Monday, November 24, 2008

Indroducing......Chloe!

I have no idea what spirit moved me this past Friday but I'm glad that it did! Ladies, I'd like for you to meet the newest addition to the Winters clan.....Chloe Noel Winters. She's 8 weeks old and full of energy (for about 15 minutes then she crashes out for an hour...rinse and repeat)

I am SO not a dog person, hence why I have no clue what came over me. Scott (DH) has been wanting a dog and we always get into a tiff over it. Well I can officially say that I AM now a dog person, I didn't even break a sweat when she piddled on our carpet (the brand new carpet). Oh would you like to see how she sleeps??
If I could have taken a picture of her snuggled up with me, I would have....but that's just NOT a good thing for you to see in the mornings. ;) So no stamping, no running errands, just lots of playing, running around, peeing and pooping for me this weekend. YAY! I have no idea how I'm going to get through an entire workday without my little girl....*sigh* Believe me when I say she is just THE most adorable little puppy on the planet!!!
Oh and any puppy training words of wisdom are more than welcome here.... ;)

16 comments:

Unknown said...

OMGoodness Jillian she is just the most adorable thing - love that snuggle pic!!! You will have such a great time - I would never be without a dog!!! Crate training is usually the best but just depends on the dog, be consistent and if you can (if you have a fenced yard) dog doors are the BEST!! Put up lots of pics and have fun!! :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with Julie - cute picture by the way!. The crate training approach from the beginning is the best. It will become over time the puppy's "spot" - we have a boxer and he slept in that crate every night and during the day when things were overwhelming - that was his safe spot. Plus I would leave the door open during the day and he would go in there for a nap.

i {heart} papers said...

CONSISTENCY! That and immediacy. If you don't catch her in the act of doing something wrong, scolding her for it later won't do any good. If you catch her piddling, then reprimand her but if you come home to it and it was done, even a few minutes ago, she won't get why she's being scolded.

She is adorable!

Jessica Diedrich said...

OMG when you sent me that text over the weekend I about fell off my chair but now seeing these pics Im falling off again! I LOVE her!!!

Definitely consistency, babes! There are tons of training methods and I'm sure they all have pros/cons but I'd def. stick to one and run w/ it. Our dog was housebroken when we got him but obv. w/ 4 kids that was kind of a prereq...ya know? Altho the little turdball peed on my floor this morning! He must have known he has a new cousin LOL!

Congrats and I'll email ya in a bit :) Love ya! SOOOO cute!

Lisa said...

I crate trained and had Spike potty trained in about 3 weeks.....also know that how many months they are is about how long they can hold it (they can a little longer but this is an easier rul of thumb when potty training.) if you crate train durring the night and then crate her durring the day she will learn to hold it cause she will not mess her bed....of course take her out and make sure she goes before putting her in....if you are going to be gone longer than 4 hours then put her in an area where she has a puppy pad and her bed so she knows the difference..... you will feel guilty when she starts to cry in there but she will get over it quick! Be strong and don't feel guilty :)

She is super cute and Now I am trying to work on Nick for another one :)

Lisa said...

Congratulations! Here are my words of wisdom, gleaned from paying $1500 for someone to train my golden retriever: When you give Chloe a command, you give it ONCE. If she doesn't obey, you then say NO until she does. If you tell her to sit/stay/down 15 times, she will never do it the first time. Ever. She won't know what you're asking of her. Command ONCE, then NO until it's done. Labradors are SMART. That means they're harder to train. They'll manipulate you. Really, we humans need the training, not the dogs.

Enjoy. You're going to wonder what took you so long to say YES to your husband's dog requests. :O)

Jana Weaver said...

she's adorable!!! Have fun with her...and the training will come. We'd be lost without our Maisy... they wiggle their way into our hearts so quickly!

Jodi Collins said...

AAAAAAHHHHHH!! Oh Jillian! She is just ADORABLE! What a snugglie little cutie!! I have a black lab too...he is 130 lbs...just to warn ya! Congrats girl!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Jillian, Just had to quickly welcome Chloe to your family. She is absolutely darling. I have a Chloe, too. She is a black and white cocker. Love her! Enjoy the puppy days. :)

Chrisd said...

What a cutie. Welcome to your "new" family member.

Diane said...

Oh Jillian,she's so sweet!!! I'm sure you'll have tons of fun with her,she will keep you on your toes!
I love her name!!!!

Anonymous said...

She is adorable!

One word of advice, where she sleeps now is where she'll want to sleep when she grows up. Our 55 lb lab still wants to curl up between our heads and it makes for a crowded bed.

Anonymous said...

OMG Jilliana she's adorable! We got our kids a poodle puppy last Christmas and her name is Chloe Noelle! Too funny! May she turn you into a dog person with all her wet kisses! Crate training really worked - just be sure to keep the adjustable portion moved forward so she doesn't have too much room - then she shouldn't have accidents. They usually won't "go" where they sleep but that may take a few weeks. Just give her lots of love and enjoy her!

WhimsicalThoughts said...

OMG Jillian she is the cutest thing ver! Congrats on your newest addition! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Debra said...

Wow, congratulations on your new puppy! Life will be interesting for sure with her in your lives. She's going to be a big dog! Such a cute puppy tho!

Laurie in MN said...

Your little Chloe is adorable.

These are ways I trained my dog.

Crate the dog and let the children know they are not allowed to grab for the dog when she is in the crate; it is her safe haven.

I never pet our dog when entering the house. She has learned never to push and shove her way through people for attention and doesn't get underfoot. Very importnant when you have older guests or little children whose balance might mot be very good. And children don't get frightened when the dog stays back from the childs face.
After coats are hung and we have greeted our guests, we introduce the dog and she gets plenty of petting and attention.

I also never allow the dog to enter or exit a door in front of me or anyone else. The alpha always leads the way and our dog knows that people are the alphas. He rarely pushes anyone out of the way to exit first. When he does, I call him into the house and make him sit until everyone else has exited.

We also used the phrase, Do your duty, when we let the dog outside to pee, before our bedtime. He learned it isn't time to play outside which is especially nice in winter.

And the phrase works when we want to take him for a walk. He will pee before we start our walk. :O)

I don't allow the dog to come into the kitchen because I am afraid of carrying a platter or pot and tripping over the dog.

We only give eggs to our dog, no other table scraps. He sits under the table and never begs for food. My daughter can leave a bowl of snacks on the floor without the dog sniffing the bowl. My DH eats ice cream every night and sets the empty bowl on the floor, next to his chair until he goes into the kitchen, the dog never licks the bowl.

Every night, after letting our dog outside, we hide his favorite treat and when he comes inside, he runs through the house, sniffing until he finds the treat. He loves the game.

Our neighbor hung bells by the sliding glass doors so the dog would only have to ring the bells to be let outside. I think that is a cute idea.
I don't know if any of the suggestions are anything you would be interested in trying. Everyone has their own way to train and own ideas of what is acceptable behavior for their dog.

Good luck. My lab's puppy energy lasted seven years.