My cell phone decided not to work correctly, which turned out to be a system error with my carrier, and I did not get the reminder for our first Agility class. I was so upset about that! Eli and I will have to continue waiting. I have just been feeling horrible for Eli ~ feeling like we are in limbo right now with training.
When Eli is working he makes me super proud. He amazes other people, too. I have to say that I can not remember having a dog as smart as Eli is.
When Eli is not officially on the clock, he has gotten into a routine of bad habit. This is where he is not making life a little easier for me. This is when I feel I should have gone the other way and tried for a mobility assistance dog rather than a medical alert dog.
I am sure that Eli is having issues because of the relationship between him and his big sister, Mei-li. Eli habitually urinates on my bed. There is an ocassional urination on a chair in the living room, but almost every day I find that he urinated on the bed. We have one comforter and blanket which are not even the right size for the bed, but they are the closest to being big enough. The comforter is dump material at this point because it's been washed so much and is torn to shreds. I am getting so frustrated with this behavior. I take him out constantly because I am trying to prevent it from happening. Sometimes I feel like he saves it just to do the deed on the bed.
This has made me rethink his ability to work. However, he still exhibits the drive to do his job and I do not want to disappoint him. When I look at him I am beginning to feel like I am failing him somehow. I also can not imagine not having him around, but am I giving him the best life he can have? Eli is obviously feeling stressed about something. I do not want him to be unhappy.
It could possibly be that there is some urine scent still in those places. I've found a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda will remove the scent (their noses are so much more sensitive than our's aren't they.) You could be right and he is deliberately saving it for those places, because some confusion has caused him to think they are the correct places. Is it possible to keep him off those area's completely, if he so much as looks at going near them, to tell him no! Try to take a deep breath, before dealing with anything revolved around the matter. Our distress, frustration and inevitable exhaustion communicates to them and can make them confused. YOu have done so wonderfully well with him all this time, you still have time to correct any problems. Dogs don't stay stuck in past, if he is confused he can be trained into a better pattern. Try not to be so hard on yourself dear. You will get there with him. Hugs lin
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lin. (((hugs)))
ReplyDeleteI received the information you passed along, too. Much appreciated. 8)