Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, it’s door #2)

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

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190Comments

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    Take them outside and let them ride around on your shoe until they get the idea?

    Do people train puppies for litterboxes these day? That could be useful. Why should cats have all the fun?

  6. 6.

    debit

    @Suzanne: He said J-lo should put her tits away because she’s almost 50. And then said age had nothing to do with it.

    ETA: and it probably doesn’t mean shit to him, but I’m really pissed. And disappointed in him.

  7. 7.

    muddy

    Observe their timing and set up a schedule and take them outside. In between times they can’t just run loose in the house. I used to put a string from my belt loop to the collar. They want to sneak off to pee, and won’t want to do it right near you. They will need to be crated at night, sad news for the dogpile.

  10. 10.

    mb

    Take ’em out every two hours — no matter what. Restrict access to water before bedtime. With the poodle mix, I’m guessing you won’t have too much trouble.

    Also, I always growl in their ears — also chew on their ears. Let’s ’em know who’s the boss. Don’t you love puppies? They are a pain, though.

    I hope you’re keeping Lovey.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    @debit: That’s true. Helen Mirren’s are still fab. But she doesn’t frontpage them quite as much as JLo does.

    Now short film. I saw these. Good contenders.

    The Phone Call. NOT what I would have chosen. But it was good. The others were better … well, congrats.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: I used that book with a previous puppy and then loaned it to someone. That was decades ago, and I can’t recall their housebreaking method. I could have used it with the new guy.

    Short summary? Good link? I did a quick google but got to a dead end page.

  14. 14.

    SG

    We had very good success using crate-training for two rescue puppies, also siblings. They spent the night in the crate and first thing in the early morning, they were taken straight out to the dog run. All the time, we warbled, “Time to go POTTY!” Whenever they were left alone, they went quite willingly into the crate. We took them outside frequently during the day for potty breaks, always singing about “going potty!”

    They felt quite secure in the crate, which was large enough to hold both as they grew. Their instinct is to avoid soiling their bed if at all possible. Eventually, as they grow and get more capacity and control over their bladders and bowels, you can leave the crate door open overnight and soon get rid of it altogether for the warmth and comfort of a three-dog night.

  15. 15.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: Crate em and take em out every two hours. You may recall that we did that with Bohdi and, as a result, noticed Raven was struggling to poop. That led us to the cancer diagnoses.

  17. 17.

    Keith G

    Interesting thread:

    First this-

    He said J-lo should put her tits away because she’s almost 50.

    Shortly followed by-

    Take ‘em out every two hours — no matter what…..Let’s ‘em know who’s the boss. Don’t you love puppies? They are a pain, though.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: I do recall that Bohdi was how you caught the problem with Raven, but I didn’t recall the details.

    Crate them as in leave the in the crate all the time except for the bathroom break every two hours?

    I really struggled for quite awhile with Henry, but (thankfully) he seems to have it now! They say little dogs are harder to train, and I certainly thought that was true of Henry.

  22. 22.

    TaMara (BHF)

    My vet said you really can’t train them until they have bladder control – anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks. Then take them out every 2 hours and reward them for going outside. Treats work for most dogs, Bixby preferred his ears scritched.

    (We had a good habit set up with the every 2 hours, at night I only had to take him out once, about 2 am, so once he had bladder control he was trained in a week).

  23. 23.

    muddy

    @raven: I had a female Rottweiler who learned in one day. It was remarkable. I showed her, and that was that. I thought I really had a genius. But, poor soul, she was sweet and beautiful and stupid. Quite quite stupid. But I guess if she could only learn one thing, that was a good one.

  29. 29.

    debit

    @muddy: I had a Cocker once that took two years to reliably house train. I knew I was making progress when she got it through her head that she couldn’t pee on the floor. So she peed on the couch.

    And this is why I’ll never have another puppy. Or a Cocker Spaniel.

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    Just started watching the show on DVR. The musical number (by Bobby and Kristen Lopez, natch) was pretty good.

    I definitely noticed them trying to make the opening as multicultural as possible. There was even a “Selma” reference in the dance number.

  35. 35.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    (The late) Dr. Sophia Yin has great tips for puppy house training. Free download here. A plan, and list.

