Give a Dog a Bone

Barry seen here on MY SIDE of the bed. He's lucky he's cute.

One of Barry's favorite things is a bone (and our bed). He really gets down on those things (the bone, not our bed). We buy him new bones occasionally with good meaty bits on the outside and juicy marrow on the inside. After a pet training session one evening I bought him a new bone. I decided I'd give it to him Monday morning. I'd give him his KONG and then leave the new bone by the door for him right before leaving so he'd have an extra treat! How fun for a Monday! Great idea! NOT.

The following occurrences are all my fault. I am guilty of the crime and acted alone. My husband was an innocent bystander. In a desperate plea for leniency, here is my account of my harrowing offense, and my sincerest apologies to both my husband and my dog. --To be read in the style of Film Noir --

It started out as an unusually cold January morning. In fact the news was calling it 'The Polar Vortex Part II'. Many businesses and schools were forced to close due to the dangerously cold wind temperatures of around -30 degrees fahrenheit. Otherwise our morning started out as normal. However, it being a Monday, our outlook was slightly more grim than usual. We got ready for work knowing our places of employment wouldn't have the guts to close down in order to protect it's employees from certain doom.

Later that evening Husband arrived home to find that our dog, Barry, had left a deposit of excrement in the back room. When I arrived home he was cleaning up the evidence, not knowing what I had done was pre meditated. He saw the dog bone and the pieces that had fallen off but didn't realize my motive was intentional. Eventually I spilled the beans to him. I'd given Barry a new bone before I left for work and thought it would be a good idea. Husband shook his head in disapproval. Now the pieces were coming together for him.

Husband decided to play with Barry a bit, wear him out, and then take him on a walk. The playtime was going well. Suddenly, Barry stopped and relieved himself on the carpet. What we didn't know at the time was that Barry was sending a message of his own. He was saying, "I have to take a shit. Please take me out now. The only way I can get you to see this is for me to whizz right here in front of you. You'd rather me whizz than do what I'm about to do to that grassy/snowy knoll outside, trust me." 

Armed with rubber booties, poop bags, treats and coats we headed outdoors into the Polar Vortex. That grassy/snowy knoll never had a chance. It was at that moment we realized the extent of the damage my indifference had created. With my head hung low we trudged through the frigid bone-numbing cold back to the safety of our home. Barry hasn't been the same since.

Film Noir Barry.

That was last Monday. We are still dealing with the ramifications of this. He was better in a couple of days otherwise we'd have taken him to the veterinarian. On that Tuesday morning he pooped right away right outside of the of our building (which he's never done before) but then he strained to poop the rest of the time. It was sad. I am sad. We had to go to work and just hoped that he'd get better. This is the part where I start googling all the possible reasons a dog could poop in the house, pee in the house, have diarrhea and have constipation. I was beside myself about all of this. We deduced that Barry ate the good meaty bits of the bone too fast and it was too greasy and now he was suffering from the rich meat on the bone. My fault. That Tuesday at around noon our dog walker texted us to let us know that Barry had diarrhea in the back room and that she had cleaned it up as best she could. My fault. Husband took off work a little early to take Barry out more frequently (did I mention it was freeeeezing out?). My fault. Husband made him a boiled white rice and boiled chicken meal. Complete with pureed (canned) pumpkin. Barry wasn't really a fan but he didn't say no to it. Wednesday he seemed to be better but still had some loose stool (outside). We also noticed that it seemed he was peeing in the back room. Weird! We cleaned that all up as well as possible with what we had. He seemed nearly back to normal on Wednesday evening. Thursday was another good day. Poop was more solid. There was still that issue of him peeing in the back room, though. I scrubbed and sprayed and sprinkled and vacuumed my heart out. Then on Friday we got a text from the dog walker saying that Barry pooped in the back room. She mentioned that it wasn't really diarrhea. Ummm... Was he still sick?? Or was he just using the bathroom in the back room at will? We had the idea that since he peed and poo'd in the back room the first couple of times due to being sick now he smells that and just uses that back room as his playground/bathroom. GREAT. Also my fault. It would never have happened in the first place if it weren't for me giving him that damn bone.

Barry is pouting on the floor by himself. He knows something isn't right
and he's feeling down.

