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Michael Vick has been reinstated into the NFL. There’s a debate running over on Facebook about whether the Seattle Seahawks should sign Michael Vick to the team.

It seems to me (and my unscientific observation) that many of the guys responding are all for it but many of the women are not. My little cousin is all for it, as is my former boss. Both love dogs. But they also love football.

Should Michael Vick, after having served his time, be forgiven? My gut reaction is no.

Yes, he served his time but he showed an complete and utter lack of respect for the law and for the basic suffering of life in his actions. I’m not sure two years in jail has ‘fixed’ his views. Has he truly shown remorse? What is he doing to become a better citizen and show others the error of his ways?

“As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward…”

Has he spoken out against dog fighting? Has he started any sort of organization to rehabilitate or rescue dogs? Kids look up to football players and sports people. I would never want my son to wear a Vick jersey…ever.

…Vick finally pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground….He plans to work with HSUS in a program designed to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting.

Well, until he takes some drastic steps - speaking out STRONGLY against dog fighting and the brutality he put upon those poor dogs I can’t stomach his return to the NFL. I’m not opposed to forgiveness. And I do think people can change. But I’m really unsure in this situation. Is he really such a great football player that his past should be completely overlooked and forgotten (or forgiven)? Apparently some fans think so.

Seriously though…is he the ONLY player who is good enough to save the Seahawks? I kind of doubt it. The PR issues alone seem to trump his skills on the field.

What do you think? Would you support a football team that signed Vick? (Not that I watch a lot of football…it’s not exactly my favorite sport.)

As I waited for my 3D ultrasound appointment yesterday I listened to a local talk show … something I haven’t done in months. The host was talking about a horrendous attack on two women in SeaTac, WA (an hour or so from where I live).

This wasn’t an ordinary attack or mugging. This attack involved children ages 11, 12, 13, and 15. And a pit bull.

No, the kids weren’t attacked. The children DID the attacking. Calling them children is misleading I think…they should be called monsters.

This story makes me so angry I can’t even describe it. These monsters should be in juvie. The dog is obviously going to be put down and I think the kids and the parents should be charged with animal cruelty. THEY allowed this dog to get a taste for violence. They ABUSED this dog.

The King County sheriff’s office said four kids used a pit bull to attack two women in SeaTac.

Deputies arrested the 15-year-old girl and three boys — 11, 12 and 13 years old.

The first woman saw the kids kicking the dog, Snaps, Sunday evening and stopped her car because she thought they needed help. The sheriff’s office said the 15-year-old girl punched the woman with her fists while a boy brought the dog.

So first, the kids were kicking and abusing the dog. THEN they decided to use the dog as a weapon against two women.

“One of the boys brought the pit bull over on a leash and the dog was encouraged to join in the fight, which the dog did, and bit this 63-year-old woman on the hand and on the thigh,” said Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Of course the dog joined in … pit bulls want to please their masters and will do as they’re told with gusto. If they are trained in violence they will do so without abandon. The dog wasn’t “defending” the girl as the owner claims (the owner is the 15 year old’s brother)…he was ENCOURAGED to attack.

SICK! Just sick and completely twisted. Where were their parents? Who taught them it was okay to disrespect human, and animal, life in this way.

People like this are the problem. Pit bulls are NOT the problem.

I’m sickened. I hope that all four kids are put in some sort of detention, but I am guessing the dog is the one who will pay the ultimate price.

God bless the woman who stopped because the little monsters were kicking their dog. And pray that both women heal quickly.

Phew…it’s been awhile. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say…I just don’t have enough time in my days. Work has finally gotten busier, which is nice … and not. At least I’m no longer bored.

We’ve been having some major challenges to getting the dogs walked and exercised. The first is that it’s been super hot (okay, my definition of super hot is mid 70s… but I’m pregnant and our dogs have long hair) and the dogs pant inside with the air conditioner on.

