I was watching the Ellen DeGeneres' show and she mentioned something that really makes sense to me and made an impact on me. She said, “Whenever I make a mistake, I write it down, so I won't forget it. Then I talk about it, so my audience will learn from my mistakes.” In essence, I'm writing about my possible mistake. I hate to admit that he's a mistake because he is such a great, pretty dog, and it cost us about five-hundred dollars, plus accessories; his name is Charlie, a wheaten Scottie.
Last year in June, my wife and I drove to Mason, Texas one Saturday morning, located two hours east of Austin. I remember we were all excited, despite the premonition of my mother in law; she had warned us that it would be a lot of work, that it would be messy, and that we would soon regret it. She was in essence, predicting what we at first thought a dreadful decision. Why am I saying dreadful, because we subjugated in short to poop and pee in our kitchen floor, to him biting on the legs of the kitchen table, and leaving teeth marks on the wall and screen door of the kitchen. Not to mention the stench of pooch in our house. We would buy piddle pads, and it took him several months for him to pee in the right spot. There were many days when he would miss the piddle pad. Gradually, we would move the piddle pad to the backdoor, until one day he surprised us, when we took several hours doing errands and when we returned he didn't pee indoors, he waited for us to open the door.
Finally we bought a bell with a string attached, and every time he wished to go potty, he would pull the string and the bell would ring. Eventually, he did learn to ring the bell. However, if we didn't open the door on time, he would do his business indoors. Gradually within a year his positive qualities began to emerge. He quickly learned to ring the bell, whenever he wished to play outside or do potty . When he wished to go potty, we would open the door and tell him to “Go Potty” and at the same time, we would give him a small treat, like yogurt. Within weeks, he learned not to potty indoors.
After all this hard work, all we have to do now is open the sliding door and he goes outside. When he gets tired of being outside, he sits by the door indicating that he wishes to come inside. He doesn't like the heat; in the scorching hours of the day, he likes to be indoors. He also quickly learned to descend and climb stairs, and to stroll in public areas with a leash. Within a year's time span, I'm thrilled to write that Charlie, has changed into a complete obedient dog. He does not bite furniture anymore, pees in the carpet, or acts aggressive. In fact, many times, I've been home alone in my office, and do not wish to be disturbed, so I close the door and he patiently waits by the hallway. All I do is tell him to stay and he does. I tell him to sit, while I pour his food on his doggie bowl and he does. He sits patiently and waits for me to walk away from the bowl, and then he eats. He follows me wherever I go around the house, and loves to sit next to me. If I tell him “Lets go na-night, he knows its time to go to sleep. He follows me to the garage, his sleeping quarters.
My dog Charlie has taught me to have patience. My wife and I had many arguments while raising him, pondering the quick fix solution to give him away. However, had we given him away, we would have never enjoyed a true friend and a great companion.
