How to Stop a Pooping Dog

Do you know how to stop a dog from pooping? 

It's a question to ponder.  It's one that every puppy raiser should know how to do.  It's key.  You might never know when it would come in handy.

But first you have to know how we got to the poop-cident.  It all started with the Homecoming film ( an NB Production).

Nathan and Kendall explaining the scenes we will be filming.

We started out filming at school.  Mind you, I can't tell you what the film is about, because the theme is a secret and I would have to kill you all! 8-)  It can't be revealed until the film is finished and released.

Dallas, Allie and Sam laughing.  It's a funny script.

The script had 7 or 8 scenes.  A complete cast list. It was very detailed.  I was very impressed with it.

Amol laughs at one of his scenes.

 Once the school filming ended, we all loaded into the van and headed off to International Mall for more filming.  I think I may have jinxed things by telling Austi the story of Melisa and how Erik had a poop-cident in Nordstrom's, where we were filming, which ended with a small boy pointing and yelling, "MOM! POO!"

Dewey was great in the mall. No problem with the elevator or the railings.

 Yes, so confident was I that I was telling stories about other raisers and THEIR poo stories.  Because of course, there was no reason that I would have a poop-cident.  Not me. Not Dewey.  He's so calm.

So we filmed in Nordstrom's.  Then we went to Starbucks and filmed.  I waited  upstairs so we wouldn't be in the shot.  We had lots of visitors and I handed out several Dewey cards.  That was fun.  Then we decided it was time to get some lunch and walk to the food court.  So, we go up the stairs and start down the long hallway to the food court.  I'm in the lead with Nathan, who is telling me about the filming and how it is going.  He is mid sentence, when Dewey jerks off to the left in a mad attempt to get to some imaginary grass, I pull him back.  Nathan continues to talk. Dewey, finding only marble tile, decides he can't wait and hunches up, preparing to let loose his bowels on International Mall's pristine white marble tiles.

I saw the hunch.

How do you stop a pooping dog?

Well, you pick up a pooping dog.  Pick them up quickly.

I did.  I whipped around and said in a slightly panicked voice: "Take my purse! Take my purse!" Because it was still on my arm and I now have a pooping dog in my arms.

Sam (short for Samantha) grabs my purse. Nathan has no clue what is going on.  The kids are all startled and staring.

"Follow me!" I start running through the mall to the outside doors with my 35 pound dog in my arms.  Every person coming towards me had big eyes and a huge question on their face:

"Is that dog blind?"

"Why are you carrying him"

"What's going on?"

But I kept running for the doors.  We made it outside and I put Dewey down.  He no longer felt the need to poo.  Nathan and Sam came panting up behind us.

"Is he ok?" Nathan asked? I said he needed to poo.  Nathan started to laugh.  "I thought he was having a seizure!"

Sam looked at him.  "Is he going to poo now?"

It didn't look like it.  "You guys go back in and get lunch.  I'll stay out here until he poops."

He did.  Once we found some grass.

Amol striking a pose.

 Below is a photo of film committee and me and Dewey.

Homecoming Film Committee.

Dewey and the Professors

Dewey has made it his mission to be an ambassador around school and to meet all the faculty and staff that he can.  He calls it public relations; I call it schmoozing.  

His first effort wasn't so good.  Here he gets a dress code warning from Dean Lindsey.

Dewey tried to sweet talk his way out of a dress code violation with Dean Lindsey, but she is made of sterner stuff.  8-) Actually, she's a softie and was a good sport for the camera! Thanks Dean Lindsey!

Dean Williams is the 9th and 10th grade Dean.

Dean Williams also had to meet Dewey.  After all, Dewey is technically a 9th/10th grader his first semester.

Mrs. Hoversten takes a moment with Dewey.

College Counseling also is a very dog friendly place.   Mrs. Hoversten loves labs and was very impressed with Dewey's calm nature.

Mrs. Czabafy and Mrs. Connolly get some puppy time.
Mrs. Czabafy gets a kiss from Dewey.

Dewey always visits everyone in College Counseling.  He loves Mrs. Czabafy, Mrs. Connolly and the Academic Counselors as well.

Mrs. Woods comes to visit Dewey sometimes.

