17-Weeks Progress Report, Plus Progress for Sam!

Margot turned 17 weeks-old yesterday, but unfortunately the only thing I have to report is that she STILL isn’t housebroken.  Up until now, I wasn’t very concerned because I kept telling myself, “She’s still rather young to fully be housebroken,” but I think I’ve finally reached the point of frustration over this.  

17 weeks-old

The reason I’m so frustrated is because Margot WANTS to use the bathroom outside.  If we leave the kitchen door and the sliding back door open during the day, she will get up off the couch and go all the way outside to use the bathroom, and then come back inside all by herself.  However, if that kitchen door or the sliding back door are shut when she has to go, she doesn’t whine, she doesn’t scratch at the door or ring those darn bells, she doesn’t come stare at us, and she doesn’t even sniff around much to find a spot.  She gives NO indication that she has to use the bathroom, but if that back door isn’t already open for her when she has to go, she just immediately uses the bathroom in the kitchen.  It’s gotten to the point that either Justin or I will jump off the couch and follow Margot every time she walks into the kitchen because she will do her business within a matter of seconds if she sees that door is shut.  I’ve even caught her mid-accident on a few occasions, yelled, “NO!  Outside!”, then taken her outside and praised her like crazy if she finished using the bathroom in the yard, but it just still hasn’t seemed to click with her that she is not allowed to use the bathroom in the house.  It’s like she thinks that it’s acceptable as long as the back door is shut.  It doesn’t even occur to her that we will open the door FOR her if she will just let us know that she wants out.   

I think my next move is going to be taking Margot and Sam’s water bowl out of the kitchen and, instead, putting a water bowl beside each of their food bowls in the dining room, which is connected to the living room.  Right now, whenever Margot goes into the kitchen, we’re never sure if she has to use the bathroom or if she’s just thirsty.   So, if I put her water bowl in the dining room where I can see it, then she really won’t have any other need for going into the kitchen, other than if she wants to go outside.  I’ve even thought about blocking the two doorways to the kitchen with baby gates in the hope that she’ll actually whine or paw at the gate if she wants in the kitchen.   At this point, these are the only options I can think of that I haven’t tried yet.  I’m wide open to suggestions, though, if anyone out there has any.

In other news, I do have something very positive to report about Sam.  For the last two days, I’ve taken Sam and Margot for a walk together after I’ve gotten home from work, all by myself!  The reason why this is such a big deal is because Sam is usually a nightmare to take on a walk because she barks and pulls on her leash the entire time.  The last time Justin and I took the girls for a walk, he had his hand wrapped around Sam’s leash, and she pulled so hard on it for so long that his hand actually turned blue.  For this reason, I thought that I could never walk both of the girls by myself because it would just be too much for one person to handle.  However (don’t laugh), I’ve been watching so many episodes of “The Dog Whisperer” lately that Cesar Millan has basically become my mentor.  I’ve learned a lot about how a dog owner’s energy can affect their dog’s behavior, and I realized that whenever I decide to take Sam for a walk, I automatically expect the worst behavior from her and assume that the experience is going to be a nightmare, even before we leave the house. 

It breaks my heart how much this reminds me of Lexie.

So, a couple of days ago I decided to put Cesar’s teachings to the test.  As soon as I let Sam onto the front porch to put on her harness, she began her usual routine of barking and whining, and wouldn’t sit still long enough for me to put the harness on her.   I immediately tensed up and felt that sense of dread and annoyance that I always feel whenever this happens; however, this time I was more aware of how I was feeling and reacting to Sam’s behavior.  So, I stopped trying to put Sam’s harness on her for a moment, and instead I took a deep breath and tried to rid myself of those negative feelings.  This wasn’t easy, mind you, because Sam’s barking only intensified once I stopped trying to put the harness on her, but I did my best to try to remain as calm and in control of the situation as possible.  As I walked out the front door with Sam and Margot on their leashes, instead of thinking, “Oh God, here we go….” like I usually do, I simply thought to myself, “I am their pack leader,” and began walking down the street with a newfound sense of confidence.  To my complete and total shock and amazement, Sam never even tried to pull me once!  She simply walked right by my side, and I was able to keep my arm completely relaxed as I held her leash.  Margot pulled on her leash a little bit during the walk, but that was mostly because she had more of that curious, playful puppy mentality and was excited by all the new sights and smells.  All I had to do was give Margot’s leash a little tug, though, and she’d stop pulling.