    The dog trainers I respect follow her methods, and they’ve worked for me as well. I used a similar training approach with horses (not housebreaking!) with much success. I recommend that site and her books.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    Also, I’m 90 percent sure that Michael Keaton is going to win Best Actor tonight. He’s been plugging away for years, he’s well-liked, and he probably won’t get another dramatic lead for years, if ever.

  47. 47.

    Violet

    I loved “Everything is Awesome.” That song is silly but it fits the film really well and is kind of subversive in its own way.

  48. 48.

    SG

    @raven: I should have said that we got our pups at 12 weeks, so they were getting to the point of having better capacity and control overnight. We never yelled at them for accidents, but yes, we got them outside to the backyard run every 2-3 hours during the day. Once they got the idea, they were basically trained in a week or two.

    This was many years ago. They’re both gone now and I miss them sorely.

  54. 54.

    Southern Beale

    how exactly does one potty train a puppy?

    Take him outside frequently tell him to “do your business.” PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE when he pees or poops when you tell him to.

    If he has an “accident” in the house, say “eh eh” or “no,” put him outside, tell him to “do your business.”

    They catch on pretty quick.

  59. 59.

    khead

    Mrs. Khead was released this afternoon and is now crashed after a dinner of a slice of pizza and bites of fries and mac and cheese and broccoli and anything else that did not taste like the cardboard or paste that is hospital food. Awful, awful virus.

  69. 69.

    Glidwrith

    @Southern Beale: Somehow, my recollections of my mother rubbing the puppy’s nose in the accident, hitting the hindquarters while screaming “No! No! No!”, then summarily tossing said puppy out the back door, is not deemed appropriate?

    (Reads various links)

    Yeah, didn’t think so.

  70. 70.

    kindness

    House train a pup, eh? They tell you when they want to go. They start looking around and you use the ques they send you and you get up and say, ‘Wanna go pee?” and let ’em out. They pee, come back you open the door, pet them and tell them what good kids they are. After a while you start going from talking firmly about not doing what you just caught them doing, and you go from firmly to loud over time. They learn.

  72. 72.

    Shana

    @Elizabelle: Where did you see them? There’s an independent theater here in Northern Virginia that’s been showing both live action and animated, but I didn’t get to see them.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, I love Patricia Arquette, and she definitely deserved the award, but that speech was almost everything that makes me cringe about Oscar speeches. The only thing she missed was having co-winners and then hogging all the talk time.

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    @khead: You must both be so relieved. No surgery + no puking. Big win!

    @raven: The game must have ended shortly after I looked at the score. Sounds like the other team came on strong at the end. Bummer.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, switching over to Grantchester, stoked by the bracing discussion earlier. Keeping the Oscars on the PIP in case of extraordinary developments or cleavage displays.

  78. 78.

    MomSense

    You have to take the puppy out right after a nap or a spell in the crate. We are up to 45 minutes with our pup. We started at about 25-30 minute intervals between potty breaks. So the way this works is that you take the puppy out every 30 minutes no matter what. Once you get to about 5-6 days or a week of no accidents, you add another 5 minutes between potty breaks.

    Don’t be stingy with praise and treats for going to the potty. We are now working on the bell technique. Right now we ring a bell that hangs from the doorknob before we take her out. Then we will gradually ease her into ringing the bell when she needs to go out so she doesn’t get into the habit of barking. I’ll let you know how this works–if it does.

  80. 80.

    Shana

    @Elizabelle: Love that place! If I have a choice of where to see a movie I always go there. The owner walks around sometimes topping everyone’s popcorn up. Also, sometimes after the previews he’ll poll the audience about which movies he should get. Gotta love it.

  82. 82.

    ruemara

    Rather disappointed Cole. It’s none of your fucking business whether a woman has her tits out. It’s her business. The girls could be gently swaying in the breeze, dusting her shoe tops, but it’s not your business.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: Henry typically nudges the gate or just stands there and hopes I notice him. But for the past 2 days if he stands there for a second and I don’t see him or I don’t jump right up, he walks back to the living room, looks at me as if to say, didn’t you see me???? Come on!!! (I am taking that as big progress!)

    Funny thing is… when I am on the other side of the gate in the room he doesn’t get to go in very often? He rings the bell like crazy to get my attention so he can come in. Motivation!

