Dow's mom came to town to pick up Bella, so we can go to Florida without worrying about her. And while Dow's sister is in the process of growing Dowma's first grandchild, Bella is currently her only grand-anything besides the grandcat, which means she gets a lot of attention and love. She even goes to the beauty shop when she goes home with Dowma. (Thank goodness - poor little, ratty thing.) Well, Dow noticed that Bella had been, well, um, licking herself a lot...in places we don't like to see dogs licking.
He called the vet's office to see if he could get her in before she left. No problem, they could get her in on Friday (today)...they just needed a urine sample.
A WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!
While this is probably no big deal for city dogs who are used to being followed around by a human on a leash while they do their thing, and often by humans who even pick up their doodee, this is not a normal occurrence for Bella. And trying to get her to pee while being followed by all three of us (I had to get a picture of this!) was no easy feat!
You see, Dow and Dowma went out there thinking that Bella, being the good dog she is, and really, really having to go would pee in a cup right away.
WRONG!
But at least they know which end it comes out...
Right?
Anyhow going back to how quickly or easily this job would be done, I need to mention a couple of things.
First of all, this dog is not a leashed dog.
Notice the rope. It's not latched onto her collar like a normal leash. Oh no, no, no! It's lassoed around her neck like she's a calf. You might feel bad for her, but honestly? She doesn't know the difference.
Secondly, she won't even go in the front yard. She goes out a ways where we won't step in it. Dow says, if he has to leave her tied up for a day or two (with food and water, of course!) while he's gone, she won't doodee until he lets her off her leash. Apparently, 3 days is her limit for holding it.
Basically, what I'm saying is, Bella likes to keep her area clean and doesn't like to go in front of an audience.
We were definitely NOT dressed for the occasion, considering they thought this would be a quick deal. It was downright cold out there! (It was 77 degrees on Tuesday and about 27 degrees yesterday, go figure.) Dow had just grabbed the nearest pair of shoes he saw, and considering Bella has this thing for running around with a shoe when she's excited, he couldn't find his Crocs.
Sooooooo......
He used his mother's. They're pink. I just wanted that in writing. Dow is wearing pink Crocs.
The shenanigans went on for at least a half hour.
Dowma was holding the leash, Bella would start to squat, Dow would lunge at her with a cup, and she would jump back to standing unsure of what was going on.
Or he would say, "Come on, Bella, go potty!"
But what Bella heard was "Come! blah, blah, blah", so she wouldn't go potty because she was awaiting her next command.
We finally gave up and made her come back in, regardless of the fact she reeeeeeeally needed to potty, lest she go without us, and decided to try again later.
Because it was getting late and the sun was going down (read: getting REALLY cold!), Dowma and I opted not to help Dow feed the horses and embark on attempt #2 to get Bella to pee in a cup.
And low and behold! He was successful! (See? I told you she didn't like an audience!)
Which means, I didn't get a picture of the actual event.
...and I spared you a picture of the actual cup of pee.
But just keep this in mind the next time you're dreading having to pee in a cup...at least it's easier than trying to get a DOG to do it!
For future reference, slide a pie tin from behind while she's doing the deed. You don't have to worry about exact placement. There might be a bit of splash of you don't move fast enough but it's worked in the past for us.
ReplyDeleteGeesh! Now you tell us! But then again, the pictures wouldn't have been as fun and I wasn't the one trying to stick my hand under there! haha!
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