Rossi's First Few Days at Home

It has been a busy week with Rossi back home. Now, I finally have time for some updates.


We have set up a cosy corner of our living room as her very own little home. It consisted of her cage with a red bed, blanket and a metal pan covered with newspapers for her toilet needs. We placed a few pieces big pieces of metal guards to surround her little home, while ensuring she had ample space to move around within the guarded area. The cage would be her den where she could sleep, rest or hide and the outside area would be her "territory".

The moment she stepped into our house, she was jumping and running around with Little Mocha. It was fun to see both doggies play together. Rossi was not really afraid of her new surrounding, as we thought she would. But she bit almost everything she came in contact with. (She's still at the teething stage. I also read on the Internet that this is how puppies play together and this is their way of showing they want to play.) We just hope she would pass her teething stage soon. At the same time, we would also have to teach her to express herself in other ways other than biting.

We placed a light stand and a ticking clock beside her cage. (We have read on the internet that puppies are afraid of the dark, so having a light nearby would be good. Then a ticking clock has a calming effect and could help regulate their heartbeats.)

When night came, we placed her into the cage gently with a doggie soft toy that we have prepared beforehand for her. (The soft toy is to let her have some form of security by having something to cuddle while she sleeps.) As we were very concerned that she would whine in an unfamiliar environment, we couldn't sleep, especially on the first few nights.

We were monitoring her throughout the nights, peeping at her every now and then from our room. To our amazement, she did not whine at all and slept till dawn! Wow...we were so relieved. We believed that the light, clock and soft toy did a wonderful part in putting her at ease.

The next challenge would be to train her to do her toilet business in the right place. Well, this was defintely not an easy task. I held a container filled with vinegar in one hand and tissue in the other hand, ever ready to wipe out her toilet marks when she peed/pooed at the wrong areas. Then we put samples of her pee and poo into the metal pan, so as to let her know that this was the place to do her business. After the vinegar wipe outs here and there, on her 3rd day, hubby and I saw the light.

We went out for a couple of hours to purchase something at the pet shop. I was talking to my hubby, wondering when she would know where to do her business. At the same time, I was also concerned that she would do her business all over her little home while we were out. Hubby was telling me, we just have to clean after her if she misqueued during our absence.

When nearing our doorstep, I was bracing myself for the accidental mess of pee and poo to come into sight as hubby opened the door. We were rendered shocked when we looked over to Rossi's little home. She was sitting outside her cage, quietly waiting for us and her pee+poo were deposited into the metal pan! No accidents! We saw the light! She knew where to do her business. Then from then onwards, she would do her business into the metal pan.

She also recognized that the cage was her den and would not dirty it. At night when she slept in her cage, she would call out to us to let her out to do her business. Initially, we did not know. We thought she was just whining to get attention, so we ignored her. Then she got no choice but to empty her bowels in the cage. But we noticed that she did it at the far corner of her cage, away from her bed. Therefore, we took note to wake up when she called out to us at night and let her out to " go toilet".

We wanted to train her up to be able to stay alone at home when we were outside or at work, thus we began a series of going outs and coming backs, starting on the very next day. She did whine, but her whines were not loud nor continuous and we ignored her. By and by, we increased the time we stayed out. This was to desensitize her of our absence and also to let her know that we would definitely come home to her. Of course, we left toys and water for her. We have also left the radio playing and the fan functioning continually. I must admit, this was a heart-breaking exercise, but somehow, Rossi must learn that when Daddy and Mummy were not at home, she got to play by herself, then when we were back, our time would be all hers.

As of now,it's her 7th day with us. I would say she is still doing fine. She is not the type of doggie that barks at the slightest sound or whine non-stop nor is she a loud speaker. She is happiest during her meals and at night when we spend time playing and bonding with her. During the day, she would usually sleep outside her cage, on the floor of our living room.

One good point about her is, she is not easily affected by noises around her. There was an occasion when it was raining with loud thunders and she was sleeping. I myself was admittedly shocked by the loudness of the thunders, but she just reacted by waking up for awhile and looking around briefly, then soon, she fell asleep again.

She can be really naughty at times, but she also has her merits.
To us, she is our sweet little gal.