Dart had only one accident yesterday and it was more about not getting let out in time!
So far so good today. We're going strong with the positive reinforcement. We are also going to attempt putting a bell at the front door and getting him to paw it when he needs to go out. He actually does best at letting us know he needs to go when we're in bed. Dart comes and puts his front paws up and sticks his nose in your face. So now we just need to figure out how to get him to tell us he's ready when we're not in bed.
Don't remember if I talked about Saturday, so pardon the redundancy if I did. Saturday morning we had a doggy date with Baylee. Baylee is my friend Jessica's golden retriever. Baylee had bone cancer and got his leg amputated over the winter. He recovered ridiculously quickly. Baylee really helped Dart get out of his shell. Being three-legged Baylee wasn't quite as quick as Dart but gave him a run for his money and it gave me a good idea of his interactions with big dogs since he hasn't interacted with neighborhood dogs. Baylee also instigated Dart's interest in fetch. I don't know if he was a big fetcher before, and he hadn't shown interest until Saturday when Jessica threw the ball and they both went for it.
Saturday afternoon was his first experince around a large group of people since we got him. He did pretty well. Dart would go and check out the people and then come and check in with me.
We also have discovered that Dart has no fear of vacuums, lawn mowers, etc. In fact, he'll run along side you if he can.
I've discovered some other things as well:
The extra exercise for me is loosening my pants!
I haven't had a major anxious or depressive episode since we've had him.
I get more things done in a day since I get up with him for our morning walk.
I get totally selfish gratification from knowing that I am helping him become a great dog.
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