We were advised to pick up something called Nature's Miracle which eats the 'bathroom' smell. Unfortunately we had to go on a trip to Husband's home town due to an unforeseen family emergency on Friday and brought Barry along to Husband's mother's house. Barry's grandma's house. We decided that if he had an accident at her house then we'd take him to the vet right away. If not then, well, that means he was using the back room as his playground/bathroom and we'd need to clean the shit out of it. Literally. Turned out he didn't have any accidents at Grandma's house.

We used Nature's Miracle on Sunday night and saturated the areas we thought he went. We did our best to locate the spots. We used the crawl-on-your-hands-&-knees-feeling-the-carpet-&-sniffing-your-fingers method. Actually, this is a good method. If you are unable to catch your animal in the act then this will help you locate the 'spots'. Especially if it's hours (days in our case) later and the carpet is now mostly dry.

So, anyway... this miracle product hasn't yet stopped Barry from peeing in the back room. Monday after work and Tuesday I came home to peed-on carpet. I will cut the product itself some slack. The directions say to saturate the area, let sit for 5 minutes, dab up excess moisture then allow to dry COMPLETELY for all urine/feces scent to be totally gone. I am not sure that the spots have had a chance to dry completely each day. So this weekend we'll re saturate all the spots in the back room and we'll have enough time to allow them to dry completely. I have a good feeling Barry won't use the bathroom in the back room when we're there. Hopefully by then, he'll stop using the bathroom in the back room.

It's All About Barry

The following week was better for us in terms of Barry not escaping our home and feeling more settled with him. We didn't worry that he would get out due to our new deadbolt. The deadbolt was one of the best things we've ever done for our sanity. Also the dog walker. She's been just great. She's patient and loving. Also, she can handle walking a pit bull. He's not easy to walk.

He loves the outdoors, cold or not! 

We got into a nice groove, a routine that's been working for us. It started the 2nd week with Barry. We realized that his attempts to escape were him being upset and confused that we were leaving. He wasn't trying to escape to leave. He was trying to escape to go find his pack. To find us. It was a form of separation anxiety. It's not natural for a dog to not be with it's pack. Unfortunately in this day and age with domesticated dogs living as pets with humans it's necessary. We have to go to work and leave for a time during the week. It's just the way it is. So we had to work with him to get him to understand or at least accept that we need to leave and we'll always be back. He still doesn't like it but he's accepted it. The routine has naturally evolved since that second week but we have basic important steps for the morning ritual and it's made leaving a lot easier.

Look at that sweet guy. How can it ever be easy to leave that face?

We began to put music on while we got ready and then would keep it on during the day. I'd give him calming chews about 45 minutes before I left to help lessen any anxiety he may have. After getting myself ready I'd turn off all the lights (except for the 3 lamps we leave on for him throughout the condo) and turn on the clothes dryer for some white noise. Then I'd sit with him on the couch for 30 minutes just relaxing and looking at the internet. I had to do that for myself too because I'd get nervous before leaving because I hated leaving him. He'd fall asleep and then I'd get my coat, bags and quietly leave. I'd stand by the elevator for a few minutes to wait and see if he'd start crying. He didn't. He would eventually start up crying later on in the day but it would take him longer and longer each time. So it was progress. The first week there were a few complaints about his crying and we haven't had a complaint since that week so that's a big positive.

Our current routine is less subtle now and easier to follow. The night before we fill his KONG up with a variety of treats. I stuff the small opening with a soft treat, carrot or butternut squash then I begin to fill (the bit of carrot or squash helps to seal the small opening so that nothing leaks out). I will chop up some of the carrot or squash and put a little bit of kibble in then put in some baby food (no additives or preservatives added of course). The baby food can be anything from pea puree, sweet potato puree, chicken and rice puree, banana, etc. Then I will add in maybe some banana as a filler or twice per week we put in a bit of canned lamb or buffalo wet dog food (it's very rich so we keep this special treat to a minimum). I top with peanut butter or coconut oil and then place one or two meaty treats right on top. I place in the freezer over night and it's ready in the AM. That gives him hours of entertainment. Okay, back on to our actual routine - the KONG is integral so I wanted to share that part. We get ready as normal with the radio on. At around 8AM I go around and turn off all the lights except the lamps we keep on for him. I pull his KONG out to help it thaw a bit so he can smell all the good things inside. I sit on the couch with him for a half hour or so and look at the internet. When I have 10 minutes until the train arrives I get myself ready, putting on my essentials (coat, hat, etc.), I put the KONG down for him and I leave. The KONG is the main reason he's cool with us leaving. He knows he gets that yummy filled toy when we leave and he enjoys it. I only give him calming chews occasionally now. It's not necessary daily anymore.