And second, my body is rebelling. I did the dishes today and my back was killing me. I go get groceries and my back kills me. We had a garage sale the other weekend and I was in pain for several days afterward. Pregnancy is not so much fun.

So my poor babies are suffering because of the heat and from lack of exercise.

Then on Tuesday there was a major bad accident on the freeway and it took me over two hours to get home (normally takes 40 minutes). On top of that hubby had a DUI rollover accident near the end of his shift and he was an hour late getting home. Poor babies were stuck in their kennel for 11 hours!!! Talk about hyper. They were nuts that night.

Last night hubby and I dragged our butts outside with Timber and Trooper and forced ourselves to go for a walk. It was quite a challenge. I think they both have forgotten all their training for walking on the leash. Trooper was a maniac. He was worse than Timber! But by the end of the walk they’d both settled down.

Exercise is SO important and I feel so absolutely horrible about not being able to provide it. But last night I could hardly move after the walk.

I’m not sure what the answer is. If I had someone near us who I trusted I’d pay them to walk the dogs. But I don’t know or trust anyone locally. My Sister in law lives too far away … I trust her.

Hubby keeps saying that he’ll walk the boys, but he always ends up saying how tired he is. Which is true. He works 10 hour shifts, but does get three days off a week (although last week he also had an overtime shift last week). It’s when he’s working days during the week that the dogs have the hardest time. Right now his schedule is Tuesday through Friday, at the same time I’m at work during the day. So it’s the kennel for them.

If we weren’t having a baby I’d be taking (at least) Timber to daycare more often. As it is, he gets to go once or twice a month. He LOVES it. Maybe if I get a few more jewelry sales I’ll use the money to buy a few more days for him.

I know Quinn and Kodiak are fine. Quinn can barely make it around the block even one time. And Kodiak starts limping if we go around twice. So it’s really just Timber and Trooper that make me feel horrible.

If I feel this guilty about neglecting my K-9 babies, imagine how horrible I’m going to feel when I have to go back to work after maternity leave!

What a wonderful Saturday we had this weekend. And I am a very bad mama for not having pictures to share!

After great debate, hubby and I took Timber and Kodiak with us down to my grandfather’s house. We left Quinn and Trooper home, which made me sad but realistically I can’t handle four dogs right now. It would have been an utter zoo. Quinn doesn’t really enjoying being out, except for small walks around the neighborhood. Trooper would have loved it, but it really was achingly hot out and he would not have been comfortable.

So off we went, Kodiak and Timber in the truck cab with us. Timber continues to amaze and entertain me. None of the other dogs like to have their head out the window when we’re on the freeway - it’s just too much for them. So typically once we get on the freeway on ramp the windows go up. But Timber kept poking the window with his nose (which cracks me up to no end) like he wanted them open. So daddy obliged.

And talk about a cutie. He was just in such heaven, and our day had only begun.

When we arrived down at the farm, Timber was a tornado of energy. My grandpa hates misbehaving dogs. Seriously. Hates them. So I told him he was free to discipline Timber if he tried to jump up. His discipline is really just a knee up, but that’s kind of hard for an 82 year old to do so I told him he was free to use his foot. I’d rather he kick our dog than fall down and break sometime.

But hubby managed to keep hold of Timber, for the most part…my uncle did have to lift his knee to keep Timber off him. He was just SO excited.

Before getting ready for the rest of the visit we decided to go for a quick walk to get some of his energy out. It didn’t really help a ton, but as the day went on he got more and more calm. By the time we were ready to leave grandpa was telling him what a good boy he was. =)

And Timber got to SWIM, really swim, for the first time EVER! He’s a natural!!! I was so excited to see him frolicking and playing in the river. It was wonderful!!! Daddy threw sticks in and Timber would dive in and chase them as they floated down.

Of course, he was on leash the whole time. I don’t trust him further than I could throw him. But it was a nice long leash that allowed him to go all the way in the river to where his feet no longer touched. At one point he got stuck on a big rock out in the center of the river. It was so cute.

