Doug and Jenn brought over Charlie on Saturday. We told them that we were hosting game night and he would have to be stored in Erika's room for the time being. They brought over his kennel, food, bowls and toys. He came with his doggie diaper attached to him. I knew we were going to need his other one that they forgot at their house. No big deal because I had to go check on their cat, Freya as well while they were gone.
While Ben and I got the house ready for our friends Erika and Zach kept Charlie company in her room. We just didn't want him running all over the house getting into stuff and possibly peeing everywhere. Most of the evening we kept him in his kennel in Erika's room and to drown out his wining we turned on some loud rap to keep him quiet. When everyone was gone we cleaned up and set up his kennel in the dining room furthest away from our rooms. We were not sure how Doug and Jenn did bedtime with him but we were going to try some stuff. First, he will go potty outside before he goes to bed. Second, he goes in kennel with a blanket over the top of him. Third, all lights go out and we do not acknowledge him when he makes sounds. He made a lot of noise the first night.
Since Erika was going to school for part of the day she was able to be home with him and Emmitt most of the day. She concocted a structure we ended up calling "the thunderdome." It consisted of chairs, couches, tables, containers, boxes, plastic sleds and sheets. Essentially, a dog fort but we chose when they left and entered. Charlie kept having pee problems and kept poopin in his kennel. Erika eventually got him on a pretty good schedule, which I think he was lacking at home. He really needed a strict routine of when he went potty, when he was fed and when bedtime was.
Sunday night we could tell Emmitt was getting tired of Charlie. He always tried getting away from him. Erika and I were watching Frozen (this was my first time watching it) and about the end of the movie, we heard Emmitt make a growl noise and then bit Charlie on the head. Charlie cried and we took Emmitt out of the thunderdome. We checked Charlie's head to make sure there wasn't any gaping wounds or if he was missing an eye. He was fine but we had to watch them a bit more closely when they were together.
By Tuesday we were doing pretty good. We were having less accidents in the house and bedtime was getting quieter and quieter until he stopped making noise all together. He was learning his routine.
By about the middle of the week, I started, after work, taking Charlie out for "jogs with Charlie" as I called them. He was really difficult to run with because he would stop at every tree and bite at his leash. I was exhausted after every run because of his inconsistent stop and go's. I thought if we could run some of the energy out of him he would sleep better at night and not cry or poop in his kennel.
Friday we were getting excited that the week was almost over and we could give Charlie back to them. I took Charlie out for one more "jogs with Charlie" and it was a really decent evening. I took him for a longer run that we usually did.
We hit some huge milestones as well. He was no longer peeing or pooping in his kennel and he would go into it at night without making any noise. We put Charlie on a routine while he was with us and he actually learned something. He will probably go back to his bad habits once he went back home with Doug and Jenn. However, that is not our problem. They should really take him to a place to be trained.
Doug and Jenn came and got him on Saturday and we spent the afternoon cleaning the house and washing sheets. I was so glad to watch him go home. It really made me not want a dog ever. Cats are the way to go!
Next Adventure: Seattle Center, Monorail, Pike's Place Market and the Waterfront
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