Who's Training Whom?

So we've had this little terror, Raven Sky Bleu, for almost two months now and are in the throes of training her to be a civilized member of our family. If you think getting a dog to pee and poop outside is the hardest and only behavior you need to perfect, you'd better NEVER decide to bring a puppy home. Raven was house-broken in less than a week. Seriously, she had one major poop in her cage and a pee on the kitchen floor....she now goes to the door signaling me that she needs to go out and has been doing her 'business' in the yard ever since.

It's the jumping up on you, scratching your arms, legs, and any other part of your body exposed, nipping your fingers and toes, putting holes in every piece of clothing you're wearing at any given time, gnawing on furniture you prize, running off your property to meet-and-greet every person or animal who happens to be walking by before you can hook her up!

I purchased two cords, a sixty footer and a twenty-fiver...hooked them together so that Raven could pretty much have the run of the backyard and still be able to join us on the patio. Two problems arose immediately...#1 no matter what, our sweet girl got wrapped around a tree, bush, chair, stump, rock, etc. and ended up crying to be released, and #2 I had to be out there the entire time to unwrap her!

After talking to a few folks about how they confined their puppies, I was convinced an electric fence was the answer...actually ordering one from Walmart. However by the time it reached the store, I had decided to return it and stick with the 85 ft cord until next spring. Dumb decision! Back to the same old, same old...wrapping, stuck, unwrapping, wrapping, stuck, crying, unwrapping, etc.!

Upon searching online for some 'miracle' device, I found this little gadget that sends out a high-pitched sound undetectable by humans, but highly annoying to dogs. No lie, within two days Raven knew her outside boundaries and adheres to them about 99% of the time. Only when my one neighbor came out whom she adores did Raven cross the line...ONCE! Now much to Raven's delight, the neighbor comes across the road to visit.

Although we're still working on some of the bad behaviors mentioned above, for the most part all I need to do is show Raven the device and she immediately ceases and desists doing whatever it is she shouldn't be doing.

I spend a lot of time training my little buddy to fetch, sit, stay, come, and a number of other appropriate actions. She's very smart and picks up these commands in a very short time.

I was patting myself on the shoulder for doing such an amazing job when something hit me...who's training whom?

Raven has taught me to get up off my butt when she stands at the door, Raven has taught me to unwrap her when she gets caught by whining and crying, Raven has taught me I needed to find an effective method of keeping her within outside boundaries, Raven has taught me how to use the device sparingly to nip her other unacceptable behaviors in the bud as well.

What I didn't realize until yesterday was that Raven has taught me that being outside playing with her for hours is so much more fun than watching the boob tube or punching computer keys! Getting exercise and fresh air is healthier too!

Now I truly believe both Raven and I have trained each other and will continue to do so for years to come!

LOOK MOM, NO MORE CORDS!