Kodiak on the other hand got to go off leash for the very first time ever. Being a husky he doesn’t always have the best hearing or sense of direction but he did really great. A couple of times I had to walk after him and call him back rather sternly…but even reluctantly he came back every time. And we put him back on leash when we walked past the horses…we didn’t trust him *that* much. But he went in the water higher than he’s ever done before.

Of course, he didn’t ever swim … he never has. I think it’s a Husky thing. Quinn has never swam with us either. And Trooper hates getting too high in the water. Timber is our swimmer.

So it was a wonderful day. Except for my sunburn.

I read on another blog, I think it was That Mutt but I could be wrong, that you shouldn’t try to avoid situations that your dog has issues with but should try to confront those situations and work through them. I’m paraphrasing obviously.

I sometimes don’t like walking Trooper because when we encounter other dogs he gets rowdy. Timber is the same way. But I realize that the more I walk Trooper and encounter dogs in various states of excitement the better he gets in his reactions.

If a dog is lunging (excited or aggressive) Trooper still wants to react toward that dog but with the choke chain and the sharp command “leave it” or “No” he isn’t trying to pull me off my feet anymore. Of course, an aggressive dog makes him get protective but he’s getting better at that too.

Timber, meanwhile, is also making gains in walking properly with his mama. I took him to daycare on Friday and for about 20 minutes went back and forth from my car to the door trying to get him to not pull on me. Finally the owner took pity on me and in 2 minutes had that dog healing and looking up at her in total submission.

I was very jealous. What was I doing wrong? I was being too nice!!! =) Which is funny since I’m the “mean” one of the family (mean as in strict). But I wasn’t being mean enough.

So more practice is necessary. My goal is to be able to someday walk both boys together. Without being pulled over. In the meantime I’ll be happy walking them separately without having a shoulder dislocated.

So I’m browsing around and come across this article, via Instapundit, about some yahoo who wrote another article dissing dogs and dog owners for believing that their dogs love them.

Eric Zorn, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, recently mocked a local woman, Jess Craigie, who dove into near-freezing waters to save her dog from drowning. Zorn wrote, “Note to Jess Craigie: Your dog still doesn’t love you.”

Uh huh.

I wrote a post a while ago about dogs and souls. It’s a more complicated and mysterious than any of us can truly understand or explain in our lifetime. Perhaps after we die we will find out the true answer.

For now I refuse to believe that my dogs don’t recognize and love me in their own doggy way.

It may not be love the way I understand love and express it as a person. But it is their own way of showing us their affection for us. When I come home from work and hubby has the door cracked open just enough so that their happy doggy noses are sticking out, tongues out, and tails wagging. You can just sense their excitement.

When I walk in the door I’m sniffed and rubbed up against…of course this is partially conditioning. I give them luvins when I come home and they expect it.

But you can’t tell me that Trooper isn’t fond of me. Perhaps he only sees me as alpha and his “affection” and attention is merely his way of relating to alpha. Maybe.

If that’s all it is, I’ll still take it and accept it as his way of loving his mommy.

Can anyone truly quantify the love or affection of a dog (or cat for that matter)?

Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and take Timber and Trooper for a walk. Separately. I keep telling hubby that he needs to work with Timber more often but the laziness factor seems to keep that from happening.

Don’t get me wrong, hubby LOVES his dogs and plays with them a lot (wrestling, ball, tug of war) but walks seem to elude his vocabulary.

And I’m tired of Timber practically pulling me down when I take him to daycare. He needs to NOT pull.

So around the neighborhood I went with Timber not sure exactly why mommy was with him instead of papa. But he did very good. Several times I had to use the choke chain and jerk in the opposite direction to make him stop pulling hard but that should decrease the more we work.

One of my neighbors was walking out to get his mail and I asked him if we could train a bit with him. I made Timber sit and stay and the neighbor walked towards us. Timber freaked out and got all excited and started jumping up and waging his tail and barking. So the neighbor stopped (he knew what he was doing) while I calmed pup down and made him sit again.

