Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Giving Up

No, I'm not giving up ... Vladdy is.  He was a wealth of whimpering and whining all day long yesterday whether he was in his kennel, free roaming, eating, drinking, playing, you name it.  He barks and whines out of frustration when he's not getting what he wants, like one of the other animals to play with him or me to let him chew on my toes.  I got so tired of telling him "no" yesterday that I finally decided to just let him realize on his own that whimpering and barking will not get him what he wants in this house so I took him outside and worked with him on the leash, making quick turns that forced him to pay attention to me and where I was going (without dragging him, of course) and then I put him to bed.

I put ear plugs in, closed the bedroom door, and let him go to town.  Snackers has his night jobs this week so he wasn't home and even though I could still hear him with the ear plugs in they made it much easier to ignore him.  He barked and whined for about 30 minutes before he finally gave up and went to sleep and after that I was able to go to sleep and slept BEAUTIFULLY!  I didn't even wake up when Snackers came home!

I also attribute my fantastic sleep to the fact that I locked both cats in the spare bathroom and locked Piper in her kennel as well so I had a pet-free evening and I feel awesome this morning.  It is really amazing how much of a difference a good night's sleep can make and how easy it is to forget what a great sleep feels like after awhile.  I woke up this morning before the alarm went off because I was ready to wake up, not because someone or something woke me up.  I was so comfortable that I even laid in the bed for a few minutes after I woke up and just enjoyed feeling good.  The best part is, I definitely think Vladdy learned something because he started to whine and bark when I locked him up with his breakfast this morning but it only took him about 10 minutes to give up and eat in silence.  If he doesn't learn that barking is not acceptable I am going to have to get a bark collar but that is something that I really don't want to do.  However, they have bark collars now that make a high-pitched noise that surprises the dog when it barks instead of shocking him so if I do get a bark collar for him, it will be one of those.

Today's Wight: 236.5 HOLY CRAP!



Food:
10 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving sunflower seeds
3/4 cup granola
>>1/4 cup skim milk
1 serving roasemary baked potato cubes
1 serving chili meat loaf
1 piece of baklava substitute
-----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 952



Activity:
8 flights of stairs
Walking/Training: Took Vladdy and Piper out for over an hour tonight.  I spent a lot of time going back and forth in the same areas throughout the walk to teach Vladdy to pay attention to me and to teach Piper that pulling on the leash does not benefit her.  Also bending over every time we stopped to get them to sit down ... I must have done that 30 times.  (2.5 miles as the crow flies but more with all the backtracking).

4 comments:

  1. Nothing wrong with giving a kid a bit of a smack on the bottom or hand when he's doing wrong. That's how you raise a child to be a respectable adult that understands their boundaries in life.

    A bark- or training-collar is no different so long as it's used judiciously.

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  2. You know . . . I've heard just enough pet stories that now I laugh when I hear people talking about how much easier it is to have pets than children.

    But on the other hand--I haven't reached the teenage years yet.

    Keep it up! You are obviously going good things for your body and your puppy.

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  3. Brandon: I agree and I'm not above a flick to the nose for bad behavior. Hell I can hold my finger like I'm going to flick Piper on the nose and she will squint her eyes and stop doing whatever naughty thing she's up to. But Vladdy is a bit ... thick. He's not picking up on things like Piper did. With Piper the ol' Dog Whisperer SHHT and snap worked instantly but Vladdy is completely immune to it. He reminds me of YOU actually. Remember when mom would get mad at you and you would just stand there and laugh at her? Is that a boy thing?

    Ki: My Top 10 for why Dogs are better than Kids.

    1) Terrible 2's only last 6 months for a dog
    2) After only 3-4 years they're like mature, responsible adults if you raise them well.
    3) You never have to worry about what's for dinner. Dog food, dog food, and more dog food for their entire life. Simple, easy, and you'll never hear "I don't want that!"
    4) You can lock them in a cage for a few hours when you need a break from them and no one will call CPS on you.
    5) You can put a bark collar on them and, again, no one will call CPS on you.
    6) They might know all of your dirty little secrets just like kids ... but at least they can't reveal them to the neighbors!
    7) You don't have to find a baby sitter if you want to go to dinner without them.
    8) Their toys average $3-$6 and they'll never ask you for an iPad or a cell phone.
    9) If you're cheap you could give them trash to play with and they wouldn't really know the difference.
    10) You can get them neutered/spayed when they're 6 months old ... and no one will call CPS!

    :) Of course these are all meant in good fun so I hope you got a few smiles out of them.

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  4. very cool blog and impressive progress pics...i will be adding fun to my blog as this weight comes off; please say hi sometime. here's to a great weekend!- sara

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