Obedience Training: me or the dog? Part 1

While writing this article, the realization hit me that perhaps Max isn’t as well trained as I thought earlier. He does know sit but at 9 months old sometimes you have to help push his rear end at times. Stay, well only if its dinner being served does he complete this command well. Come, lately when he feels like it is more the case. Counter surfing just became his new game of solitaire when left alone for more than 2 minutes. Heel only works great only IF you have a treat in your hand. Pulling on a leash was not a problem till 2 days ago. He happened to see his 1st chipmunk and proceeded to ignore all commands to stop while dragging me along my gravel driveway and almost pulling my arm out of its socket. Oh there is more but I do need to save some face you know. Then Peanut our cute little , 4mo old, she listens better than him!

I then looked deep into my heart and pocket as I know the cost is $100 or more. Next I went on the internet to find a particular place near my home that years ago produced amazing results with a large, aggressive, beautiful, totally untrained Dalmatian I had for a short time. I read all the information and the following day called to see their availability for classes starting in a week. Wow, I was excited as there was one spot left. We went over the usual things discussed on the phone: age, shots, breed, etc. I did try to warn them that though Max is good yet has been known to become a wild mad dog with swirling eyes and an adrenaline rush to be envied by firefighters. Hyper is not the right word to describe Max out in public. For some reason the vision of a cartoon with a person trying to hold a rocket back that 10 sticks of dynamite lit is really what comes to mind. I am told to arrive early at next weeks class so Max can observe all the dogs and settle down. Yeah right! I keep laughing every time I go over this in my head. Let’s say I warned them. This place is good and I haven’t ever heard of them kicking anyone and their dog out of a class. I hope we won’t be the first. Max’s friendly exuberance takes about 20 minutes or so to level out. This is why I am told socialization is so important for a dog and I should take him to places to learn how to settle down and be well mannered. Come on, besides the PetSmart and Petco, where does one take a dog? There are no parks around and besides I have 6 acres of land complete with a huge creek. OH wait, I have an idea. The local pizzeria loves Peanut, asking us to bring her in weekly. They are dog lovers to the hilt! Just last week, the owner said their brother’s favorite dog was Benji when he was a small kid. Guess what? Our Max looks like a black Benji and they did ask me to bring him in. Great, I now can start a crash course on socialization tonight. Dave wants subs and neither of us feeling like cooking. So off we go the 1 mile to the local pizzeria. Hey, it’s a start and Dave is coming in case Max the 60 lb puppy decides to get a tad over rambunctious.

Max was actually good! He sat still, didn’t jump on anyone, no barking, no drooling or panting, no begging either. Actually he patiently savored the aromas of freshly baked pizza and other Italian meals. His nose was twitching 100 mph while flaring his nostrils wider to get the full aromatic effect. Could there possibly be hope Max can settle down in obedience training within 4 days? Only time will tell. I will say only the local locksmith took an interest in Max. He used to raise labs and said he could see lab in Max but not for the life of him figure out the other part. For once we didn’t get the strange looks or laughter when we said “Max is part Labrador Retriever and part Standard Poodle”. In fact, Dave and I had such a nice conversation with the locksmith while waiting for our food order to be ready for take out.

Three days later I have a surprise 50th birthday party planned for Dave at our house with his family and a few friends coming over. This will be the first time Max and Peanut will be surrounded by a total of 14 adults and 4 teenagers. I dread thinking of what could occur and know they may need to be crated for half or the whole time. For the first time in history everyone arrives within 5 minutes! We open our door at 7:35pm as 2 couples arrive. Then at 7:40pm all of Dave’s family are trying to form a single, some were in double formation, line through our door. Max alert! He is 24 inches tall, approximately 60 lbs of sheer 9 month old teenage puppyhood that loves people. Dave, “Where’s Max and Peanut?” I almost scream in terror. Max surprises us with only 3 half jumps and calms down within 10 minutes. Peanut though is like a wind up toy stuck or had too many quarters inserted at once. There is no way she is going to calm down at any time through the night. I grab her leash and hold on dearly. Within a 15 minute period I realize this is not going to work, besides Dave just left to get the sheet pizza. A party complete with 2 cakes with tons of chocolate frosting, pizza and 18 people is not a good combination with 2 puppies, so I crate them both. Later in the evening Max and Peanut are released for short time periods. Max however really does surprise us by being rather calm. Peanut is jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean. Eventually this leads to someone spilling their beverage and so off the crate for the final time. I will let them out when all company departs later in the night. The next day I realize Max had two tempting socializations events which are not enough to prep him for tomorrow night’s training class. Max tomorrow for the first time will see 9 other dogs and I worry if we will be refunded our money by the end of the class. My half full cup seems to be spilling over a tiny bit. The once courageous, try till you succeed attitude I possess 98% percent of the time has allowed the other 2% of doubt to take completely over at this point. Outwardly, I appear cool calm and collect. Inwardly I think I need a valium to calm my nerves and stop the mental images that keep popping into my head. I pray I sleep well tonight as I start work at 7am and also remember how much these training classes wore me out years ago. I also worry my arm is going to be quite sore the rest of the week from holding Max the Mac Attack puppy back.