Sometimes though a person might be having a tough day or just need a pick me up.  That's when it's time to wander on down to my office and see if Dewey's in his man cave.  He can usually be persuaded  to come out and be loved. Perhaps he is actually Dean Martin reincarnated? He's very smooth.

He got the lovely ladies in admissions to make him the admissions director for a day.  Well, actually, just for 5 minutes.  But it really went to his head.  He came home and tried to tell Jam he was not accepted and Willow she was accepted.  I had to bust up the fight.

Mr. Ide, our math department chair, and Dewey.

 Mr. Ide stopped by to say hello and Dewey was thrilled.  He and Mr. Ide got along really well.

Dewey and Ms. Fleming, his favorite piano teacher.

Dewey met Ms. Fleming when she held him up at the lower division convocation so that all the lower division children could see him.  Then he whined a little bit and she let him down.  He rested his head on her feet and fell asleep, so she gave him her heart.

Mrs. Gonzalez and Dewey

 I thought that perhaps Dewey would be able to help Mrs. Gonzalez with the attendance, but he ended up being really intimidated by the computers and the system.  He just wanted to sit in her lap.  She's very sweet.

Latin teacher Ms. Frank and Dewey commune about life.

But I think he most enjoyed the conversation he had about Latin and its current usefulness in our life with Ms. Frank.  His tail never stopped wagging.

Coach's First Report Card

Fred with Coach in front of Coach's sign at IFT.

Coach's first report card came back yesterday.  While Coach has been a good boy at his commands, his behavior in the kennel needs some work.  It seems that there is a roommate problem.  We are not sure, but there seems to be some problem with food.  Perhaps the roommate is throwing food around and Coach is getting a little irritated and making his irritation known?

"Hey, dude, this is my side of the kennel.  Keep your dang treats over there.  Just for that, I'm going to eat this treat!"

Or maybe it went like this

"Dude," (I don't know why Coach calls all his roommates Dude, but he does) "Look, if you aren't going to eat fast enough, then I'm going to help you out and finish your bowl.  Shove over slow poke."

Now, admittedly, in the first scenario, Coach is a bit of a neatnik, obnoxious type and I would be mad at him too.  And he doesn't really come off better in the second scenario either.  Kind of a bully at worst and a little piggy at best.  But they said they have a new roommate that he seems to like.  And frankly,  who hasn't gone through college and had a bad spell with roommates?

Sometimes, you just get a bad roommate.  Sometimes, you just need to change to a new roommate.  Someone who can be your friend.

They also said that Coach is "very sweet" and "loves to work".  We hope that means that once his roommate situation calms down, he can settle in and really wow them with his command knowledge.  

Dewey, Zen Master

By Fred
Here's a photo of Cheryl working with Dewey and Jam on food distractions. She and the dogs are on the floor, and between them are a few pieces of kibble. The dogs are in a down-stay, sitting patiently, but Dewey (the puppy) has achieved a transcendent state of patience--he's a natural Zen master when it comes to self control, muscles completely relaxed. Maybe it will rub off on Jam.


And here's a close-up picture of Jam in my office, sitting still (barely) and staring up at a piece of kibble, radiating a sort of charisma that he turns on to get his way--I've never seen anything quite like it. While Dewey is serene, Jam is volatile.


I told Willow she doesn't have to sit for pictures anymore if she doesn't want to. Here she is playing puzzle games with the boys. No contest, she is the best.

Intelligence Games for Dogs: In Action

Trainer Jen told us that when we are doing obedience with our pups that we should wait, one good dog, two good dogs, and then give a correction.  For me, Dewey is a four good dog and then a correction.  He does it by the fourth good dog.  But he is thinking.  I can see the wheels turning.  He's considering the possibilities, as my dad would say. Melisa got him down to two good dogs.

But Dewey moves very slowly. He reacts with caution and deliberation.  He thinks about things.  The nice thing is that he recovers very quickly.

Recently, we bought some intelligence toys from Dog.com. We bought the Seek a Treat Discovery Wheel, and the Seek a Treat Triple Twist.  Those are the best.

We also got the Kyjen Paw Flapper.  Do NOT get this toy!!!  It is horrible.  Jam took one look at it, picked it up by a flapper, swung it around, releasing all the treats in a shower of treaty goodness that Dewey and Willow loved and then flung it into the air.  Not at all the kind of intelligence toy that you want to have in your house.  At least, I don't want it.  Jam wanted it.  Very badly.