Here is an example of some of the types of ingredients I might use.

The look after it's stuffed. Looks good, huh?

The dewormer also worked like a charm. We could tell he had more of a pep to his step the week following. We were also transitioning him from the food he ate in the shelter to a more natural brand that is grain free. That meant dealing with slightly loose stools and bad gas for a few days but nothing major. His coat started to look really shiny and he put on a few pounds. His health was good when we got him but now we could also see how healthy he was. His muscles quickly got built up and now he is like a 65 lb body builder. I never thought that muscles could be cute but Barry makes muscles look cute.

Check out those muscular thighs! BOOM!

Barry is sort of freakishly strong. This may not come as a surprise to some but to me it was. I mean, I knew he'd be strong. I just didn't realize. I complain about how he pulls when we walk but if he really wanted to he could drag me down the street! I have decent control over him when we go on walks (I will give my husband credit for 95% of the walks. Thanks, babe.). For the most part he's well behaved on walks. He could probably pull 500 lbs down the street if he wanted to. Sometimes we put a back pack on him with 4 water bottles in it. Supposedly it is a good work out and makes him feel like he's doing a job - which dogs like. He certainly doesn't seem to mind the back pack. It sort of slows him down. Kind of. Also we can put poop bags in it and treats. So if nothing else, it's good for building his muscles (making him even more freakishly strong) and storing things we need for walks.

Here Barry is modeling his fashionable green backpack.

Weekend At Barry's

He likes the off-the-shoulder look.

**WARNING: Somewhat graphic descriptions about doggie poo poo and other nasty things. There are no pictures but the post does have descriptions. If you cannot handle that sort of thing skip down after the next picture and continue from there.**

The night before (Friday) on one of the evening walks I noticed white moving things in Barry's poop (ewww- sorry). I pointed it out to Husband and we realized that he had worms. I had never seen first hand worms in dog poop or ever 'googled' such a thing but it was blatantly obvious what it was. So much for the idea of passing a fecal test! That same evening I sat in bed with my iPhone trying to get pictures of worms and figure out which kind of worm it was. I didn't realize there were different types of worms. I incorrectly diagnosed his parasite as being roundworm at first. It turned out that it was tapeworm. Feel free to google away and look at pics but I'll spare you any of that on this blog.

Okay, back on to Saturday. In the morning upon waking we started to wonder if the hard rice-like things on the comforter on our bed were from Barry and possibly dried up pieces of worm! Disgusting! I googled some more and we found out that it was tapeworm and that it is common for the parasite to break off into small rice sized pieces and then crawl out the 'back end' of the animal leaving behind the hard dried up parasite wherever the animal lies. GROSS!!!!!! Boy, you know I washed that comforter on hot and bleached it! SICK! We noticed the strange hard rice thingies on our comforter Friday as well but it was less important with all the fuss over Barry's escape. At the time I just picked them all off one by one (SICK! I can't believe how gross and ugh! I can't even - GROSS!) and threw them away because I didn't know what they were. Still really gross.

NOM! Barry has no issues taking medication. If we allow him to eat it he will.

Anyway, we found that near us (walking distance) is a highly recommended and well reviewed veterinarian that takes walk ins! The vet I called the night previous was unable to get us in until the following week and we really wanted to get Barry in for a look at his face and now a fecal exam so we could start deworming him. So we got everyone ready and took Barry out for bathroom and a walk to the vet. We kept some of his poop to give to the vet as instructed.

The experience wasn't bad. Barry was well behaved and basically awesome. The vet said he was very healthy and gave us a dewormer upon my supplied description of what I saw both in his poop and on our bed. She seemed much less disturbed about it than I was. I was also surprised and relieved that she gave us the dewormer right away. We gave him the dewormer later with his dinner as prescribed.

The white bowl upside down in the middle slows him down so he doesn't inhale all of his
food in 30 seconds flat. Now it takes him about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to eat.

A little after noon we got the deadbolt put in. The building maintenance guy did it for us for a small fee and we were happy to be able to get it in right away. We didn't have the necessary tools to do the job. Even though living in a condo amongst many other people has it's many downfalls, there are perks and the onsite maintenance is one of them. If we needed to hire someone to come and put it in it might have not gotten done until Monday at the earliest - and what do we do on Monday? Go to work. And we happen to have a dog that refuses to stay put along with the fact that he had worms and wouldn't have been allowed for boarding or doggie daycare anywhere. We would have been screwed. So, all that to say it's lucky we were able to get the deadbolt put in on Saturday.

