You may be wondering how we are adjusting to having a puppy. So far, so good. Charlie is a doll and Shadow is a good model for him.
I do have a confession for you.
I'm not doing so great with the potty training. I bought little bells for Charlie to step on and ring when he wants to go out, but he is fond of carrying them to his (Shadow's) dog bed and chewing on them. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Because we spend most of our time holed up in the kitchen, hemmed in on both sides by baby gates, we don't have too many accidents during the day, and he does very well in the crate when I'm out running errands.
This puppy loves his water almost as much as he obsesses about food, and a few times a day he's particularly prolific in the pee department: 5-8 pm, and 6:30-8:30 am. While a baby might have witching hours, this puppy has PEEING HOURS.
I tell you this because I have a confession to make.
It's a well established fact that I'm not a morning person. What I haven't told you is that for the past year and a half, Tim and Margaret have gotten up and out of the house without my seeing them. Yep! I am not down in the kitchen in my ruffly apron giving kisses, flipping pancakes, and lovingly handing out sack lunches. I'm upstairs asleep. A few weeks into Margaret's 7th grade year, I was suffering from shingles and needed to rest. Eventually, I got better, but we realized that the mornings went more smoothly without my being involved in the equation at all. Running late? Clothing woes? Not my problem.
After so many years of waking up early and being in charge of getting everyone up and out, this schedule is a GIFT.
I was worried that having the puppy would mess with our little morning routine, but it hasn't. Tim gets up with the dogs. When he and Margaret leave, they shut them back in the bedroom with me while I sleep. The thing is, pretty much every day, in the 7:30-8 am range, Charlie pees in the bedroom. We have a pee pad there, even though we know it isn't something we want to encourage forever. I've removed the pad, but then he pees on the hardwood floor.
Given the choice between living in a pee palace and waking up early, I'd choose pee every single time.
Ok, I'm glad I got that off my chest.
Fellow night owls, what would YOU BE WILLING TO DO to get a little extra sleep in the morning?
Oh, Anna!, I love that you sleep in! I am more of an early morning person, mainly because if I want to be alone I have to wake up at 5 a.m. When I do sleep in, though, I let my younger boys play Minecraft if they promise to leave me alone. I, too, would choose a puddle of pee if it meant a few more minutes of shut eye.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Tim could stick Charlie in his cage when he & Margaret leave the house in the morning? That would allow you to sleep in peace and avoid the pee problem, maybe? I like to sleep in too, but pee on my bedroom floor every morning would be a bridge too far for me, honestly. Are you feeling kind of ambivalent about Charlie in general, possibly?.
ReplyDeleteYes! Which is why my 2nd child slept in our bed muuuccchhhh longer than the first. I couldn't bear to get up and walk him back to his room. He also slept in with me:). J
ReplyDeleteYou're setting yourself up for some very bad habits, very early on. Have you considered crate training him? Have Tim or Margaret take him out in the morning and instead of putting him in the bedroom with you, putting him in his crate?
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard, but you've got a good many years ahead of you and you don't want to start teaching him bad habits that will be hard to break later on.
LOL - Well, if it was carpet I would have to disagree with you on the pee vs. sleep, but hardwood is MUCH easier to clean up...so, yeah - I see where you are coming from there. ;) I like to catch extra zzzz's when I can too.
ReplyDeleteWe have the bell tied to the door and as they get bigger you make it harder for them to reach it. I know some people take the food and water up in the evening after eating which might help with the peeing. He is so worth it but I know you already know that!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Umm I have a feeling that little ball of fur may be a strong motive to get up 30 minutes earlier. Ha! Could he be locked in your bathroom so at least the pee is not on a wood floor?
ReplyDeleteI think I'd let my puppy pee, too! I value my sleep! Have you tried hanging a bell from the door knob? That's how we trained our beagle. We used a cow bell on a thick cord - too big to pull off the knob. He could touch it with his nose to let us know he needed to go out.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your honesty because I am not a morning person either. You may want to have them put him in the crate until you can let him out again later in the morning. ����
ReplyDeleteSO happy to hear another mom say she doesn't do the morning routine! I go to work now - but when I was a SHM I didn't "go to work" until 8am! I still don't do much to help in the mornings and would sleep later if I could. Would definitely throw out a wet pee pad to get extra Zzzzs.
ReplyDeleteI love love love to sleep in! We have a doggie door for our dog and it's wonderful. She has a fenced in area off the back deck, and as long as she's not up to jumping the fence (50% of the time) all is good! FYI I would choose pee as well.
ReplyDeleteMorning people will NEVER understand us night owls. We are a special breed!!!
ReplyDeleteI just wish I could stay asleep all night long. After years of being a morning person, I'm neither good first thing in morning or after the sun goes down. There is something to working when it is dark and all is quiet. Early morning or late night. I hope I can find that place (either one) again.
ReplyDeleteAnn...Do yourself and your new doggie a huge favor and get him crate trained....It's awesome in the long run. Do it!! A few days of misery:)will be a small price to pay!! You have to be the boss! Good luck! You can do it!! Get the wire collapsible kind...It will be his cozy place. Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleteCindy
My dog is 6 and we still use the pee pads ��
ReplyDeleteHahaha! That is awesome and is pretty much the best confession ever. Although it might be awful to get up, there is also something quite luxurious about getting BACK in bed. If I were you, I wonder if I'd be willing to get up, deal with the pee-ding-ding, and then crawl back into bed for a bit. I confess that I'm afraid to even consider getting a dog, so you're way ahead of me anyway.
ReplyDeletelove,
jbhat
I start our morning routine but then go back to bed. Our dog is in a crate in the Family room (open to kitchen). He hears everyone get up and out the door, but he stays in his crate. I go back to bed when the boys leave at 7 and get him up and out of his crate at 8ish when I get up. You could also have Tim let the puppy out in the morning and put him back in his crate when he leaves.
ReplyDeleteOur bells are tied to the door where they go out. When training the dog, you just say "let's go potty" at the door & take their paw & help them ring the bell. They will get the hang of it in no time!
ReplyDeleteCan your husband put the puppy back in his kennel/crate when he's leaving in the morning?