Poop Strike

We are used to going to walks thirty minutes after their meals and Maru does his potty break outdoors at the same time. I still have a certain section in the apartment where the puppy pads are located in case I'm not home and Chloe still does her job on the puppy pads, she's so used to it that she won't ever potty outside.

These past few days, Maru seems to be on poop strike. He is totally messing up with his potty training. We still go to our routine walks, but all he does is sniff things out. Sometimes we're out for nearly an hour already but still no poop from him. Even at home, he won't poop on the pads and prefer the carpet to be a good place to do his job. Great.

I can't seem to find a reason why he's doing this, we don't have a big change going on (not that i know of) and we are really following our daily schedule. Puzzling, I should think a different approach on this.

Beware, for I will poop on your carpet! -Maru

Freaking out on a vet day

Earlier this morning, I brought Maru to his first vet appointment with me, and Chloe tagged along with us as well because she badly needs a nail trim. I enrolled Maru in a puppy plan just like Chloe back then. This plan includes the vaccines, free vet exams, nail trims, boarding, daycare, and a 1 year worth of discounts. Pretty decent service if you'll ask me. 

And I love our vet, Chloe really likes her and warms up to her. It was funny that while we were waiting in the examination room, I just can't figure out why Chloe keeps on whining. I tried to give her some treats, she'll settle for a moment but then she will resume again with the whining. So what's the big ordeal? it seems like she hears the voice of the vet from the other room. When she came in to the exam room to greet us, Chloe greeted her with airplane ears which I don't see quite often, I need to capture a photo of that. Chloe don't greet everybody with that kind of joy, maybe she knows that our vet takes care of her really well and deserves a really warm welcome.

So, why was I freaking out? Maru got two dewormers from the visit earlier, one in liquid form and the other in tablet form.  After I fed the dogs their meal, Maru went to poop and to my surprise, there are a couple of dead worms on his stool including a really long one, maybe 4-6 inches. As nasty as it is, I think those are roundworms, though I'm not quite sure about what it is. I just realized that I can't really stand these things despite being a health professional. I didn't even bother taking a picture of it and cleaned it right away.

Just seconds after seeing those horrible worms, I called our vet and asked about the incident. She told me that it was the dewormer's job to kill the worms that are attached to the intestines and it's normal to pass it on their stools. So she was right earlier about how Maru's abdomen is bloated and the probability of having parasites on him.

I was not totally relieved after the call to our vet. Seriously, who will not get bothered when your dog is passing worms on his stool? But it helps a little knowing that it's a normal process. Maybe I was over reacting because this is the first time this happened and it didn't really happen with Chloe either. Well, I guess new puppy, new experiences.

Potty Training

Whoever said potty training/ house training was easy? I don't think so.

First Potty accident: On our first day home. As I said on my previous post, I just went out for a bit and Chloe had a potty accident on the floor mat. Second accident, third, fourth, fifth, i can't remember anymore and it's too many to count.

I'm aware that having a puppy is going to be a handful. You have to devote your time, especially on potty training. I live in an apartment, I do not have a patio, I go to work for eight hour periods, there will be times that she'll be left alone, and the vet told me not to take Chloe anywhere outside because of the risk of puppy diseases. Wow, isn't that really convenient?

I have no choice but to resort to disposable puppy pads. At first, I have no idea how to get her to pee or go potty on the pads, so i figured out on some ideas to accomplish this:

• I'll watch her till she goes, catch her on the act, stop her, carry her to the pads, and praise her when she goes. 
• Watch her EVERY minute, or even every second. Just one moment of not paying attention or looking, she will have an accident. 
• Nature's Miracle, as the name implies, it works like a miracle. It removes stain and odors on carpets and floors that has been soiled by your pet.
• Put a little piece of her poop on the pads, leave it there and let her smell it.
• Change position of the pads. Chloe goes and relieves herself in the pads, but she also had a lot of accidents in a certain corner of my apartment, so I decided to put the puppy pads permanently on that corner.
• Potty training aid. It's a spray with some kind of substance that attracts the dog to go and eliminate when they smell it.

It took me one to two weeks to house train Chloe. She goes in the pads now, but she still misses sometimes by a few inches from the pads.  Here are some important key points I learned from this whole process: Always praise when she eliminates on the right place; Be thorough in cleaning accidents, to make sure no trace is left and to make sure that they don't eliminate on that spot again; Consistency is the key; and lastly, Potty training never ends.

First day Gift

February 16, 2011 - Wednesday

(entries were dated by the time it was composed)

As soon as we stepped inside the apartment, Chloe inspected the whole place as if she's looking for something. So I let her freely roam around and gave her time to get used to her new home. I went back to my car for a moment to get all the puppy stuff (her crate, food, play pen, toys) and as i came inside the apartment, she left me a little surprise. 

Poop.

That's for leaving me behind here! -Chloe

First video of Chloe at home: