Crates are Great

When we paid for Gatsby, we got his crate as well which was absolutely FANTASTIC because otherwise that would have been another fifty dollars. But when we got him home, there was not much success with the crate. He would go in with a little persuasion, but when I came home to let him out he would be so excited that he'd pee in and immediately outside of the crate. That week was awful. I tried putting the crate on the tile in the hallway so at least he'd pee on tile and if he could just hold it for the ten foot bolt to the door, we'd be set. I forgot that he was a afraid of tile. All in all, the whole thing was just a huge hassle, and since he really could hold it until the excitement of someone coming home, we just stopped crating him and left him free in the house.

That went a lot better. No accidents in the house and when he ran to the door it was just a matter of sidestepping the jumping and peeing. I think he didn't know that we were going to come back and now that he knows we will, he's better. Still bonkers to see us, but no pee. Good dog Gatsby!

I still want him to be comfortable in the crate though, just in case plus that's where he's supposed to sleep during the school year. I've been feeding him in the crate while I shower in the morning, so there's good connections between the crate and me being gone.

Last night we went to the motherhouse fields to run around and try some off-leash recalls. There was very little of both of that. Gatsby mostly just sniffed and dug for gophers. He dug his very first hole! I'm very proud. Videos and pictures of our outing will be up later today. By the time we got home (after custard for the humans) he was beat, even though it was an hour before we usually go to bed. I'm sitting in the living room watching the Rachel Maddow Show and watch Gatz trot out of the room and hear his tags jingling in my bed room. Then nothing. Then tags again and he appears in the living room looking at me like, "Well come on, are we going to bed or not?" I get up and follow him, and find the dog curled up at the back of the crate (cuddling his food dish, I might add). He slept there most of the night, but hopped up on my bed at one point. I know I really need to break him of this, because it's not going to fly with Deb, but I just love having him sleep with me! He's so warm.