from our vet to go to Trupanion and they offered to waive the no claim period. Because of that... when Echo got sick and I overreacted and took him to the ER, we weren't stuck with a $500 bill. 

Treat your pet just like you would your child... 

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Bringing Echo Home

Today is the day that Echo came home with us! We were absolutely excited and felt that we were 100% ready for him (check out my puppy prep list). Of course, you're never truly ready to bring home a new family member. You may THINK you are and you may double and triple check your lists to make sure that you are... but you won't be and there's NOTHING wrong with that. 

After some thorough research, we adopted Echo from Skyler's Siberian's and if you're in the Washington area, or even in a nearby state, Adrianna is DEFINITELY one of the best breeders. Her dogs are beautiful! She worked closely with us, gave us the best advice as we waited for our new puppy to come home. She was so patient and understanding with all of our questions and we highly recommend her. 

At first, when we showed up to get Echo, he was super timid and shy, but it was understandable because he was probably confused about who we were and of course keep in mind that we're taking him away from his mama and littermates. The drive home was an hour or so and he only whined once before passing out and sleeping the rest of the way. The breeder had rubbed a soft blanket on the mama to get her scent, so he slept with the blanket and I think it made a huge difference. 

When we arrived home, we immediately took the travel crate (with Echo inside it, of course) and went to the backyard. We have a cat, Beau, so we wanted to make sure Echo got used to our scent and the backyard before he was introduced to our other furbaby. We slowly opened the crate and didn't touch him, just let him come out of the crate on his own. We didn't want to force him to do anything because we knew he was most likely scared. We have a fairly big yard (which is a MUST for huskies), so we kept him close to us with a couple of toys and made sure that he didn't run off without one of us. For the most part, he stayed close to us, sniffing everything. Eventually we let our neighbor and their kiddos come say hi to him. We needed him to realize that there are other scents surrounding his yard and not to be afraid of them. 

After playing in the backyard, we brought him inside where he could meet Beau. Let me just say... it was hilarious. Beau is a BIG cat (Siberian Cat) and had at least 10 lbs on Echo. At first, we let Echo explore his playpen in the living room where his water was and didn't realize that Beau was sneaking up behind him. I didn't think anything of it, just figured they would touch noses, but since Beau was so much bigger than Echo, he scared the crap out of the poor pup who ended up running away and soaking himself in his water bowl. I felt like a horrible person, but eventually Echo warmed up to Beau and started to see him as a playmate. 

Thankfully we already puppy proofed the whole house, but we underestimated how small he was and that he could squeeze himself into any place. We ended up having to add two more baby gates, one in the living room to guard the cat area and one in the kitchen. The more we tried to redirect him, the more he wanted what we were trying to keep him away from. Huskies are STUBBORN. They think you're playing when you may not be, but they especially don't like the word "no". They see it as a challenge and will keep going after it. Just make sure that everything is tucked away and your puppy proofing is solid. You may have to build a very ridiculous looking barricade until he gets bigger and that's ok! As much as it hurts my OCD brain to see that strange cardboard box blocking underneath the TV stand... it's needed until he gets bigger. 

Echo slept pretty hard because he was pretty stressed and we played with him a lot... but not hard enough to sleep through the night. It's totally expected though and if you don't expect to lose several hours of sleep that first week... you're crazy. We put his scented blanket in the crate that was located right next to our bed. They say that if you're crate training you need to put the crate near where you sleep at night to help with getting up to let them out, etc. At first he didn't want anything to do with the crate, but eventually after talking to him softly and making the "shhhhh" sound, he started to calm down. He woke us up every 2 hours because of course, he needed to potty, which is expected. It was rough trying to get him to go back to sleep, so we stayed up each time for a half hour or so and played with him until he got tired again. Little did we know, he didn't actually need play time. He just needed to go back into his crate and maybe whine a little and then he would just fall back asleep. 

That night we only got about 4 hours total of sleep... be prepared, pet parents.

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Puppy Prep List

Getting a new puppy? Congratulations! Are you overwhelmed and don't know where to start when it comes to prepping for your new furbaby? Well, I'm here to help. 

"Needs" will be items that you most certainly need to have before bringing home your new pup. "Wants" are items that would be nice and convenient to have, but you can live without them. "Wish List" are items that you could do without if you're on a budget or just don't feel like spending the money. 

Also... ask yourself, have you puppy proofed your home yet? They're just like babies... they get into EVERYTHING.

Needs
- Collar
- Harness
- 6ft Leash
- Dog Poop Bags
- Puppy Food
- Water and Food Bowls (I recommend an adjustable height feeding station where you can raise it up as he/she grows bigger)
- Pet Food Mat (to protect your floors) 
- Food Scoop
- Crate (for crate training and big enough for he/she to grow into)
- Dog Bed (keep in mind they will most likely chew through multiple beds)
- Toys (durable and suggest puppy toy packs)
- Chew Bones
- Pet Grooming Wipes (puppies are messy!)
- Dental Care Kit
- Dog Shampoo
- Stain and Odor Remover (trust me, you need it)
- Pet Nail Clippers
- Pooper Scooper (you may not think you need it, but trust me, you do)

Wants
- Travel Water/Food Bowls
- Travel Crate
- Travel Pet Food Mat
- Travel Water Bottle
- Travel Food Bag
- Baby/Pet Gate(s)
- Indoor Play Pen
- Training Clicker (if you are choosing to train them)
- Training Lead (30 ft long)
- Training Treats
- Training Treat Pouch
- Microfiber Dog Bath Towel (or just use any old towel)
- Retractable Leash
- Brain Toy Games
- Blanket
- Bully Sticks
- Treat Jar (keep them treats fresh!)
- Bitter Spray (for chewing issues you want to correct)

Wish List
- Outdoor Play Pen
- Diaper Bag (for travelling, it makes a huge difference!)
- Puppy Training Pads (we never used them, but they're good to have on hand)
- Crate Cover
- Baby Sound Machine (trust me... it's worth it, but not needed)
- Baby Monitor System (for if you need to keep your eye on them)

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.