Potty Training--Not So Much Training

Boost is usually peeing outside on her own—I think—although still I try to remind her to go outside as often as I think of it. Yesterday afternoon, while I was furiously working at my computer, she left a puddle in the middle of the kitchen (just around the corner from the doggie door). I didn't notice it until I had tracked little urine-covered footprints all around the kitchen and dining area, fortunately no carpeting, but it still took a lot of wiping and spraying with Nature's Miracle.

Last weekend, the previous housemate (OK, her name is Char) and our little black friend Casey visited for 3 days. During that time, Boost peed on the floor and mat just inside the doggie door twice and just outside the doggie door once. She wasn't very confident about having another dog in the house, and Casey didn't help by snarfing at her the first couple of times she approached him. At least he isn't a major brute like Jake is, but I think that might have had something to do with her hesitation to go all the way out to the yard, since Casey as always liked being out on the deck or on the lawn just beyond the deck.

At least I *assume* that all of these puddles were the Booster; she was seen doing only one of them.

Tuesday night, she went outside to do #1 and #2 around 10:30 or so (somewhat later or earlier than when I usually try to get to bed). Half an hour later, when I headed up to bed, I asked whether she wanted to go outside (rather than insisting), but she turned and headed for upstairs. So I closed up the house and we went up to the bedroom.

She's very good about going right into her crate whenever we go into the bedroom. I straightened out her mat this time (like Jake, she seems happiest when she has majorly rearranged the furniture into a pile on one side of the space) and I left her happily rearranging the mat while I brushed my teeth and all that. When I came out of the bathroom, she was huddled sitting up against the crate door with the most pathetic expression. So I sighed, put on my bathrobe, and took her outside, where she peed AND pooped.

But when we went upstairs again, she wouldn't go into her crate. I looked—sure enough, she had peed quite enthusiastically.

At least we're not having much of an issue with #2. Except for one time that my current housemate found a little gift in his bedroom a month or so ago in a brief unsupervised moment (Boost, not the housemate), and except once early this week when I found a little gift on the deck carpeting, that's always been outside.

So we remain Not Very Good at being housebroken. I have no idea how this compares to a typical 5-month-old puppy. I don't remember much at all about Amber's housebreaking schedule as a puppy (back in early 1980).