The Morning After.
Well, Bella made it through her first 24 hours after rescuing us.
So far, so good.
In many ways, she is the puppy version of a exactly what she was: a foster child.
She is nervous, wild, unsure, hyper, playful, fearful, curious, and testing us every chance she gets.
She loves her big crate, absolutely hated-and I mean we’re talking 4 paws spread out, you-ain’t-gettin’-me-back-in-there hated, the smaller crate.
When our 14 year old Aussie, Katy, walked up, she was calm and curious.
But when she saw another dog about 60 feet from me, on our walk, she almost took out my shoulder and barked like she was the same size as the 150 lb Rottweiler I saw at PetSmart today.
Our walks were long, my hands are raw from the leash.
After the first round, I quickly came in and Googled ‘puppy pulling my arms apart with leash’ or something like that, and read that when she pulls, I stop. We don’t walk if the collar is taut. ![IMG00508-20091121-1431[1]](http://www.showmethemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IMG00508-20091121-14311.jpg "IMG00508-20091121-1431[1]")
I put my hoodie back on (it rained all day,) grabbed the pooch, and we went out into the driveway to practice.
Man, I love Google. I thought it was fabulous I could find out the answers to Tyler’s Algebra problems.
This was way better. And far more important.
Within 10 minutes of us going up and down the driveway, she had gone from orthopedic damage type pulling on my arm, to maybe only tennis elbow type yanking. Progress!
The best part? The pink. 
Since we are the only two ladies in the house, I finally get to buy someone else PINK!
So far, Bella has a pink collar, pink ball, pink dog tag…I could keep going, give me a few days.
Tomorrow, we’re going for pedicures and an eyebrow wax.
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[New Post] The Morning After. – via @twitoaster http://www.showmethemom.com/2009/11/the-…
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She sounds gorgeous, and I am SO glad you did a quick google to find out how to deal with her pulling. It’s so important to train a dog the right way from the start, and many people automatically assume if they pull – YOU pull back. Which makes it a life long struggle with the dog learning a bad habit. And worse when it’s a dog who will be large and quite strong.
I am sure she’ll love being in your family, she looks adorable chasing that ball. I wish I had one!
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Girl! She is a pistol! Love the way her ears perk up. My toy poodle acts the same way around bigger dogs (which means most other dogs). Only some day Bella will be able to back up her chatter.
Another tip: find a different word for “treat.” I use Yahoo. I think it’s helpful to use different words for common things. Then in regular conversation you don’t have to worry about setting her off.
Also, I use “let’s go” when I mean she can come. It works on walks when we stop at corners. When I tell her “let’s go” she knows we can cross (we’re working on off-leash walking). It also works when I have the door open to go outside. Unless she hears “let’s go” she stays back from the door (even though she wants to dash outside).
Lots of patience now will equal a really terrific dog for years to come!
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