February 2022

Day 1, February 12, 2022

Big day. Brought her home. I got back about 3pm and I think I had fairly good time considering Gracie and I made frequent stops. Gracie really cried for about the first half hour and we had a few “accidents” on the way, but for most of the trip Gracie sat quietly in her crate. The gate for the kitchen doorway arrived so I’m now converting the kitchen to the doggie area for the foreseeable future. Chloe will be staying in my bedroom for a while. Gracie already LOVES the big blanket Tom brought this morning,

On the paperwork that was given to me from the Amish man, Jonathan, who sold Gracie to me, I noticed he had recorded Gracie’s breed as a mini golden noodle.

Night 1

I worried it would be a very long night with Gracie crying. Securing the gate, I confined Gracie to the kitchen area for the night. I was exhausted and went to bed about 10pm. and fell asleep soundly. I woke up several times during the night but didn’t hear Gracie at all! (I was especially concerned because the family of four below me also had 4 guests spending the night. Just what they needed – a howling dog in the condo above!) I got up at 7am, walked into the hallway, and immediately noticed the kitchen gate was askew. Gracie had managed to escape, and I found her in the living room happily chewing on a pillow. So much for the first night!!

Day 2, February 13, 2022

Asked multiple family and friends who sent the beautiful blue dog sweater to me. It was an Amazon package and no note included. After everyone said they did not send it, I dug through the garbage – soiled pee pads included – searching for a mailing label I might have inadvertently thrown away. No luck. Finally – I’m SUCH an IDIOT – I realized: The mystery package was something I ordered. On the recommendations by several people, I bought a hot water bottle to keep in Gracie’s crate at night. The hot water bottle came wrapped in a beautiful blue sweater. 🤪🙄😆

Here’s a pict…

She got a bath today. She was a little fearful, so I made it quick. After that I needed a bath.

Cesar Millan, the famous “Dog Whisperer,” has advice on using indoor pee pads while housetraining a puppy. He recommends rubbing grass over the pee pad so from the scent, the puppy associates the pad with “going” outdoors. Seems like a great idea. In the front of my condo, I pulled up a bunch of grass and put it into a plastic bag, while hoping nobody in the neighborhood saw me ripping apart the landscape.

So, I’ve been wiping grass on all fresh pee pads, and it seems to work pretty well. I think Cesar is brilliant!

Night 2

Before bed I made sure, once again, that the gate was completely secure, Went to bed about 10pm, exhausted. During the night I heard a few cries from Gracie but then it was quiet. I’m thinking how lucky I am that I may not have a huge problem with Gracie crying at night. I got up at 7am, walked into the hallway, saw the gate as I left it, but no Gracie in the kitchen! I glanced around and spotted a trail of poop leading into the living room. And there was Gracie, sitting by the couch, with her tail wagging a million times a minute. Gracie somehow managed to crawl UNDER the gate and escape the kitchen! I noticed then she had not peed on her pee pad, and, in fact, she had not peed in the kitchen at all. However, I found she HAD peed – ON THE SHEEPSKIN RUG IN THE LIVING ROOM! I suppose, to her, the sheepskin rug looked like a giant pee pad,

During the night Gracie found the plastic bag containing the grass to be used for fresh pads (which I deliberately kept on a chair OUTSIDE of the kitchen) on the floor, I now have grass spread all over my living room floor. I don’t remember Cesar covering this situation in his book.

Everything is cleaned up now. It is 8am and I think I am ready for bed!

Day 3, February 14, 2022

Today I found part of a pee pad in her water dish.

Night 3

Success! I bought a new gate- more heavy duty – and put it up to keep her in the kitchen. I transferred all the bedding to Gracie’s crate and left the crate door open, so she was free to wander the kitchen. Left two pee pads on the floor. Thankfully, this time the new gate held well all night. And no dog crying! When I got up today, Gracie was quietly laying in her crate. During the night she had used both pee pads. No other messes. I’m so proud of her! I love my little mini golden noodle!

I’m so excited, so I’ve been giving family and friends daily updates on how the housebreaking is going. No doubt they are thrilled to hear about every dog excrement.

Day 4, February 15, 2022

She’s a chewing machine!! Somehow, I need to figure out how to help her distinguish between “good” chewable items (e.g.: toys, doggie chew bones, boxes, and sticks) and “bad” chewable items (e.g.: my arm, my hands, my hair, my shoes, my sweatpants, my slippers, shoelaces, zippers, mail, Marsha’s sweater, pee pads, drawer knobs, wooden cabinets, and the kitchen table).