Day 1 of Max’s training class! Do I just cut to the chase and say I was amazed we were not kicked out of class? Or do I give the bare bones details and facts? I think I’ll amuse you all with the details.

I was so nervous I managed to misplace my house and car keys calling Dave frantically to help me calm down and retrace my steps in order to find them. This made us late for class as I then proceeded to get lost on the way but Dave was on the road coming to meet me and managed to flag me down on the road. We now arrive to class five minutes late (not good). I do believe Max got an instant perm the moment we walked in and he saw 12 other dogs! His eyes popped out, his stumpy tail moved like an airplane propeller, he was drooling, and for some reason he pulled more like a 150lb Bull Mastiff instead of his usual 60lbs. The trainers there told me not to worry. Easy for them to say since they weren’t holding turbocharged Max! Dave quietly sat down to watch and possibly have a good laugh at my expense.

We fitted Max with a tight fitting collar which did not go over too well with Max. My cute well trained obedient dog had become a massive bucking bronco with me in the saddle so to speak. The rodeo show was about to begin and my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. Mentally I was getting my poker face ready with a fake, plastered smile and prepping my sense of humor to activate as I got the feeling things were going to be very interesting tonight. Every so often when Max was not pulling arm out of my socket, I would glance over at Dave who just sat there quietly and smiled. Thanks Dave. Luckily this class had one main trainer and three assistants.

Max’s body quivered more than a rumbling earthquake paying no attention to me or any trainers. All Max wanted to do was to play and whined like a baby. He did not bark though and for that I was appreciative as it would only call further attention to us. Crawling under a rock or hiding my head in the sand was not an option either. Remember my 3.85 average and graduating with top honors? Oh, I was immediately at the bottom of a class that I knew studying was going to be hard since Max was the subject. Dave at one point helps out and whispers, “Honey don’t worry if Max fails, you can repeat the class next time with him for FREE” Men don’t get it, do they? I needed encouragement even if it was a white lie. He could have said, “Honey don’t worry this is Max’s first day he will eventually calm down and catch on”. Then again, Dave knows Max almost as well as I do and Dave’s honesty was something I admired till that night. I wanted lies not honesty, I wanted to go home and not be the center of attention for disrupting the class. I wanted OUT and so did Max.

Something inside of me though knew I also love challenges and this was going to one the greatest ones of all time! Right then and there I decided to take charge as I was the leader and Max the follower. Or more like I was the adult and he was the child!

At our home, Max knows how to sit, stay, come, drop it, settle, lie down, and waits for food till the word “okay” is stated. He also does NOT pull on a leash either, and always lets me go first. Max sprung a mental leak and my world flooded with the realization that I was possibly in the wrong class. Max needed a doggy psychiatrist or better yet, some drugs! I keep looking to Dave, the spectator, for reassurance and see others sitting by him either laughing or rolling their eyes. Wait a minute, I just paid $115 for a beginner’s dog training class and that is exactly what Max and I are: beginners! Let them laugh as later we’ll have the last laugh when Max graduates. I keep telling myself this over and over again: forget the looks, forget about everyone else and just concentrate on Max. So forward I go with 150% determination and keep my humorous nature in check and balance or I was going to end up crying.

