Utt-Oooh. Trudy Gets in Trouble

Trudy has been charming her new family. She has integrated quickly into the house routine. She is bright, playful, and enchanting. She and Norwich boyfriend Bosco play incessantly in the game “Chase Me – I’ll Chase You!” In true terrier fashion, it can be almost scary with growls and yelps and snarls. Time Out! Rest. Pant. Pant. Pant. And off again on loops around the house.

But within the last few days, Trudy got in trouble. Defecation in the house.

Now, Trudy’s doggie momma would never allow defecation in the whelping box or in common areas so Tru-Tru knows better.





When Trudy came to live here with my husband and me she came under the reign of experienced Alpha Female Mrs. Boots and was instructed on rules of defecation. Nobody messes with The Toot Boot.
No.
Body.











So, what is happening?

First, I believe Trudy is communicating something to Bosco – or it could be Grace but let’s first guess it is Bosco. Trudy is a very stable girl and follows the rules so therefore she is talking to the male puppy in the household.

A little summary. Rules Governing Communication Between Pack Members. With such a big pack here at my house, I had strict rules about expressions of irritation between the dogs. They learned the rules well and enforced the rules on and to each other. And the rule was (from their viewpoint): we can talk to each other but we can never get so disruptive that we displease Big Momma and Big Daddy because everybody gets in trouble. Me because I did it and them because they allowed it to happen.

So they signal each other at a low enough level that it never breaks the barrier of disrupting the household.

Some staring, some stiff-legged postures, lowered heads, flatulence, bad breath, burps, coughs, some growls, some snaps, some quick movements – that’s okay. (I suspect they get a little rougher with each other when out of sight but they do know that big vocalizations can be heard and are disruptive.)

So poop in the house is (from a dog’s viewpoint) a low level but very effective smell signal. Trudy and Bosco should learn that poop in the house was, is, and always will be interpreted by Big Daddy and Big Momma as a Big Disruption. Let the dogs go back to farting, burping, bad breath, and rubbing their backs on the carpet as low level smell signals. (Signals are not always negative or aggressive. Most signals are cooperative.)

Bosco has his role in this.











It's a conversation between the two. He ignored Trudy’s signals so she escalated. Bosco needs a little discipline too. Don’t worry. He’ll understand. If Trudy gets the Big Voice, the pointy finger and banishment to the patio (for a minute – no more), he should be banished along with her so they can talk over their strategy.