The Terrible Twos

It's our second week with Pebbles and she's starting what we're calling her "Terrible Twos". Of course, she's still an amazing dog and we love having her around, but she hasn't exactly been the easiest puppy to deal with the past few days. She's starting to get very comfortable in her new home, which is great, but there's a fine line between comfortable and too comfortable. Pebs is starting to test our authority, to see exactly what she can get away with and what she can't. Whether it's blatant disregard to our commands, jumping up on the couch, grabbing things from our laundry basket, or chewing up our living room rug, she's done it all.

We've had a couple of different methods to combat her behavior. We use lots of positive reinforcement (treats) for when she's giving us the desired behavior. We also really try to get her out and about as much as possible to use up that excess puppy energy. So far, she still has plenty of energy to spare. Ultimately, we really think that the only way to get rid of her bad behavior is to remain consistent at all times, rewarding her for good things and immediately addressing the bad. We're not worried at all about any permanent issues, but we'll definitely have some trying days ahead of us.

With all that said, there have been plenty of positive things that have happened with Pebbles over the past few days as well! She's continuing to make more and more friends with Wooster students. She's also been much better at staying calm when meeting new people, especially boys, who she had difficulty with earlier last week. Also, we're all so excited for our informational meeting all about Pebbles and the 4 Paws For Ability program! It's Monday, November 19 in Lowry 119 from 7-8pm. If you want to stop by to learn more about her program and what we do, to see about getting involved in the 4 Paws program on campus, or you just want to play around with Pebbles, we'd love to see you there!

Pebbles also learned a new trick this week! Here is a video of her showing off.

-TCHRM