Xochitl's Crappy Achievement

What is so important about today, you ask? Today marks the 4th day Xochitl (So-Chee) has *not* made a potty mistake (knock on wood).

Part of the reason for the brag is because Xochitl was/is such a hard dog to potty train. A dirty dog from the beginning, she's never had an issue about, say, peeing on her bed and then laying on it. Or peeing in her crate, even when it's barely larger than her and she's fed her meals in it. The Flokati rug is just one big wee pad in her eyes, and if it's concrete and indoors then it's fair game (sorry, Home Depot). Real wee pads are to be sniffed while the ground nearby is the chosen dumping ground, and grass is for frolicking in.

Probably the worst incident happened a few weeks ago. Aaron had worked a long day and was feeling incredibly run down and irritable. As you do with a grumpy man, I gave him space and allowed him to go to bed early while I continued to stay up. The light in the bedroom turned off and a split second later I heard a cry.

"Ah! Someone shit in the bed!"

No fingers were directly pointed, but I was pretty sure he didn't mean me.

As we changed the sheets we started laughing. First at the image of Xochitl burrowing in between the sheets and wriggling to the bottom of the bed only to lay a turd, and second because I don't think you could have written a more ironic ending to a crappy day.

After that, "Soche the Roach" lost her bedroom privileges.

I've never seen a tougher nut to crack than the Roach. We tried every trick in the book, watched her like a hawk, and she'd still squeeze out a mistake. Even when she was 99% at home, she's refuse to generalize. But finally, persistence, patience, and dog treats won out. This week something clicked.

At home she's got the routine down. If she wants to go potty, she'll go tearing out the cat door and go in the 1'x2' self-designated pee spot. At work she'll gaze longingly at the wood chip mulch yard next door and that's my cue to leash her up and run her out. She's starting to expand, too. On walks she now recognizes the cue, "Go potty," and will instantly start searching out the perfect spot.

Sure, she's a puppy so there's mistakes to be made, like last night. Aaron has just mopped the floors so we were marooned in the couch in our socks. Xochitl went out to go potty, then came tearing back in. Both Aaron and I were hypnotized by trashy television (VH1's "Tour Bus of Love" is amazing) so it was the smell that hit us first. I looked down to see Xochitl next to me on the couch, both back feet encrusted in a poo. There were clumps of poo next to her on the couch as well as a dirty trail that lead from the door. And there sat the little girl, so happy and playful.

Without thinking I screamed and reached for her, which, of course, lead to a game of chase. All over the freshly mopped floors she ran, spreading little brown footprints all over the place. I eventually managed to wrangle her and wash her out in the sink while Aaron tended to the floors.

But even though it was the most poop ever smeared around the house, it still counted as a successful Day 3 in the road to perfect potty training.