Day 37

Day 37

I started Sanity on canned pumpkin this morning to help give her some relief until we can get to the Vet. All the signs make me pretty positive that she has managed to pick up coccydisosis and needs to be on Albon for a time. Meanwhile, it is really knocking her for a loop. She managed one lesson and then headed back to the office to go back to bed.

I’m sure she was just as tired as I was since she had been asking to go out about every 4 hours all last evening and all night. This brings me to the business of housebreaking and what I really feel about it. I would rather put a working retrieve on a 150 killer dog than deal with the business of housebreaking a puppy. I keep hearing about how easy it is and I find it to be a royal pain. My solution is to keep them crated in the house or outside until they are staying clean and dry all night in the crate. The next step is to give the run of my office and just have screaming fits when they don’t go out the door, off the porch, down the ramp and across the parking lot to go. Once that seems to be working they get the hallway and bathroom added to the area they are responsible for keeping clean. Again, at some point I end up having “fits”. Next comes the very messy dining room and then the kitchen and finally the breakfast room off the kitchen. Each room added causes the same fits at least once. Last to be added is the living room and finally The Bedroom. By the time they have made it to The Bedroom they are pretty good about heading for that open door and the great outside.

The big step at four months or there abouts is getting to move into The Bedroom to sleep. Not loose mind you, but bench chained to the leg of the bed. A small dog bed and a special bed time toy are provided and pup, in this case Sanity, moves way up in the world. Being allowed in The Bedroom is a real privilege and all the dogs know and understand that it is an honor to be invited in. All this leads up to what happened during the night. Every single time Sanity needed to go out because of her diarrhea she was quick to give soft little whines and whimpers to let me know that she needed to go out. Each and every single time I made darn sure to get up, unhook the chain and go with her at least as far as the door. It rained all night and as anyone who knows Dobes knows, rain should never touch a Dobe body. Even so, without any help on my part, she trotted young self outside, across the parking lot and into the grass/dirt/gravel on the other side before letting fly. Mind you, I still don’t consider her to be fully housebroken, but she is definitely on her way.