Sunday, February 10, 2013

let's talk about poop


Everyone knows that pugs are notoriously hard to housebreak. I had Ares for 3 days before he pooped outside ONCE. (If anyone else has that problem, the vet recommends moving some of their poop if possible outside to help them learn.) Luckily for me, although I didn't realize it at the time, it was much easier for me to take him outside because I got him in early spring and the weather was nice. I also got really quick at throwing clothes on to run outside with him. I live in a small studio above garage apartment and kept him in a puppy play pen so that I could easily see accidents. With treats every time he went potty outside, it only took a few months for him to stop peeing in the house.
He does have a vicious streak though. He's so attached to me that when I went on a cruise a few months after getting him, he was very upset. He would look at me while squatting to pee in the house. We went back to the basics and the problem didn't take very long to resolve.
Luna is a pee monster. She likes to pee ON things. She'll pee on my laptop bag, on my bed in the middle of the day, on my bathroom rugs, on my clothes, etc. If it's on the ground, it's going to get peed on. She's stopped it. Kind of. But she's still nowhere near housebroken. It's not entirely her fault though. I've gotten lazy. I don't like going out in the cold. It's hard to take them both out in the dark. I have so many excuses!
And now Ares is joining in the fun by regularly pooping inside! He just wakes up in the middle of the night and decides he has to poop.
As much as I love Ares and Luna and I adore the fact that they're so close in age (9 months apart), it was a horrible idea to get a puppy right when I got one dog house broken! I only started the vicious house breaking cycle all over again! All I can think of is that it's a good thing they're so darn cute and lovable or else I would have lost my mind by now!

We have to get out of our rut. I have reevaluated the situation and my goal is to get a ribbon and bells this week and train the dogs to let me know when they have to go out (currently, they have no cues). I am also going to stick with giving them treats to potty. I will not have dogs that pee and poop in the house when they are perfectly capable of 1) holding their bowels and 2) learning to go outside. They have no excuses! And now, neither do I.

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