Introduction to the Apartment

I'd done a lot of cleaning up after the passing of my fourteen year old Chihuahua named Rocky.  When I though about my preferences for my next pet, I felt like adopting a cat, just because I hadn't had one in awhile.  My apartment also is restricted to either one dog or one cat, so whichever I chose, I'd be locked in.

Meanwhile, the last of Rocky's foods were piled in the entry, along with big piles of old blankets and rugs, because he was a total burrower.  I'd had hand surgery, so I 'd just piled them one-handed and placed a neatly folded cover over everything.  The room needed to be dog proofed again.   Magnet has a long complicated coat, and a normal odor, so I planned to keep him out of my bedroom.

When I got to my current apartment with Rocky a few years ago I realized I could build an effective sliding dog door for entertaining guests since Rocky was completely unfriendly.  Although he listened to every command I gave, he would bite if touched, so I have two ultra-cheap baby gates around too.  This sliding door came together by pure luck with a found piece of plywood, and moves very smoothly.

I was also scared stiff about the house training status.  Although the shelter workers all said Magnet was good in that regard, there's a big difference between shelter and home behavior sometimes.  Also, he has unexplainable head shyness.  A good way to house-train is a dog crate for nights, but the dog should feel at home first.  I hadn't even asked about his experiences with crates, but I had one disassembled under my bed.  I put that together, and stuck in a dog bed.  He seemed ok with going in for treats and picked it as a place to nap the first evening with the door open.  Happily, he didn't have any accidents that evening, and knew what to do when we went outside.  I decided to risk an accident and give him run of the den for the first night.

Almost three weeks, and he retains his perfect record.