Bailey's First week...

29th November 2007 makes it the 6th day Bailey has been in the Tai household. It is no walk in the park. For the 1st three nights, I suffered severe mental exhaustion to the point of strangling the pup… :-(

Bailey’s first 24-hours were ok; as I let her sleep in my room, she settled in nice & comfy… but I got tired of cleaning after her & decided to get a playpen to house her. She would be needing her own place when all of us are away at work anyway. So I left her in the bathroom on Sunday noon. I had to rush like crazy to the pet store to get that play pen. I made sure to puppy proof the bathroom first! I called Dad just to ask him to come back to check on her while I’m out.
So by the time I got back, Dad told me she discovered how to on pipe & filled the bathroom with water! :-P Dad said she just sat there trembling when he found her… I placed the playpen near the dining hall & near to the side door & lined it with newspaper. I dumped Bailey in it. And she HATED it! She went on whimpering & I left to take my nap.

That night she made such awful noises! I had already pre-warned my parents to ignore her crying. So when she started howling at 10.30p.m. I was torn! I crept quietly down to peek at her very careful not letting her see me. She was pacing up and down frantically, pushing the playpen about. I appeared quietly and she went crazy! I didn’t say a word & just sat beside her; outside the playpen. She quieted for a minute & lied down. I sat there in silence, looking at another direction. She calmed down & went to sleep…. I got up again at 3am again to check on her. She was gobbling up the newspaper. I was frantic but she kept on eating despite me stopping her. I checked with a few friends, they said its okay.

The next morning was forlorn… newspaper was shredded to bits, poo & wee everywhere in the play pen… I cleaned up & went to work exhausted and could hardly concentrate! I keep thinking to rush home in my lunchtime to check on her! I could hardly drive myself home. I was already feeling sick. Bailey went frantic when she saw me! The newspapers were cleared and I sort of guessed my dad was home earlier to check on her. I called him up & he said he cleaned up after her already . I took her out to the garden, fed her & sat with her for awhile. She was miserable! I took a Clarinase & went back to office…

When I got home, I had to clean up again and my parents said its not a good idea for her to be in a playpen. So my mom suggested giving her the guest bathroom. I thought it would be a good idea to contain her & house break her. So I placed newspaper in there, toys & mom offered Bailey some scrap cloth. I sat with her in the bathroom to get her to acclimatize herself. When she knew I was heading to the door, she got up frantically. When I sat down again; she positioned herself at the doorway to block my exit! WTF!! I was horrifyingly amused….

I attempted to toilet train her using newspaper and it was not so successful. I placed the newspaper she had soiled earlier at a corner & waited for her to do her business for almost 30mins! I left the bathroom to fetch some water in less than 10seconds; she wees on the floor. I caught her & almost strangled her! I cleaned up & left her alone. I tried to eat my dinner but I just could not eat at all! I had a beer & went to bed.

The next morning I woke up with dread. I didn’t know what to expect once I opened the bathroom door. Well, the paper was shredded again & the stools were everywhere. I cleaned up & scrubbed the bathroom. I let her out but she took a long time to do her business :-)

I was slightly late for work, and started my day pouring over Google in search of methods and advice for house breaking a puppy. A friend of mine asked me to keep trying putting Bailey’s soiled newspapers on to fresh ones. I went home with new hope… to calm myself down & be patient when teaching her. I got home & saw my dad had let her out roaming the garden! I fed her & went to check her progress on the newspaper. Okay, the stools were scattered but on top of the newspaper were a nice pile of her poo!!! Success! I think I was almost there. I text-ed everyone the good news! Bailey has learnt something! I was overjoyed and ate my dinner happily… :-) I had a beer and slept like a baby….