Game Changer

Throughout the rest of the day and much of Sunday we worked with desensitization and counterconditioning. We wanted to show him that our leaving wasn't a big deal and that we'd return each time. We did different things like put on our coats. I'd get my purse. We'd jingle the keys. All the things you'd do before leaving. Then we just wouldn't leave. Took our coats off, put the keys down, etc. We did that for part one. Then we started part two and would leave for a couple minutes. We would quickly leave without paying attention to Barry or trying to soothe him. Then when we'd come back we'd ignore him for a couple of minutes until he calmed down. Over and over. Each time longer and longer. It was actually really tiring and I hated it. It needed to be done, though.

On Sunday we did more desensitization and counterconditioning and even wound up leaving for about 20 minutes to get a few things from the grocery store. Later I called PetSmart to set up obedience training with Barry. We were able to sign him up for a 6 week course and would go over basic commands and help with some behavior issues.

All in all we felt we were able to overcome many of the issues slowly and eventually with work. The weekend was really nice at home with Barry and we were able to fully appreciate him. Barry is a very loving and affectionate guy. He's whacky and clever and has a distinct personality all his own.

He loves his daddy.

Things seemed to finally be falling into place. We were all slowly adjusting to one another. Just as we were adjusting our lives for Barry, he too had to adjust his life for us.

Day Three: TGIF

Now that we had the crate reinforced and hopefully impermeable we were able to put Barry in the crate during the day while we were gone. As much as I was against it I decided that I'd like to keep Barry because if we didn't crate him he'd escape.

Me and Barry! This picture was taken 15 minutes before I realized he had eaten a hole through a pair of my husbands leather Red Wing boots. Yikes...

Husband's co-worker met us at 7AM to bring things that might help Barry get through the day while we were gone as best as possible. Due to the activity of the previous day my husband contacted her letting her know how distressed we were and that we weren't sure what to do anymore. She was able to go to a pet store that night and pick up a few things that she said she'd bring to us. I was so relieved knowing she'd be bringing over things that could help us and help Barry. I was willing to try just about anything! She has also been a huge help for us during this time with Barry.

We took Barry down for his walk and she was waiting at the front of our building and gave us the bag of goodies. Once we got back in I opened the bag to find many things that could be very helpful. Calming chews, calming collar, Sonic Egg (see picture below), a no bark collar (not a shock collar), a Kong toy and maybe a few other things. We were unable to use the Sonic Egg right away because it needed a special battery but everything else was ready to go. I placed the calming collar on him and the no bark collar (which emits an annoying sound that dogs can hear to help control barking - it's humane and safe). I gave him 4 calming chews and we began our normal morning routine.

The Sonic Egg. It has indoor and outdoor settings. If you have a dog that barks a lot this egg catches the noise and emits an ultrasonic sound only dogs can hear (similar to the no bark collar we were given). We hang it on the coat rack shelf right by the front door.

Before I left for the day I put him in the crate with some treats, left a few lights on throughout the condo and put on light rock music. I just hoped that all of the things we used would help him. The calming chews, collar to calm him and the no bark collar to help keep him quiet so the neighbors wouldn't be upset or bothered.

I got to work and emailed the resident dog walker that our building manager recommended to me. I wanted her to start ASAP but I knew she'd need to meet us and Barry first. I just hoped that she'd respond quickly so we could start the process.

Once again at lunch I got on the train to go home to Barry. Nerves and all. I got home and Barry was still in the crate! I didn't know if he was upset or whining the whole time but at least he hadn't hurt himself or gotten his head stuck. I felt pretty good about the crate situation at that point. It seemed like he was okay with the crate. Before I left to go back to work he went into the crate easily and I gave him some treats.

Barry waiting patiently for his treats.

When I got back to work I had a response from the dog walker. She was willing to meet with us on Monday after work to go over the details, the cost, etc. Finally! This would make my life so much easier!

