Accidents

We’ve had significantly more accidents since getting Jujube. Actually, during the first month or so of having her, there were not many accidents, but in this past month, the number of accidents has become intolerable.

With more than one dog, it’s hard to tell who had the accident. At first we always assumed the culprit was Jujube, because she was the new dog and Loki was very well potty trained before her arrival. But we think that some of the accidents may have been Loki’s fault. The key difference is that we now use the backyard for their potty breaks. Prior to Juju, we always took Loki on walks to go to the bathroom; he had refused the backyard. Jujube, on the other hand, does not usually go during walks; she much prefers to go in the backyard. When we first got her, Loki would go in the backyard because she did. Now, I think this novelty has worn off on him. He’s reverted to being very stubborn about not going in the backyard. He just sits there, looks out, and does not at all respond to the “pee-pee” command. So, it’s possible that the accidents are Loki’s fault. After all, he’s the one who refuses to go in the backyard, while we see her go in the backyard all the time. Sometimes, I wonder if he holds all of his pee to go once a day when I take them on their daily walk, which is primarily for exercise rather than bathroom purposes.

The accidents had an odd pattern to them. There were never ever any accidents while we were away at work. The 8 to 9 hour stretches of time were never a problem. Instead, the accidents almost always occurred when we were home or away for very short periods of time.

Since last Thursday, I’ve ramped up my vigilance, closely watching them at home and trying my best to block off areas. I’m using chairs, which are not foolproof, but I don’t want to spend the money on baby gates. I’m also diligently watching Loki so that I can treat him when he goes in the backyard. This is probably the most difficult task, because he refuses to go. You have to be very patient. Luckily, he did go this morning, so I was able to treat him. Yay!

Lesson learned: When you get a new dog, whether it be a puppy or adult, you should expect to do some potty training.

P.S. My friend tells me that one way to figure out who caused a peeing accident is by its pattern. If it’s sort of a line, then it’s caused by a boy. If it’s just a circle, then it’s caused by a girl. Seems like a good hypothesis to me. We've seen both kinds in the past. What do you think?