Corralled

So Bacon and the belly bands are 'working'. I've found that after the initial shock of having it on wears off, he's just fine. That said, getting it on and off is problematic. I leave the band on for 2 hours then take him to his pee pad. The problem is, getting him to stay on the pad, instead of scampering away. Awhile ago, I came across the suggestion putting the pads/newspaper in a contained area, like a large rubber maid, making it almost like a litter box. Usually, you would cut a large opening in the box so the dog can go in and out, but the point is is that the dog goes into the box and does his business, then leaves. He has a clear location of where to go and, in the case of boy dogs, they can lift their leg without making a mess off the pad.

Back to Bacon, I take the band off and he runs away. I put him on the pee pad and he runs away. I can't really force him to stay on it without scaring him, which defeats the purpose. So, I've put the pad into a low, square rubber maid. He can't pee anywhere but the pad AND he can't get out on his own either. Ta Da. Sort of. He's confused as to what he is supposed to do, but he's not scared either. Hopefully he will eventually get the point.

Belly Bands

Hokay, Bacon is currently wearing (and tolerating) his new belly band. I'm not using the one I bought at the pet store, I went to Dollarama, bought some leg warmers and have cut them into strips. They're just the right circumference to fit him nice and snug. They ARE a bit of a pain because I have to fit them over his head and legs, but I think it will work. They are nice and soft. He walked a little funny for the first few minutes, but he is currently snoozing away as usual and doesn't seem any worse for wear.

I'm going to leave them on for two hours at a time then take him to his pee pad and give major rewards for 'doing' his business where he should.

Oh yeah, and I steamed cleaned the carpets today :) So lets hope this is the beginning of a new chapter in Bacon's training!

Warning: May cause head trauma

So I tried out a belly band on Mr. Bacon the other day. I bought one at petvalue (size S). I was worried about the size, put it turns out it fits around his 'waist' fairly well. However, you can tell its for a bigger dog, because it completely encases his torso, from hips to shoulders. It looks like he's wearing a blue tube top :) Anyway, I get it on him without too much fuss and he PANICS. He starts spinning around in circles...and manages to whack his head on the corner of the wall 4 times before I can grab him and get it off. He was panting and shaking....yeesh. Drama-rama. That said, I'll be trying it again this weekend.

Bacon vs. The Step

A day in the life

Bacon's day is fairly routine.

I wake up around 6:30am and he gets fed. I then take Dixie for a walk and Bacon stays in his ex-pen. When I get home, Dixie gets breakfast and they both get a treat. I try to take him outside for a bit, as long as its not too cold. Including commute, I'm usually gone from the house from 8am to 6pm-ish. I know, I know, that's a really long day for the dogs. But lets not talk about the tremendous guilt I feel over leaving them 'alone'. And by 'alone', I mean with each other. But that's a whole other post.

When I'm out of the house, Bacon stays in an ex-pen with a bed and his pee pad. The ex-pen is in the hallway and is located around the pee pad. I've got a good spot for the pad in the hallway and don't want to be moving it around while he's training. When I'm home, he's free in the house and spends the majority of his time either snoozing on his blankets in the bedroom or puttering around the living room. When I'm home, I spend the majority of my time in the living room. When it looks like Bacon is going to go potty, I try to (very calmly) take him to the pee pad as quickly as possible. There's a problem here in that he is one fast little bugger! If he doesn't want to be caught, he won't be. The good thing is that he usually just runs on circles, so its easy to predict where he's going. If I have to chase him, I still take right to the pad, even if he is clearly done doing his thing. He then scampers off and goes back to his blankets. And I....sigh/scream/tear my hair out. He's never investigated the pad on his own and I have yet to get him to the pad to actually pee.

I'm going to try belly bands. I've heard they can be very effective and a few other people with mill dogs have recommended them for house training. From what I understand, I leave them on him for a set amount of time then take him to the pad to pee. He does not wear it when I'm not home or when he is outside.

Bacon Basics

Some information about Bacon has already been covered in the 'About' section, but I will post his stats here for ease of access:

Name: Bacon

Sex: Male, neutered

Nationality: American (but we don't hold it against him)

Breed: Yorkie Terrier

Weight: approx. 4 pounds

Age: 4 years old

Height: 3 hockey pucks (Go Jets Go!)

Energy Level: Low

Living arrangements: lives with his single, working person (me) and his housemate Dixie, a 6 year old, 15 lb, pom x. We live in a condo (so no yard). My condo has wall to wall carpets. Let me say that one more time, WALL-TO-WALL CARPETS.

History: As far as we know, he's spent his whole life in a puppy mill being used for breeding. There is, however, a bit of a mystery in that his tail has been docked. Why would they dock his tail??? Was he originally bought as a pet then ended up on craigslist as a 'free to a good home dog'? Curious.

A crucial piece of information is that I am pee pad training. Living in Winnipeg, it can get down to -40C or more in the winter. This is no place for little dogs. Its fall right now and in the mornings it's usually between 5-10C. He starts shivering immediately. Soon it will be too cold to take him out at all...he could literally freeze in a few minutes. Hence the pee pad. In fact, its not even really a pee pad. Its a potty patch. I bought it at one of those 'As seen on TV' stores at the mall. It's basically astroturf that drains into a tray underneath. He seems to 'like' it more then the regular pee pad, but he still hasn't used it on his own. I like it because it's easy to clean and it's a one time purchase, and I don't have to worry about it leaking through onto the carpet etc.

Bacon is on Natural Planet Organic canned Chicken Dinner. He LOVES it. This is the only brand I've found so far that doesn't upset his stomach. He also gets 'Roll Over' training treats and dried jerky treats. Too many of either of these and he gets the runs. He seems to have a delicate tummy. Human food, even just plain cooked meat, is a no-no.

Another blog, how original!

Why am I doing this?

If you've read the 'About' page, you know all about Bacon as he is today. He is not the dog he can be. I see a smart little scamp in there, that just needs some direction and training to come out. Unfortunately, he has ME as an owner. Oh sure, he'll be fed and warm and forced to wear cute sweaters for the rest of his life, but I have very few skills in the dog training department. I come from a cat family and my first dog, Dixie, came pre-trained (on a side note, I cannot advocate enough for adopting an adult dog. Why the HELL would you put yourself through the puppy stage when you can get one that already know how to fetch the paper and make your coffee?). Dixie suffered through my rookie mistakes with patience. And treats.

So while I feel like I can easily meet my dog's basic needs, I am not adequately equipped to help rehabilitate a dog with Bacon's background. Enter The Internet. My brain loves Goggle like a fat kid loves cake. Thanks to Goggle I have won many a round at Trivial Pursuit. I love research, I love learning new things, I love finding the simplest way to solve a problem. And most importantly, I love getting to the answer FAST. Imagine my disappointment when I realised the complete LACK of information on rehabilitating mill dogs. There is tons of general information on training adult rescue dogs, but very little geared towards adult mill dogs. You combine this with my already lacking dog training skills and you get total frustration. And a ruined carpet. (After 4 months, we've made zero progress on house training)

This blog is an attempt to record my meagre attempts in one spot, so others, who know what they're doing, can throw me a life line. 'Cause lets be honest, I don't have a hot clue what I'm doing. I welcome any and all comments and suggestions and I promise to be honest about what is working and what isn't. Rescue isn't all 'Happy Tails' into the sunset; a lot of work goes into re-habing a dog (from any kind of back ground). I've been frustrated, annoyed, angry and reduced to tears since I got Bacon. I've also laughed so hard I cried and spent hours humming ABBA songs to him while he dozes on my lap.

I know I can do this and I'm committed to it, I just need some good old fashioned help!