Now Wildman Max is beginning to settle just a tiny bit after 20 minutes of hyper dog excitement. We only had 40 more minutes to get through before I could go home and not die of laughter and/or embarrassment. Max now decided to take matters into his own hands and act up even more. While straining to hear the trainer instruct us what to do next I see a black blur go past my eyes. I am 5ft 7in tall. It took about 1 second for my brain to register that was my Max sailing past me at eyelevel. Still, I stand there nonchalantly acting like nothing out of the ordinary has just occurred. Quickly I bend down to have Max stand and sit by my side as all the other dogs are doing .Max is one determined smart thinking dog, he is about to fully let his presence be known to everyone human and canine. Max now is standing in front of me and does his straight up in the air jump approximately 5 feet high and lands neatly on his feet. Again, I ignore my dog as if you don’t pay attention to negative behavior it stops. Was I ever in for it! Max next does his 180 degree jumps with a wiggle and twist and ends with a neat perfect 360 landing the same exact spot and stance he started from and this happens about once a minute for five minutes. By now, I could not hold back the laughter as I don’t know what was funnier: Max trying to get my attention or seeing the looks on everyone’s faces and their eyeballs popped out of their heads. All the trainer does is say, “Max over there has a lot of poodle in him. Annmarie try to get Max to stand next to you.” Is she serious? I can barely keep a straight face as 50 minutes have passed by with Max making us the class clowns.

There were not many people in this class that like Labradoodles saying they heard these dogs are hyper, wild, too playful, do not listen and on and on. Max had just confirmed their views in under an hour. Thanks Max. The best has yet to come though, as I kept trying to tell one particular trainer Max cannot have hotdogs as treats since he has a sensitive digestive system. Too late now, and all the people that sat behind us laughing got blasted later on by Max’s room clearing SBD’s in full blast. Max let not one, not two, but at least 5 room clearing toots go in rapid succession so there was no let up in fresh air at all. At this point, I buried my face in Max laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

At the end of class we were to do HEELING and to STAND which Max performed beautifully. As Dave said later in the night when home, “If someone put a hand by my penis I’d stand to attention too.” As for me, any dog that won’t follow you around without a leash with 10 pieces of chicken in your hand must be stupid. Class finally ended and we were all given folders with training homework sheets. I was informed that Max and I had more homework than the others in class. I tried to not giggle and just agreed waiting to get home and bust at the seams with laughter. Once home I had to say to Dave that my worst fears were confirmed at class. All Dave commented back was to hope that was the worst. Us women also don’t know when to stop at times and I had to ask Dave, “Come on, you were watching, was it really that bad?” Dave for once stayed silent with his head tilted down looking at me with blinking eyes. For once, I did not ask him to elaborate as silence really is golden. Once again, Dave’s honesty shined brighter than a rainbow and was not appreciated fully but caused us to laugh for the next few days.

I worked 6 days the following week with Max. We did 2 to 3 short sessions a day getting good results finally and used Peanut once a day for distraction to test Max’s ability to keep his attention on me. Class 2 arrives and that day we get severe icy snowy slush. The class is cancelled. When they called to tell me this I could not believe I got upset, saying” I worked so hard with Max and cannot do the make up class later in the week. Do you think that by tonight class may be back on?” Okay, so I was a bit selfish and disappointed as that day there were numerous accidents with towing companies operating non-stop. I ended up apologizing and stating I will see them in class 3.

Class 3 arrives and now Max has had 2 weeks doing training homework with me. We are ready. I arrive to class 25 minutes early this time and make him sit. I mean just sit. His body is shaking, his mouth wide open drooling, and he wants to play. “Max, not this time. You are going to listen and learn tonight. We worked hard for this and you are going to show everyone here how good you really are”, I softly but firmly whisper this in his ear. Class starts and Max is ready to perform. Max doesn’t jump, pull or do anything but sit by my side. Instead, other people’s dogs are now trying to jump and distract Max! They have to say sorry to me numerous times. I am in total shock but keep a poker face and say it’s okay practicing my humble act. Just two weeks ago it was my dog doing the same thing.

The trainer later decides to use Max for a new exercise. Wow, my Max is finally picked. Then she states that she was told Max trains better without treats and decides to call my bluff. My heart is racing, my mind is going “oh no, please do not make a liar of me Max” and whew, Max performs according to plan without treats. I almost collapse from relief. This time Dave is sitting there with eyes as big as dinner plates watching Max do 95% of training without antics. In fact, at one point the trainer tells the class not to let Max fool them as he has a lot going on inside his brain. Inwardly, I beam but outwardly graciously smile keeping my mouth shut. The trainers and assistants do comment on how well Max was and that they wish more people would work their dogs like I did. They also asked if I was doing the half hour down stays with Max to which I proudly said almost nightly. As Max is the biggest and oldest puppy there, I begin to believe you can teach an old dog new tricks or in our case, an older puppy. Before I forget, the same people that weren’t too sure about Labradoodles actually talk to us and show interest along with enthusiasm this week. I am so happy and so is Dave since the previous class when anyone asked him which puppy was his, Dave would tell them the black one. People would be polite and just say, “Oh” and be quiet. This week Dave was getting compliments not only on Max’s good behavior but also how nice his coat was, how white his teeth are and so on. Funny how a dog that behaves a bit better can sway previous prejudices. I’ll take what I can get at this point and so will Dave. font>