    About half the time Henry will go out now without me having to go with him. That’s great, especially since we are about to be zero or a few degrees below zero. Of course, when it’s that cold, of course he won’t go without me!

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @ruemara: I’m not sure if I agree with that. If you are very clearly putting them out there on display, calling attention to your boobs, I’m not sure it’s fair to complain if people notice them or comment on them.

  95. 95.

    ruemara

    @WaterGirl: Oh, I, personally say that everyone will say whatever they want to say. But it’s still their right to do so. If it was Cole’s boobs I may throw some shade, but it’s his damn body, my opinion is nonsense.

  96. 96.

    Comrade Mary

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, but John seemed to be using her calendar years as the arbiter of “Puppehs — in or out?”, instead of just bloody noticing that at 40-whatever, she still has great skin and resiliency.

  98. 98.

    Elizabelle

    @Shana: Yes! Support small business.

    I feel like such a slut if I see a morning movie at Angelika.

    Appreciate Cinema Arts. Bringing art flicks to the burbs.

    Do you ever go see the younger sibling, University Mall Theatre? $4, $2 on Tuesdays, for good second run movies. Now with improved seating!

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, Grantchester starting late, so I’ve stayed with the Oscars, and it’s like they are personally torturing me with a solid run of talk-hogging co-winners. I always fantasize that the silent co-winners beat the shit out of the blabbermouth backstage. With their Oscars, of course.

  100. 100.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Debbie: I like Robert. He, like his mother was raised in a world that is disappearing, but he, unlike his mother, will have to live in the new world. He is trying to adapt.

  103. 103.

    seaboogie

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Me too – I’ve been laughing ’til there are tears in my eyes…and I’m guessing that the Monks of New Skete would have their hands full with J-Lo’s breasts….bah dum bum!

  105. 105.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    I am envious of your pet door! We have to drag the pup in the house. She loves the snow and doesn’t seem to get cold or tired. Last night I took her out for about 45 minutes during the snow storm. I was completely frozen when I got back in the house and she stayed by the door wanting to go back out. Crazy pup.

    If she has an accident in the house now it’s because we ignored her. She is really very good about going out–but we are dealing with other issues.

    I did learn a cool trick for meal time. We bought some big kongs and fill them up with a mixture of kibble and wet food. We keep them in the freezer and give her a kong at mealtime. It keeps her busy and helps with the teething and chewing. Works really well.

  107. 107.

    Debbie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    That cop sure brought Lady Mary up short,speaking of changing times.

    It was fun to see Cordelia from Brideshead Revisited play Rose’s bitchy mother.

  108. 108.

    Woodrowfan

    funny threasd to read too fast.

    “Put your tits away J-lo”
    “Take them out every two hours”
    “Keep them in a crate at night”

  109. 109.

    debit

    Sorry, folks, I can’t let this go, so will speak my piece and then go to bed.

    I remember watching Attack of the Show back in the day. On one episode they were talking about Salma Hayek being named sexiest something or other and one of the male hosts said, “Ugh. No thanks. I prefer my milk fresh, not powdered.” It was then I realized that was not the show for me, that even though I was a gamer and somewhat geeky, I had breasts and the only way I would be defined by that guy (and presumably most male fans of the show) was by my age and appearance. It wasn’t the first time I’d experienced that as a woman, but for some reason, this particular instance really pissed me off and stayed with me.

    And so I’m really disappointed that Cole, who I actually respect, would say that a woman should cover herself and only because of her age. That for her to show her cleavage was the equivalent of a guy walking around with his dick hanging out, tasteless, lacking in class. This, by the way, is the apparently offensive picture she presented.

    You’re wrong, Cole, and you should be ashamed.

  110. 110.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Debbie:

    It was fun to see Cordelia from Brideshead Revisited play Rose’s bitchy mother.

    Holy fuck, you are right. I never liked Cordelia and I ain’t fond of Rose’s mother.

  112. 112.

    Steeplejack

    Grand Budapest production designer talk-hogging. I can’t stand it. And yet I can’t turn away.

  116. 116.

    muddy

    @MomSense: I put a bell on the doorknob. One dog nudges it politely with his nose, and waits to see if he needs to do it again. One dog turns her back to the door and wags her tail to ring it repeatedly and annoyingly. Guess which one has terrier in her.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: My pet door is just a doggie gate, sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.

