Ruby's Routine

 I remember when we got my childhood golden retriever, in 1993, that in those days there were no specialty equipment, enrichment toys, harness for walking, let alone a routine and schedule for the dog. The dog ate leftovers pretty frequently, had a choke collar for pulling and ate dozens of apples in the orchard near our house. I vaguely recall his first few days at home. He was teeny tiny, a little larger than a coffee cup at 6 weeks old and cried every night. Once he got big enough to not fit through the slats of the fence in the backyard, that became his home, except on cold nights he'd sleep in the garage. He wasn't socialized, desensitized or anything. I guess I didn't realize how much has changed in dog ownership in 30 years. When I got Ruby, I was informed by many people that she'd need a scheduled routine. Huh? I barely have a routine! Well come to find out that it actually helps the puppy train into a calmer good dog if they know what to expect during their day. And puppies are baby dogs and need naps! I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I found out as I needed to know things. 

Week one with Ruby was the hardest. She was away from her sisters and mom and I had a scared, scrawny and tiny puppy who bit every time I reached for her. I decided to enroll her immediately in the puppy training classes that were offered through Baxter & Bella and start her on a routine. I was told that I needed to be consistent or the puppy would be extra grouchy. Who needs a teething grouchy puppy who potties at the drop of a hat? I was terrified to mess her up so created her schedule. The first few months, Ruby:

Woke up at 6 AM and went potty, trained a little, had breakfast and her vitamin, potty again, play, potty 

Napped from 8-10 while I went for a walk and got ready for the day

Woke up around 10 and went potty, trained with me, played and bit me as many times as she could, went potty and I usually needed a break at 11 so I would crate her for a bit to get coffee and catch my breath. 

Around 11 I would vacuum the entrance we use to go outside, swiffer and get dinner cooking. Ruby didn't mind the vacuum at all since her breeder got her used to the sound. Around 11 she'd get lunch and play a little before potty 

Napped from 12-2 while I wondered how long this would go on and I'd try to catch up on laundry and emails and get some work done. By the time I started focusing I'd hear her wakening up and I'd rush to take her potty. 

From 2-4 she'd practice her lessons for a few minutes, chase a ball or toy duck, eat far too much grass and deer poop and bite me. 

At 4 she'd go down for her last nap till 6. During that time I'd try to eat some dinner and if I looked in the mirror it looked like I survived camping in the jungles and fighting with dragons. I felt satisfied if I had no new tears in my clothes.

At 6 Ruby would wake up ready to wage war. She'd go potty, attack the grass and her leash, then pounce on the cats, try to chew the couch only to discover counter intelligence knew and sprayed it with bitter apple spray, bite me, do backflips, attempt to practice being a good girl, go potty 3 more times and finally go nuts around 7:30 wiggling upside down with legs in the air. 

My hands have never been rougher...

7:30 We'd toss kibble in her crate and say "Good girl RUBY!" while feeling like we'd survived a small shark attack. She'd thrash around growling and barking for the longest 10 minutes while we told each other "Ignore her or you'll train her she gets rewarded for barking" and within 10 minutes her internal light switch would go off. We'd breath a sigh of relief till we heard a yelp, turn and discover one of the cats tip toed to waken her and prance away.

I might add that I would get personally offended if anyone in the house made inconsiderate loud noise to wake Ruby up from her naps. She'd wake up like a piranha and I got chewed up like corn on the cob. "She was napping." I'd huff.

She's nearly 5 months old now and still takes 2-3 naps per day. I usually know she needs one when she starts biting and wiggling upside down. I have to say, having an infant puppy is really tough. They eat everything in site and bite constantly and need to go potty every 30 minutes. Ruby now still eats lots of stuff she shouldn't but she's more aware of my words, she has some basic training down and I have a better idea of what she is up to. She still goes to bed at 7:30 and still goes nuts at "witching hour" in the evening. Now I am trying a toy called a topple that you fill with food and goodies and freeze and let her sniff and slowly eat. I just got it last week after one too many nights I was chewed and not released from her jaws. We'll see how the new topple works. In the olden days, my dad would have simply tossed the dog into the fenced in yard and told us to let him be a dog and stay far till he calmed down.