Peanut is also getting trained as well but at home by me. She is taking it slowly but she is still a baby in many ways only being almost 5 months old. Many trainers and dog owners would beg to differ but as the saying goes, “To each his own”. Personally, I treat my 2 dogs as I would small children bearing in mind: all in due time. When my teenagers were toddlers I was lenient in ways. They had their whole lives ahead of them to do schedules, obedience, and more. Thus, I let my kids be just that [kids] while keeping within the normal rules of being good. So with my dogs I let them play roughly at times, train them daily for short periods of time, praise them a lot for doing good and learn to laugh at mistakes. Mistakes are meant to happen, isn’t that how both humans and canines learn? Accidents also happen as they too teach us to be more careful and think like a good parent and teacher. So training will continue on more than just our classes. Training means daily attention, love, guidance and much more. It also included letting a puppy be just that: a puppy. Just do not leave them alone for more than a minute or like a child, they will find something creative to do that isn’t always within the rules of being good. And time will tell if Max continues through the next 5 classes and graduates without repeating the present class. I do not need my dog to jump through a hoop on fire or impress others. Rather than keep up with the ‘Joneses’ my main goal is to give Max more formal obedience training, something to do and work towards having fun just being with me while training. The futuristic goal is to have Max be a therapy dog when mature and complete the full training. That way, both Max and I can help others experience the love these doodles have to offer. Peanut hopefully is included in this goal as well. Temperament first, training and maturity second with time telling us lastly. And if neither dog becomes a therapy dog, well that is fine by me. I can at least say we spent much time learning, laughing and growing older together happily.

To be continued as we have a 3rd doodle, Beau, now in class at the great age of 6 months old and Max 18 months old is doing a refresher class in the same week. Peanut now 13 months old will start her class in 4 weeks. I am being trained too: to laugh when you want to cry, to smile when your dog lies down instead of sitting, and to keep my cup half full when one of my dogs drinks the other half. Lastly, whether or not we graduate is not the real importance for me. Rather the praise, love, time and guidance I give dogs is the main importance.

Dogs, if you let them, can teach you to relax with life and worry less with their unconditional love. Train them and they teach more than just what a book says on paper. Let them raise themselves and may you have a home made of concrete.

The contents of this blog site are copyright (c) 2008, Annmarie Sparks. All Rights Reserved

Read more: Obedience Training: me or the dog? Part 1

Housebreaking: Part 2

I didn’t realize how babyish a 9 week old puppy is and quickly found out. Their tiny bladders cannot hold much. I lost the extra 6lbs I wanted off by walking 2 puppies. I would like to add that bringing home a new puppy causes the older one to regress in certain ways. Additionally, I was also being reminded of what life was like when my 3 kids were toddlers having only a 4 years age difference amongst them. To this day I will say potty training children are easier than puppies. Either that or I have failed miserably with canines.

Week 1 : Did I mention this is February which is one of the coldest months during winter in Western New York? Max decides he wants to also be a baby puppy again and starts to have a few accidents here and there as well. Great!

Peanut loves the snow! If she could bathe in it, she would. So here we are in single digit temperatures with a puppy wanting to play in the snow and not go potty. The books say come right back in and try again a short while later. Thus, my weight loss now begins or should I say the most natural diet that is free. I was spoiled and so was Dave. Take Max out and he gets right down to business, playing in the snow afterwards. Peanut on the other hand would wait till we became a human ice sculpture till we saw any signs of yellow snow or mounds. It got so bad I would wear ski pants, a scarf, gloves, a hooded mask with only my eyes showing, and my warmest ski coat. I was going out there prepared for a blizzard as I refused to freeze. I hate the cold and now I have another reason to add to my list of winter dislikes. And what was I thinking when we got a 2nd puppy during the middle of winter?

The first two weeks are a blur as Peanut didn’t sleep through the night, would pee 2 times outside finally and leave some mounds then come inside and 10 minutes later leave a cute puppy puddle on my tile floors. Sleep deprivation set in, Dave and I were taking shifts. Nature’s Miracle was our new found friend. My teenagers would comment how I was crazy. And I was beginning to think they were right. Making hot chocolate was a daily event for warmth. I also was so happy to fit into my old jeans once again, so all was not a loss. Dave didn’t lose as much weight as he snacks more than me. I told him to walk the dogs longer. He didn’t appreciate my humor at the time.

