October 9, 2007 – Cool, rainy. Took Lenore camping in Merck Forest yesterday, shown above, last night and today. It’s a habit I have when I get a new dog, we go off and bond, one-on-one, so that the dog connects with me, not just the other dogs. Puppies, especially Labs but most breeds, get the “zooms,” those crazy periods where they tear around and around, banging into things, annoying dogs and people. I don’t permit the zooms inside the house. When the puppy starts tearing around, I put a leash on him, or in this case here, and put my foot on it. The puppy struggle for a minute or two, then lies and down and usually goes to sleep. Zooms are not necessary, especially indoors.  If the leash doesn’t work, into the crate with a treat and something to chew. I’m setting the tone. I expected calm and order in the house.
  It’s part of my campaign to show dogs like Labs and border collies how to be calm, how to do nothing, usually the one thing they don’t know how to do. This is essential to sanity in the house, and lays the groundwork, I believe, for real training and communication. Hyper dogs can’t and won’t listen, and dogs that can’t settle down and pay attention are tough to train. Lenore went into the cabin with me, and stayed with me. She slept by my head. She didn’t have any accidents in the cabin, and I took her out frequently to do her stuff, and praised her when she did. So far, one accident in the house, when Lenore peed on the carpet on a spot where many dogs have thrown up, or had accidents. This will happen. I ignored it, and cleaned it up and waited till she went outside to praise her. Lenore has a will. She is still squawking a bit in the crate, and she is a very spirited dog. She is also only eight weeks old, and I must be careful to keep my expectations low. But at Merck, she was socialized intensely, exposed to dogs and hikers and stayed with me day and night. I was pleased. She has the makings of a great dog. My responsibility not to mess that up. Tomorrow, I begin teaching her to come and sit. We are training all the time – goals are to be clear, patient, positive. And relentless. Have to win these early battles, for the dog’s sake as well as mine.

Lenore meets the goats