Because of Peanut’s changes, we have decided to change our plan for him.

Before you start whining about how changing his schedule isn’t fair to him, think about this. He bugs us everyday, and we have to arrange our schedule around him. Now you can whine.

Without further delay, her is our new plan.

Mornings

Observations: Based on what my dad and I observed, we found out that in the mornings, he is holding either a extremely large amount of urine or he has been holding urine for a long period. The situation is so desperate that even Peanut can tell he has to go pee. That’s why the moment you open his cage in the upstairs bathroom, he will shoot out and head for the back door.

This is good and bad at the same time. The good thing is that you probably don’t have to wait long. In fact, you shouldn’t even wait, because he needs to get it out so fast that he actually leaves a small trail of urine as he runs toward the door.

The bad news is that the moment he realizes you are already in the house, he is going to start barking and howling and doing whatever it takes to get your attention.

The New Plan (the fix): What we are going to do to help my sleepy mother sleep and not get annoyed when she is sleeping is let Peanut sleep in the garage when it’s not freezing cold, which is often these days.

That also fixes the problem of the dripping urine, because he is already outside.

Daytime

Observations: During the daytime, what happens is that he gets left in the house alone. Then he goes roaming, finding things, peeking at stuff that normally isn’t allowed to be peeked at, like the snack counter and the cupboard. Then he would pee in the house.

Recently, we hardened up restrictions with him. But now, we are going to do better.

The New Plan (the fix): Now, instead of having to put him up because we are leaving or something, we are going to stick him in there even when we are home. This is so that he will learn to hold his urine because nobody wants to urinate everywhere.

Every three to four hours, he will be let out for a quick pee. Occasionally, he will be fed a meal.

I know this sounds a bit harsh, but that is how the plan is going to work.

Afternoon

What happens: In the afternoon, I will come home from school. If I don’t come home from school, it will probably be a weekend or holiday.

The New Plan (the fix): I have forced myself to play with him a little; letting him follow me around a bit, but then it’s back into the cage. Of course, little Peanut’s tiny little black head is pretty smart, too.

Bribery doesn’t work with him. He is not going near his cage unless he has too. He used to be stupid (no offense) enough to walk straight into his cage. Then I would be able to quietly close the cage door. But now, he is at the MAX going to stick his little head inside, grab it out and run back.

Once, he even had a grudge with my dad.

So we have to stick him in. Just the night before yesterday, we bought a jar of peanut butter. You must think I am going off topic, talking first about a plan and now peanut butter.

That’s why you have to understand that my family never eats peanut butter. I once bought a jar. I used it once. Then it got stuck in the refrigerator. A year and a half later, I pulled it out and threw it away.

This time, the peanut butter is for Peanut (it’s just a coincidence). He likes the stuff stuck on his bone. Did I mention that he doesn’t take bribery? Because even this stuff isn’t going to get him to go in. You have to manually do it and put him in.

The good news? Once he is in, he probably thinks, “Now that I’m in, I might as well eat it.” Famous quote modified a little.

Night / Overnight

At sometime near eight or nine, we stick him into his outdoor cage unless conditions do not permit. Overnight, he is staying in his little cage outside. Then comes morning, and the whole sequence starts over. A life… *sigh*