If you ask my humans what it’s like to look after a Lhasa Apso puppy in the first few weeks they’ll probably tell you that it’s hard work. They’ll say I was very naughty, messy and time consuming. But they’ll also tell you that the experience brought some very happy, comical and loving emotions to the house… what a boring life they must have had before I came along. As a puppy you quickly learn being really cute works very highly in your favour. This explains how I managed to spend my first few weeks at home chewing slippers, eating sticks, stealing socks and generally taking over the running of the household.
The kidnapping
I was born on Christmas Eve about 14 months ago and started life snuggled up with lots of other little Lhasa Also pups. All of sudden without knowing it, my life was about to change and I would have to say goodbye to my cosy pink blanket and my little pack. I was still very small, just 8 weeks old, when a lady came to the house and basically kidnapped me. I wasn’t the first one either! A few days before that two of my pack mates got kidnapped as well. This made me very sad.
My forever home
Maybe I exaggerated. Turned out I wasn’t kidnapped. I was being taken to my forever home! The lady kidnapper let me look around all the rooms and gave me lots of toys. For this I agreed to stop referring to her in future blogs as the kidnapper. I was also allowed to see the garden which was really big with little paths and lots of grass and bushes everywhere. There was even a big hole full of water and little creatures moving around inside. I needed to get to the bottom of that (although not literally). I was careful not to go too close. Straight away I knew that this accommodation would be a suitable arrangement. I’ll be honest, the decor wasn’t quite to my taste, but I thought I’ll work with what I’ve got. You can call me fussy but I would call it having a bit of class.
Getting to know the humans…
Inside the house there were three humans. But it’s ok! It turns out that lady was actually my new mum and there were two bigger humans (dad and an older brother). My dad was a complete pushover and would give me a treat every time I gave him the look. All dogs know about the look… My mum was a little more strict but I started to run rings round her as well. It was my brother who was the strict one because he did not respond to any of my little puppy tricks! He would only give me a treat if I did something for him. What a cheek! I grew to love my new house and my new family particularly after I had given them a little bit of training.
Jail time
There was a drawback in the early days which centred around bedtime. Those humans had the cheek to put me in a cage downstairs! Can you believe it? They call it cage training, I call it prison time. I wasn’t going to stand for this. I tried everything. Whining, barking and banging against the door but once they had gone to bed I didn’t see them again until the morning. I knew I had to do something about this. After all, I am a Lhasa Apso. I will tell you more about how dogs learn to outwit humans in my next blog. See you next week!
Cage ? I have 2 no cages ..
The RSPCA widely support the use of crates for providing safety, security and comfort. Dogs are naturally den dwelling animals so they enjoy being in enclosed spaces. It’s also really helpful to crate train a puppy because at some point it may be a requirement for them to be caged by a veterinary practice for recovery. If a puppy never experiences a crate in the first 16 weeks, it may be very stressful should they need to be caged at any point in the future. Poppy’s cage had a lovely mattress, lots of toys and the door was always left open so she could wander in and out. It’s more about letting your dog understand that the cage is their den and a space in the home just for them. As long as you don’t use it for punishment, the dog will always associate it as a positive place for them to be. As it happens though, Poppy no longer uses a crate for sleeping… far from it in fact!
Well said Pamela!