Now a good way to upset housetraining is for your puppy to have roundworms. So the day Max was being neutered, Peanut had uncontrollable diarrhea due to roundworms. To this day I will never forget my 15 year old son helping me out. My heart grew so warm. At the same time I had the vet calling by 11am to inform me that I could take Max home at anytime. Seems he was full of energy to put it mildly and barking his head off as I could hear him in the background. I was up to my eyeballs in poop, walking a dog in artic tundra temperature, trying to get ready for work, telling my son I would PAY him to help out (he refused the money) and said Max would be picked up around 5pm or so when Dave got out of work, Besides a vet charges you for daily care. I was getting my $20 worth for sure.

Dave brings Max home and medicine for Peanut. Her poop firmness is restored the next day and we get back on track to housebreaking issues. Max is moving slowly and now decides to dribble here and there in 4 ft long sections. The following week we buy a black light and special urine remover. That very night we turned off all the bedroom lights and went to work with our new black light urine finder. Oh no, we had a mine field in our own bedroom! I had purple spots and trails from one end to the other. So while Dave showered I sprayed and sprayed till my fingers became cramped up. I kept muttering under my breath with Dave going, “Honey what are you saying I can’t hear you! ” to which I replied, ” Never mind ok?!” It took me over an hour to erase the purple hues of urine off my grey carpet. At this point I realized life was getting more complicated. I don’t ever remember having this much trouble with dogs in the past. So back to square one and start all over again. Now I must say one has to have a sense of humor when raising 2 puppies or you will go nuts. And nerves can get frayed thus attitudes can develop like a silent volcano coming to life unexpectedly. I get creative with walking 2 dogs; I begin to barter with Dave. Hey, why not, if it works! Dave says something about not winning with women. I offer to cook better meals, do more wash, run errands, or whatever it takes not to go back outside again in what I consider to be insanely cold temperatures. Also, if it’s snowing outside and this is your dog’s first encounter (with snow) he/she will try to jump up to catch snowflakes forgetting about going potty. Dave is good sport only cashing in on about 50% of my bartering favors. We begin to get along better now. Now I would like to know who said dogs can’t remember when they go poop or pee in your house. Was it B.F. Skinner? Because I find it hard to believe a dog can remember Stay, Come, Sit, Down, Heel, different words and sentences, not come up on your bed except by invitation only, stay off all furniture but NOT remember going inside your house when you walk them almost 24/7 to go outside giving tons of praise. I have now figured out a way to determine who went what inside! And I am not selling my secret at a low price of $24.99 today only as seen on TV! Nope, I am giving it to you for free due the kindness of my heart. Take each dog out and whoever goes both numbers for you did NOT go inside. A plain and simple strategy if you ask me. However, things do get complicated when both dogs don’t go outside and now you scratch your head. Freebie lesson number two: learn to memorize which dog does what kind of poop. Now if they get sick or have worms, good luck cause then it gets frustrating and puzzling.

I have heard of doggy camps where they will train your dog for you. I am almost ready to ship one of mine for this. I can teach a dog numerous tricks and respect, I am the leader, I am the Alpha, and I am first, and so on. Max is 95% housebroken with only an occasional accident if sick with digestive issues. I can deal with that. Heck I’ve known grown adults to leave skid marks when in times of troubling digestive issues. Peanut on the other hand presents challenges. She can pee 2 times outside, go leave a beautiful firm mound come inside and 15 minutes later while playing squat at your feet and release a puddle! I think she’s catching on though as well I yell the infamous “Nooooooooooooooooo” she stops and promptly is put on a leash and finishes outside. I say she is slow to mature in some areas. I have to do some justification or I am going to start losing my patience.

I also remember my kids and potty training them. My first child we tried at 2 years old. That was a no go and tried again with success at age 2.5 years old. My second child was 3 years old and my third child was 3.5 years old when they were full potty trained. Like I said, justification tells you they all mature at different rates. Possibly this is the same way with puppies and I keep hearing an old saying in my head, “This too will soon pass”. I have faith, patience and a gallon jug of Nature’s Miracle on hand at all times. I figure by the time I finish writing this article Peanut will be housebroken and I’ll be bored not having to walk her constantly and scrub floors. Also to remind myself that dogs do not take years to housetrain only months in my case.