It took a little over 5 minutes for the guy to actually be able to get close enough to us with Timber being calm before I’d let Timber approach the man. He tried jumping up once but I was ready for it and the guy was too. It’s good to have neighbors who know how to handle dogs. Plus he’s a total dog lover.

We only went around the neighborhood once but that was enough for Timber, who seemed wiped out…with all the switching directions we probably actually walked the equivalent of two times around.

Trooper is a breeze after wild man. But I was a little more strict with him last night because I want to take him with me in public to an outdoor craft show on Saturday. So for the most part I kept him right by my side, something I don’t always do on regular walks. And I only let him leave my side if I said “OK” and gave him extra leash so he could sniff and mark. He did really well. When I stopped to chat to someone he just sat down nicely. He’s such a good boy.

Daddy doesn’t want me to take Trooper out in public. He’s worried about liability, which I can totally understand after the incident. But he’ll be on leash, on a choke chain actually, and with me the whole time. At no point will he be off leash or out of my sight. If I see a small dog (and my eyes will be peeled) I will tighten up my hold and be extremely careful.

If I don’t ever take him out he’ll never learn how to behave. One of these days I’d like hubby and I to be able to take Trooper and Timber with us for long walks in public places but right now that isn’t realistic.

Anyway…both Trooper and Timber were very happy and tired last night.

What about Quinn and Kodiak? Well, their walk times have diminished drastically since Kodiak’s last surgery. Quinn can only make it once around the neighborhood and that’s pushing it. Kodiak loves to walk but ends up very sore afterward so we don’t walk him that often…maybe once a week. They’re both old enough that they like to sleep most of the day.

It’s the two young boys who keep us on our toes.

Oh my goodness…it is hard to be back, even though I do love being home in my own bed. We had such a great time on vacation, even though it was only 4 days long. It’s actually pretty stressful for me to go on vacation with my dogs, as much as I adore them. My next vacation might have to be without them.

It’s just a lot of work when your dogs absolutely can NOT be off leash and there’s no fenced in area for them. It means leads and tying the leads to things that can’t be ripped up or tipped over. And those leads then get tangled if all four dogs are out at the same time. It’s exhausting.

But it was worth it. We discovered that Timber is definitely part fish…or some sort of dog that loves the water. While the other three wimps freak out if the water gets over their knees, Timber was diving in head first with no fear whatsoever. It was incredible and I was almost in tears with happiness. I took a short video of his aunt Jennifer playing with him in the surf…please forgive my goofy commentary…and shaky hands.

Watching that makes me smile. He had SO much fun. He barked a lot from the house where we had a perfect view of the beach - every time he saw a dog on the beach he’d start barking, so he barked a lot. He was also enthralled by the birds…so was Trooper.

The house we stayed in was right on top of the beach and had a perfect view of Haystack rock. Unfortunately there were really steep stairs leading down to the beach, which made it impossible for my mother in law to go down and very difficult for Quinn and Kodiak. Quinn went on one walk with me on Sunday morning and while she had a great time she was done and exhausted for the next two days.

On our way back up the steps, I literally had to lift her back legs for her. The poor thing. Getting old sucks. But our walk was nice and relaxing…just the two of us.

I also got to take Trooper on a solo walk…it was after his main walk with his aunt and papa so he was nice and mellow. I wasn’t able to handle him so well when he was fresh with lots of energy. It was too exciting for him.

Thank goodness for their aunt Jennifer…she loves to walk and took the boys on real long walks that tired them out nice and good. A tired dog is a great dog!

I have so many more fun photos to share but I should probably stop. LOL If you want to see the rest of the photos I have (except for some of the family ones…hubby doesn’t like his face on the net) please check out my Vacation 2009 folder in Flickr.

It’s good to be home. I think the doggies were still tired for a day after we got back. We’re going to have to find a beach close to us to take them to…at least to take Timber and Trooper.