At the end of the day around 6PM I got off the train and saw my husband was in the train car in front of me. We were both home at the same time! I ran to catch up to him. He looked frantic and said, "Did you get the text about Barry??" What text?! "The text said, 'dog escaped twice in the last hour.'" Whaaaaat? That can't be! Maybe there is a delay with the texts - that has to be from yesterday! We walked quickly to our building and as soon as we entered we saw the door man and there was Barry at the front desk. The building manager met us there as well. I think we were both speechless. I know I was. There were residents standing around and all praising Barry and saying how sweet/cute he was, etc. I was overwhelmed and totally confused. I finally turned my full attention to Barry and his face!!! His poor face! That was the first thing I might have said, "Oh my god! His poor face!" I was so upset.

Barry's poor face after the crate incident.

I went to our condo to grab his leash while Husband waited with Barry at the front desk. I quickly went to the back room to see what happened. Was it possible that I just didn't latch the door? When I saw the crate I was once again floored. The door was latched alright but the bottom portion was bent up and out. He was able to pry open the metal crate posts, push his face through and force his way out of the crate then escape the unit. Wow. Houdini. And a now-useless crate - totally ruined.

The rest of the night was mostly a normal Friday night. We touched on the idea again about Barry being too much dog for us but I think at that point we had our mind made up. We'd need to try harder. It was decided we'd get a deadbolt put in and that was really was the only option we had as far as making sure Barry didn't escape again. A crate wasn't going to hold him.

I drove to Home Depot that night, picked up a deadbolt, called the vet to make an appointment (we wound up going with a different vet that accepted walk ins), got home, and drank 'Polish Cognac'.

Here's to you, Barry.

Thank god it was Friday.

Day Two Part II: The Great Escape

**After writing about day two with Barry it turned into a really long post so I made it a two part post. This is part II.** - find part I here.

Here's a pic of Barry to tide you over!

About 30 - 45 minutes after I got back to work from lunch I got a call from our building manager letting me know that Barry had escaped from our unit. He was found roaming the hallways by one of the board members who lives on our floor. He was placed back in the unit but managed to open the door again and let himself out. (remember that door handle pic in the Day One post?)  At the moment the building manager was telling me this I thought I'd pass out. I couldn't even eek out a word to express anything. I didn't know what to express. Should I apologize? Should I cry into the phone that it was hopeless and we just weren't meant to have a dog in our life? Should I quit my new job? Should I be angry at Barry? Did someone let him out? How did he get out? What were we going to do? Who could help us? The building manager chimed in again and asked me if I was okay. She was excellent. I mean I don't think we could have continued without her. She really made a big difference in our decision making with Barry. She has since received a well deserved promotion and is no longer our building manager but I can't say enough good about her. She was one of the most helpful people (there were a handful) during our first few weeks with Barry.

Barry looking down the hallway.

I immediately called my husband in a teary panic. I told him what was going on and he wound up taking the rest of the day off work because I couldn't. Remember, this was my 4th day on at a new job. At that point I was just worried that everyone thought I was a big drama queen and loved attention. First of all I hate drama. Don't want any in my life. Second, I don't like attention unless it's from my husband and now Barry. I certainly don't want people I barely know giving me unwanted attention due to doggie drama. It was embarrassing but it felt like my life was falling apart! It also turned out that my immediate supervisor is a huge animal advocate and was very supportive of me during this time. She kept telling me, "The first month is the hardest part." She was right.

Another pic to tide you over. He's so handsome.

My husband had gotten help from the building maintenance man to reinforce the crate so that Barry wouldn't be able to escape it. He had to be crated or he would escape our unit! Once the crate was reinforced and sturdy enough to hold a 60 some-odd lb pit pull my husband had Barry get into the crate then he laid down on the bed in the back room and fell asleep while Barry fell asleep in his crate. When I got home I was exhausted with worry. I can't really remember if they were both asleep when I got there or they were in the living room because my mind was in such a jumbled-whacked out state. They were both just fine, though. The crate was sturdy and the plan would be to crate him. I was still worried, though. I didn't want Barry to hurt himself in an effort to get out. I shared my concern with my husband and I know he felt the same. We had the talk about Barry. Was he too much dog for us? Could we handle him? We were having second thoughts. The idea of going back to Tuesday and just not adopting Barry at all was a relieving and wonderful thought. The thought of taking Barry back now and giving up on him was both a relief in that my life would go back to normal and devastating because of the reality of what that would mean. The reality of taking Barry back outweighed any relief I might have fantasized about. It would mean Barry would be devastated too. He would go back to being in a shelter. He may not get adopted quickly enough and that might be it for him. We might be his last chance. It also would mean that we failed. We weren't willing to put in the effort that it takes to care for and love an animal. I already loved him. Love wasn't enough.

