I spoke too soon! Max must have found an especially enticing spot on the rug because there were dry pee pads from late yesterday till now! When I walked him this morning, no pee.
He's being crated today - only allowed out either for a walk or to the pad about every 4 hours. I noticed that he's been hiding from me last night and this morning. At least he knows he did something wrong.
He's been a good boy so I don't think it will take too long to get him back on track. One of the problems is that you really can't get the smell out of the padding under the carpet so it's always there to call to them ..."Max, pee on me, I smell so good..."
As far as the leash thing goes, I kept him on a soft leash and a cat collar which is a break-away. It opens if it gets caught. He will not wear a halter. I wish I had a digital camera. It's a sight! Whenever I put a halter leash on him, he immediately collapses to the floor, his face on the ground, and gives me the saddest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. He then lays there or on the comfortable couch with the same expression all day. He sneaks me dirty looks when he thinks I'm not watching.
I kept him in the room and watched him so he couldn't sneak in a nice little pee on the rug. He gets his treat when he goes on the paper, and the usual good boy peepee dance and song. When he made a mistake and peed in the wrong place, he got crated for about 20-30 minutes. I was walking him to the paper or outside in the beginning, then he got it, so I lengthened the leash. As he got really good, I let him free with the leash on. The past couple of days, he's chewed his collar off ($20 worth of collars in 15 minutes!).
The real issue is to show the dog that you're the boss. Max has an alpha
personality, so I will always have to reinforce that I'm in charge with him.
I think that by just leashing them and letting them now that you're watching their every move, it puts them in the right place in the house.
The truth is that I love his spunky little self, so I don't mind that there will always be a struggle of the wills. Once the summer is over, I'm going to start looking for a little yorkie girl. I can't get another dominant dog - they'll fight and I just don't have the energy.
Sorry this is so long.
Judy |