Night 4

Another successful night! The new gate held well all night again. I did hear occasional crying, but it only lasted for a minute or two. During the night Gracie had used both pee pads. No other messes. I’m so proud of her again! We’ve had a few misses along the way, but I’m happy about the housetraining progress. I think doggie pee pads have to be the best thing invented since sliced bread! Thank you, Aunt Pat!!

I’ve been getting up relatively early (for me) – usually around 6:45-7am. Until I get Gracie outside for a bit, get everything cleaned up inside (for both pets), get both pets fed, and spend serious play time with Gracie, it is a real flurry of activity around here. After all that activity, this morning Gracie fell asleep in my lap at 8:30am. While I held her, I watched her with envy! I’m ready for a nap myself!

Day 5, February 16, 2022

Gracie’s schedule goes something like this:

• 7:00am: Potty break outside
• 7:30am: Feed
• 8:00am: Play time
• 8:30am: Short nap
• 10:00am: Potty break outside
• 10:30am: Play time
• 11:00am: Potty break outside
• 12:00pm: Feed
• 12:30pm: Potty break outside
• 1:00pm: Short nap
• 2:00pm: Potty break outside
• 2:30pm: Play time
• 3:00pm: Short nap
• 3:30pm: Potty break outside
• 4:00pm: Play time
• 5:00pm: Potty break outside
• 5:30pm: Feed
• 6:30pm: Potty break outside
• 7:00pm: Short nap
• 7:30pm: Play time
• 8:00pm: Potty break outside
• 9:30pm: Potty break outside

I have just about enough time left to check my email.

Night 5

Early this morning, around 5:30am, I heard Gracie crying. I ignored the whimpering for the next 15 minutes or so when a loud “clang” came from the kitchen. I jumped out of bed and found Gracie by the kitchen gate with my cell phone charger in her mouth. My cell phone stand (the “clang”) and cell phone had fallen off the table. I panicked a bit until I realized my cell phone screen was intact – saved by its sturdy, durable case, surviving the crash from the tabletop to the tile floor. Add to the list of “bad” chewable items: cell phone charger.

Note: Pee pad success during the night!

Day 6, February 17, 2022

I took her outside this morning and Bob came out with his two dogs, Keenan (13 years) and Bell (15 years). Keenan and Gracie had a ball together! And that’s the most I’ve talked to my neighbor Bob in years!

Night 6

Went well. No major incidents. Lucky for me, Gracie left plenty of stool samples overnight for me to take to the vet today!!

Day 7, February 18, 2022

Today Gracie had her first trip to see the vet. What a great visit! EVERYONE in the office dotes on her and she eats it up! I gave them Gracie’s paperwork and when Dr. Walker entered the exam room he said, “So you decided to get a mini golden noodle!!” We both had a good laugh. Dr. Walker, as he always has with my pets, spent a lot of time with Gracie and me while he examined her, answered my questions, provided a lot of useful advice, and gave me literature to read on housebreaking and basic training. Dr. Walker seemed thrilled that I have a puppy and he said he thinks she will be great for me. Gracie immediately endeared herself to him. I think Dr, Walker said “she’s adorable” at least 6 times while we were there. He gave her a treat, too, and she licked his face, and I couldn’t be happier.

My kitchen floor had become covered with more grass, leaves, chunks from a large stick, chewed up pieces from pee pads, and shreds from an Amazon box (Gracie was walking around yesterday with a few pieces of the mailing label stuck to her butt). I couldn’t stand walking through the debris anymore, so I decided to run the sweeper in the kitchen. I assumed the loud noise would probably scare Gracie so I figured I would do the job as fast as I could. Gracie seemed a little bit scared, but she was a lot more interested in biting the sweeper cord. It probably would have been pretty funny for someone observing me racing around the kitchen with the sweeper hose in one hand while juggling to keep Gracie away from the cord with the other hand and, at the same time, try not to suck up any pee pads.

Gracie’s weight today: 10.6 lbs. She’s gained 1.2 lbs. since last Thursday. Dr. Walker said typically, to estimate the full size of the adult dog, you can take the weight at 4 months and double it.

Day 8, February 19, 2022

Yesterday I asked Dr. Walker if he had any suggestions for how to handle the chewing issue with a puppy. His advice” “Remove everything in the room that you don’t want the puppy to chew on.” So glad I can draw on secrets from his years of professional experience.

