five months later...

There's been quite a few changes over the last few months. First of all, Tinker is now about 10 months old and pretty much done growing. She's still around 10 pounds which makes her more of a mini than a standard, but that's not such a big deal. I'd rather have small dogs for a variety of reasons. Secondly, although she's learned her manners, she has started to show aggressive/protective behavior around strangers. I think part of that is my fault -- when we would be waiting around in airports, she'd sit in my lap. And she's still okay if she's in my lap or being held. The worst is that we reinforce the behavior when we pick her up as soon as she's started to bark at visitors. So, I'm kind of at a loss.

Bottom line is that I don't think I'm going to be able to task-train Tinker. Aside from the behavioral issues, I don't feel that she responds to simple commands with enough speed and consistency. Dachshunds do have a mind of their own, and she is very smart. I just don't have the confidence that she would be able to respond the way I would need her to.

(On the other hand, apparently seeing-eye dogs start their training at a year old.)

There is a new addition to the "pack". Puck, a (mini?) American Eskimo, was shipped to me last week. At eight weeks, he understands the voice command and hand signal for sit and I'm pretty confident that I can teach him other simple commands with ease. He's not afraid of people, he's not shy, and it seems that the breeder did a wonderful job in producing a happy, healthy, well socialized puppy. Officially he's considered a "pet", but I wonder... If he became a working dog, the down sides would be size since most people expect working dogs to be bigger and his thick coat which gives him a low tolerance for heat. But, he is young. And for now it's more than enough that he is terribly cute.

In other news, my fiance found an apartment that came with an awesome landlord. Our landlord is an animal lover and in lieu of a pet deposit, we're paying to have the carpets scrubbed when we leave. Apparently the carpet is ten years old and he is thinking of ripping it out when we leave. So yes, awesome landlord who is more than happy to have a bunch of four-legged critters running around.