Oh, for those of you that think I am not good at housebreaking. You are 100% correct and can come over anytime to show me the right way. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. For a limited time only, I can lend you my puppy that will shower you with kisses, lie by your feet, snuggle in your arms, greet you eagerly every time you enter a room and promptly pee on your floor the second you turn your head. And then you can tell me how easy it is to housetrain my puppy.

NOTE: Since writing this article BOTH Max and Peanut are 100% housetrained (finally). Guess what? Dave and I had recently experienced a case of “temporary insanity”. Last week we managed to come home with Beau, a sweet, red, 4 month old male Goldendoodle puppy who is NOT housetrained. Hopefully ‘Housebreaking: Part 3” will be written as a success story. If not then “If at first you don’t succeed, Try , try again “ and make sure your bottle of Nature’s Miracle is not empty.

The contents of this blog site are copyright (c) 2007, Annmarie Sparks. All Rights Reserved

Read more: Housebreaking: Part 2

HOUSETraining….Part 1

Housetraining: where an intelligent adult human tries to teach a canine puppy how to PEE PEE and POOP OUTSIDE on the ground and NOT inside the house. There are no instructions attached to your puppy’s collar or any taped to the crate.

Fine, I know how to read articles on the internet and use common sense as well. Besides, I raised 3 kids born 4 years apart. One was trained at age 2, the other at age 2.5 years old and the 3rd child at 3 years old. I didn’t use treats, kept a constant eye on them, bought them the “big boy” and ”big girl” panties. OH and what praise I would lavish on them when they went potty. Yes there were a few accidents here and there but in a short time period each and every child of mine were easily housetrained. Each child was different due to maturity and willingness. But now we’re talking about a cute 13 week old puppy that I am told can be trained in weeks, not months or years, using consistency! Alright, how hard can this be? Dave was just looming over my shoulder a moment ago reading this and now is in the other room snickering away. I asked him what was so funny and got the reply, “Nothing honey” while he wears his Cheshire cat smile and stays quiet. (Smart man if you ask me)

Alright, here is the real truth on our housetraining skills: I have a college degree in computer information systems, graduated in the top 4% of my college with a 3.85 GPA, was vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, have 15 years experience in landscape design, completed Toastmasters Inc with numerous awards, was on the board of directors for Cornell University Cooperative Extension, a Master Gardner and the list continues. So for the time being I consider myself to be a responsible, somewhat intelligent, organized woman that uses common sense daily along with humor. HOWEVER, housetraining is NOT a course you can take at college (notice I did not use the phrase “hands on training”). I may not possess the greatest of canine housetraining skills. Yet I do have the power of positive thought and the good old “try, try again till we reach success” attitude! So what do Dave and I do? OH, we enthusiastically read every article on housetraining [success] stories we can find on the internet, absorbing that puppies primarily need walking right after sleeping, playing, and eating. Okay, we walk Max every 30min for the first week, commending him with GOOD BOY! Good POTTY MAX! And Max is so darn happy wagging his stumpy tail like he won the jackpot of dog treats. Wow this is great! Or is it?

When your puppy does circles acting like it is trying to catch its stumpy tail, well it is cute. That is till you realize your puppy is now doing number two on the floor while you stand there in total shock. Finally the brain registers what is really happening. Then you try to remember quickly where the leash is, try to run out with your puppy that is in mid poop, saying “Noooooooooooo” while picking him up and run out the door so he can finish outside what he has already finished in the house. Some dogs I hear are trained in under 2 weeks. Is that a mail order dog? Or am I just lucky enough to get the dog that helps me lose the extra 6lbs by walking him every 30 to 45min for weeks on end? I must say my Labradoodle puppy is great for speeding up my metabolism and other times curbing my appetite. Nature’s Miracle is now a household word and we bought the 1.5 gallon jug complete with a motorized power spray handle as Max somehow didn’t quite catch on quickly to housetraining. I now re-strategize what ARE WE doing wrong? Why? Well, Max does prove himself to be highly intelligent in other areas, like faking a poop or pee when he sees a treat.

BUT at the moment carpets seem to be the number one choice spot for Max, with tiles and laminate floors being second, the crate being the third, and for some reason the icy, partly snow covered grass being last choice. We do not tell anyone yet of our failure, instead when asked how it is going we just reply, “Max is doing really well as he doesn’t pee in the house at all and can hold it all night long” and promptly change the subject.

To be continued later on as right now Max needs a potty walk OUTSIDE and NOW.

PS: Did you hug your doodle today?

The contents of this blog site are copyright (c) 2007, Annmarie Sparks. All Rights Reserved

Read more: HOUSETraining….Part 1