May
11
There is more to talk about than MABEL DOG but she sure has been a great distraction lately, in plenty of good ways and some potty-related frustrating ones. I was telling my mother about how baffling she can be, peeing on the floor after so much time outside, and I had about one trillion excuses for why she might be doing it, and my mom was like, you may have to consider the fact that she simply does not care, and I must say that did ring true. I DO think she cares in the sense that she appears to know before I even react that it is Unwanted Behavior, but there does not yet seem to be any connection on her part that it is possible to make a Better Choice. Or, perhaps she does not consider Consequences until after the Action.
Well, I am working on it. I keep taking her out, praising her to the heavens when she goes outside, and correcting her with a sharp but not scary “AH!” sort of sound (as opposed to NOT AGAIN JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ARE YOU KIDDING ME) when she goes/starts to go inside and then hustling her back out.
(It has occurred to me many times that this will be all more difficult/maddening when the weather is not so pleasing and summerlike and the yard is a treacherous mudzone.)
On a friend’s suggestion who also owns a very small unreliable dog, I have ordered some dog diapers. Apparently some/many dogs will not go with the diaper on and so that might be a way to let her at least romp around the house without me having to keep my eyes glued to her at all times.
Oh, and I have a dog trainer scheduled for later this month! This is a behavior-focused specialist who comes to the house, and I’ve requested that we work on 1) potty, 2) barking, and 3) walking on leash properly. There was a field to enter the breed, and I assume whoever reviews these will take one look at “miniature dachshund” and burst out laughing. Ma’am, a meth-addicted incontinent donkey would’ve been less work.
Taking her on walks around the neighborhood has been a comical new hobby, sort of like being hauled around by a crazed centipede. She’s eager to explore everything but also hugely overwhelmed by traffic, which is unfortunate since you have to cross busy areas in all directions to get somewhere more peaceful. She does seem good with other dogs and people when we are outside, which I’m thankful for.
I myself have been on less of my own longer, exercise-focused walks; I find that I’m kind of bushed after all the hyper pet wrangling and just want to secure Mabel in her crate for a while and hunker down. Thank heavens for crate training, honestly. At first I was hesitant to pop her in there, but it’s clear she views it not as a cage but rather her tiny little private wolf cave. I put some soft bedding in there and she likes to root around until she is fully burrito’d and it is both cute as hell and a massive relief: okay, time for a breather.
Comments
-
My product review site:
[