Day 4. Sunday, September 1

Today is my birthday, so...

The mess the little girls made last night sent Joyce to her sewing room. We had put down an oilcloth and weighted the corners with some 9" tiles. The idea was to keep the pups from moving the oilcloth and just pee and poop on it so it would be easier to clean up. Nope, the oilcloth was found in a ball in the middle of the breezeway with the tile floor exposed all around, covered in poop. So, she had an idea.

The breezeway, for those who have never been to our house, connects what we call "The Big Room" with the sunroom. It's an all tile floor with two opposing side doors as well as the door at each end. One side door goes into a small atrium while the other leads outside.

Joyce had a large painter's dropcloth made from canvas that she had bought years ago to make into curtains. That never happened so it was tucked away in her sewing room. She dragged it out and went to work. The result was genius. She had cut the canvas to the same width as the breezeway and over half as long. Then she added tabs on both sides that were to fit under the side doors. The idea being to lay the tabs on the threshold then shut the door, trapping the tab under the door. Work nearly perfectly. On the end of the canvas that reached the sunroom she, also, sewed a big tab like the sides. There is no door there, only an open doorway. So, I had devised a wooden panel that could fit across the opening and be clamped in place. By setting the panel down on top of the big tab, the canvas was trapped there. Hopefully, you get the idea. We had to have a place to contain the pups overnight and be relatively easy to clean up every morning. So, we threw Ditto's old pillow bed at the end of the room where the canvas does not reach, added a water bowl and locked the pups in.

The results were not perfect this morning, but very promising. The problem was the pups had managed to dig at the canvas and work it out from under the panel. But, never fear. She had made the tabs by folding material and sewing it to the edge of the canvas. This made large casings like one might find at the top of a curtain. We ran 3/8" rope through the casings so now, the rope gets trapped on the other side of the panel and doors, as well. I don't think the pups can dig it out from under the doors now (fingers crossed).

That was a long story about the breezeway "cage". Sorry. But, there was a shorter story of success with the doggy door training. Joyce got inside at the doggy door while I stood outside. She would shove the pups through the door while I called and coaxed them out. I gave them a treat then sent them back to Joyce where she gave them a treat. It didn't take long before they were running in and out, very proud of themselves.