Hi, friends! I can’t believe how quickly this week is flying by. Holy moly. Does anyone else think so or is it just me?
Lunch
Today’s lunch was another mix of random leftovers from the refrigerator: fresh greens, potatoes, spicy lentils, and homemade blue cheese dressing.
There wasn’t a ton of blue cheese dressing, so I built my salad in its Tupperware container so I could sop-up as much cheesy goodness as possible. I didn’t want any of it going to waste!
Please note the pug snout at the lower left of this photo:
When I’m taking photos of my food, Murphy is almost always inches away from it. He’ll never try to eat it (he knows better), but he makes sure that he’s close to the action.
Lunch also included a special treat: Coffee Mug Carrot Cake . Ooooh, yes. It was awesome times a million. This new dessert could be serious trouble for me.
Workout
At the gym today, I did a 30-minute treadmill workout followed by a 30-minute elliptical workout . I planned to do some strength training afterward, but my muslces were still pretty sore from Body Pump, so I just headed home. Tomorrow will be a strength training day for sure.
Snack
When I got home from the gym, I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich on a whole wheat Sandwich Thin as an afternoon snack. I didn’t snap a photo because as soon I finished making it, I chowed it down in 60 seconds. Honestly, I just forgot.
Show Your Dog Who’s Boss
Over the past few months, I’ve received a number of emails and comments asking me how Mal and I trained our little puglet. Murphy is a really good dog. Occasionally, he acts like a jerk, but 95% of the time, he’s very well-behaved.
Mal is definitely the Alpha dog in our house. He worked at a pet supply store all through high school, so he had a good idea about dog training before we even got Murphy. However, neither of us knew anything about pugs, so we bought Pugs for Dummies (for real), and both of us read through it, cover-to-cover. We also watched a lot of Cesar Millan on TV before we got and while he was a puppy.
As far a specific training advice, here are four rules from Cesar Millan that were most helpful to us for training Murphy:
Set a routine. Your daily schedule should include at least 30-45 minutes of power-walking in the morning as well as meals and bathroom breaks at regular times, so your dog knows what to expect when.
Pugs love schedules. Mal and I do, too, so it was easy to get Murphy into a routine. We created a schedule that worked for us and stuck to it. Now, Murphy knows when to expect meals, relieve himself on walks, and go to bed when we do.
Reward good behavior. Reserve time each day to practice following rules (i.e. no running out an open door!) and give him pets in return. He’ll interpret your affection as payback for positive behavior, reinforcing good habits.
Pugs live to eat, so we knew from the very beginning that training Murphy would involve food as a reward. Instead of just rewarding him with affection, Murphy also received a treat (aka a piece of his dog food) for his good behavior. (I also think the treats sped-up the learning process!) Now that he’s older, Murphy doesn’t get treats as often, but we still give him lots of praise for good behavior.
Establish yourself as a pack leader. Always walk out the door in front of your dog, and keep him behind or beside you on walks, rather than ahead of you.
Mal and I have gotten a little lazy with this one. As a puppy, Mal and I spent so much time teaching Murphy that he needs to walk next to us and wait his turn walking out the front door. Murphy learned ‘stay’ from this and does it well, but we don’t enforce this rule as much as we should.
Don’t indulge tantrums. Paying your pup attention whenever he demands it encourages hyperactive and anxious ways. Instead, don’t touch, talk to, or make eye contact with him, and you’ll see how quickly he settles down.
When Mal used to come home from work, Murphy would spaz-out, bark, and jump all over him. Of course, Mal and I would yell at him, but Murphy just didn’t get it. (Ok, well, Mal and I just didn’t get it.) Eventually, Mal started to ignore Murphy when he jumped on him. Mal turned his back to the pug and stayed completely silent until Murphy calmed down. And when he did, we’d reward him. Now, Murphy doesn’t freak out at all when Mal comes home. However, we’re still working on this one when guests come over!
What are your best tips and advice for dog training?
Hi, friends! I can’t believe how quickly this week is flying by. Holy moly. Does anyone else think so or is it just me?
Lunch
Today’s lunch was another mix of random leftovers from the refrigerator: fresh greens, potatoes, spicy lentils, and homemade blue cheese dressing.
There wasn’t a ton of blue cheese dressing, so I built my salad in its Tupperware container so I could sop-up as much cheesy goodness as possible. I didn’t want any of it going to waste!
Please note the pug snout at the lower left of this photo:
When I’m taking photos of my food, Murphy is almost always inches away from it. He’ll never try to eat it (he knows better), but he makes sure that he’s close to the action.
Lunch also included a special treat: Coffee Mug Carrot Cake . Ooooh, yes. It was awesome times a million. This new dessert could be serious trouble for me.
Workout
At the gym today, I did a 30-minute treadmill workout followed by a 30-minute elliptical workout . I planned to do some strength training afterward, but my muslces were still pretty sore from Body Pump, so I just headed home. Tomorrow will be a strength training day for sure.
Snack
When I got home from the gym, I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich on a whole wheat Sandwich Thin as an afternoon snack. I didn’t snap a photo because as soon I finished making it, I chowed it down in 60 seconds. Honestly, I just forgot.
Show Your Dog Who’s Boss
Over the past few months, I’ve received a number of emails and comments asking me how Mal and I trained our little puglet. Murphy is a really good dog. Occasionally, he acts like a jerk, but 95% of the time, he’s very well-behaved.
Mal is definitely the Alpha dog in our house. He worked at a pet supply store all through high school, so he had a good idea about dog training before we even got Murphy. However, neither of us knew anything about pugs, so we bought Pugs for Dummies (for real), and both of us read through it, cover-to-cover. We also watched a lot of Cesar Millan on TV before we got and while he was a puppy.
As far a specific training advice, here are four rules from Cesar Millan that were most helpful to us for training Murphy:
Pugs love schedules. Mal and I do, too, so it was easy to get Murphy into a routine. We created a schedule that worked for us and stuck to it. Now, Murphy knows when to expect meals, relieve himself on walks, and go to bed when we do.
Pugs live to eat, so we knew from the very beginning that training Murphy would involve food as a reward. Instead of just rewarding him with affection, Murphy also received a treat (aka a piece of his dog food) for his good behavior. (I also think the treats sped-up the learning process!) Now that he’s older, Murphy doesn’t get treats as often, but we still give him lots of praise for good behavior.
Mal and I have gotten a little lazy with this one. As a puppy, Mal and I spent so much time teaching Murphy that he needs to walk next to us and wait his turn walking out the front door. Murphy learned ‘stay’ from this and does it well, but we don’t enforce this rule as much as we should.
When Mal used to come home from work, Murphy would spaz-out, bark, and jump all over him. Of course, Mal and I would yell at him, but Murphy just didn’t get it. (Ok, well, Mal and I just didn’t get it.) Eventually, Mal started to ignore Murphy when he jumped on him. Mal turned his back to the pug and stayed completely silent until Murphy calmed down. And when he did, we’d reward him. Now, Murphy doesn’t freak out at all when Mal comes home. However, we’re still working on this one when guests come over!
What are your best tips and advice for dog training?