And by breed, I mean have human children. Because they’re obviously too stupid.

This story makes me so angry I feel it in my gut. (Read both links…the first is mostly the dad calling the breeder stupid and the second gives the breeder’s side.)

A dad brings his 8 year old daughter into a kennel run with Rottweilers to help FEED them…F E E D them! I don’t care if they’re a bunch of chihuahuas…young kids and feeding dogs do not mix. Dogs are ANIMALS and act on instinct. This includes protecting their food even when there is no “real” threat. Dogs don’t always operate on logic so a threat to them might seem like nothing to us.

I am saddened that the dog was put down and angered that the father is blaming the owner when it is HIS fault his daughter got hurt. He is damn lucky she wasn’t killed. I feel horrible for the breeder of these dogs. She had set rules and this guy broke those rules. NO kids with the adult dogs. HE broke the rule. The breeder did her job.

The dad has the temerity to call the breeder stupid!?! I’m hearing the pot calling the kettle black. ARG!

I would never let a strange child help me feed MY dogs, who are fairly tame at mealtime…at least with people. With each other they can get snappy. Things happen.

People need to use common sense, if they have any, when it comes to animals. Letting a small child around large dogs (I don’t care what breed they are) when those dogs are feeding is completely asinine.

I was glad to see that in a poll the Herald Sun was running, over 60% of respondents did not think that Rottweilers should be banned in Australia.

DON’T BLAME THE BREED!!! People are in the wrong 99% of the time in these cases and this one is no exception.

h/t Dr Ferox

I just read an article today about the unrest in Thailand potentially increasing. Some people are worried about the stability of the country. If something goes awry I worry about the dogs. People can take care of themselves (for the most part) but the dogs who are in need rely on humans to help.

That’s where you can come in and help! Kindred Souls Foundation is teaming up with Animal Rescue Team TAIWAN again to bring some dogs over to the states to save their lives. The deadline for saving these dogs, before they are put down at the government run shelter, is Thursday, April 23.

Please help spread the word about these adorable dogs. They’re mostly small, though the shelter can’t guarantee that the puppies won’t get larger. Most dogs from Taiwan are a mix of Formosan Mountain dog and therefore don’t compete with the kind of dogs found in U.S. shelters. That is why Kindred Souls works with the Taiwan rescue to save those they can. Every dog deserves to live!

But they can only do it with new fosters - regular fosters are reserved for local dogs - so the only chance these dogs have is if a new foster parent steps up and volunteers.

“As a foster parent you are agreeing to love and care for the dog until we can find a permanent adoptive home. KSF and ART pay for all medical costs while you foster- you supply the food, transportation to vet appointments (at our vet Chambers Creek in Lakewood), exercise, socialization, play, chin scratches, belly rubs and kisses!”

Please blog and post about these lovely little dogs.

I think people can debate about whether animals have souls…but I do believe that some do. Yes, some. I find it hard to believe that a fish or a spider have a soul. But dogs and cats and other domesticated pets…it’s hard not to look into their eyes and see a soul. Whether one like ours or something different…it’s not a perfect believe I realize.

When I read stories like this it reaffirms this belief (and yes, I know there are plenty of horrible animal stories but let’s focus on the positive shall we?):

From one of my favorite Blogs, Rachel Lucas brings us the story of Jasmine.

Please go visit and read this incredibly heartwarming story…and check out the adorable photos. It is the kind of story that will make your day.

* Warning…don’t browse other posts by Rachel if you are sensitive to cursing or strong views. I LOVE her but she definitely has her own opinions and is not afraid to share them. But she is a fabulous dog lover and has lots of great doggy posts. *

I love stories like this!

This morning had me up super early…hubby should have been home at 2 a.m. but when I woke up at 4:15 a.m. he wasn’t there yet. So I was up and awake and not going back to sleep (the nagging cough and cold don’t help) and on went the television. I love watching Fox and Friends in the morning while I get ready for work and since they’re three hours ahead they were on.

