A Clear Delineation of Duties

It is imperative in every family that there is a clear delineation of duties. Everyone must know their role and perform it well for a family to function as it ought. If there is a family out there struggling with this issue, please let me offer Petey's assistance. He has designated every one's responsibilities and checks several times per day to see that each individual is carrying out his/her said responsibilities.

A fine example of this is the role of letting Petey in and out of the house. During the daylight hours it is my (Lori's) job. After dark it is John's job. We aren't sure why. Perhaps it is too dangerous after dark for me to open the door. This is not something that has developed over time. Petey has always awakened John in the night to go out. I must say I never discouraged this practice, and was/am secretly glad that I am not the night time designee.

During the day, however, the back door is me & me alone. Petey will walk by John to get to me, to ask to go out. Not kidding!! He has come all the way through the house by passing John on the way to me and then the way back to the door, so that I will open the door. On really pretty days, I can wear myself out opening & closing the door for him. I've propped the door open so that he can come & go as he pleases. He'll still come get me to walk to the back door with him. He will come in on his own. I guess he hasn't figured out how to come get me to tell me he's coming in without actually coming in.

John and I understand our roles with regard to the back door and it works well for the three of us most of the time. Earlier this week John was out of town over night for two nights. We were a little concerned that Petey would not make it all night without having to pee since he gets John up at least once and sometimes twice a night. He's also taken to peeing in the living room floor while we're at work, lately. We aren't sure if he's just old and tired of the no peeing in the house rule or if perhaps he needs to see the vet. Right now we're leaning towards the former because...well...because that's just how Petey is. (He has no other symptoms that would make us think he needs a doctor.)

In response to the peeing in the living room floor, we got some training pads for him. John fixed a nice place for him with about 5 of those monsters right in the living room, right where he pees. The plan was to slowly move the pads to the hall bathroom, where it would be a little more acceptable.

So...I went to bed the first night John was gone thinking for sure I'd have to clean up pee in the morning. I woke up about 3:30 am and had to pee myself. So, after I took care of myself. I woke Petey up and made him go out too. That was a trick in & of itself because it was night and that wasn't my job. I was about to pick him up and carry him out when he decided to go on his own. He came back in, got a treat and we both went back to sleep. I was a little concerned about setting a precedent with Petey. I don't want to become the night doorman. But otherwise, I felt a little proud of myself for averting a wet floor in the morning.

Alas, I did not. When I got up the living room floor was wet. Yes, the floor, not the pads. It was right beside the pads. I don't know if Petey has poor aim, or if he was trying to avoid the pads completely. I sort of think the later because the pads cover nearly half of the living room floor. Petey saw when I noticed the pee and ran down the hall away from me to avoid punishment. I cleaned up the mess and moved on with my day.

The second night, I was in a real quandary. Getting him up in the night didn't help, and I had that precedent thing to worry about. I went to sleep and slept all night long. When I woke up with the alarm, my first thought was that I was going to have to clean up pee again. Then I thought that maybe, just maybe, he hit the pads this time.

Petey greeted me in the hallway eager to go outside, which was a good sign. I let him out and went to check the floor. It was dry! Go figure. Perhaps because John wasn't there. He knew that he couldn't go out at night and held it. John will be at home tonight. We'll see how many times Pete wakes him up!!