    Henry loves it outside, too, especially the snow! We got 8 inches of snow and I’m pretty sure he’s not more than 8 inches tall, and he bunny hops right through the snow like a little trooper. So fun to watch him! He had so many snow balls clinging to his underside that I had to run him under warm water in the sink on saturday in order to melt them.

    But when it gets too cold, he definitely wants me to be out there with him. If it’s warm enough I can step on to the deck in my socks and kind of follow him to the edge of the deck, saying “go go go go go”. Then once he steps off the deck I back up to the door and stand in the doorway telling him what a good boy he is when he pees or poops.

    But zero and below temps this week, I will have to go back to putting my boots and down coat on about a zillion times. That’s okay, he’s a sweet boy.

    How are the issues with the pup and your son coming?

  120. 120.

    joel hanes

    If Cole himself unzips and pees on a bush during the pups every-two-hour expedition to The Land Where It’s OK To Excrete, they may get the idea a bit earlier. Smell is everything to dogs.

  121. 121.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I know. I’m just sort of car-wreck mesmerized on the Oscars right now. Gotta go refill my bubbly, so that will break the spell.

    The preview last week seemed to indicate some sort of physical confrontation between Sidney and the dick fiancé, so there’s that to look forward to. I hope it’s not just Sidney being drunk and humiliated.

  123. 123.

    Anne Laurie

    @debit:

    This, by the way, is the apparently offensive picture she presented.

    Ironically, apart from the deep-cut v-neck, beige tulle with matching sequins is a perennial design favorite for mother-of-the-bride dresses.

    If you are a woman over forty who wears a double-digit dress size, you have seen a lot of beige-tulle-with-sequins sold as “this year’s design” any time in the last twenty years, at least.

  126. 126.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl:

    and he bunny hops right through the snow like a little trooper.

    My English cocker used to do that and then he would dive in face first and snowplow. He acted like a puppy in fresh snow even in his last years; it was a simple joy to play in the snow with him.

  127. 127.

    Shana

    @Elizabelle: Not for many years. We should go see something during the day if you’re available. I used to say I was an at home mother, but the kids are 1) in law school or 2) finishing her undergrad this year so I have time.

  128. 128.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    We had one spell tonight with nipping at both my son and me. We solved it by taking her for a super long walk. We’ve been doing better by just leaving her and ignoring her as soon as she starts to nip or mouth us.

    She needs a lot of exercise and gets bored easily so it is busy, busy, busy all the time.

  129. 129.

    Mike in NC

    OK, I read that this “In Memoriam” segment will feature a goodbye to Johnny Depp’s reputation.

  130. 130.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: Oh, before you spend throw away $48 like I did…

    One night, Henry was kind of an odd sound from dinnertime throughout the night, keeping me awake the entire night. He picks up anything and everything and I was afraid something was stuck in his gums or mouth or something, even though I couldn’t find anything.

    Maybe it should have been obvious, but I had no idea. He had a molar loose and I guess it was upsetting him. After the first one, he was fine with it. I’d hear him crunching something and I’d open his mouth to see what he had THIS TIME, and it would be a tooth. Sometimes I was able to swipe it before he swallowed it, but mostly not.

    Then there was the night that he finished eating and had blood all over the white fur on one side of his face. That was the night after he spent the day at the vet so I knew that was just teething that time. Startling, though, on a white dog. Only lasted a week, and now his teeth are all huge.

  135. 135.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I did nothing on BH6, but I work for that division, so my name is way, waaaaay down in the credits. I’m pretty sure the coffee guy’s credit is before my department’s.

    (Seriously, watch to the end of the credits and you’ll see someone credited for “Caffeination.” My department is credited after that.)

  138. 138.

    gogol's wife

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    He was great!

    I watch Grantchester on Thursday night, when they rerun it here. I can’t do both Downton and Grantchester on Sunday night, I’m too nervous about Monday.

  139. 139.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @MomSense: You’re probably already doing this, but frozen carrots and frozen washcloths are great for puppy teething. Water squirt bottles are also a great deterrent for nipping. My groomer has a spray can of air she uses to settle the dogs – Bixby just tries to bite that – but the water bottle stops him in his tracks for most bad behaviors.

  140. 140.

    Pogonip

    1). Confine pup to a small area covered with newspapers, such as a bathroom, kitchen, or playpen, close to the door he will use to go potty.