Day 9, February 20, 2022

Yesterday, Michael and Tina came to visit and have dinner with me. So, Gracie had 3 adults doting on her all evening and she loved it! Since my kitchen has been converted to a doggie den for a while, we ordered pizza for takeout. Michael, Tina, and I formed a human chain to transfer dinner dishes to the dining room as Gracie tried to get in on the action. During the evening, Tina played fetch and tug-of-war with Gracie, Michael held her for a long time, and I just sat back and enjoyed watching Gracie being totally spoiled by my friends.

A new bag of chew sticks arrived from Amazon yesterday. They are a hit! Gracie literally spends hours chewing on a stick. I count it as a small gain in the continuing effort to handle the chewing concern.

But sometimes it’s one step forward, two steps back! I woke up around 5am this morning to the sound of Gracie whimpering. I tried to ignore it until, like a few days ago, I jumped out of bed when I heard a crash from the kitchen. I ran out and this time I saw Gracie had pulled my computer plug from the wall and my laptop had fallen onto the tile floor. THANKFULLY, my computer survived the crash! But it’s very clear to me who was the idiot here. “Bad human! When will you learn??”

Day 10, February 21, 2022

This is Day 10 with Gracie. Wow. It feels like weeks since I got her!

This morning Gracie started whining at 5am again and wouldn’t let up. Then she started barking. I thought “This is not good.” I thought some other things, too, but probably shouldn’t share them here. I got up, cleaned up (she had sort of used the pee pads overnight but missed the edges), took her out, fed her, then sat in the kitchen wondering how to stop Gracie from waking me up so early m the morning. Sigh.

The weather is a bit warmer today, and sunny, so I’m taking Gracie out for slightly longer walks. During one of our walks this morning Gracie and I met Vickie and her dog, Bowie. Bowie is a 5-year-old Shih Tzu, and Gracie really enjoyed playing with him. I found out Vickie lives just around the corner from me. I asked her how long she’s lived here, and she said, “18 years.” Go figure! I’ve been here for 24 years, and this is the first time I met her!!

My days have become full just with the daily maintenance of Gracie. I entertained fantasies of having a very well-behaved, house-trained, quiet, obedient dog by now. I think, perhaps, I need to lower my expectations a bit.

But I sure am glad I have her. My little golden noodle.

Day 11, February 22, 2022

Thank you all for your continued encouragement!

Gracie slept through the night, and I heard no whining/barking in the early morning hours. Subsequently, I had a good night! I count it as a small victory! I attribute this to Gracie and me taking more frequent and longer walks yesterday. I think the dog experts aren’t kidding when they advise lots of exercise as a key component toward raising a well-behaved dog.

Another thing I’m learning is that it is nearly impossible for me to anticipate the activity cycles of a puppy’s digestive system! I find myself carefully timing the intake and expected output of this organic assembly. (Gee, can I make it to Trader Joe’s and back before she has to pee again? Hmm, if I take my shower right after she has breakfast, will I beat the next #2 rotation? I rarely get it right. I even tried recording everything in a spreadsheet to make better predictions. The precise timing, however, defies simple logic. I think it’s going to take a whole lot more than applying basic artificial intelligence to crack this one!

I’m sure you love reading all these details.

Day 12, February 23, 2022

Tom, I really like your suggestion to set a fire hydrant in my kitchen at the same times every day. Maybe I can find one at Rural King. Pre-scented.

Yesterday was 2-22-22! In honor of the 2’s day, I had heard a store near my house, “Nothing But Bundt Cakes” (guess their product), was selling miniature cakes for just $2.22 (normally about $4) just for the day. Since my friend, Jane Mihelic, was coming to visit and meet Gracie in the afternoon I decided to make a purchase for our dessert. “Nothing But Bundt Cakes” (really, I never thought I’d set foot in there) had a special limited time flavor called “Snickerdoodle.” I thought – how very appropriate for Jane’s meeting my doodle! I bought one in that flavor. A little later, Jane arrived at my house, and she handed me a plate of cookies. I thanked her, and she said, “Hope you like them. They’re called ‘Snickerdoodles’.” How about that??

Gracie and Jane became instant friends.

Before Jane departed, we left the kitchen so Jane could visit for a few minutes with Chloe. Stupidly, I didn’t properly secure the kitchen gate. Gracie immediately made the discovery, pushed over the gate, and made a beeline for Chloe’s cat food, instantly wolfing it down.

