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 :)

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Sedona's an eclectic pottier.  Sometimes she's very Vern-like, taking her sweet time, sniffing everything in her path, seeing what the neighbor girls are up to, etc.  However, she can also ask to go out, pee quickly and on command (even if it's just a dribble, or maybe even a squat with fake pee) every couple of minutes if she's in the mood for treats.  I know, we should have weened her from the potty treats long ago, but it's such a part of her daily routine that we just can't seem to let it go.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Maybe I should try that. If we get the rain we are supposed to, I might try it tonight :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

OMD, you did it again Laurie.  This is hysterical.  We don't have the problem, because we take Guinness first.  He pees (marks) on everything.  I swear he can pee 25 times on one potty trip.  Then we take Murph who refuses to be outdone by his "little brother", so he goes out and pees right over every spot that Guinness has peed on.

Here's the ad that came up with your posting...how funny is this!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I saw this ad come up...LOL! Vern still pees like a little girl :)

[DeeDee and Sheila]

I'm laughing so hard I may pee MY pants.  Vern is a real piece of work.  I love the light bulb going off.  Seriously tho, that wasn't Vern trying to go in the back of the car, was it?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

DeeDee, No, it was not Vern. He weighs over 90 pounds....LOL. It was just a picture I found on the Internet. Vern may be slow, but he always goes outside.

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's so funny, I mistook it for part of the posting.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

This is priceless I'm laughing so much.  Riley goes straight to business when I say' Get Busy" I'm so lucky.  I don't even go out with him now I just open the back door and say go out and he does.  He's back in done and dusted (I watch to check he's not faking) in moments!  He did go through a short period of faking it for treats but we are well past that now.  No treats needed : )

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Why didn't I do treats in the beginning? Riley, you are one good pup! Come teach Vern how to pee on command.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am known throughout the neighborhood by my trademark phrase, which anyone within a 5 block radius must surely hear me shouting every morning:

"Jack, go make a pee-pee!"

Jackdoodle is descended from camels, and can hold it forever. He has never had an accident, even while on mega-doses of prednisone. His record thus far is 36 hours.

When he finally does decide to let go each morning, it's best to stand clear. You could float a good-sized cabin cruiser in the puddle he leaves.

JD and Vern must be related somehow. 

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

36 hours!!! Wow.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think they are brothers from another mother :)