Well, so far so good, and it's obvious the training is more for me than the dog. The other day I didn't get up when the dog got up and he peed all over the floor where the papers used to be, so I put the paper back down. This morning I did get up, put some pants on and took him right outside. I brought him back in, after he peed, and jumped back into bed, with Ruger. About an hour later I put his food out and after about 3 bites he started walking in circles and sniffing the floor. Outside again for our "long" walk to get a paper. Another walk at noon, and now waiting for dinner. I"m trying to pick up on his signals.
Since I'm home a lot he's confined to the upstairs, not his crate -- yet, and my girlfriend suggested I don't limit his water until nighttime. I live at 8,000 feet, and it's very dry up here and kinda warm this time of year. I've seen a lot of dogs at the vet on intravenus fluids.
Between feedings and walks Ruger just lies on the couch and sleeps, or barks at things on the other side of the door.
We'll see how it goes, but it's all probably my fault for being lazy and wanting to sleep late. When I do work it's in spurts, and he seems fine confined to the upstairs. He rarely gets into trouble these days on his own, and most of the pee and poop was on the papers first thing in the morning.
I realize I've modified the "rules," but let's see how it goes. I'm kind of interested in what to do when this works and I take him to my girlfriend's home -- she has a dog, and I think Ruger enjoys marking his territory. |