Monkeys

When we first got Mochi, one of the toys we bought him was a plush monkey with
ropes for limbs. It took him about a month, but he has successfully chewed through the first monkey to the point where we had to replace it.



Here's a side-by-side comparison of old monkey (with ropes removed so he can keep playing with them) and new/intact monkey (for now):



He really likes the monkey toy, even though he hasn't quite figured out how to squeeze it to make it squeak on a regular basis. But he really likes gnawing on its ears.

Seating

Sorry there haven't been too many updates recently. I was sick most of last week.

Today's update: seating

Mochi, like most dogs I've seen, likes to sit or lie on something. Our floors are mostly hardwood, so it makes sense that during the winter, he wants to be on something warmer than the floor. Mochi takes this to a new level, though. He likes to be on something even when he's on the couch! We keep some blankets on the couch, and while we eat dinner, he likes to get on top of the blankets and watch us eat (or sleep). Last week, we caught him on top of Tracy's stuff:




Yes, he was too good for the relatively clear part of the couch. He just had to sit on something, even if that something wasn't an even or soft surface. And we wonder why we find dog hair on all our personal possessions...

Slippers

And no, we haven't taught him to not take our slippers. He has actually become a little worse in this area - he's taken one of my slippers right in front of me, just after I kicked them off! He's done the same to Tracy while we were eating dinner.

Of course, it doesn't help that he looks cute carrying the slipper away in his mouth...

This would be a good place for a picture, but we really shouldn't be encouraging him. :)

How to: administering ear medicine to your dog

When we first tried cleaning and administering ear medicine to Mochi, he resisted surprisingly strongly for an 11 lb guy. Tracy then remembered the trick the vet used, and which we have now used successfully. This is somewhat specific to smaller dogs, but probably can be adapted to larger ones. It also requires two people, but I suppose if you're really coordinated, you can try it by yourself.

1. Get a large biscuit/treat. The ones we used are more than twice the size of his normal treats.
2. Break the treat in half.
3. Have your helper hold the treat in one hand, but cover most of it. You don't want the dog to snarf it up too quickly.
   
4. Put the dog in the helper's lap where she can hold the dog with her free hand. Only the dog's side should be facing you, not his face. That way, you have direct access to one of his ears.
   
5. Have the helper give the treat to the dog, keeping the treat mostly covered, so the dog has to take multiple bites to finish it. As the dog eats the treat, the helper should expose more of the treat from her hand; otherwise, the dog might accidentally bite her when trying to get to the remainder.
   
6. Finally, your turn. While the dog is eating, hold the dog's ear and calmly and quickly administer the medicine.
7. When you're done with one ear, turn the dog around, get the other treat half, and repeat steps 5 & 6.
   

We've been doing this on the couch, which probably wasn't a good idea since it now has a lot of treat crumbs in the cracks. But at least he hasn't been fighting like mad when it's medicine/cleaning time.

A full night's sleep at last!

Using the stern/negative process I mentioned in my last post seems to have done the trick. All it took was one night of saying "No, Mochi" or "Mochi, no" (I was too tired to remember which). Sleep is good.

Now if we could only figure out a way stop him from chewing up his collar and stop stealing our shoes...

Need sleep

For the past couple of weeks, Mochi has been waking us up around 3 AM by whining and scratching to get out of his crate. Thus far, we've tried

• getting up and taking him outside for potty
  
• ignoring it

Neither seems to work. For the potty break, he doesn't go much, so I think he just wants attention or playtime. When I bring him back in from outside, he is quiet for a few minutes in his crate, but then starts making noise again. Ignoring his cries also does nothing; but I guess that kind of makes sense since inaction doesn't really set any positive or negative reinforcement.

Last night we tried speaking calmly to him. We tried saying things like "It's ok" and "We're still here," but he still kept going. I think this approach, like getting up for potty, establishes some sort of positive reinforcement. Whining -> attention

I think tonight if he cries, I'll try using a stern/negative tone. I told Tracy I prefer this approach anyway since I'm usually not in a good mood when I'm startled awake at 3 AM. :)