Lexi has really really been into animals for a long time. At our old house she would always ask if we could get a dog or cat. We always told her we just don't have room. We are not inside animal people, and we had a small back yard with two yappy dogs on both sides. We didn't want to add to the yappiness. So when we moved she didn't say anything for a few months and we didn't either. Then a lady offered us a free kitten. So we took it. Patch was its name Lexi just adored it. She would sit out there and play with it and pet it. In the fall it disappeared one day. We don't know what happened to it. I am hoping it found a warm home and not a spot on the highway. Lexi is convinced a lion ate it. haha.
So this spring we looked into getting a dog, or a puppy. We found a few on our local classifieds and went looking. The first one we looked at was a mix of a husky and lab. She was big and crazy. So after taking her on a walk.... or her taking us on a walk we decided that was not the dog for us and our kids. We found another one that was an Australian Shepard that was 5 months old and she seemed so calm for a puppy. She was cute and so we came home with a puppy and Lexi was in heaven. We didn't have anything ready for a dog. So we borrowed a kennel from family and she slept in our garage the first night. The kids loved it.
Someone told me that getting dog is like adding another child to the family and boy were they right. It was not easy but to see Lexi play and love this dog makes it worth it. I just have to remember that when I get frustrated. She will go out in the rain and play with her.
Its hard work to train a dog and it takes a lot of time. We are working on it but its much more than we expected. 1.5 months later we are ready for a dog. haha We got her kennel put up and got a fence put up so she can't run away. It took her a month to realize she could run away. Now we are set.
I began to read and watch a lot of training videos on you tube on how to train a dog. This is something new to me. I have trained a horse but never a dog. Its quite different, but similar at the same time.
I got these dog treats to help train her and I realized that they are pretty big for her since she is a smaller breed and still puppyish.
So I cut the pieces up into smaller pieces to be able to award her when she does something good. It works great. She loves these treats. They will last quite a long time too. The kids love to give her treats and make her sit. Her hardest thing is jumping. She has terrified our sons, yes both because she will jump up on them and even though she is small she is still big enough to knock them over. Lexi could care less and comes in covered in mud from her paws.
This has been hard to train her. I am working on it and she knows that she can't get a treat if she jumps. It will just take more time and being consistent. She is a pretty good dog though. Once she gets all of her excitement out she will just follow us around. When we are out working in the yard or field she chases butterflies around. When we have a fire out back she will come curl up on your feet. I like that part.
I really like the idea of having a dog and a good one. I just need to work hard and make her a good one. She is getting better at coming when called. I just have to be patient and remember it all takes time. Its all worth it when I see Lexi playing with her and laughing so hard.
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