Well now that Joe is recovering from his triple wisdom tooth extraction surgery, (Oh you, didn’t hear about that? Yeah he was pretty miserable) he’s ready for a bunch of projects. Those are his words, not mine. Most people would be thrilled at the chance to take three days off work, lay on the couch and watch movies while eating ice cream. Ok, maybe not thrilled. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Nevertheless, he’s been going crazy not being able to do anything.

Here’s one of his ideas from last weekend: The Puppy Trainer 3000™

How to Train your Dragon Pooch

Shila is the best puppy ever, but she has a slight problem letting us know when she needs to go outside to do her business. So he thought that if she had some sort of bell system, she could let us know what she needs. She doesn’t really bark, so there’s no vocal cue. The ideas is, she rings the bell and we take her out.

We picked up some rope, bells, and a fluffy chew toy.

It was simple enough to slit it open.

We took out some stuffing and added about 4 bells.

Then I stitched it back up and we hung it from the doorknob.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit I had no expectation of this working. But Joe was sick and thought up an easy project, so I went along with it… But she’s actually used it a couple times! So far, so good. We’ll let you know if it sticks. Or if it backfires. What a nightmare if she had an accident with every bell noise heard – think Pavlov’s dog.

On a sad note, Shila and Steve are moving out next month. We’ll miss those guys! :'(

I know these two have become pretty good buddies. I know these aren’t the most festive of Jingle Bells, but hey. Plenty of holiday cheer coming. We may not have a wreath hanging from the door yet, but Shila seems to like it.

3 years

On a happy note, Joe’s been stuck with me for three years! Wowza. He declared his love with a giant heart of chocolates. Enough said.

Friendsgiving

Finally, we found a good picture from Friendsgiving.

Anyone else have suggestions for potty training dogs?