    2) this is best done by multiple watchers. You must watch the puppy every second he is awake, and if you see him sniffing, grab him and hustle him outside. As he goes, say “Potty,” or word of your choosing. Extravagant praise. Whether he’s sniffing or not, take him out every time he wakes up, before you feed him, after you feed him, before a play session, after a play session, and every two hours or so that doesn’t fall into any of these other categories. If in doubt, take him out. The more, the better. The more often he goes out, the more often he will, by random chance, go while he’s out. The moment you see him squat, say “Potty!” calmly and cheerfully. Then tell him how wonderful he is. You can’t be too gushy in your praise. You may think you sound stupid, but it’s music to a dog’s ears.

    3). After six months of this, resolve to get a cat next time.

    Don’t expect too much of Thurston and Lovey at this point; they’re way too little to hold it all night. Putting them in a small crate at their age, which they have no choice but to soil overnight, is rude and also counterproductive. The last thing you want to do is erode their instinct not to soil their den; forcing them to soil it will do exactly that.

    The reason you take them out, even though they’re too small to hold it, is so they can begin to get the idea. The time will come, probably pretty soon since they’re half poodle, when one will look at the door before peeing on the floor. That’s when you know they’re beginning to get it.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: It is a joy. My cocker spaniel Murphy was crazy about the snow. All the bedroom windows are high, so he couldn’t see out, but he would know if it was snowing overnight.

    As a grown dog, he never got me up to go out in the night – unless it was snowing. Can you hear snow??? He’d wake me up and I’d look at the clock at 2 or 4am and I’d wonder what was wrong, nope, just snow. And he’d race around the yard like a crazy boy. Hard to feel cranky when you’re seeing pure joy.

  142. 142.

    gogol's wife

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    She’s very good at being annoying! I admire it! Although somewhat sad that that fresh-faced girl is now Rose’s mother. I guess I must not be fresh-faced any more, either.

  146. 146.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): LOL. I have a credit like that…I was the casting assistant on a film and they seemed to think I needed a credit for that (I would have preferred better pay). My name is like the next to the last name in the credits. After the catering and animal wrangler. :-)

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: That has to be frustrating. I hadn’t remembered that he was doing it with out, too. t imagine it is better now that you ignore it. When you responded that probably got her more excited and only exacerbated the whole thing.

    My 3-year old pup Tucker has really settled down with Henry because he gets a lot of his energy out playing with Henry. It takes a lot of energy to keep a high energy dog active enough.

    Edit: can I just say that raising a pup when you are over 40 is a whole lot different than raising a pup when you are 20?

  149. 149.

    MomSense

    @TaMara (BHF):

    Right now we’re trying to distract and divert and we’re doing the hold the treat in one hand while petting with the other but I haven’t tried a water bottle yet. I’m a little shocked at how much exercise she needs every day. In addition to 5 long walks she was outside for about two hours playing in the snow and chasing shovel fulls of snow. She’s not as big as Bixby but the vet estimates 110-115 so that is still a good sized dog. At least I’ll be in good shape after all this dog walking and shoveling.

  156. 156.

    Bobby D

    Age don’t matter, Cole. Farah Fawcett was doing Playboy spreads at 50, and was fitter than most. I was smitten…and I was about 25 at the time.

    Besides, at your age and in your condition, you be lucky to see something that nice on TV, much less up close and personal. No offense buddy, but we’ve seen pics of you too!

  157. 157.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @MomSense: Holy cow, I knew she looked like a big puppy, but I didn’t think she’d get that big. You’re in for a treat….but boy, that’s a lot of exercise! I’m grateful Bixby is easily worn out.

  163. 163.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): That’s awesome. My friend actually works the Oscars every year, so she always gets to hold them. This year, her son is 2, they let him hold one – and he’s wearing his little tux. So freakin’ cute.

    So what does your division do (if you can say here)?

  165. 165.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    Hey, you guys didn’t tell me at “Feast” won Best Animated Short! Two glasses of champagne for me!

    If you haven’t seen it, “Feast” is pretty much the perfect Balloon-Juice cartoon: food, romance, and dogs.

  167. 167.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): Wow! That’s really cool! Congrats!