However, the Kyjen Star Spinner Puzzle dog toy was a winner.  Willow likes it a lot.  Here's a video of them doing their thing.

 

What we found was that Jam gets very frustrated and will actually shove his toy over to Willow to let her do it for him.  Willow is very methodical and precise.  She will spend 30-40 minutes with a toy.  Dewey is somewhere in between.  He has a bit of Jam, willing to jostle it to get the kibble that falls out, but he has a bit of Willow as well.  He works the puzzle too.

Every dog is different.  Dewey is a puzzle we will figure out as well.

Dewey Speaks

Last weekend we met my dad, my mom, and my brother in New Orleans for my dad's 78th birthday.  We had a wonderful time.  

Photo of dad with a birthday brunch hat on.

You can tell that dad had a good time!  This photo was taken at Commander's Palace. So, Dewey went to stay with our friend Melisa, who also has Duke, to stay for the weekend. Evidently, Dewey kept a diary.  Melisa sent it to us.

Thank you, Auntie Mel for taking such good care of our Dewey for us!!

Dewey's Diary:

Tuesday night mom packed me up in the car and told me I was headed to Auntie Mel’s house. Now I had heard about the infamous Ambassador Duke, so I was pretty excited. Turns out he has this great big back yard and I immediately went into zoomie mode. Let’s just say the first night I slept really well. 

Trapper, Duke and Dewey all sitting and looking pretty.

In the morning, I went out to go busy. Turns out the metal post fence is wide enough for me to fit through. I got so excited to get through the other side, that the zoomies hit me again. I was immediately captured before I ended up in the canal and brought back to the other side. 

Then, Auntie Mel took me to work so I could experience exposures to a large parking garage, elevators with mirrors (OMG there was this really handsome black lab I kept seeing in there), the break room, a hallway covered in cardboard for the movers, and copy machines. A lot of people came to see Auntie Mel and she made some comment about how people liked her again. I am not really sure what she meant by that. I guess it had something to do with me. 

Dewey is sleeping under Auntie Mel's roller chair.

It turns out there was another dog at the office next door so at break time I got to play. How cool is it to work here? His name was Phi, and he is a black lab from Tampa. We had a lot of fun. It was time for another nap. 

Later that day Auntie Mel said she had to have a really tough phone conversation and that I needed to behave. I must have felt the stress and right before she hit the last button I threw up. I felt really bad, as she had to stay on the phone and try and clean that mess up at the same time. I guess it’s good that I am so cute as she still seems to love me. 

Thursday night we went to dog class. Auntie Mel was really excited to see folks from the north and central groups. It’s been too long since the raisers have all gotten together. If I may brag for just a minute, I was really good for the whole event. Several graduates spoke and I knew it was really important to show them a lot of respect. I got to sit next to River. I was told to not take too much advice from her. I am not really sure what Auntie Mel meant by that. 

Friday was a work day but we stayed home. It was another day of rough (not RUFF) phone calls for Auntie Mel. But surprise, surprise… my brother Jam came over to visit for the day. 

Jam in a moment of rest and relaxation on the couch.

During one of the calls, Jam (I swear he started it) stole the bed out of my kennel and MADE me play tug of war with it. Auntie Mel was quick to find the mute button on the phone and made us stop. Then, Jam ( I swear it was him) took the metal food bowl out of its container, waited for the mute button to be turned off, and dropped it from a very high position. Auntie Mel’s face didn’t look so good. Jam went home around 3:30. I guess it was just day camp for him. 

Later that day I got a visit from Cindy. She is a small yellow lab about six months old. We had a great time playing in the back yard. When the adults weren’t looking I found a big rosemary plant and decided to move some of its dirt around. I want to be a gardener when I grow up. That didn’t go over so well. Auntie Mel told me I needed to pick another career. 

Saturday,  Duke’s brother Trapper came to visit. This puppy camp is like a revolving door! Trapper has a really funny sense of humor and likes to steal things and run through the house. I was told to not listen to him either. These boys are really big; we barely all fit in the bathroom when Auntie Mel went to take a shower. 

Dewey, Duke and Trapper all all in the bathroom waiting
for Auntie Mel to get out of the shower.

I am hoping (don’t tell) that Sunday will be a day of rest—I am exhausted.