Yesterday it rained all day long, so Gracie and I didn’t go out for as much exercise. Fortunately, she didn’t start whining until 6am this morning. Though I wanted to sleep longer, it was OK since I had gone to bed at 9:30pm. Today is warm and not raining so we’ll try and take multiple walks. I want to wear her out!

While Gracie and I were out this morning, we saw a young woman walking her small, white Bichon Frise. They approached us and the woman was immediately taken with Gracie. She asked Gracie’s name, and I told her, then I asked for her dog’s name, and she said, “Mia.” Mia and Gracie sniffed each other for a few minutes. The woman and I exchanged some information. I learned that Mia is 8 years old, was once very rambunctious, but is less so now. Then we all went our separate ways. Walking away, I realized I never asked for the woman’s name, and she never asked for my name. Just the dog names. And I know absolutely nothing at all about the young woman – but a surprising amount about her dog. I guess this is what dog people do.

Day 13, February 24, 2022

I had a really nice conversation with Beth Bower yesterday. Beth gave me various tips she and Chuck used to manage early puppy problem areas with their Shih Tzu, Jackson. Notably, they practiced a daily fundamental housebreaking routine with Jackson by keeping him confined to his crate all night, getting him outside first thing in the morning, and then taking him out once every hour during the day. Wow. Can I do this with Gracie?

Along with other helpful advice and lots of humor, Beth told me about their determination to have at least 1 minute of puppy training a day with Jackson. Just 1 minute a day! Yes! I think that’s doable! It makes complete sense to me for a puppy who seems to have the attention span of a fruit fly! Above all, Beth emphasized, BE PATIENT, BECAUSE IT IS ALL WORTH IT!

I sure was glad I had this conversation with Beth to reflect on when after I was awakened at 5am this morning by Gracie’s cries and barks.

Ugh. I’m tired! But I suppose I need more training as well as Gracie. Or at least I need to better follow the proven paths of those who have successfully managed to make it through this period with their puppy. I’ve been avoiding putting Gracie in the crate all night because I’m afraid of her crying and barking during the night and disturbing my neighbors, especially the young family who lives downstairs. But I think tonight I’m going to have to “bite the bullet” and attempt to keep Gracie confined to her crate all night. (I get anxious just thinking about it.)

To aid in this effort, I ordered* a nifty item from Amazon called “Pet Fit For Life Rechargeable Heartbeat Simulator with USB Pet Anxiety Relief and Calming Aid for Your Puppy.” I noticed this device is getting great reviews on Amazon. By wrapping it in a blanket and placing it in their crate at night, according to the description, the “Pet Fit For Life Rechargeable Heartbeat Simulator with USB Pet Anxiety Relief and Calming Aid for Your Puppy” will “Keep your pets calm with the soothing feel and sound of a simulated maternal heartbeat” AND, “Separation anxiety will be a thing of the past!” This amazing item is supposed to arrive at my doorstep today or tomorrow. I sure hope it works and will keep you posted!!

Mom, I still haven’t finished my taxes.

(*Note, this is about the thousandth order I’ve made from Amazon for Gracie in the past two weeks.)

Evening Day 13 / Day 14, February 25, 2022

We. Failed. Miserably.

As I mentioned, I decided to “bite the bullet” and attempt to keep Gracie confined to her crate all night. I was determined! I also wanted Gracie to be closer to me during the night, so I prepared by rearranging my bedroom a bit for the cat stuff (cat food/water dishes, cat bed, easy access to the litter box) to be adjacent to one side of the bed, and the dog stuff (crate with comfortable bedding and toys) to be adjacent to the other side of the bed, I was so happy, too, when I took Gracie outside the last time in the evening, to see that the “Pet Fit For Life Rechargeable Heartbeat Simulator with USB Pet Anxiety Relief and Calming Aid for Your Puppy” miracle device had arrived at my doorstep! (For brevity’s sake, I’ll heretofore refer to this device as the “Heartbeat Simulator.”) Woo-hoo! I now felt satisfactorily armed with the tools I needed to see this operation through!

Turns out, the Heartbeat Simulator is a tiny 3″ square plastic unit with an on/off button (it has no batteries and recharges via a USB). When pressed on, it quietly and soothingly sounds and pulses like a regular heartbeat. And it continues pulsing until turned off. I eagerly turned on the Heartbeat Simulator and buried it under Gracie’s bedding inside her crate.

