Or that’s what it felt like when I was done, anyway.
I thought Abby was done with this, but two of the last three nights she’s left calling cards on the carpet. That’s a pleasant thing to wake up to, believe you me.
Then I turned on the computer and the keyboard connection was no good. This has happened before, but it’s still annoying. I hunted around and found an HP keyboard from who knows when and tried that, and it worked, but I decided I wasn’t going to deal with this anymore, so when I went out to the store today I planned to get a wireless keyboard.
Then the problem of how to wall the dog off from the dining and living rooms where she’s left messes became one of “can we find a baby/pet gate that’s six feet wide to keep her in the playroom and off the carpet?” So I added Home Depot, a local hardware place, Baby’s R Us and Petco to my list of places to shop while I was out today.
2 1/2 hours later I’d been to the library to return and pick up books, Safeway to get some red onion and red potatoes and pick up a movie from Redbox for Mom (“Flight”), Office Depot for the keyboard, and those other four places. It was 4:00 PM.
I’m tired, and I couldn’t find a six-foot wide gate for the dog, either. Still ruminating on how to keep her in the playroom and how long it’s gonna take her to get past this mess-leaving.
I tried to leave this comment yesterday and it didn’t take.
Unsolicited advice – Tie her leash to your belt and keep her near you at all times. Take her to your designated spot periodically, and reward heavily when she goes there. A little dab of anchovy paste might be a good reward. Watch her carefully enough to see signs she needs to go (circling, sniffing the rug, looking towards the door, for example) and take her out whenever you see these. Gradually lengthen the leash, and then start short periods off leash, and gradually lengthen. Back up a few steps if she makes a mistake. Crate at night.
Dachshunds are the best dogs ever, but notoriously hard to housebreak, so I speak from experience.