Hey Y'all!
Well, suffice to say, I am in puppy shock! Nothing that you can read or even imagine prepares you for how demanding a PUPPY will be! When I got Zorro and later on Zoe, they were a snap. Zorro was 6 when I got him. After a few days of baby gating him in the laundry room, he was fine to hang out in the house. He was completely potty trained and only had 1 accident a year in the house. That always happened on the first day of school. I think he was mad, because I went back to work! Zoe is a snap to. No fuss, no muss.
Enter Mr. Paddington! Y'all, I am exhausted! He does fine in his crate. He LOVES it. We have had several accidents in the house. Mainly those are my fault because I haven't noticed him sniffing around sooner. Today I was at the breaking point. Last night I was up all hours letting him out. This has been a challenge because I can't just walk out on my back patio. We added a doggie door on my sliding glass door last year. That renders the sliding door useless. So everytime that we went out, I had to harness Paddington and put on his leash. He was patient, but by the end of the process I think he forgot why we were going out! Sometimes he would go and others... well... he has this thing about eating worms. He loves them. He likes to pounce on frogs. And if he sees a bug, he will leap and try to catch it. All puppy that boy!
Well, today we made some minor adjustments around the house to make life more manageable for me and him. We took out the doggie door attachment from the sliding door. That way, I can just open Paddington's crate and he can waltz out the sliding door. We also bought a HUGE baby gate to block off my kitchen. That way, when I need a moment's peace, or need to do laundry, vacuum, take a shower, etc, I can put Paddington in the kitchen for a while. That way he is not confined to his crate ALL of the time! I am trying out the whole kitchen deal tonight. He has wined, but overall he has done well. My plan is to serve him breakfast in the kitchen and keep him in there while I get ready in the morning. Then I can crate him while I teach summer school. That way he is not in his crate for longer than 4-5 hours. He will be 15 weeks next week, so he will be able to hold his business a little longer. We are still having accidents, but overall he is doing well. I just have to remember NOT to blame myself when he has an accident. He's a baby!
Zoe came over today and was a little bit more tolerant of Paddington. She still runs and hides from him. However, she likes it when he is in his crate! Paddington LOVES all of his toys and likes to run and play with them. He really is a sweet little boy. I can't wait until he is just a little older and can sleep with me. Right now, he is too young and has not earned the privilege.
Well, I am going to take Paddington for a short walk and count how many worms he is eating!
More on my adventures tomorrow!
:) JKP
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