June, 25, 2007 archives

when we got wonton, we were told that he slept through the night and was trained to go to the bathroom on housebreaking pads. both of which were generally true, but they forgot to mention the training we would need to recognize when he needs to go. we’re training him to go outside on the rooftop to use the pads, rather than just leaving the pad somewhere he can always get at it, which has resulted in a few accidents.

we haven’t really been shutting him into the crate during the day, which may or may not turn out to be a mistake. it has been a bit of a relief to see him going into the crate during the day (like this picture), which shows he’s getting more comfortable with the crate and doesn’t just see it as some place we lock him in at night. he doesn’t roam free during the day — we got an enclosure that we’ve used to fence off an area around the crate and his food and water dishes. we only take him out to go to the bathroom and play with us.

i am sure that there are greater life lessons in all of this, but i think i would rather go play with the puppy than try to connect those dots.