This phrase pretty much sums up the first 24 hours we've had with Purl.
Purl is a loving and eager little girl and she wants Panda to like her so so so much. It's really quite sweet. However, Panda is not convinced that this interloper deserves anything more than disdain. In fact, she has serious concerns about the fact that we have done nothing about the little girl; for instance, throwing her into a river. Consensus? Panda is a crotchety old woman and we never knew it.
I feel really good about Purl, though. She's exceedingly well socialized, thanks, I'm sure, to a good foster home she was in. She has already responded well to clicker training and can now sit on command. Crate training is going a little slower, but she's so food driven that giving her treats and meals in there has helped a bit. She basically cries for 10 minutes then goes right to sleep. In time, I think she will love her little house, but in the mean time, this is very manageable.
The leash and collar are a little more challenging. They are just beyond her comprehension, but I think she just needs a few days and she'll be all set. Plus, she's so tiny, it doesn't take long to tucker her out, so getting her leash trained will mean plenty of fun walks where she can play and interact with dogs who aren't snobs.
Don't you worry, though, Panda is getting as much love as ever and Purl is being expected to follow house rules. Panda is even helping with the training, albeit, unwittingly. I give Panda a command, praise her, then work it with Purl.
Don't worry, next post will have some knitting content. Lily is coming along beautifully.
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Comments (18)
The love of knitting and the love of animals go hand in hand... no pun intended!
Anyway, both the girls are adorable. Reassure Panda she still has her following. Her public always awaits for more of her cuteness!
Oh! And she may not be as snobby as a human might think! A great read is, "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell. She is an animal behaviorist. Pearl and Panda are just establishing their relationship; Pearl licking Panda's jowels, and going belly-up shows that she does want Panda to like her, and that she aknowleges Panda has seniority and is dominant over Pearl.
Panda walking away shows Panda agrees... and maybe she's a little put off. :)
Looking forward to more pics of the girls, and knitting!
It will be fun to watch Pearl grow up!
Posted by Estelle | May 2, 2007 6:03 PM
Posted on May 2, 2007 18:03
Panda definately looks perturbed in the picture of the two of them sitting by the window. That ears back look is exactly the way Shelby (my son's dog who looks a lot like Panda) expresses her consternation.
Posted by Marlene | April 29, 2007 8:34 PM
Posted on April 29, 2007 20:34
panda is one tough lady. maybe she's strict with a heart of gold. ;)
Posted by maryse | April 28, 2007 7:12 AM
Posted on April 28, 2007 07:12
Purl! Adorable. As you know, I am not opposed to cute puppy posts. I am not a dog person, really! I'm just covered in dog hair by accident. And Purl gives me one more reason to visit Portland.
Posted by mk | April 27, 2007 10:20 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 22:20
Purl is adorable, but Panda won my heart in this post. She reminds me of Townie in her crotchetiness....
Posted by Julia | April 27, 2007 10:14 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 22:14
Do as many doggie posts as you like, I for one love seeing them. Her ears are adorable! My new puppy has to contend with 3 cats and them with her. The puppy lived with cats at the breeder’s home and my cats are dog savvy having lived with Holly (my dog who died in January), so they will work it out in time.
Panda you are adorable too.
Posted by Paula | April 27, 2007 7:46 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 19:46
OPPS! PURL NOT PEARL---HOW PERFECT.
Posted by Edna Hart | April 27, 2007 7:26 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 19:26
O.K I want Pearl and I LOVE HER name. Those 2 together are so CUTE I can hardly stand it. She will grow to love her crate, My Cerino sometimes stays in his during the day. It's nice to have 2 dogs because they can play together and there is one for each of you. Panda will grow to love Pearl I am sureCONGRATULATIONS
Posted by Edna Hart | April 27, 2007 7:18 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 19:18
Knitting !! this blog is about knitting...oops
I thought it was a propoganda site to get everyone to adopt irresistable black and white dogs with black eye patches...seriously how can one concentrate on knitting with these two around. Just pose them with some balls of yarn and you've got knitting content covered !!!
Posted by Laila | April 27, 2007 6:36 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 18:36
Oh my, she is just so adorable....
Posted by --Deb | April 27, 2007 4:12 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 16:12
Have you ever thought of tethering Purl to you when you're home? Just fasten one end of the leash to her collar and the other end to your belt, and keep her near you. Feeding treats will help. :) And remember, it's Panda's job to teach Purl manners! If Purl is a pill, Panda will let her know! Sometimes it can be noisy, but that should be the worst of it.
And you get to enjoy puppy breath. I'm jealous... :)
Posted by Janice in GA | April 27, 2007 1:39 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 13:39
Hey, what a cute addition. Purl may be her name forever or like many of us, she may develop a personality that makes it clear another name is better. Love the part about Panda -- Panda looks quite happy as long as she can be queen for awhile longer. Too fun. hugs nancy
Posted by nancy | April 27, 2007 12:33 PM
Posted on April 27, 2007 12:33
I love the puppy posts. What a perfect pair they make in that last photo. Thanks for sharing! :)
Posted by CJ | April 27, 2007 11:35 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 11:35
I love that sequence: puppy pulls out all the best puppy tricks for respectfully soliciting play and attention...old girl yawns and walks away.
I dig those crazy big ears. Dingo!
Posted by Wendy | April 27, 2007 11:25 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 11:25
Oh, I'm laughing! I love that Panda actually appears to be rolling her eyes and yawning in a couple of these pictures!! Hilarious! Purl's so adorable - she obviously wants very badly to be Panda when she grows up.
I remember when we got our puppy about 18 months ago, we kept telling our older dog that we were getting a baby, and she was SO excited about how excited we were. The reaction when we brought home the puppy was so "Uh, this is NOT what we were so happy about, is it??!!" I think I enjoyed watching LB get used to Brodie even more than all his puppy antics. Every time we'd ask both of them to do something, like sit, she'd do it immediately and then just look at our confused puppy like, "You're just so stupid. They want you to sit down." But you're right, it's perfect because the puppy wants to do everything the (well-trained) older dog does!
Posted by alyson | April 27, 2007 11:07 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 11:07
Purl is such a doll! Panda has so much patience--show the newbie a thing or two! I can't imagine you're getting much work done, with so much cuteness around, Marnie.
Posted by MJ | April 27, 2007 10:55 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 10:55
Oh but I want more puppy posts haha! That's very cool your doing clicker training, I used it to teach Toby to catch a frisbee in his mouth (something for some reason never ever occured to him previously, he preffered to chase it and bark at it) and I had him trained in under 3 minutes, it was amazing.
Watch your boobins with that little purl, she might cause a little trouble yet :)
Posted by pixie | April 27, 2007 10:40 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 10:40
If design work keeps you posting cute puppy pictures, no complaints here. I could pass out from the adorableness. Good grief, Marnie!
Posted by Elspeth | April 27, 2007 10:34 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 10:34