We're Still Here!

I realize that I have been slacking lately on posting and reading other blogs. But I swear I have a good reason!

This has been a super busy few weeks for me and Macho. A few days after I posted my last update, my boyfriend Nick and I decided to go our separate ways. Unfortunately, that meant that Macho and I had to move, again! Macho was finally getting used to his new home when he had to go through moving all over again.

I was very worried about Macho and how he would react to moving after going through it only 2 months prior. But the number one thing that I was looking for in a new house was an enclosed back yard for Macho. I found a house not too far away that had that and a few other things I was looking for, so I decided to move there. To my surprise though, Macho has been doing really great. He has had a few accidents causing me to have to hide an ottoman from him to get him to stop peeing on it, but other than that he has been doing really well.

The backyard has been amazing for him. Not only is it bigger for him to run in, but it has a gate the entire way around so that I don't have to hold the leash while we are out there. I was still hooking the leash to his harness as there's a few spots in the fence where he could get under and I wanted to have a way to grab him really quickly if he went near that. But after a few weeks of him only paying attention to me and the cars driving by on the street, I realized that I have nothing to worry about. So earlier this week I took him out without the leash hooked to him, and he was like a free dog! He runs around, mostly in circles, and plays his little game with me. He gets so excited when I pull out the harness because he knows that he gets to go outside. This morning I took a video of him getting excited to go out, and then of him running around. It wouldn't let me save the entire video at once since it is big, so I separated it into two videos. My flip camera is boxed away somewhere, so when I find it I will make a better video and crop out Macho going to the bathroom and make the second one the right side up!

Macho's Training Update

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post about Macho's training! He is still doing very well and getting better each day.

I'm happy to report that Macho has only been showing small signs of dominance! There are times when Nick calls Macho but Macho doesn't come. I'm not sure why he does it, but he likes to run into the bedroom and lay in the cage. Nick isn't doing anything bad, just sitting on the couch and calling Macho to come sit over by him. Macho should have learned by now that if he runs in the cage, Nick will come in there with the leash and make him come out. But he still runs in there occasionally.

Other than that, the training is still going well. Macho is getting better at "stay". Our trainer wants Macho to stay for his food when it is put on the floor. The problem is that Macho isn't like most dogs who eat food the second that they see it. He usually waits for me to put in on the floor and sit down. Sometimes he even waits a few minutes before going to eat. Finally this morning I decided that I would just stand there while holding his food bowl and calling him. He actually came over and stood there waiting for me to put the bowl down. I said "stay" and put it down, and then let him go eat it, however, he was never trying to go to the food. I'm going to keep doing this and see if it helps Macho to get more excited about eating. I know, it's crazy to have a dog that doesn't want to eat!

Now that Macho goes outside, I want to take a video of him playing out there with me. It's pretty adorable to see him running around in the grass. Especially knowing that for the first half of his life he never got to go outside or play at all. I will post a video when I finally take one!

Re-training Macho

I've been MIA lately as we've been busy making Macho a better dog!

About two weeks ago, I was leaving the house and Macho was laying on our bed. He isn't allowed to be in our bedroom while we are not home, so I told him to get off the bed. He really wasn't happy about this! I am usually able to say "Off" and point to the floor to get him to get off the bed, but when I did this, he just sat there. I reached down to pet him, and he tried to bite me! Per our dog trainer's advice, I am supposed to growl at him when he is misbehaving, so I did that. Sometimes all I have to do is walk behind Macho and he will walk away because he doesn't like to have his back to you. So I did that, and he turned around and started showing his teeth to me. Clearly, I was not allowing this behavior. He stopped, walked over to my pillow and peed on it! I couldn't believe he did that.

The next day I got home from work and took Macho out as usual. He didn't pee, but since I still have the pee pads out for while I am at work, I thought he just didn't have to go. I brought him in, and I heard him walk down the hallway. He went right into our bedroom and peed on our bed again. I decided it was time to take some action.

Our dog trainer came out for a visit last week and said that Macho is starting to show dominance now that he is more comfortable with us. We have a lot of new exercises to work with him on. However, the biggest is that he is no longer allowed to sleep in bed with us or be on the bed in general! This made us sad because he loves laying in bed and cuddling with us. But I know that it's something we have to do to help him get better and teach him that we are the leaders, not him. The first night he wasn't happy about sleeping in the cage, but since that first night he has gone in the cage without a fight. Last night I laid in bed reading a book, and he went right into the cage and laid there the whole time.

So far the exercises have seemed to help, and Macho is showing less dominance by the day. We're supposed to continue this for a month and then we can readdress him sleeping in bed with us. Let's hope it all works out for Macho!

Macho's New Home!

I haven't been posting on the blog for a while since we have been moving! It's been a little over 2 weeks since the move, and we are finally getting settled in.

