I think I’ve mentioned before how much Bailey dislikes going for potty walks when it’s raining. She also does not like snow. We’ve had snow for a few weeks, and it’s been impossible to convince her to go outside and potty.
We’ll both get suited up—me in my winter coat, Bailey in her L.L. Bean Hudson Bay blanket coat with the slit in the top so I can fasten her harness to her leash. She’s all wiggly and excited to go out (she has her own blog to attend to, as the photo at the top right corner of this blog will show). I open the front door—she’s impatient for me to open the storm door dancing backing and forth on her front feet. I open the storm door. She starts to cross the threshold and then stops dead sniffing the air and observing what should be her grass-accessable kingdom. Alas! It’s all white–and if I’m not careful I’ll end up sprawled in it because her majesty on the door threshold is as immovable as a rock set to trip me. SHE WILL NOT GO OUT IN THE SNOW. This attitude can cause her to go for as many as three days without pooping.
Frankly, I think this has contributed to her gaseous emissions.
Since she’s not taking her regular walks she’s gotten into the habit of scratching at the back door the minute one of us sits down to read the newspaper or watch TV. I think she’s checking to see if the snow is gone because most times all she does is sniff the air when I open the door for her. Scratching at the back door is a legitimate signal for “mom I need to go potty now,” and it can’t be ignored. The one time I did, she had an accident right there at the door. And then it becomes my fault because I didn’t react in time to her signal. I think she knows this because she still expected a cookie after I’d cleaned up the rug.
This past weekend we had some decent weather, the snow melted and Bailey was pleased to place her dainty paws on grass again. She has hit her blog (OK, if you haven’t yet figured it out I’m talking about the fire hydrant a few doors down-read at the top of the page why I call this my fire hydrant) several times a day leaving “comments” and picking up on other dogs’ “postings.” Her walks and potty times have once again become routine—though we’re still playing this game of scratch on the door in the evenings. I think she’s checking to make sure the grass is still there.
Today, THE GREAT ST. PADDY’S DAY SNOW STORM OF 2008 has hit! OK, so St. Patrick’s is a couple of weeks off–still, my mom and her folk wisdom claims that there’s always one last big snow storm around St. Patrick’s. The ground is again covered in white. We’re expecting 10 inches.
I haven’t told Bailey yet.
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