Jackie Stoughton

confessions of a bad dog parent


(How could I be mad at this face, right?)
I have to make an embarrassing confession. I am a bad dog parent.

We've had Bowie since he was about 10 weeks old. We did the things you're supposed to do, as far as housebreaking goes. We took him out constantly and gave him praise and treats when he pottied outside. We also took him to several training classes when he was a puppy and got even more tips on housebreaking. Yet still, ever since he was a puppy he has just loved peeing on things indoors. We used to live in an apartment and I feel a tad guilty over all the puppy pee all over that place. We obviously cleaned it up everytime, but still. Pee city.

Now Mr. Bowie is about 3 and a half years old and he still looooooves peeing in the house. Pugs are notorious for being stubborn. Basically meaning, they know what you want them to do but if they don't want to do, they ain't doing it. So I am convinced he is having an inner monologue in his little peabrain (or "pee brain" I guess) about big plans to drive me crazy and ruin everything by getting just a li'l pee on it. Everything.

He was on medication a few months ago that would increase his thirst and, thus, increase his peeing. During that time, he peed on my coat (you can read about my so-called "pee coat" here), a variety of the legs of the dining room chairs/table, our new wine fridge, the walls/baseboards and Jarrod's work bag. Nothing is sacred to this urine apparently. However, since he's been off of the medication, we thought that he had been "good" for awhile.

The other day, Jarrod and I were settling in to catch up on some Pretty Little Liars (obviously) and I saw Bowie intently sniffing the corner of the bookshelf. That can only mean one thing - he has previously peed there before and he's checking out his handiwork. I confirmed that it was all pee covered, cleaned it up and now have to throw away about 6 of my books that were pee soaked. Why. Whyyyyyyy. This is why we can't have nice things!!

I filled a glass with wine and proceeded to bitch about my bad dog. I tried to have a conversation reasoning with him - "We take you out all the time. Peeing outside is fun. Why do you have to ruin all my stuff?" But to no avail. He had that confused look in his googly eyes and just snuck up onto my lap once the wine kicked in. He never said sorry and he'll probably never stop peeing on my stuff, but I know I'm his mama and I can't stay mad at him.

Still, it would be nice if he would get a different hobby.

Anyone else a "bad" dog parent? Please tell me I'm not the only one! Oh and it goes without saying, we are working to train him more. He's not allowed to be in any room by himself and we're going to take him out a million extra times to potty.

Speaking of dog moms, I want to introduce you to two other dog moms, who I'm sure are MUCH better dog moms than me!
* * * * * First up - meet fellow pug mama Steph from Life According to Steph. We all know my life goal is to have a million pugs and Steph is one pug ahead of me. Super jealous.
I’m Steph from Life According to Steph, where I blog about life in general including cooking, books, my three pugs, and things that annoy me.
I tell it like it is, think in list form, believe in celebrating my birthday all month, and couldn’t tell you the last time I used a hair dryer. I love a clean house, coffee, nail polish, song lyrics, lip products, creative curse words, steak, fresh sheets, Dirty Dancing, reading real books over e-readers, being beside the sea, laughing raucously, organizing stuff, planning ahead, the benevolent and karmic nature of the universe, flip flops, and sunglasses. Blog / Bloglovin / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest * * * * * Also meet Allison from Because I Said So - who is also a dog mom of a cute pup named Laney. I obviously attract other dog ladies as sponsors - no complaints!
Because I Said So is a blog that's a little bit classy and a whole lot of sassy. My puppy-child and boyfriend frequently make an appearance as does my love for all things pink and girly. I'm just a normal girl calling it like I see it and everything I write about is "because I said so" of course! xoxo Blog / Bloglovin / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

Hope that everyone has a good weekend! Guess who is going to pick up her wedding dress tomorrow? Me! The salesperson on the phone sounded weirdly confusing when I asked about getting my dress so fingers crossed that my dress is there.

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