Who knew that adding a puppy to the mix would make life so complicated? People with puppies, I guess, but we had no idea. Specifically, I had no idea that my entire day would have to revolve around the digestive cycle of the puppy. I keep thinking that once he’s house trained, life will become easier, but in the mean time, I’m tired.
I took a break with the Wyrd Sisters Tuesday evening, and when I got home, Husband announced that Baxter seemed to have diarrhea. Good night. So, I took Baxter out one more time before bedtime and then tucked him into his crate for the night. The next morning, I got up around 6:15 (the time he goes out for his first pee) and found the little guy caked in poop. I mean snout to tail tip. He had blown up in the crate a few times in the night but didn’t make a peep, so we didn’t know there was a problem. I carefully took him out to take care of business and then wrapped him a towel; and then I carried him straight up the stairs, dropped in the tub and scrubbed him down.
As I washed him, I kept thinking of the instructions to knowing when a roasted chicken is done. When you prick the bird, you know it's cooked when the juices run clear. I washed the dog until the water going down the drain was poop-free. Holy Mary Mother of Sorrows (the actual name of a church No. 1 and I found while hiking once).
I followed the advice of a Facebook friend—which I verified on the Internet and with my vet—and began feeding Baxter one tablespoon of canned pumpkin now and then. It’s the miracle food for dogs and keeps them regular, they say. He did much better during the day.
The next morning, however, was only slightly better than the morning before, so another early bath. You’d think we would have learned our lesson, but no. Finally, the vet gave me a bottle of pills that will clear the little guy right up, but last night, I learned. Every three hours, one of us took him out for a poop/pee visit, and now today, I’m just tired. Tired, I tell ya.
I took the dog on two walks today so far, and now he's asleep in his clean and sanitized crate. I should be sleeping, too, but I think I'll play my horn instead. Or read. Or call my mother. Or one of the other things I haven't been doing because my entire day revolves around the digestive cycle of the puppy.
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