In Dog We Trust...

Since the day we got Max, we have not allowed Max to come upstairs where it is fully carpeted and where all the bedrooms are. The lower level of our house is fully tiled with a few rugs of relatively low value. Our reasons were simple, it is easier to clean pee and poo from tile than from carpet. However, because Max was never allowed upstairs, being the upstairs area was like being in nirvana to Max! There is not another place he would rather be. To Max, being upstairs was fun and exciting and living the high life! Occasionally, Max would be a bad puppy and run up the stairs and run around in circles barking like a rebelious mad Max! We would quickly gather him up, scold him and take him downstairs.

But for the past several weeks, Max has not had an accident anywhere inside the house. We had stuck to his crate training schedule like a school master of a catholic school. We always take Max out back after naps, in the mornings, after eating and after playing... we basically take him out the time. We would always reward him with a treat for peeing outside on command. After sticking to that strict housetraining schedule for months and having to cleaning up many "mistakes" early on, we were finally getting paid off! Our puppy was finally able to hold his water and we could finally trust the puppy!

So one day, Max was particularly stinky from a hike earlier in the day. Bath time! Usually we carry Max upstairs to the bath tub for his bath. However this time, we let Max run upstairs behind us and he was loving it! He was so happy to be upstairs running around freely, it was just achingly cute! Plus, Max was such a good puppy for being mistake free for so many weeks, Max deserved some slack in the "no upstairs" rule. That night after his bath, we let Max up onto our bed to play with him as we were preparing for bed. He was having quite a ball romping around the tangle of blankets and sheets. It is quite fun and adorable.

As I was brushing my teeth, I saw Max's body take a bent forward posture that I have seen many times in the backyard. It was a posture I knew well. No, I thought, he couldn't have. I stepped closer to the bed. But he knows better, I was thinking, he couldn't have. I took another step closer. Yep, he sure did. I looked into the tumble of blankets to see a healthy yellow pool of pee seeping in. Nooooooo!!! Not in the bed!!!! Of all places, not where we sleep!!! Arrggghhh!!!

Moral of the story: Never trust a puppy!