Husband & Barry relaxing together. My two favorite guys!

I went into our bedroom and tried to constrain my sobbing to quiet puffs of air rather than gasps and gulps. I was beside myself after that talk. I was so torn. The feeling of dread everyday coming home at lunch, not knowing what to expect. Waking in the middle of the night and wishing we could take it back. Having a brand new job that I really liked. Loving a dog and not knowing how to make it work. I wanted to bring a dog home and love on him and have fun with him, maybe train him and work with him a little but that was it. I didn't know the level of detail and work that would go into this. I didn't sign up for this. But there it was. I loved him and it killed me. I cried my eyes out and kept as quiet as possible. I didn't want Barry or my husband to see. I just needed to cry after so much stress and anxiety. It was only day two! If it was already this bad how could I handle more? My husband eventually saw me crying. We decided we couldn't give up. Not now. It wasn't fair.

I  suggested getting a weekday dog walker. I explained to Husband how taxing my lunch breaks were and that because I was still new at my job I'd like to not have to be in a rush to leave, rushing around for my one hour lunch to walk Barry, rushing to put him in the crate, rushing to get back to work, and then get to work all flustered and upset. Our building manager was able to suggest someone for the job. Someone that lived right in our building.

If memory serves me correct we also decided to give him a bath on this night (I can't remember exactly which day but I know it was within a couple of days of bringing him home). We didn't want to give him a bath right away but he hadn't had one since he was out of the shelter and he had a slight smell with that dirty feel when you pet a dog or cat and can feel and smell on your hands. Plus his coat was dull and some tinges of yellow/brown were in areas. A bath was in order. We used a sensitive skin almond oatmeal wash. He didn't love the bath but he didn't fight us either. I got in with him and helped scrub him down. All in all, the bath wasn't a bad experience but I could tell he didn't want the bath to be happening.

We decided we could tough it out. We would come through this and Barry would get used to everything and it would all work out in the end.

We weren't prepared for what day three would bring...

Day Two Part I: Why Did We Decide To Get A Dog Again?

**After writing about day two with Barry it turned into a really long post so I made it a two part post. This is part I.** -find part II here

This was day two. Thursday morning. This morning we decided we'd workout in our building's gym which is just one floor down from us. Before Barry we were on a regular workout schedule and we figured we could maintain that even with Barry. We woke up extra early and did only a short 20-25 minute workout. We were still conscious of the fact that we had Barry and wanted to make sure he wasn't waking the neighbors with crying hence our quick workout.

When we got back to our floor we could hear Barry crying very loudly. It was way too early for that so we ran to our unit and my husband went to calm him. I think then and there is when we realized we can't do weekday morning workouts anymore - at least not until we know Barry is settled and won't cry during that time.

Big yawn!

I heard a light knock at our door and because I was red faced and sweaty I very reluctantly answered the door, opening it just a crack. There was a guy standing at our door asking about our dog. I opened the door wider. He told me that the previous day our dog barked and cried and howled for three hours. From 9AM to 11AM - or something around that time frame. Quiet time hours in our building are from 11PM to 8AM and I didn't leave until 8:30AM so in my mind I figured most people would be up and awake ready to go to work or already gone for the day and that Barry wouldn't be much of a nuisance to anyone. EXCEPT for the fact that we happen to live right across from 2 people who either work in the evening, go to school in the evenings and/or don't have jobs. Great. I didn't ask his situation but I did apologize a million times and asked what time he does get up and quickly added in that I don't leave until 8:30 so it should never happen again so early... He told me that he wakes up around 9AM and his girlfriend wakes up... later... Those were his actual words for when his girlfriend wakes up. Later. Huh. Well, that stinks. I apologized profusely again and told him we'd work on whatever we needed to do so that Barry wouldn't be a bother. The guy was nice. He wasn't mad or accusatory or anything. He was actually very courteous and gentle about telling me our dog was annoying him and his girlfriend. Thank you across-the-hallway neighbor for being kind. Unfortunately it broke my heart even more and upped the stress in our household once again.

