Cleared for Carpet

Emme is still struggling with house breaking. Or rather I should say I am struggling with Emme's house breaking. Emme never messes in her crate even when she is in it many hours overnight. I thinks she has figured out the going outside to do her business routine, but she isn't always consistent. She sometimes will go a week without having an accident. Other times she will make a puddle on the rug more than once in a day. When we have taken her outside and told her to "hurry up" and she is successful, we say she is "Cleared for carpet." We know that we have an hour or two where we don't have to be worried that she will have an accident.

Often when she is outside for business, she is distractible. A squirrel runs through the yard; a jogger comes down the street; a car drives by and she is so fascinated with it that she forgets what she is outside to do. As the old saying goes: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it doodle." Or something like that.

She seems to have the most trouble in bad weather. She will sometimes go outside, sniff around, get distracted by the rain and will not do anything. Ten minutes after we come back into the house, she will make a puddle on the nice dry carpet.

I am a patient woman, and I am sure we are going to master this, but I want it to be right now.