Potty training 101 or no plan survives contact with the enemy.

So, armed with Sofia Yin's book, Perfect Puppy in 7 Days, (http://drsophiayin.com/perfectpuppy?utm_campaign=Product+Page+Clicks&utm_source=PP), we were all set to get Rogue to potty training perfection.

Enemy number 1 (and 2)

We have a pair of great horned owls that live around us and while it's kind of cool to hear them arguing in the night and they do a lot to keep the rodent population under control, it is NOT cool when taking a puppy who is still rabbit sized out in the middle of the night for potty breaks.  So, I have to bring one of the other dogs out with me to keep the owls interest in other things and that causes a lot more trouble.  Thankfully, this is only at night.

Enemy number 3 

 

Yeah, it's cold.  Really freaking cold and with  negative degrees and a yard full of snow, those pink baby pads get cold and she was starting to limp after only a couple of minutes.

Enemy number 4 

Oh yeah, she looks cute...  but while the principal of offering a click and reward after potty is a good one, it's a lot more of a challenge when you can't use an audible clicker and the puppy has to be looking AT you for it to be effective.  And we don't always remember to bring treats because we don't want to be out there either because it's cold.  Did I mention cold?

So, how to solve the potty dilemma?   We took the borrowed x-pen (later on why that wasn't working for puppy containment and put it in the garage with puppy pads in it.  The garage is much warmer than the outside, there are no dogs or other fun things in the x-pen for her to play with and the owls haven't figured out how to get in the garage yet.  So far, it's working.  There's nothing interesting in the pen so we get piddle (or poop) within 30 seconds of putting her in there.  Then she gets out and gets love.  Of course, it's only the first day.  

So, why the x-pen didn't work.   Rogue doesn't like being separated from us.  This is something we'll have to work on but after she's through the fear period.  She is a confident little girl when we're around but doesn't like to be on the other side of any type of barrier.  I suspect that because she can't hear us, she needs to have access to us to make sure we're okay.   I don't have this problem when we crate her for sleeping because I put a blanket over the crate door.  So, alone in her crate/room is fine, but alone in a pen NEXT TO MY COMPUTER WHERE I AM SITTING, is not  

It is important to remember that every puppy is different and no one book can tell you how to handle every situation so read a lot of them so that when your puppy does something not covered in book number one, you have other ideas to fall back on.   Improvisation is key.

So, other than the perils of potty training and our failure of having a perfect puppy in 7 days.  (The book is awesome, by the way.  We just aren't.) we have been busy with more socialization.  Rogue went with me and Ruby to a disc dog event in Ohio where she schmoozed with some of the champion disc doggers while we threw discs in blizzard conditions for disc dogs that didn't understand why we weren't enjoying it as much as they were.  

Yeah, I got this.

Do I think it was a coincidence that the over all winner was the one player from Rogue's country of origin?  Not a chance.  :)

So much awesome for a little puppy to absorb

Thankfully, Rogue travels well because we had bad weather coming and going.  She was great in her box and pottied like a champ whenever we stopped.  That's going to be key for taking her to disc dog events in other states and countries.  

But you know, it's good to be home.

Technically, this isn't my home, but it IS how Ruby and I felt after a weekend of disc dogging and puppy wrangling.

I'd better go, someone has been out of my sight for too long.