Housebroken

Ashby was housebroken before she came to us. But the system was different: All the dogs were in one room, and the room was next to a patio. There was a door separating the two, and it was always open. So the dogs could go to the patio to do their business any time. The big question was: How quickly would she figure out how things are going in our house?


When we picked up Ashby from the airport, she was exhausted, overwhelmed, and nervous.
So even though she had always been the leader of the two siblings, she was hiding in the crate. It didn't help that we HAD to get her out, because her brother Banksy was going home in his crate, whereas she had to be transferred to the crate we had brought.

At the airport:
"We had to wait FOREVER!!" -->>

When we came home, Ashby continued to be nervous, and between midnight (when we got home) and an hour later, she must have pooped and peed in the house about 4 times. Luckily, we have hardwood floors!

In the night, she whined a little, but the only time she completely panicked was when we locked the wire crate door, and I left the room to brush my teeth. That must have brought back memories of her and her brother being left behind in the mountains.
After some hand-holding, and with one person in the room at all times, she finally fell asleep:

We had to take her outside a two more times during the night, though. Baby times all over again! I felt like a zombie..I have never been good with sleep deprivation. 

The very next morning, she was curious and very calm. It turns out she is a very relaxed - and smart! - dog.

We watched her like hawks for signs of needing to go, and shooed her out for it every time. Big applause when she got it on her own for the first time!
She must have thought "have they gone crazy? But whatever, they feed me, and seem to be really excited about me".

And, knock on wood, no more accidents after the first day.
Now on to the next tasks...