The Puppy Wizard

"Nessa" <usenet@nessa.info> wrote in message
news:01HW.BB79FC140003A87B094E3A80@NEWS.MD.COMCAST .GIGANEWS.COM...
> On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:19:56 -0400, Karen M. wrote
> (in message <4bfcf85b.0308280819.6f98f5a9@posting.google.com>) :
>
> > Nessa wrote:

> we are trying all sorts of options. right now there is a
school/farm nearby
> that uses animals as part of their therapy the animals get lots
and lots of
> love and attention and training. I will be checkign with them
this week and
> I will still be able to go see the dogs.
>
> --
> Nessa
> http://www.nessa.info
>
> No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are
made. Destiny
> is made known silently. -- Agnes DeMille
>


"Michael Krantz" <mikek@ethos.net> wrote in message
news:bj11s3$e2tb5$1@ID-205052.news.uni-berlin.de...
> I mentioned some of this in the first discussion, and
> some in private email; but people are still responding
> to my initial message, and there's a lot of discussion
> to wade through. So here is the latest.
>
> I've been spending time with Koko, myself.
>
> I've been working lots of overtime, so I often come home late,
> and sleep in the guest bedroom so as not to interrupt my wife's
> sleep. That's the room where Teenager has moved Koko' cage, so
> I let her out and play with her a bit. So far, I can then go to
> sleep with Koko closed in the room out of the cage (sometimes
> on the bed).
>
> My wife and I also had some time together with Koko this
weekend.
> We kept Koko with us all day, mostly leashed to me or to living
> room furniture.
>
> I bought her a bunch of chew toys. She was pretty much out of
> tough or hard things to chew on. I'll try to stop by a butcher
> shop before she runs out again.
>
> I don't know why Teenager spells the name this way. AFAIK, Coco
> is apropos for a Choc Lab, but Koko doesn't mean anything.
>
> We all talked about Koko on Sunday morning. No more muzzle,
> except perhaps when toddlers visit. (Today, we had a three
> year old over for several hours and kept Koko around with no
> muzzle.) No more putting her outside when we are at home,
> except when we go outside, usually to put her on the dog run
> grass for a few minutes to take care of her business. No
> more letting her near the pool when she is outside. (We may
> let her in the pool when we go swimming, but we don't that
> much; if we do, we'll make sure she has plenty to drink
> before and available during.) Apparently, the cage stays
> in the guest bedroom; I'm not fighting that, right now. I
> haven't brought up training. I'll wait until the overtime
> stops, and then take her myself. They didn't agree about
> keeping water available all the time -- regulating it a bit
> makes it easier to know when she will need to urinate. When
> I spend time with her, I can keep water around and make sure
> I take her out often, as I did this weekend and at night last
> week. Their arguments about this and about leaving Koko
> outside during weekdays (see below) are sound, but I'm open
> to more comments about these issues.
>
> Koko appears to be house-trained, because we haven't had an
> incident since I started posting to this newsgroup.
>
> I leave at about 6:00 to 6:30 to drop Teenager at school on my
> way to work. My wife gets up and leaves between 7:00 and 8:00.
> She brings Teenager home at about 16:00. I can try to keep Koko
> in our master bathroom while I get ready and while my wife gets
> ready; but until she gets home, Koko stays outside. If we keep
> her inside, caged or otherwise, we will have a urine problem.
> If anyone sees a way around this, please advise.
>
> When we are away for shorter periods, we can keep Koko
> in the cage. We tend to stay at home when not at work.
>
> We have a "bridle" that includes a thin strap that fits around
> Koko's jaw just below her eyes, though not the length of the
> jaw, like a muzzle would. This gives us more control. They
> don't see a problem with it; it's not cruel like a muzzle.
> Any thoughts on this? I haven't seen them use it for a few
> days, but then I'm the one who's been spending time with Koko.
> I bought a harness, but I don't see a need for it, and they
> don't think it will help any like the bridle does. Who has
> seen or used such a device? Comments?
>
> Today, I watched for Teenager to bring Koko to her cage, when
> her high school friends came over. I told her no. Of course
> that didn't stop her, but I just took Koko's leash from her
> and kept the pup with me. At some point, probably in a few
> months, we will have an argument about Koko, and Teenager
> will have to deal with the fact that she has made the family
> pet my responsibility instead of her own.
>
> Summary:
>
> As I see it, the major issues at this point are (1) leaving
> Koko outside from 6:00 or 8:00 to 16:00 on weekdays, which
> ties in with whether working families should own dogs;
> (2) training classes; (3) general training and education;
> and perhaps the bridle and water regulation.
>
> Some people who have posted messages to this thread think it's
> OK for us to have Koko, as long as we make an effort to make
> the pup part of the family and spend most of our time at home
> with her. Others think if no one is at home during the day
> most of the time, then it's a tragedy in the making.
>
> Does anyone think this summary is inaccurate or incomplete?
>
> Thanks to everyone who contributed and/or contributes
> to this discussion. You're all a big help.
>
> --
> Best regards,
> Mike Krantz
> mikek@ethos.net
>
> PS -- Notes about Koko's entry into our family:
>
> I was out of town for a few weeks. Teenager was with her
> Grandmother for a few days. They saw a breeder from out
> of town selling pups at a roadside. Teenager called Mom;
> Mom argued a little but gave in and said yes. She was a
> month old and is now four (months). I didn't get to see
> her until she was two, but she welcomed me into my house as
> if I belonged there, so how could I do less for her? ;-)
>
>