Stevie went to the vet today for her last set of puppy shots. She weighed in at 4.6 lbs... about a pound for every month old she is. They said she may have allergies (her eyes are a little weepy at times) and the doctor took a long time looking at her eyes. She seemed to think there was some type of reaction and encouraged Megan to get her checked out by a specialist. That is, of course, the plan after a few other items are taken care of.

She seems to be getting bored or anxious as she has been tearing up her papers during the day when Megan is gone. So far, the DAP doesn't appear to be helping that issue, but she's only had it for a couple of days. The vet gave Megan some reading material and separation anxiety information. It's probably time to get her some more engaging toys, too. I feel another trip to Petsmart coming on.

G

Stevie began taking herself to the potty papers again today. Megan still gives her a snibblet (another word that she knows now almost as well as S-N-A-C-K) and praises her every time she does her business correctly.

She has also been using the stairs more often -- Megan says the Zebra toy works wonders -- and even surprised both of them by going up them to get onto the bed by herself once today. Megan said she didn't even realize she'd done it until she turned around, and there was Stevie, on the bed and ready to play. I told Megan she may regret teaching her that, but it really was a necessity. However, I don't think it will be long before Stevie can jump up and down off the bed without the stairs.

Not much else to report today, but it's fun to hear about her progress on the steps. When nicer weather decides to come around, both Megan and Stevie are looking forward to making daily walks part of their routine.

G

P. S. - The appointment at Petsmart got cancelled on Monday due partly to weather and partly to the potty training issues. She'll reschedule later. It will still be interesting to see what the trainers say in their evaluation of little blind Stevie.

Today was much better as far as puppy potty training goes. All paper all the time last time we chatted (about half an hour ago). Megan is much happier and relieved, but knows she will still need to be vigilant, persistent and consistent.

Her vet recommended getting a Comfort Zone DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) plug-in diffuser for Stevie while she's gone during the day. She said she thought that stuff was a crock. Then I reminded her that I had used it with a great success for Newton who anxiety peed in the house a lot in spite of being house-broken. Newt has been less anxious of late (since we moved, he has only peed inside 3 times, and once was really not his fault as he was trying to tell Mike he needed to go out). I found my diffuser and 3 refills and packed them up and mailed them to her. It will be interesting to see if it helps calm Stevie down -- Megan says she's just out of control when she comes home. Time will tell...

Stevie has been using the stairs, mostly going up. Megan has to coax ("push") her to go down them, but it's a little more every day. That little bugger is cute as a button and smart as a whip. She'll be using those steps and getting into more stuff in no time.

G

Stevie lost her first baby tooth! I had warned Megan about this because I remember finding dog teeth when I had my first Min Pin and not knowing what the heck they were. We decided this is probably a good thing, because it's -- hopefully -- the beginning of the end of the "I must chew on absolutely everything" stage.

Stevie had more "accidents" today, frustrating Megan no end. She had pondered on it and said she thought it might be The Wall Street Journal's fault. See, the WSJ recently changed its format and along with it, its paper and ink. So it not only looks different, it feels different and smells different. Megan initially favored the WSJ for paper training because of its larger size. Now it's the same size as the Austin American Statesman and feels and smells funny. No more financial pages for Stevie!

I haven't had a puppy for over 9 years, and don't recall having this problem, so Megan also called her vet to discuss the incidents with them in case they wanted her to bring in a urine sample for testing. They said it's not unusual for puppies as old as 7 to 8 months to regress after they're seemingly potty trained. So for now it's back to square one, taking Stevie to the paper after every meal, nap or lengthy play time and when Megan comes home from work. She also gets a little S-N-A-C-K when she does what she's supposed to where she's supposed to.

I reminded Megan that "sh-- happens, and evidently, so does p--".

:)
G

Megan is a little frustrated because Stevie had two accidents (peeing on the carpet) today. She did the obvious stuff, changed the pee-pee pads and the newspaper in the potty corner.

I did a little research online -- there are only about a zillion articles about potty training puppies -- and sent her a couple of links. Not sure they'll be much help since they all pretty much say the same thing and it seems like we're past the points they cover.

Then I thought about it some more and figured, ya know, Stevie is only about 4.5 months old. Dog's muscle structure doesn't fully mature until about age 4 months, and there are going to be some set backs. Even though Stevie has been taking herself into the potty corner for a while, I would think it wouldn't be unusual for her to have a little problem every now and then. It's the same with toilet training a human child: just because they learn it doesn't mean they will never wet the bed or their pants again. Also, I suspect because of her adapting so well to the initial training, Megan isn't as attentive to whatever cues Stevie may be giving as she was when she first brought her home.

It is something to keep an eye on in case there's a urinary tract infection or some other health problem. I know it will all be okay. I sure do understand, though, it's frustrating after Stevie learned to use the papers so quickly!

G