Grooming Butterscotch

Butterscotch is a pretty easy dog to care for. He doesn't shed at all but he does need grooming regularly. We have bathed him at home a couple of times and he seems to enjoy playing in the water. And we have also used a great mobile groomer called Your Critter Sitter.

Since grooming is something that we are not that good at keeping up with, we have decided to have Buddy's coat cropped short once the weather gets a bit warmer.

I have never owned a floppy eared dog before and I didn't realise that you need to clean inside their ears. Luckily Buddy is so placid he will let us do this without making a fuss.

Toilet training (part 2)

Buddy is an inside dog (he is allowed on the couch) and toilet training was something we were a bit worried about. It was a lot easier that we thought! Dogs pretty much toilet train themselves because they have a natural instinct to want to keep their den clean. This means that they actually prefer to go outside to the toilet.

At this age (3 months in this photo) Buddy mainly had accidents when no one was home to let him out. Or sometimes when he was heading for the door but didn't quite get there on time.

PS at 4 months he was almost totally reliable with going outside. Now (at 6 months) he knocks at the door to be let out when he needs to go to the toilet. (smart dog!)

Toilet training (part 1)

When Buddy first came home, we just made sure that we took him outside each time he woke up from a nap and after food. When we make the effort to do that he is very good. Realistically puppies don't gain full control of their bladders until around 6 months or age, sometimes older.

Cody's owners bought a special dog loo, a piece of synthetic grass that you can leave inside for your dog to go on. They live in a fully carpeted apartment and work longer days, so this was a good solution for them. For Pet Loo and other products you can check out the Pookinuk website, they have some good news items and videos too.