They had the sweetest story about a dog rescued by a wonderful couple in Florida. This sweet boy had lost his back leg in some sort of trauma, and while we know that dogs can live and thrive on three legs this couple decided to look for an alternative.

This German Shepherd mix lucked out when he found his forever home with retired dentist Steve Posovsky. He and his wife tried a strap on leg designed just for Cassidy but the poor guy just couldn’t adjust. So they went to veterinarian Denis Marcellin-Little who agreed to attach a truly prosthetic leg to Cassidy’s right thigh.

This dog was so cute on TV…cuddling against papa. I don’t know that he was really enjoying the attention, but at one point he used his prosthetic leg to scratch himself! It was so sweet and funny.

They said on the news that this procedure will be used on several other dogs and then they want to try this technology on humans. This is the best of both worlds in my opinion. Yes, they are “experimenting” on dogs but the benefit to the dog is so worth it. It isn’t cruel and the leg will even detach automatically if it senses any stress…

“At the beach last week, the foot got caught on a step. Cassidy just walked away and the leg lay there on the sand.”

Talk about amazing. I am so grateful to live in this amazing time.

If we had only three dogs right now I might be willing to take Otis home with me. He is adorable and sensitive. And he’s a lap dog. I love lap dogs.

(By lap dog…don’t assume he’s small *grin*)

This sweet boy’s name is Otis. He is a non-aggressive Pit Bull and has graduated from “Manners 1″ at a local canine training center. His trainer describes him as “smart” and “full of love and willingness”. He has had his behavior assessed by a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and three other trainers who all agree that he is non-aggressive.

He does have special needs as he is super sensitive and does not deal with stress well. Boarding for two weeks at a local vet was very difficult for him. He’s currently in a temporary foster home, but that home will become unavailable soon.

He needs a little push to drink enough water, but we are told that if you sprinkle some kibble in his water he’ll drink it up. When he does get stressed he might spin in circles and sometimes grabs people’s clothing or inanimate objects with his mouth. But his trainers say that he is very eager to learn and trusts humans.

The person who adopts Otis must have a knowledge of dog behavior, be skilled in handling dogs, and have a willingness to use a holistic approach to his care (physical, medical, and emotional needs).

He’s great with other dogs and takes cues from them - he submits to alpha males and females.

If you know someone who will love Otis forever please contact the Kindred Souls Foundation at info@kindredsoulsfoundation.org. It’s time for Otis to find his forever home.

Writing about crate training Trooper was very timely. As you might remember, Trooper’s breeder just recently had a new litter and one of the new Malamute mom’s had a question about her new one and the tantrums of being in a crate. I laughed with sympathy and forwarded my post to her.

So now part two.

The number one thing I can recommend while potty training - PAY ATTENTION. Puppies are really pretty obvious (usually) when they have to go. And the second thing…use treats.

If your puppy is loose and walking around the house watch them like a hawk. Puppies usually give some very clear clues that they need to go potty…though every puppy is different.

If you are worried about your puppy not being within your line of sight at all times, use a leash. Attach it to your belt or waist and that puppy will stay with you no matter where you go (obviously don’t drag them around *grin*). If you’re sitting on the couch, make him stay within your line of site. If you’re in the kitchen (and you’re going to allow them in the kitchen) have her by your side.

This helps with two different things. First it gives you the opportunity to watch them like a hawk. The second is that it gives the dog the message that they do not have free roam. They can’t go anywhere they want and need to have your permission. Plus it’s a great bonding tool.

Trooper hated it at first but he got used to it (I think it helped us establish our Alpha role as well). We didn’t do this with Kodiak and we had a LOT more puppy potty accidents in the house. We just didn’t watch him closely enough.

Kodiak gave us plenty of signals, but since he was our first puppy we didn’t always recognize them right away.

Sniffing around or moving in a circle was one of his key alert behaviors. Of course, sniffing is common for puppies because there is a lot of new stuff to smell. But there should be a certain kind of sniffing and moving that your dog does before they go potty.

