To Suite or not to Suite. That is the Question!

Ask not what a SuiteDigs suite might cost.
Ask what not having one might cost you!

Couch, love seat, recliner
Coffee tables, end tables
Shoes, belts, purses, remotes
Wooden table and chair legs
Carpet, wood flooring, linoleum
Drywall, paint, trims, doors and wallpaper
Cabinet drawers and doors
Curtains, draperies, mini-blinds
Albums, VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs, video games
Books, magazines, photo albums
Exercise equipment
Extension cords, wires, lamp cords,
Computer cables, entertainment center wires, cables and cords
Socks, pants, shirts, and coats
Toilet paper, plunger, bowl brush, shower curtain
Towels, soap, personal items, bathroom trash
Drier vent, 220 volt drier cord, water hoses
Garage insulation, stairs, antifreeze, chemicals
Boxes, keepsakes, important documents

Homework, lots and lots of homework

Emergency stomach surgery
Accidental poisoning
Electrocution

Stress on you!
The loss of a special companion.
Your pet's pain and suffering.

It could easily be cheaper to have SuiteDigs than to not have SuiteDigs!

The 4 traditional options to keep your puppy while you are out and why they don't work.

1. Baby Gates

Who wants to have to negotiate over and through these unsightly obstacles? The main problem with baby gates is that they only protect one side of the gate. Which ever side of the gate the puppy is on is the side subject to puppy destruction. Also when your puppy figures out that he can climb over, knock down, or jump over the gate, neither side of the gate is protected.

2. Exercise Pens

These ungainly contraptions are a bigger eyesore than they are solid containment. They are flimsy and easy to push around. Ex pens, as they are called, may scratch your floor more than the puppy inside! Exercise pens have no floor of their own leaving your floor vulnerable to clawing, digging, and soiling. There is no ceiling so they can be climbed or jumped over allowing your puppy to chew, claw, soil all over your home.

3. Crates

Who can feel good about leaving their companion in a box just big enough to turn around in? It’s true that dogs like to sleep in small dark confined “dens” but please, 8 or 10 hours with no chance to relieve himself other than to soil right in his own bed then have to lay in it? 8 week old puppies can’t hold it nearly that long. So are you supposed to recruit your friends and neighbors to come into your home and take your dog outside for however long it takes for the dog to go potty? What if something comes up and no one comes to tend to your dog? How much pain and discomfort does your dog have to endure before he can relieve himself? Besides these crates never look good in your home ant their swing out doors tend to tear holes in your clothes as you walk by.

4. Just put him in a room and close the door

Those doors are made of wood. Hello! Ever seen what a dog can do to a room? Nothing in the room can take what even a small dog can dish out. Linoleum and hardwood floors can be clawed and shredded. Drywall can have holes chewed right in it. Wood trim may be the first to go. Carpet is one of the most difficult items for your vet to surgically remove from your dog’s digestive tract. That’s major surgery likely to cost $1,500 to $2,000.

A SuiteDigs suite is a home for your dog with a room for every purpose. A place to eat and drink, a place to sleep, room to walk around and stairs to climb, and a place to relieve himself when he wants to go. And it looks great and won’t tear your clothes!

Toilet Drinking! Yuk!

Does your dog drink from the toilet? Does it make your skin crawl?

It may be because the toilet water is cooler and fresher than what is in the dog's water bowl. Think about it, the water in the toilet is changed several times a day. It's fresh! How about the dog's water bowl? Do you wash and refill it twice daily or do you just top it off as needed and wash it out only when it looks scummy?

Try having a number of bowls. Get in the habit of putting down a clean bowl with fresh water and picking up the old bowl and putting it in the dish washer. Just as you would for your own glasses. Your dog might like that water better and forget the toilet.

It's one of those things that make you say "Hmmmmm".

Scent Marking vs. Potty Training

Does your adult dog still have accidents? Maybe its not potty training in the sense that your dog has to relieve himself. It may be insecurity.

Our modern domestic dog (Cannis Familiaris) is descended from wolves. Many of their behaviors are rooted in their wolf ancestry. Wolves in the wild are territorial. They feel safe when they are with their pack and in their established and marked territory. How is the territory "marked"? The alpha male and female use their urine as well as other scent glands to mark their pack's territory. See the equation? Marked territory = security.

An insecure or fearful dog may mark in your house. Its no accident. Ask yourself, does your dog act skiddish, wary, afraid of strangers, nervous, shy? He may be fear marking. If so you can solve the marking by boosting your dog's self confidence. You have to reestablish trust if you lost it between the two of you. If the fear comes from sources other than you, a family member, other pets, etc. you must address them.

Here are a few quick tips:

Don't physically punish your dog.
Establish a consistent daily routine such as sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, etc... (in any order)
Wolf puppies lick their superiors lip's in a sign of submission and to gain acceptance. This equals security too. so let him plant a big sloppy one on you.
Desensitise your dog to any sources of fear. This requires a qualified trainer. There are books on the subject meant for experienced trainers. A novice can further traumatize the dog and make matters worse.

Look for Your Dog Doing Something Right

Everyone wants their dog to be well behaved, so we correct our dogs whenever they screw up. If he bugs you to play when you are trying to concentrate, you say "NO!" If he begs at the table we say "SIT!" If he jumps up, we say "DOWN!"

Did you ever notice that when the dog lies down in the corner to sleep, we ignore him? If someone comes over and the dog remains calm, we don't notice? When is the last time that you caught your dog doing something right and rewarded him?

Try this... Next time you catch your dog minding his own business, give him a treat. Next time he eliminates outside, give him a nice piece of hot dog. You will probably surprise and excite him. He will wonder what he did to deserve such a prize. If you do the hot dog thing again under the same circumstances, he might begin to notice a pattern. The final outcome? You have reinforced and defined the behavior you want. You will get it more often.

I called my wife a dog!

I was trying to think of a way to express my love for my wife of 20 years. I told her she was a dog because she loves me no matter what. She loves me regardless of how I look, what I wear, what kind of job I have, how much money I make, where we live, what kind of house we live in. what clothes I wear, the car I drive, the mistakes I make.. she loves me unconditionally.

Singles ad

This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed. It is reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal.

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy, I'll be waiting....

The funny part is that Daisy is a black labrador retriever. The phone number was for an animal shelter. Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society...