Tough Love

Have you ever had to practice tough  When I was a puppy, tough love came in the form of a crate.  It took a while for me to become used to staying in my crate and I wasn't happy about it.  Mommy rejoiced when I was finally crate trained.  Considering my past tough love experience, it's a miracle I enjoy hanging out in my crate now!

Mommy and Daddy are again trying tough love with Hunter, but it's not going so well.  Tough love for Hunter comes in the form of a baby gate.  The baby gate has been placed at the bottom of the stairs to prevent Hunter from going up and down.  He loves to be wherever the action is, and he doesn't let a little hip and back pain stop him.  Except for when it's time to come back down the steps . . . then the pain stops him.  Or at the very least slows him down.  Hunter has the privilege of sleeping upstairs with our parents, but it takes a while for Mommy to coax him downstairs in the mornings.  Mommy plans extra time in the mornings to play with us, but she doesn't work begging and pleading on the steps into her busy mornings.  

My parents are trying to keep Hunter downstairs at night.  They've even let us girls sleep anywhere we want downstairs too (as in, not in our crate) to keep him company.  The evening starts off fine, but at some point Hunter becomes fully awake and realizes he needs to potty.  He starts with a low whine, but when help doesn't come he cranks the whine up to an all out BARK!  Mommy has Mommy Ears and she hears any noises we make during the night (truly, Daddy thinks she makes noises up, but she's always right).

 Mommy tries to ignore the whines and barks like she did when we were puppies and learning to be crate trained.  She was strong when we were puppies.  For the old man in Hunter, Mommy is weak.  She can't stand knowing he only wants to be near, so she eventually caves and comes downstairs to allow him to come up.  

It's as if when he sleeps upstairs, he knows going downstairs to potty isn't an option, so he pushes through the night.  When he's downstairs, the outside is so close, but yet far enough away that he needs to start barking for help.  

So Mommy has a dilemma.  She can either try to ignore the whines and barks, or she can add extra stair time to her mornings.  So far, she hasn't decided on the best option.  She's still deluding herself that she can follow through on the tough love plan.  I mention only Mommy at this point because somehow Daddy is blessed with the ability to sleep through it all!  Lucky him!

Personally I think Mommy will do everything in her power to help Hunter up and down the stairs for as long as she (and he) can . . . 

That lift chair is looking more promising by the day!
Dixie


PS: You may have noticed that rug moves around frequently to help ease Hunter's fear of the hardwood floors!