A Holiday Housetraining Tale
Note: I originally wrote this for the Papfriends e-mail
list when someone asked about housetraining.
Once upon a time, there was a Papillon named
Rudolph. Rudolph was never
allowed to accompany Santa on his annual sleigh rides, because ... well,
Rudolph wasn't housebroken. And it was way too long a trip for wet sleigh
seats!
One day, Mrs. Santa confronted the Big Guy with a chilly truth. "Santa, your
hearing isn't what it used to be! You need to take Rudolph with you this year.
He can listen for children that wake up early and creep down the stairs to
peek. He can hear tiny sobs in the night as a child cries into her pillow,
afraid that you won't come this year. With those ears of his, he can hear
anything!"
Santa just sighed. "Rudolph isn't housebroken, dear. What if he piddles on
someone's carpet? I'll never get cookies again!" Mrs. Santa rolled her eyes,
called Rudy and set about training him herself.
First of all, she asked the elves to build her a dog crate. Rudolph was
confined when they couldn't watch him every minute. She fed him on a regular
schedule so he had to potty on a regular schedule. When he was loose in the
house, she made sure she kept a close eye on him.
The elves gave her a large jingle bell, which she attached to a piece of
ribbon and hung on the door that led outside to the backyard. She made sure
she only took Rudolph out this door while training.
When she took Rudolph outside to potty, she always did it on leash. This was
so he wouldn't dash off after the reindeer across the North Pole and forget
why he was let out in the first place! She put his leash on, and led him to
the jingle bell. "Wanna go outside?" she asked. She then gently took his
little paw and rang the bell softly. "Good Rudolph!" she smiled and gave him a
yummy sugar plum. (Mrs. Santa's sister, Mrs. Tooth Fairy, used a clicker to
teach her dog how to do this. Either method will do, depending if your dog is
clicker savvy!)
Mrs. Santa promptly opened the door and took him out. "Go potty!" Mrs. Santa
said. Rudolph sniffed and sniffed and finally did. "Smart boy!" Mrs. Santa
exclaimed, and gave him another sugar plum. Rudolph caught on quickly.
Training Santa was harder. "Now dear," Mrs. Santa explained, "If Rudolph rings
the bell for ANY reason, you've got to take him outside! He's learning the
bell is a signal for going out."
"But what if he doesn't need to go?" Santa whined. "You try following that
bouncing Papillon around the Pole while your belly is bouncing like a bowlful
of jelly!"
"That's why you put him on leash, dear," Mrs. S said patiently. "You take him
out anyway. If he doesn't go in 5 minutes, you bring him right back in. He'll
learn the system only works if he needs to go potty."
Time passed and the Clauses worked very hard with Rudolph. Being a Papillon,
he picked up on the routine very quickly. Especially with all those sugar plum
treats every time he did something right! On Christmas Eve, Santa declared,
"Rudolph! Since we've done our training right, won't you ride in my sleigh
tonight?"
Rudolph leaped into the sleigh with a yip. He curled up in Santa's lap as they
dashed across the world. At each home, he'd swoosh down the chimney with
Santa and take his post, listening for any strange noises. He was a great
help! And on Christmas Day, when children all over the world scrambled for
their presents, they found lots of cookie crumbs on the floor. But no wet spots.
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