September 11th - This might be the day!

The day in puppy rearing when you suddenly realize
you haven't mopped up any pee in 24 hours!

The day that turns your life around and makes you remember yellow is also the color of sunshine...

That magical day when all those nights of standing
in the rain pay off - the day you look at your pup and shout

"I think he’s got it!"

Every puppy owner lives for this day. The day when training, bladder control and that tiny speck of brain lodged in your darling puppy’s head all converge into single thought - a thought that was so obvious to everyone - a universal dogtruth:
I’m supposed to do this outside?!!

Bells ring all over the countryside when this happens. Birds take wing. The angels weep.

Oh sure, there will be accidents, the journey through Urineville is not over yet, but a little neuron fired in puppy’s brain and he knows. I saw that light of knowledge in Duncan’s eye today - I swear it! Maybe I can stop using a bottle of carpet cleaner and a roll of paper towels as a centerpiece on the dining room table. Maybe I can walk through the kitchen without slipping in a puddle. Maybe, just maybe, we’ve turned that corner…

Later, September 11th
Well, today was not quite the day… he’s still young yet…almost there…

September 12th
Today was again, not the day… Well, you can’t ask much, he’s just a baby…

September 13th
Today was really not the day… Wouldn’t you think he’d have some CLUE by now???

September 14th
Today was absolutely not the day… One more day on my knees and I’ll strangle him…

September 15th
Today was certainly not the day… Is he mentally deficient or is there a medical problem?

September 16th
Today was still NOT the day… I’ve started to hum "Singin’ in the Rain" as I clean up". Sanity is slipping away. I’m sick of watching him. I want someone else to watch him every second so I can have a life. I begin to wonder if a clothespin could be useful…It’s not that he doesn’t go on command outside. It’s that he has a spare tank somewhere - a urine reservoir tucked away in his knee. Oh sure, it sounds crazy to you, but you’re not living with the little soaker hose. OK, I’m raving - but ENOUGH ALREADY!

September 17th
TODAY WAS THE DAY!!! THE YELLOW RAIN STOPPED AND THE SKIES TURNED BLUE! HEAVEN REJOICED. DUNCAN ASKED TO GO OUTSIDE TWICE!!! WHAT A GENIUS PUP! WHAT A CLEVER DOG. THERE IS NO FINER DOG IN THE WORLD. HOW COULD I HAVE DOUBTED HIS SINCERITY?

September 18th
Still going strong. Asked to go out over and over and produced every time. I’ve put the roll of paper towels in the closet as a gesture of faith. Vigilant, persistent training - it’s paid off again. Both Duncan and I are downright smug.

September 19th
We are cooking! He is the finest puppy on earth. No more urine spills. I don’t even know what room the bottle of carpet cleaner is in…He’s a wonder! Life is grand!

September 20th
The little creep pooped inside the house for the first time ever, then celebrated by whizzing on the carpet and the kitchen floor twice. My world is pee-soaked once again. I’ve started thinking what a lovely fur muff he would make…

but...he’s still young...
almost there…

dogmama