Pandemic Puppy Tales: A Puppy’s Path to Freedom
Getting Rid of the Puppy Playpen.
From the moment I brought home my 2 pound Boston Terrier, it was love! I envisioned lots of snuggles, chilling out and watching movies, and taking long walks around the neighborhood.
The reality is that none of that has actually taken place with my little ball of fur. For instance, he never sits still long enough to snuggle. He only has one gear and it is called “Play Mode.” All. The. Time. Plus, I’m not sure what you would call what we do “walking” around the neighborhood. More like my tiny little dog pulling me with every fiber of his being into the direction he wishes.
My puppy was the runt of the litter and what you might call a late bloomer. It took him many months to understand the most basic of commands. Even with repetitive training and redirecting. He pretended not to hear you. If he didn’t look at you, he assumed he didn’t have to do what you say. And he was in constant motion, so he was constantly up to no good!
We learned pretty quickly that allowing him free reign of our living space was a recipe for disaster. After many tears were shed, a friend suggested we set up a Puppy Playpen as a means to redirect his behavior and attempt to stay sane. To my surprise, it worked like a charm all in all stopping bad behavior in their tracks. He still had free reign, only now we were able to use the playpen for times when he was repeatedly biting, rowdy, and wouldn’t settle, while we were eating, and when he was overly anxious.
However, there was one large drawback. When people visited our house they immediately took in his sweet, innocent face and shamed me for managing my puppy with the large pen. Shaming aside, the pen kept the peace when things descended into chaos.
Eventually our continued training started to work resulting in less time in play pen jail! The transition was slow going until we were only using it when our puppy was acting like a cranky toddler ready for bedtime. This past week, we finally removed it altogether.
It took a while to work through bad habits. He still pretends he doesn’t hear us. Or refuses to look at me when I give a command. We are working on it! Only now it is with a freely roaming 11-month-old. God help us all.
