It's been an exciting couple of months for Marley. From the warm safety of mama's nest box (we assume & hope) to the shelter, to our house. Then there have been other kinds of changes - he's learned to like the car (mostly for the cool passenger foot well), he's learned to deal with guests (we've had overnight guests 4 times since he came home), a cat, and rules.
Most importantly he's almost there on potty training. We've not been crate training him. It's not the way either of us grew up with the dogs in our lives. It's available, but we had to force him in one time and he's tried to stay out of it ever since (bad job on our part). I've been making sure that some of his "find it" food goes in the crate so he can build a positive association with the crate. The door is held open with a bungee cord so it won't accidentally close on him (the same as Charlotte's crate).
I found a mostly dried puddle in the dining room today. That's first of any kind of "accident" that we know of in a couple of days. That means we're almost there.
Yesterday I left him in the house (asleep once, awake once) for a half hour or so. The guys were moving an old pickup truck out of one of the garage bays, then after lunch the engine & transmission (all bolted together), so they wanted photos. He did OK. He'd rather not be alone (wouldn't we all?) but didn't spend a lot of time barking or crying. I also left him for a few minutes in the car while I picked up mail and got a money order, then again (running with the AC to make sure he'd stay on the floor) for a couple of items at The Local Store.
All in all, a lot of progress.
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