Day #1

Well, yesterday was interesting to say the least.

Irie (yes, that's what I decided to name her) did a great job sleeping in her crate Sunday night and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning (well, she has a cropped tail so she wasn't really bushy-tailed, but you get my drift.)

We started the day with a long walk, during which Irie had no interest in using the bathroom. I then took a shower which Irie decided to join me in which resulted in me pushing her nose out of the curtain every 30 seconds to make sure she didn't actually jump all the way in. (I'm under strict orders not to get her stitches wet.) After I was ready for work, we went for another walk - still no pottying.

I put her in her crate with a few toys and her kong (quickly her favorite toy and about the only way to get her in the crate right now) and left for work. She didn't cry and we were off to a great start.

I came home at lunch and took her out for a walk - still no pottying. I got her to eat some food (her first since the surgery) and we played a little. Another quick walk (and you guessed it, no pottying) and I put her back in her crate. Now the crying began.

Silently apologizing to my neighbors, I went back to work. After work, we set off on a long walk. I was determined to keep her out until she finally used the bathroom. We walked and walked. An hour and a half later, she still had not gone. I finally decided she just must not have had enough to eat or drink to need to go. So finally I gave up and we went inside to have dinner. About 10 minutes later what did she do? Squatted on the kitchen floor and peed. Unbelievable!

I scolded her and took her outside, but of course she didn't need to pee anymore.

Then we took a very eventful car ride over to PetsMart to pick up a new collar for her (the one I had gotten was too small). Irie had absolutely no interest in staying in the carrier (Maverick's carrier) and actually managed to put a hole in one of the sides. I'll have to fix that before I use it to transport Maverick again. Needless to say she was a bit of a pest all the way there, but finally settled down a little.

She was a perfect angel at the store and we got what we needed and headed back home. Once there I settled in to make some phone calls and Irie fell asleep on my lap. I was hopeful that the excitement for the evening was over. But no sooner had I hung up the phone than Maverick started doing her pre-throwup coughing. Instinctually I put my hand up and BLAAHK, I had a handful of Maverick puke. Awesome! He continued to hack up more. Of course all over the back of the new couch. I just had to laugh.

I got that cleaned up, took Irie out again and decided to call it a night. Maverick and I retired to my bed, Irie went back in her crate. Approximately 5 seconds later, Irie began to cry. I knew I needed to stick it out, so I laid in bed very patiently for 2o minutes while she cried, clawed, howled, etc. Finally I decided it wasn't worth it. I'd rather clean up the mess in the morning than listen to her cry all night and fear annoying the neighbors too much.

She happily joined me in bed and slept there all night. I, of course, didn't sleep very well because I was worried she would get out of bed and do something bad during the night. But she didn't and hopefully that will remain consistent. I really don't mind having her in bed with me, I just need to be able to trust her.

Anyway, this morning I took her out first thing and low-and-behold, she went potty! You would have thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. Treats, praise, petting, wagging tails. It was all very exciting. :-)

I doubt this will be the end of the potty-training issues, but at least I feel like we're on the right track. So far she hasn't gone in her crate and she made it through last night, so those are at least two good signs.

She was crying in her crate this morning when I left, but hopefully it won't last too long and at least it's daytime so I don't feel so bad for the neighbors. (And anyway - they're the ones that stink up my apartment like cigarette smoke all the time!)

I've got a little of that guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach which I'm not a fan of though. I hate having to crate her and know that she's stuck in a cage for several hours at a time. And I hate that I'm probably annoying my neighbors. And I'm hoping that I made a good decision.

When I think about it all rationally, I think I did. I know Irie is safest in her crate and that she'll get used to it over time. In reality my neighbors probably don't care that much and if they do, well, like I said, I've been annoyed by them plenty of times. And Irie was at the city pound before I got her. But it still sucks to have that pit of uncertainty.

As usual I'm just too much of a care-taker for my own good. But hopefully this will be good desensitization training for me. Maybe I can get over my irrational fear of annoying people or letting my own feelings get mixed up with what I assume other people/animals are feeling.

Empathetic to a fault. :-)