Just before I hit the bed, I picked up Gracie from the kitchen and very calmly, very gently placed her in her crate near the Heartbeat Simulator while I uttered gentle, restful words. I praised her repeatedly and gave her a favorite toy. I was looking forward to a happy, peaceful night with my new best friend. Then slowly, quietly, and trying not to distract her, I closed the crate door. At the precise moment when I locked the crate door, this soothing scenario took a complete nose-dive. Gracie immediately realized the crate door was closed and she couldn’t get out and she began crying and barking and jumping around inside the crate. I took several deep, deep breaths and thought to myself, “Maybe this is just a temporary, initial reaction soon to subside.” Listening to the din, I laid down in my bed.

No doubt you probably know how this story evolves from here. Yes, Gracie continued to jump around, cry, bark, and even tried to repeatedly bite her way out of the crate – oblivious to the soothing sounds of the pulsing “miracle” Heartbeat Simulator. Finally, after 15 minutes, as she continued to cry (and by then probably everyone in the neighborhood hearing her), I pulled Gracie out of her crate and took her to the kitchen where she laid down on her blanket and soon calmed down. Shortly after that I was able to sneak out of the kitchen to my bedroom and go to sleep with the empty crate beside my bed.

It turned out to be a quiet, peaceful night until about 5:15am when I was awakened once again by her whining and barking. Then I dragged another blanket onto the hard tile kitchen floor and laid down beside Gracie for an hour. She was a complete angel.

If you are reading this, you can NO DOUBT readily point out my multitude of mistakes in this sequence of events. But I’m slowly coming to realize that maybe I have to measure my successes a little differently. For instance, last night Gracie used her pee pads. Again. Yippee! And she was quiet until 5:15am today – 15 minutes longer than yesterday morning. It’s progress.

Day 15, February 26, 2022

After the first attempt at crate training was a complete disaster, yesterday I moved the crate from my bedroom back into the kitchen. Then right after Gracie’s last evening outing, I gave her some goat’s milk (thank you Marci and Karen) and played with her a bit, throwing treats into the crate for her to retrieve so she could start to make a happy association with the crate again. As per your suggestion Mom, I turned on the Heartbeat Simulator and buried it in the crate bedding and left the crate door open. With Gracie in the kitchen, I went to bed.

The doggie wake-up call didn’t happen until 6:30am this morning!! YIPPEE!! It’s a miracle!! (I never thought I’d be so thrilled to be able to sleep in until 6:30am!)

When I got up, Gracie was eagerly waiting for me inside the kitchen. And the Heartbeat Simulator was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, pulsing away. Gracie had been busy! But I was glad to see she used her pee pads, too!

I reveled all morning by these developments – and my extra hour of morning sleep. We were all delighting in our blissful, harmonious home! Until I stepped on a cat turd.

I guess Chloe isn’t sharing the excitement.

Day 16, February 27, 2022

Download and play the attached song that my talented friend, Tina, composed for Gracie…

Last evening, I used the same bedtime routine with Gracie except this time I put the Heartbeat Simulator in an old pillowcase and tied the pillowcase to the side of her crate. It worked!! The doggie wake-up call was delayed until 6:30am again this morning!! Although I’m still sleep deprived and kind of cranky, I’m hoping we’re making puppy-steps toward progress!

Day 17, February 28, 2022

Bliss!! Dog wake-up call wasn’t until 6:45am today!! Woo-hoo!!

I’m discovering Gracie plays hard and sleeps hard. As you know, we’ve been working a lot on a sleeping schedule. We’ve also been working on building serious playtime into our routine.

Gracie has no shortage of toys. Here is a list of items that have been purchased for Gracie to play with (indoors):

• Stuffed toy dog (green)
• Stuffed toy dog (blue)
• Durable rubber KONG classic dog toy
• Tennis ball
• Knotted rope toy
• Rubber chew bone
• Tennis ball/rope combination
• Rawhide chew sticks
• Rubber chew sticks
• Nylabone flavored chew sticks
• Now, here is a list of items Gracie actually spends the most time playing with (indoors):
• All sizes of sticks found outside
• Pinecones found outside
• Grass
• Empty paper towel roll
• Empty plastic water bottle
• Trader Joe’s paper grocery bags
• Empty Amazon boxes
• Junk mail flyers
• Plastic hand broom and dustpan
• Old moving blanket / ripped towels
• Pee pads

Yesterday an empty plastic water bottle kept Gracie preoccupied for at least forty-five minutes. At one point she rolled it over onto her pee pad to play with while AT THE SAME TIME she peed on her pee pad! My smart little golden noodle. Already learning to multi-task.