    A guy I used to date, his ex-girlfriend was the assistant to the big star lead in a major film. We went to see it specifically to see her name in the credits. And it wasn’t there! We were all looking for it and it wasn’t there. Very disappointing. I hope you get to see your name up on the screen!

  175. 175.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Christ, now we know why Sidney drinks. No further spoilers.

    @WaterGirl: I am still mad at my mom, dad, and brother for seeing a lone wolf outside our cabin without having me there. Only dad gets the wolf thing. A wolf in the wild on family land – awesome.

  177. 177.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: Legend has a good voice, but he has always left me cold. Common, however, is awesome. Not watching, so I can’t comment on the current performance.

  180. 180.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: I am watching The Layover episode in NOLA. I could never live there – the climate would kill me – but I love that city. So damn much.

  181. 181.

    TrishB

    How does one housetrain a puppy? Again, and, again, and again. Seriously, the first one figured it out for herself- I brought Pepper home at 9 weeks and by 12 weeks, it was pretty well done. Mind you, this was the dog that at 11 years old, blind in a new to her house found the one hole in the largish fenced (2/3 acreish) area of the yard. In the snow and ice, after midnight. What did she do? She eventually came around to the front door to bark, of course. She’d never even come through that way, but damn if I wasn’t the idiot running around with a maglight in my fuzzy bathrobe and snowboots in the back, fearful that some mutant night raptor must have carried her off.

    Er wait, that wasn’t a housetraining story. Pepper got shoved out the door and praised every 2 hours. Simple as that. The rest of them, yeah. Erm. Not quite that simple. Door, pee, poop, praise, treat, lather, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum. Months of duration for this process may/will vary. A crate is helpful for some. The girl of my heart, well, it only took her second accident in the house in 2 days at age 9 to know she had something drastic going on.

    Also, only one in the pack will ever be bright enough to bark when it is time to come back in, usually the one you had first. The rest sit around still waiting for that one to make the magic signal.

  182. 182.

    Keith G

    @Peale: As they mentioned…50th anniversary of one of the best musicals on film.

    And if you are not following Michael Beschloss’ Twitter feed, your are missing a real education of how presidential history bumps up against Oscar/film trivia

  183. 183.

    Betty Cracker

    The thing to remember about potty training dogs is that, with rare exceptions (spite shite, for example), they WANT to do the right thing. It’s up to you to communicate what that is in a way they understand. Spending a lot of time outside and praising the hell out of them when they go outside always works for us.

  184. 184.

    steve herl

    Betty is so right. When they fail scold them and when they do right praise them. No hitting or treats needed. They may be slow to get the idea but when they do it’s a done deal.

  185. 185.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: There used to be a wolf sanctuary an hour or two away from here, not sure if it’s still there.

    It was really amazing to get to see the wolves up close in a natural habiltat, not in a zoo. To see them on your own land, truly in the wild, that would be beyond amazing.

  188. 188.

    karen marie

    @debit: Hey, I resent the Spaniel libel. I had two Cockers, and they were brilliant. I lived in a third-floor walkup, took them out at frequent, regular intervals, increasing the intervals as we went. Key is having and keeping to a schedule. If they don’t know they will be taken outside at predictable intervals, they will pee in the house. There are no bad dogs, just careless owners.

  189. 189.

    Sherparick

    Reference the puppies, lots of good tips, and I recollect my Dad being a strong Alfpha when training our puppy, plus putting her outside as much as possible.

    Reference older women, my sentiments are much like M. Gustave of Grand Hotel Budapest (https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0LEVvdJGutUciAAEVYnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTB0b2ZrZmU3BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1lIUzAwMl8x?p=Ralph+Fiennes+Grand+Hotel+Budapest+on+older+women&tnr=21&vid=C52F6762720F52682DCEC52F6762720F52682DCE&l=38&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DUN.608021405132131296%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=11r21cu76&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fx1jc3js_ralph-fiennes-talks-about-older-women-being-beautiful-and-sexy_people&sigr=13ekqf0hq&tt=b&tit=Ralph+Fiennes+Talks+About+Older+Women+Being+Beautiful+And+Sexy&sigt=11uqjpqu0&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3DRalph%2BFiennes%2BGrand%2BHotel%2BBudapest%2Bon%2Bolder%2Bwomen%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26ei%3DUTF-8&sigb=13tr418va&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001

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