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Monday, November 23, 2009

A Note From Joey and Maggie: Maggie is in The Dog House


This little angel wouldn't do anything wrong, would she?

It was a beautiful autumn Sunday morning.  The birds were chirping, the weather was nice, the sun was shining.  Your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts 'Joey' and 'Maggie' enjoyed a long morning walk, meeting lots of their neighborhood friends, and then devoured a nice Sunday breakfast - raw salmon and bone with a slightly cooked egg on top - sunny side up, just the way they like it.
After breakfast, Maggie was listening to some relaxing Joni Mitchell, and then resigned herself to catching some rays - taking advantage of the south-facing windows and especially enjoying Dad's brand new 2-day-old super thick and comfy Australian hand-tufted wool rug.  If there is a doggie heaven, then surely it must be something like this.  Dad even took these photos.  Maggie had been at the grooomer's just the day before, and the bows on her ears still hadn't fallen out - how cute could she possibly be?
The lazy day progressed.  We helped Dad do some garden cleanup on the veranda, and then played in some leaves - crashing into the big piles before Dad could place them in the trash bin, what fun!
Soon it was time for bed.  Dad went to turn the light out near the couch, walking on his cushy new wool rug, enjoying the feel of every warm firm fiber through his socks, with a cocky grin on his face that he often gets when he's generally pleased.
SQUISH.  What was that?   SQUISH.  Huh?  WHY IS THIS WET?  MAGGIE!  We were just resting on our little bed, and suddenly he glances over at us, darts flying out of his eyes in our general direction.  "We didn't do anything," our expressions explained.
See, Maggie is a marker.  She loves to mark outside when she goes for walks, lifting her hind leg as high as it will go on everything she can - it's very un-ladylike.  At nearly nine years old, there was never any problem with her marking in the house - excecpt last winter for the first time ever, and those episodes ceased after a few weeks and some re-direction.
BUT THE BRAND NEW RUG?  TWO DAYS OLD?  Dad was hot and called his trainer friend, Kim, of Kim's Dog Coaching, who said "Well, what do you expect?  You know she's a marker, and you bring a new rug in the house - made of animal hair?  Well, it's not a new rug anymore.  Now it's Maggie's."  Then she gave Dad some tips on preventing it from happening again.
Maggie almost didn't get to sleep in the big bed last night, but the trainer said that there was no such cause and effect relationship in the dog world - she peed on the rug, wasn't caught in the act, and it's over. 
Maggie is still laying low this morning however.   



Who, me?  Get a load of the whirring tail.

10 comments:

Ruby and Penny said...

Uh Oh Maggie!! Not on the new rug.
Lay low for awhile.
Love Ruby & Penny

Kim said...

Soooo, Maggie got to sleep in the bed? Hope so, Maggie's a Good Girl and didn't mean it literally but rather instinctively. She’s a dog after all and sometimes we forget that.

-and the rug is still beautiful :)

mamamouseiam said...

Maggie, I also christened a new, wool rug within hours of its arrival in our home, and believe me when I say that I received the very same reaction! I am not a marker, and I can't explain my behavior. Sometimes, good dogs do bad things...
-Schroeder

Coloradolady said...

I have a female, Sophie that does the same thing...drives me nuts, a new rug quickly becomes not so new, and uhhhh makes me mad, and I can never catch her in the act as well...maybe I need a trainer....

Anonymous said...

What is it with dachshunds and housebreaking? Does anyone have some tips to successfully wean your dog away from this? Our dog #1 came to us as a puppy and has no problems, but dog #2 is a rescue and just doesn't get it. We let them outside and he comes back inside and does his business. Any tips?

Tamara said...

Ohmygoodness! Surely another dog snuck into the house and is the true guilty party. Not our elegant little girl. =)

Tamara said...

p.s. It's a beautiful rug!

Anonymous said...

Hi Maggie, I think its a dachshund thing myself- marking new rugs or area carpets. My mom has 1 carpet in the house and thats the one at door for coming in with snow on boots. Never fails, my brother little Shilo Baby Bean always marks it as soon as mom puts it down. She never caught him in the act yet LOL. Gee hope she dosen't think its me, little Sass the Bold!!

Anonymous said...

Now look into those eyes! Maggie OBVIOUSLY could not have done what she is being accused of. She has been framed.

schatzie said...

My Mom got brand-new carpet in our apartment over the summer, and she made me promise NEVER to pee on it, because i totally ruined the old carpet (but Mom didn't tell the landlord that). SO FAR, I haven't, and Mom is very proud of me! I did barf on it once, but that doesn't count, does it?

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