Vern, GO POTTY!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think our dogs and their potty idiosyncrasies must be on a lot of our minds, because there have been lots of discussions and posts lately about this subject. I have been thinking about writing something about Vern for a long time, and then today I saw Lucy and Sophie's mom's discussion, about how long Lucy can hold it. Vern can hold it for a long time too, but my problem is more that Vern has to have an Oprah "Aha" moment before he goes. It is almost like he is just walking along and all of a sudden has an epiphany.

 

I am starting to think Vern thinks his name is Go Potty, Vern!  When we take the dogs out to do their business, Fudge gets right to the point, but not Vern. Vern likes to take his time, smell the air, walk around, sniff a little, tackle Fudge, smell the air, chew a stick, and then sniff some more. All the while, he is walking around I am saying, “Vern, go potty….Vern, Go Potty……VERN, GO POTTY!”

 

Imagine it is pouring outside. Here is Vern out to do his business:

Now, it is snowing. Here is Vern out to do his business:

 

Here he is thinking about going potty....oh wait a minute, never mind, false alarm:

So much to sniff, so little time.....Hey, Fudge, who keeps yelling, "Go Potty, Vern?:

Hmmmn, I am out here for something, but I can't remember what:

Isn't that a pretty birdie?

 

I swear when he finally goes, it reminds me of that scene in the movie, Helen Keller, when Helen finally realizes what the letters w-a-t-e-r mean that her teacher has been signing on her hand.  After I say, “Vern, Go Potty!” a few too many times, he looks at me like it finally dawns on him that “Go Potty” means make water or something more solid than water.

 

 

If I thought it would speed him up to hand him a newspaper or a magazine as he goes out the door, I would try it. I swear I would.

He does finally go and it looks something like this when he does:

or this:

No matter how long it takes him to go, Vern never has any accidents EVER in the house, so I guess I should count my blessings. It could be worse.

Someday, I hope he will get down to business sooner and if he can get to this point, we would be the happiest dog owners ever.

Who else wants to join Vern in the Slow to Go Group?

 

PS Please note....all landscaping (no grass) done by Vern too :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

F, I was actually able to mow our yard today. It rained all weekend, but warmed up today and the sun was out. I hope your yard is drying out.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I can't believe you could mow!! Luckily I convinced myself Friday that mowing was one of those"I don't know when I'll be able to do it again" things and I did it. The ground is drying out although still soft in places. And if I won't be able to mow til I do more  do more "pick up sticks".

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our driveway is covered in those "pick up sticks" and luckily for me, I do not know how to operate the blower machine (feigned incompetence, maybe) so my DH gets the pleasure of that job. My DD was off work today due to the power being out at her place of work, so I had to force myself to go shopping with her and eating out when I could have been doing yard work...LOL!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Laurie, you are such a kind and giving person, hope DD appreciates the supreme sacrifice you made for her. :>)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Donna, You know, that leash idea is a good one. Thank you! LOL about the distractions in my bathroom...you have a point. I guess that dog in the car just let his/her owner know that when you got to go, you got to go :)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

We do this too!  I will leash her and take her to spots. She does know the potty command and will go SOMETIMES like this also.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Such a simple solution....I never thought of leashing Vern!

[Jennifer and Jack]

You know Laurie, without a question of a doubt you are a gift to DK from God, you have such a way of bringing things out, making people laugh. I bet if you were a blogger on a regular basis, you would have a huge following. You could be a professional blogger and get paid for how funny you are....

 

Your blogs and posts always cheer everyone up, make people crack up and yet can be serious when needed.. I am so happy to have you here.....

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jennifer, You are making my head swell :) Thank you so much for your kind words. It means a lot to me.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Vern just works on his own time schedule. LOL, what a cute pup.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, Camilla!

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

lol those were some funny pictures! Vern is a cute guy! Parker does a whole little dance before he goes...usually more for poops...he does his peeps pretty fast but poop he has to dance around...even if it's pouring with rain (which is why I am going to blow away during the hurricane with him! lol)