Something is definetely wrong with my puppy. And I'm not sure what.

This morning, she peed in the house.

Again.

Right smack dab in the middle of the hall.

The day before that? It was a poop in our office.

And the day before that one? Poop, then too.

These instances aren't even counting a few weeks ago when she peed on our bed. That's right. She peed all over James' side. I guess that day we figured she was just mad at us. We did have sex a few hours prior and, during the act, Sienna started barking at us. It was very odd. She'd never done that before. Then that evening, when we got into bed to go to sleep, well, it was quite wet.

Ugh.

We pretty much figured our intimate relation were what ticked the dog off. We cleaned the sheets, set our mattress out to dry and just generally dealt with the situation as best we could. We used the last of our Nature's Miracle and we were both astounded at the fact that we hadn't had an accident from her in literally over a year (minus maybe one problem that was more than likely our fault rather than hers).

Of course, this bathroom business in the apartment is no longer an isolated incident. And our minds have gone from "what did we do wrong?" to "Bad Dog! Why is she doing this?"

So, even though I'm at work, my mind is pondering the possibilities. I need to make a run to the pet store for some more Nature's Miracle to erase the scent. All during lunch, Sienna kept surrounding and sniffing the accident scene while I muttered about what a naughty dog she was under my breath. Hopefully, this evening all evidence will be gone.

While I'm at the pet store, we also need to pick up some food. And I've been meaning to get her a new toy: a ball that has little holes that fit treats. The dog has to roll it around and sometimes pieces will fall out, sometimes they won't. I figured it would be something to keep her busy and active rather than her usual laying and knawing on of rawhide. I think I'm also going to purchase an extra long lead for training.

This poddy business has me rethinking our whole approach to training which has been, I hate to admit, pretty poor. When we first got her, I was very overzealous. I bought a ton of books. I worked with her on "go poddy" and "come" and "stay." But that didn't last and her "pretty good" behavior has gotten us by. Until now, she's been pretty much accidentless in the house. She generally comes when you call unless there is a REALLY interesting dog that demands her attention. And she "stays" (in the house) rather well.

Still there are the instances at the dog park and in the yard that occur. Sienna, the good puppy, gets an attitude and decides she won't listen or would rather go in search of some Laborador's ball and I'm standing there like a fool yelling, "Come. Come. Sienna.... COME!"

I can only imagine all the good dog owners around me are thinking while shaking their heads in digust.

I imagine then saying, "EVERONE KNOWS you shouldn't have to say "come" more than once to a well-trained dog."

"Haven't you worked with her?"

"You're such a bad owner... BAD, BAD OWNER."

You're right. You're right. I AM a bad owner. And the worst kind: a LAZY bad owner.

I mean, I have all these grand intentions. I know the ways and hows of properly training a dog. I have books and websites and all this information. But I don't take the time.

And that's really pathetic. I mean, from what I've read, it only takes like 15 minutes a day.... Who doesn't have 15 minutes? And honestly, it's in the very best interest of my dog. While all these instances at the dog park may be embarrassing at the worst, real training can be life-saving -- not just convenient. Proper training could mean the difference between your dog staying at the curb or running out into the street. And if a car's coming, that dog better react on the FIRST command it gets.

So, I'm a bad owner. But I want to change. And these accidents in the house are just another reminder she needs to be trained daily, throughout her entire life. And not only do we need to work on her "come", but now we've got "poddy" to deal with as well.

Fun.

My agenda's set. And instead of watching TV or playing on the web or WHATEVER I might have been inspired to do tonight, I have a priority that goes first and that involves working with my dog.

She deserves it.

So, while these new attention-grabbers keep popping up in my life, I'm slow to admit that I have yet to get my resume updated. My excuse last night? A new heart rate monitor that I sat on the floor programming for over an hour.

It's a nice monitor. I got it from Performance Bike.

If only the instructions were a little easier. You'd think for $100 that wouldn't be too much to ask.

I am looking forward to using it tonight. I'm going to go to the hour-long F.I.T. (fitness interval training) class tonight that really kicked my ass last week. I'm curious how high my heart rate gets. I'm also curious about how low it drops during the strength training intervals in the middle of the cardio segments. The cool thing about my new monitor is that it gives you percentages as well as heart rate numbers and it will time your recovery time in addition to telling you exactly how much time you spent in your heart rate target zone.

It should be interesting.

Then I'll go home and deal with the dog.