I closed the door and my husband came out with a face that I know well (I know all of his faces well, he is my husband after all). Frustration and upset. My feelings reflected what his face expressed. We sat down and started searching for doggie daycare places, boarding options, ANYTHING! It was 6:30AM and time was running out. We found out that Barry needed to have a *negative fecal exam --see definition at bottom of post-- (AWL didn't offer this exam and we hadn't gone to the vet yet to get one of those - not to mention at the time I'd never heard of such a thing) in order to be able to go to pretty much any doggie daycare or to be boarded AND to top THAT little nugget of refreshment off he wasn't allowed at a few places due to him being a pit bull. Then the final gut punch - almost all doggie daycare places need to have a meet and greet set up with the dog first in order to decide if he can behave well around other dogs. Not just pit bulls, but any breed. It's standard to meet the dog first. Obviously this makes sense now looking back on it. You don't want some crazy, aggressive, mean dog at a doggie day care ruining everyone's experience.

So now what did we decide? The bathroom. The master bathroom is big enough and in the center of our condo so hopefully his whining would be muffled a little. Perfect(ish). We got ready as normal and then prepared the bathroom with a few things. A bone, some water, his bed...

Here's a photo of Barry dreaming. His tongue is sticking out just a little. What a freakin' cutie!

Fast forward to lunch time. I am, once again, a nervous wreck on the train ride home to see Barry. I'm worried what the bathroom will look like and mostly if he's hurt. I get in and the bathroom is mostly okay. One side of the door frame is hanging off and some of the dry wall has been scooped out by either paw or mouth. But otherwise, it's not bad and nothing we can't fix. We go on our quick walk - this time I exit the front exit avoiding the parking garage. When we get back to the condo I decide against putting him back in the bathroom due to the damage on the door and wall and let him run around the condo because he's pretty good in the condo and it's after noon so if he does howl or whatever it hopefully won't wake anyone.

Here is the damage to the wall and door frame via Barry.

Next up: The Great Escape

**Negative Fecal Exam - A fecal exam is literally that. An exam of feces. The vet tech will look through the feces provided by the dog parent and check for worms, worm eggs, etc. If there are visible signs of worms in the feces that will be a positive fecal exam and the dog will need to take a medication to rid itself of the parasite. If there are no signs of anything bad in the feces then that is a negative fecal exam - which is what you're going for.

Day One: Not What We Expected

The first morning that we had Barry I woke up quickly and ran around the condo to check for any accidents or to find if he had torn anything apart, etc. Nothing. He was good all night. No damage to anything and no doggie accidents. Yessss!

So the normal daily work week routine began. Unfortunately for Barry we were ill prepared doggie owners. We didn't schedule time off work to be at home with him to help him acclimate or get used to us and get used to the new place. We were going into it totally blind. We adopted him on a Tuesday evening. So that meant on Wednesday morning we'd be going to work and leaving a dog in our home by himself for part of the day. We didn't plan well. At all.

The look of ill prepared doggie owners - Husband is blurred for privacy. Sorry about the bad quality photo - this was taken with an old cell phone a couple of years ago.

Husband and I took Barry on his first early morning walk and it went as well as could be expected. Then we fed him and began getting ready for work. Showers, ironing, make up, etc. Barry sat and watched. Husband left for work and I was alone with sweet Barry. Just me and the dog. But I was nervous. Nervous about leaving him in a crate for 4 hours. Nervous about putting him in the crate and would he be mad at me? Nervous about if we were doing the right things with him. I put a bone (or something - I can't really remember what it was at this time) into his crate. A small bowl of water and a few treats to lure Barry to the crate.

This is the look he gives us when we're getting ready in the morning. He knows we're going to be leaving him.

The plan we had for a schedule for Barry was as follows~~

• Take Barry outside for bathroom and a walk first thing in the AM.
• Give Barry breakfast after his walk
• Put Barry in his crate before leaving for work
• Come home at lunch time to take Barry outside for bathroom and a quick walk
• Put Barry back in his crate before going back to work
• Come home after work and take Barry outside for bathroom and a walk
• Feed Barry dinner after his walk
• Take Barry outside once more for an evening bathroom and walk

Simple enough, right? Well, yeah, actually. The schedule we currently have looks a lot like this now. We've had to make some minor adjustments, though.

Barry went into his crate just fine. No issues. I latched the door both top and bottom and Barry looked at me with his beautiful big brown eyes. I left the room and he began wailing. Howling. He sounded like a human/beast/sea lion. Not a dog. I kept to what I was doing trying to be consistent and thinking that this was good for him and good for us. I grabbed my things about to walk out the door to catch the train and then decided I'd go look into the back room once just to see if he was okay - just to take a look, maybe give him another treat. Thank god I did. 

