dog training

We have had Georgia for nearly a year. But it was becoming quite apparent that the "let-her-out-as-often-as-we-think-of-it" method was not working so well for house breaking. :( Which is all fine and well in this house with the ratty old carpet that will be removed when we leave, but we will be moving elsewhere and will be even less happy to see puddles on the floor then.

And once Lyle arrived, it also became apparent that *I* did not have the time or desire to make an extra effort to train her properly. Yes, it should have been done differently from the start, but it wasn't. Hindsight is really great and all that.

So I talked to the kids and told them that it was either Lyle or the dog (kidding). I told them I could not be the one with any more added responsibilities, and Daddy is at work all day long. So Daisy stepped up to the plate and, after a few false starts and some trial and error, is now holding the position of Gamekeeper here at Bray Castle (she is a lot cuter than Hagrid though).

She gets up whenever Georgia awakes, (which is often sooner than she would like) takes both the dogs outside, and sits wrapped in a blanket to watch and make sure Georgia has done her thing. Thankfully the weather is warming up now so it's not usually too bad.
Then she puts up the baby gates at either end of the kitchen to keep Georgia where we can watch her more closely, and feeds both the dogs. I do not ever have to beg and plead ask anyone to feed the dogs anymore! She then uses timers to help her keep track of a very tight schedule that she has put Georgia on. It is working out brilliantly so far, and Georgia is earning more and more free time each week.
There have been only a few minor setbacks and Daisy is doing a fabulous job with it. Best of all, she has accepted the responsibility fully, and does not complain or mope about it. She is a wonderful pet owner and deserves to have a great little dog who she can have around for a long, long time! Georgia is hers for good. We are very very proud of her!