If we didn’t grab Kodiak and head outside fast enough, sure enough after a few circles he’d be squatting on the floor and doing his business.

If you see your puppy start to squat - grab them quick and run outside. Don’t yell. Don’t punish. They don’t know any better and haven’t learned where they should do their business yet. It is NOT their fault!

We had many interesting trips running from the apartment with our dog upside down in our arms…usually with a stream of pee shooting up! I’m sure our neighbors loved us.

Trooper wasn’t nearly so obvious. He liked to stare. That’s about the only hint he gave. No whining. No barking. He would stare at us for a few minutes or go stand at the back door (once he realized that is where he needed to go) and sit there. If we didn’t realize he was there he’d go right on the rug. It was not fun.

Finally we tied a bell to the back door. Every time we took him out to potty we lifted his paw for him and rang the bell. Pretty soon he got the idea and would ring the bell himself to go outside. Such a smart boy!

He still doesn’t bark or whine (he’ll be 3 in July). He will stare at you deeply (it’s a little unnerving) or just sit by the door. But thankfully he has more control now and doesn’t have accidents in the house. We usually get the message if he stares long enough.

I think most puppies go through a couple of training stages. The first one is when they can’t really control themselves. They’re too young to hold it for very long and if not given the appropriate opportunity to relieve themselves will go wherever they are.

The second stage is when they are a little older, 3-4 months, and do have more control but still don’t “get it” 100%. When they have to go potty they kind of know they’re supposed to go outside but just aren’t sure how to go from A to B.

Encourage your puppy when they go potty outside. My mom thought I was a complete nutter. When Trooper went potty, I’d say over and over again “Good boy go potty” … as he was going. And then he’d immediately get a treat. Going potty outside is FUN!

This encouragement really does help get you to stage three. A little bit older and wiser and able to hold their bladder longer, your puppy KNOWS that it is supposed to go outside and should know how to tell you. But if you ignore the signs too long or if he is left home alone he may have no choice but to go inside.

I think that stage three might be the hardest phase to get over - especially if your dog has to be by themselves for long periods of time. By around six months old Trooper could hold his bladder for at least 6 hours but if we slept in or left him in his crate for longer than that he had accidents.

Again, NOT his fault. Don’t punish or yell because they won’t know why. Just clean up the mess and start over again.

I know that some people use potty training pads but we found those just encouraged the dogs to go in the house (we use them now for Quinn but she is a different situation).

Do you have some good potty training tips? Was it hard to potty train your puppy?

Timber is still a puppy. I wish we could have had him when he was puppy sized. *grin* But for now we’re just trying to work through his big puppy stage.

Hubby woke me up last night when he got home from work to inform me that Timber is now eating soap.

Yes, soap.

I knew he liked licking up bath water after hubby’s showers. I knew he liked drinking bubble bath water (don’t ask). I knew he didn’t mind soapy water in the sink. But I didn’t think he’d actually EAT soap!

I just laughed and went back to sleep. So now we have to keep the bathroom door shut because he actually crawls into the bath tub to get the soap.

I’m sure he’ll grow out of all these weird behaviors. Trooper did. Kodiak did. Quinnie came to us without these weird things. Hubby was laughing and asking Timber when he will grow out of these things.

He IS a good dog though and I’m happy to let him be his puppy self. He doesn’t get in trouble when he does naughty things, unless of course we catch him in the act.

Punishing a dog long after they’ve gotten into mischief is completely counter productive and does nothing but make the dog fear you. If a dog has an accident in the house, rubbing their nose in it does NOTHING to explain to the dog why they did wrong. If a dog chews up your favorite shoes and you start yelling at him after you find them…he doesn’t know why you’re mad.

The only time that “punishment” works is when you catch the dog immediately in the act. When Timber counter surfs and I catch him I can tell him “off” and pull him down off the counter. He’s starting to get that “off” means to get down. Dogs will learn if we humans are patient and do our jobs properly.