What I saw made my heart lurch into my throat! Barry had his head through the side of the crate - stuck sideways, metal crate rods tight around his neck and clamping his head so he was unable to back his way out of the sides. He pried the side of the metal crate open with his face and stuck his head through it in attempt to get out but now was unable to get his head out of this bind. I dropped all of my things to the floor and ran to him and pulled the sides so he was able to free his head. I opened the crate and decided I'd rather have a home that was trashed and with dog shit all over it than to come home on my lunch break to a dead dog. If I hadn't looked in on him I don't know what would have happened. I think he probably is tough enough and strong enough that he eventually would have been able to get out but then, what if not? Could it have killed him? I don't even want to go further in my mind with the possible outcomes.

So I quickly picked up things I thought he might get into, shoved things into closets, closed both bathroom doors, put things up high so he couldn't reach and then tracked the train for the next one coming. There was no way I was going to be late on my second day at work. TALK ABOUT STRESS!

Barry by the door. He doesn't want us to leave him.

Leaving Barry behind I shut the door to our unit and walked to the elevator. I could hear him yelping and crying and it broke my heart. But I had to go to work.

At lunch time I took the train home and was a nervous wreck. I didn't know what I would find. A whole house torn apart? Accidents everywhere? Would he be hurt? It was the most awful train ride home I've ever had. When I walked into our unit there was nothing awry. No accidents, nothing chewed or torn. It was fine. I was in disbelief and so relieved!

Barry was happy to see me and excited. I loved on him and still in shock looked around to find all was well. Except the brown/red streaks of blood (from 'happy tail' - see definition at bottom of post) on the wall by the door and the door had some scratches on it. Minimal issues so far!

Front door scratches. Notice the type of handle. Consider that foreshadowing for an upcoming post!

In my shock and disbelief I misplaced my keys so I wasn't able to quickly get him outside. I was searching for the keys everywhere. We can't leave the unit or the building without the keys otherwise we can't get back in. At this point I was in another full on panic mode. I didn't have much time and needed to get back to work. Again, it was my second day on at a new job so I couldn't be late to work or back from break. Finally the keys surfaced and I felt bad for Barry so I walked him down the stairs rather than using the elevator to give him a bit more exercise. We got to the first floor and as soon as we stepped into the parking garage he peed. A huge puddle of wet began to spread underneath Barry. I was so embarrassed! Luckily no one saw it. I checked the time and decided we needed to head back up so I took him back up the stairs (again, I wanted to make sure he got a little bit of exercise and that was all I could offer him at the time).

Since it's been very cold here in Chicago we are unable to take Barry out for long walks and give him sufficient exercise with walks. We combine a short walk with stairs and additional indoor exercise. It's important to give your dog exercise, especially if you have a dog like ours! While Barry isn't necessarily high energy he needs exercise and we try to give him as much as possible. He is responding very well to exercise and he loves it! 

I gathered my things, checked the train tracker and grabbed a handful of paper towels. I flew out the door after throwing a treat down the hall for Barry and went to wipe up the mess he'd made in the parking garage. The nice thing about most parking garages is that they are made of cement. By the time I got there the puddle had totally seeped into the ground and it was barely noticeable. Back to work I went!

Also understand that my husband was nervous right along with me. He couldn't easily take the train home for his lunch break like I could so he was in limbo waiting for my calls and my updates as well. It could very well have been even worse waiting and not knowing than knowing and dealing with it. Either way - we were both super stressed and nervous about the whole thing.

Finally the work day was over and we were both happily home with our Barry. Husband brought home a few more things that we'd need for Barry. More treats, a bone, toys, a doggie bed, etc. Things were great. Barry was totally house trained (as far as we could tell), he didn't tear anything up and he was super cute! We thought maybe he doesn't need to be crated after all. Yay! Perfect dog and happy life.

Lap dog.

**Happy tail is when a dog gets excited and wags his tail rapidly and can injure his tail knocking it against a hard surface. Many times when a dog whacks his tail on a hard surface it can split and bleed and is hard to heal because of the continuous tail wagging and reopening of the wound. It can also be called Kennel Tail, Splitting Tail, and Bleeding Tail. For obvious reasons I prefer the name Happy Tail.