I was so impressed by Sam’s good behavior by the end of our walk that I almost couldn’t believe it.  So, I decided to try walking both of the girls again yesterday evening, just to make sure it hadn’t been a fluke, and I’m happy to report that it wasn’t!  Sam was just as well behaved yesterday as she was the day before.  I wish you guys could have seen how bad she was during walks before these last couple of days, because I’m not kidding when I say that the difference is truly amazing.  I’m actually very anxious to go home today and walk them again because I love being able to get out and enjoy our little neighborhood and Ritter Park with them.  It’s good for all of us, both mentally and physically.

Anyway, there are a few other things I could write about, but instead I think I’ll just leave you with some photos I’ve taken over the past week.  After all, they’re worth a thousand words, right?  ;)

It's definitely snuggle weather!

After a long day at the dog park.

Play date with Elsea!

Oh, just getting buried at the dog park.

Margot's a fan of the fireplace. :)

Where's Cesar Millan When I Need Him?

When Justin and I returned from the beach last month after being gone for an entire week, we expected Sam to go crazy as soon as she heard us walk in, but instead she chose to stay on Justin’s parents’ bed until we actually walked into the bedroom to find her.  That was part of the reason why I thought she would be so happy staying with Justin’s parents during the weekends, because she seemed so content there before.  However, when Justin and I arrived yesterday evening to pick her up, she was BESIDE HERSELF with excitement.   She barked non-stop and even jumped up onto us a couple of times, which is not typical behavior for Sam.   She was beyond happy to see us, and even happier when I put her harness on her and she realized we were taking her home.  She had a big, goofy, ear-to-ear grin on her face as she rode home with her head sticking out the window, barking occasionally to let everyone know how happy she was to be going home.



It warmed my heart to see Sam so happy, but that quickly dissolved as soon as Sam was reunited with Margot.  Margot immediately stood on her hind legs and wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck while also trying to bite her ears.   I decided to let them both go outside before Margot’s playfulness escalated, which seemed to work at first.  Margot mostly just followed Sam around the yard, but didn’t really try to play with her much.  Once they came back inside, though, Margot went nuts!  Sam actually tolerated her for a few minutes, but then the barking began. 

 

I wish I understood dog behavior better because I would love to know what’s really going on between these two whenever they bark and show their teeth to one another.  Margot is obviously just trying to play with Sam, but I honestly can’t tell if Sam is unhappy about it or actually semi-engaging in this form of play with Margot.   It seems like Sam would be doing more to put Margot in her place if she were truly angry with her, like snap at her or at least give a lower-pitched, more serious-sounding bark, but Sam never does that.  She just shows her teeth and gives a soft, sustained growl most of the time.  She does occasionally let out a loud bark with a brief snipping motion if Margot bites her too hard or won’t leave her alone while she’s trying to sleep, but for the most part Sam allows Margot to literally walk all over her. 



This may seem like an okay situation, but then...



...two seconds later!



I thought that maybe Margot was just extra excited about Sam being home and hoped that she would eventually lose interest in picking on her.  I even tried to lure Margot away from Sam several times by squeaking her favorite toys and initiating games with her, but Sam (bless her heart) always wants to be wherever I am and, as a result, she ends up putting herself right back in Margot’s path.  It’s the same situation whenever we move the baby gate and allow Sam to go upstairs by herself.   You would think that she’d love the opportunity to get away from the puppy and lounge on our bed all night, but instead she just ends up crying and standing at the baby gate because not only does she hate to be alone, but she’s not happy unless Justin and I are BOTH in the room with her!  It’s extremely frustrating because she makes it impossible for us to help her.   So, our only two options are to either to watch Margot incessantly pick on Sam and listen to them bark and growl at each other all night, or to take Sam back over to Justin’s parents’ house, and I hate both of those options.   

With that said, I reminded Justin at lunch today that during the few days when I was toiling over the “joint custody” decision, things actually seemed to be getting a little bit better between Margot and Sam, especially after Margot learned how to play ball.   Therefore, I’m just going to see how the rest of this week goes before I make any further decisions.  If the situation feels like it’s improving, I’m going to just try riding it out for a while, rather than separate Sam and Margot again.  Like I said, part of the reason why Margot was so relentless last night may have been due to the excitement of having Sam home again.   I’m crossing my fingers that tonight will be a little calmer for all of us.



Why can't they just be like this all the time?