8 Weeks- Housetraining

Sep 2, 2004 | Stitch's Story

Third Day – Several times she startles in the middle of playing and runs all the way outside and pees. Several other times she forgets and pees in the kitchen. Housebreaking is my very worst thing, but she’s getting the idea and, as my mother used to say, she’s unlikely to get her PhD without being housetrained, so not to worry. The entire house is blocked off except for the places she is, and they’re tiled. And she’s, for Heaven’s sake, about three weeks ahead of where I expected her to be, so I’m not going to get excited about the odd error. Especially when it means I don’t have to stare at her every moment.

Today we start clicker training. Elaine has clicked the pups as she delivered their food, so she certainly knows what the click means. There are 150 kibbles in a quarter cup of dog food, so we do about 50 Sits (nose goes up butt goes down X 5, then wait for it), 30 Downs (almost all lured), 30 Stands (waited for them, clicked when they happened), 20 turn-your-head-to-the-left (that’s what she offers me), and the rest eye contact. I could have liked a little more intensity, but OTOH she’s working for dry kibble. We work in the screen room. Once she takes a break, goes over to the fish pond, and gets a drink of water.