Macho has been great during the move. The first few days were tough as he didn't know where to go to the bathroom which caused a few accidents. But since we have a fenced in backyard, we can take him out a lot more. He is slowly catching on that he is supposed to relieve himself outside instead of inside. He still has the pee pads to go on for moments when he is too impatient, but for the most part he has been waiting for us to take him out.

Last night was the biggest breakthrough in the house training. We had a few friends over to watch football, and Macho decided to hang out in the bedroom as more than 3-4 people in one room makes him a little nervous. He was in the bedroom from noon until about 10:30 at night. I had checked on him frequently, and I noticed that he really hadn't moved from the bed the whole time. Once everyone was gone around 10:30, Macho hopped out of bed and came to me. I knew he would have to go out, so I got his leash and put it on him. Usually in the morning when we do this, he can't hold it in and usually goes on the pee pad. I thought he would do it this time, but he let me take him out and he waited until he was outside to go! I am excited for him that he's learning.

We moved in on a Monday and on that next Saturday we lost power during a pretty bad storm. We didn't get power back until Wednesday, so there were a few days that we were copping without having a refrigerator, TV, or even light once it started to get dark around 8:30 at night. Macho started to get sick of it too, as we weren't as lazy as we usually are when we don't have a TV to watch. I snapped this picture of him, and it looks like he is adjusting well to his new home :)

We Are Moving!

It's finally time for us to get out of apartments and move into a house! It's been a very long process, but we're excited to finally have our own space.

We're not moving too far, actually less than 2 miles from where we live now. But we will be off the busy road we live on and more in a neighborhood. We've been looking for a very long time, and almost 2 months ago we found a house that would be perfect for us. It especially includes a backyard with a beautiful privacy fence. Perfect for a little pooch we like to call Macho!

It's been a stressful week packing everything up, and I can tell that Macho is confused. I'm trying to make the move as easy as possible for him. We are packing a truck with all of our things on Sunday, then we are moving everything into the house on Monday. We decided that it might be too stressful to have Macho at home, so we are taking him to my parents' house overnight. Then we will be bringing him to the new house for the first time! I think he will like it even though it will be something he will have to get used to.

This leads me to some questions- What can I do to make the move easier on Macho? Is there anything I should do when bringing him into the house for the first time? Have you ever moved a dog who marked into a new home? I'm really concerned that Macho will go crazy peeing all over the house to mark it. He doesn't do this anymore, but I am wondering if he will start again in a new space. The previous owners did not have any animals, so there shouldn't be any scents in the house, but it still worries me. Any advice would be great!

Alert! Dog Thefts on the Rise!

I had never heard about anyone ever having their dog stolen until this year. My friend's cousin came home to find her house broken into. Burglars broke into her home and stole a lot of items- including her bichon frise. A news story about this event is here for anyone who is curious. It made me sick to even hear about this. It's hard enough to lose a pet, but even more hard when you don't know how they are being treated and what they were stolen for.

This week I saw a news story that dog thefts are on the rise. When I heard about this, I didn't understand what someone could want to steal a dog for. Apparently they can be stolen for many reasons. Some steal dogs because they can resell them just like any other object they steal. As if it couldn't get any more sad, I found that this is how most dog fighting rings find their dogs. They want to get a dog as cheap as they can, and I guess a free dog is the best dog.

It is recommended that you keep your eyes on your dog at all times. I've heard that the people stealing dogs will go right into your backyard if you're not outside. I know a lot of people don't leave their pets in their cars in the summer, but the news has said that dogs have been stolen right out of cars while their owners were inside a business.

It's very scary and sad to think about. In case you haven't heard of this, the story is here for anyone who wants to read it. They have other tips and information about what you can do to keep your dog safe.

Why Doesn't Macho Bark? +Video

Since Macho's last post wasn't such a great one, we wanted to update to say that Macho is doing great! He was fine once the weekend was over, which made me really happy. No more people food for Macho! Ok, that's a lie, I still sneak some to him. But it's not as much as I was feeding him, and it's food that I know he is able to eat. I checked to make sure he is still allowed to have french fries, as they are his favorite. Luckily it was on the list of safe foods, and a baked potato was actually suggested as a once in a while treat.

Anyway, this weekend while Macho was sleeping on the couch, he started barking in his sleep! We have only head Macho bark twice since we've had him, so this was a rare occurrence! However, it makes me curious as to why he doesn't bark. Is it common for rescue dogs to not bark? I know that it is common for a scared dog to not bark, but once he/she is comfortable in their environment, don't they begin barking?

Believe me, I am thankful that Macho doesn't bark all the time. But to hear him every once in a while would be nice. When he is scared, he runs to a safe spot. I guess this must be his way to protect himself instead of barking? But don't all dogs bark eventually? I've never heard of a dog that never barks. It's almost like a cat!

I leave you with a little video of Macho doing some damage to a bully stick this weekend!