So, one of the biggest issues I have been thinking about with relation to taking Frodo to Minneapolis with me is bathroom issues. He's housetrained and rarely had accidents, even when I had 10 hour shifts at Panera (though he wasn't going to put himself in any sort of discomfort if you weren't there when he really had to go), but I've been thinking a lot lately about how long he should be expected to wait.

One source that really got me thinking was Jean Donaldson in her book The Culture Clash, where she writes about what those last few hours must be like for a dog who has to go to the bathroom, waiting for their owners to get home. I know what it feels like to have to use the restroom and not have one available to me. Not exactly what I would call fun and also not something I want Frodo to have to deal with. In addition to this issue, I really do not want Frodo to be crated for extended periods of time, if possible. He's not a chewer and he doesn't tend to destroy things (as long as there is no food left in the vacinity, including countertops!), so I would prefer him to have the freedom to lounge around the apartment while I'm at school/work. This again brings up the issue that he will go to the bathroom in the house if made to wait too long.

So my solution?

*dons flame retardant suit in case anyone is actually reading*

I am going to attempt to train Frodo to use an indoor potty area. I know. Dogs are supposed to go to the bathroom outside! And for the most part, I agree. But in my opinion, IF it works (and that's a big if), then I think it will be in the best interest of my dog, and isn't that my ultimate job as a dog owner? My plan is not to have this take the place of outside time or his ability to use the bathroom outside in any way. It's merely a matter of making his life less stressed and giving him more freedom, as well as giving me the piece of mind that he is not having the highest quality of life that I am able to give him for the next few years.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. I have issues with training in too big of chunks and not breaking the steps down far enough that the dog is able to understand what is expected of him. But here is my preliminary plan to train Frodo to go to the bathroom indoors.

WAIT! I forgot. Might help to know where I want Frodo to do his business. I don't want to just use puppypads for multiple reasons, including:

• He's not a puppy and those things don't absorb all that much liquid.
• Most dogs, like human males, don't have the best aim and I don't want to end up causing damage to a rented apartment.
• They get expensive after a while.
  

So my alternative is the use of a large rubbermaid type container, like this one.
If I can cut out a large enough area in one side for it to function as a door, I can hopefully train him to go in and, well...go. Plus if he feels the need to lift his leg it isn't going to hurt anything. I will also be able to easily scrub it out every day, so I don't expect it to smell, or at least nothing that can't be covered up with an air freshener.

Moving on to method. These are the preliminary steps that I plan on using to get him to this point:

1. Getting him used to going in the container without the lid on. Frodo is a scaredy dog, and I know this alone is going to take some time, so it will be started as soon as possible. Eventually I will move to having the lid on when he feels comfortable.
2. Having him confined to an x-pen when he is alone. The x-pen will contain puppy pads and a washable bed. I am hoping he will not view the x-pen as a crate and will use the puppy pads.
3. Assuming he uses the puppy pads I will make the x-pen increasingly larger so that he can choose puppy pads over regular floor. If he doesn't use the puppy pads, well...we're going to assume for now that he will use the pads.
   
4. Variation in location of x-pen and type of dog bed.
5. Eventually placing container in x-pen and gradually move the puppy pads from right in front of the container to inside the container.
6. When he is reliably using the container, fade out x-pen.

Now, these plans obviously have a ton of places where this could fail (too scared of container, views x-pen as a crate, he decides he can hold it when left alone for long periods, etc.), but hopefully if those issues crop up I can work through them without having to abandon the plan entirely.

I know a lot of people use and recommend the use of dog-walkers, and IMO they are a great resource. I wouldn't mind using a dog-walker, but there are a few reasons why I am hesitant to rely on that for Frodo. First, and most importantly, Frodo and I are going to be working on a lot of training that has the potential to be easily undone (assuming we have some success), and that is not something I think I will be willing to risk. Second, I do not know where I will be living next year so it would be impossible for me to find and interview a dog-walker right now, let alone work in the cost of what that would be or if there even would be a dog-walker in the area. For these reasons I am not going to wait and rely on that being an option. I would rather be proactive and have a plan implemented in case it is all that is left at the end of the day.

I think that should do it for now!
Damn sentence structure!

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