Ug

[margimello]

The novelty of dog ownership has worn off. I kind of hate my dog now. I have cleaned approximately 4,871 puddles of pee and picked up 12 pieces of poop (my dog never poops except when/where he's not supposed to). He still cries when we're not within 4 centimeters of each other. Looking at him making puppy dog eyes at me after he peed in the

Comments

[frstjade]

it sounds like he really needs to be in the crate pretty much whenever you can't keep a hawk's eye on him - or have him leashed to your belt so he's always right under your nose, so that you don't give him the opportunity to make so many mistakes. by now, he thinks it's ok since he's been "allowed" to go on the floor so much. do you have pee pads? for a little dog they work wonders.

[benlbr]

i'll have to concur. as owner of 6 dogs, crating might be a good solution. as den animals, they don't normally poop/pee where they sleep.

pee pads sorta kinda work for my fiance's dog...but i think her breed (teacup yorkie) tend to be naturally pee-y anyway.

the best trainers are other dogs in the house. my dogs can go outside in the woods without a leash :)

[margimello]

I've discovered that the peeing/pooping thing is the icing on the cake of annoyance. The real issue is the separation anxiety. I could be standing directly next to him with the doggy door between us and he'll be crying his head off. If I take 3 steps away and out of sight, he'll start SCREAMING like I'm trying to pry his little toenails off with pliers. I don't even want to know how long he cries for when I go to school for the afternoon. If this keeps up through month 2, I think I'll have to take Carl Jung to see a doggy shrink

[bebemochi]

When we first got a ferret, I hated him for a little while. He was so inexplicable and difficult to deal with. But we learned to deal with each other, over time. The more I educated myself and talked to other ferret owners, the better able I was to understand him and therefore trick him into doing what I wanted. I found the "Ferrets for Dummies" book to be really helpful--I assume there's a "Puppies for Dummies" or something similar?

[margimello]

They have Chihuahuas for Dummies and I basically read the whole thing while I was standing in B&N -- not because I'm cheap but because I only really had to skim it since all the info was the same as the stuff I read online. I think Carl is just "special". I can't wait till he gets done w/ his shots so I can take him to training class.

[jeep95070]

like a child ahh

[margimello]

Yeah. I'm scared sterile right now. I think if I still had insurance I would seriously consider getting a hysterectomy.

[cheeseonmeat]

wait til you have to start forking over thousands of dollars to keep your dog healthy. or so i hear.

[margimello]

I'm totally signing an DNR for Carl. No doggy chemo for him. I'll just get him a marijuana prescription and we can hang out in front of the TV with a big ol' bowl of kibble together.

If I knew what I know now

[greentruth]

I love my dog but I miss the freedom I had before him. Also get insurance as soon as possible.

Re: If I knew what I know now

[margimello]

Being a single mom is tough. :(