FOSTERING SCOUT - THE ROOMBA INCIDENT

Todd and I took on fostering Scout, a handsome fawn/brindle greyhound with expectations that he would not be able to ride in a car due to car sickness (and significant difficulty getting him loaded), that he would have chronic diarrhea and some barking issues. A few days into the fostering and a couple car rides later, Scout proved to be a real trooper. He didn't have any problems with stairs or hard surface floors; he was unphased by our floor sweeping robot Roomba (a.k.a. Rosario); he didn't have any problems with riding, in fact he laid right down and enjoyed himself. No problems with diarrhea either! We thought we hit the rich with Scout and that his issues were all greatly exaggerated.

When I came home from work that first day (Monday), Scout barked a little when I pulled into the garage but otherwise seemed quite together. After an inspection of the house and not finding anything askew I was reassured that this dog was an ideal pet. When I sat on the couch, I noticed spittle on the window. I suspected it might be from barking so I set up a "nanny cam" to listen and watch Scout throughout the day.

Day two; we leave for work and I proceed to listen to the activity at home from my office. Occasionally, I hear a little howling and then some barking, and more barking. So I go home at lunch and let him out and try to get him to calm down by quietly sitting with him in the living room. All was a success; but when I got back to work I could see that the anxiety returned with more non-stop barking for almost two hours. That night Todd and I discussed what we might be able to do to help Scout and decided that we would give him more exercise, leave the radio on and leave the basement door to the Family Room open. Our hope was that Scout would go downstairs and sleep without all the distractions of people walking on the street, neighbors waiting on the school bus and oil delivery men.

Queue up day 3. I check the camera and sure enough, the barking has subsided a bit, while he is still barking and howling, the duration is far less significant with only 2-5 minute spells. Scout seems to be more relaxed and he is even off camera much of the day (presumably in the basement napping). I come home to a happy dog.

I took Scout outside to potty and waited for him to poo, but he didn't go, which was uncharacteristic of him. Upon coming back into the house, I began walking down the hall and could smell something faintly in the air. Scout must have stepped in some poo outside I thought, so I inspected his paws and found nothing. Hmm ... maybe he had an accident down the hall. I checked it out, but nothing, although the smell was stronger. So I decided to see if there was anything in the family room downstairs. As I started walking down the stairs the smell got stronger and stronger, almost overwhelming. Oh crap, I thought ... I am going to have a mess to clean up. I had NO idea.

As I approached the bottom steps, I glanced over the railing to a basement floor where I saw "mud" smeared over much of the floor (in a random pattern). As I glanced over to the sitting area, I saw Rosario, stopped in the middle of the floor with her lights flashing and "mud" (Scout's poo) mounded up in front of her. She had ran into the mess and continued to happily sweep along and bounce around the basement, banging into walls and furniture like a blind cat after a night of drinking. There were poo streaks on the baseboard, furniture legs and the floor; and poor, poor Rosario was so gummed up with the stuff, she couldn't move any more. What a horrendous mess! Thankfully, she did not make it to the area rug!

That evening Scout quietly waited on his bed for me to clean the basement and Rosario. Fortunately Rosario's "cousin" Scuba is a floor washing robot and Scuba assisted in the cleanup. I learned a couple very valuable lessons; 1) Schedule Rosario to start earlier in the day so she is done before Scout gets too anxious and 2) DON'T let Scout in the basement.

I am happy to say that Scout has not had any more accidents. We continue to try different things to help him deal with his anxiety. Keeping the doors open (not the basement door) so he can look around and see out the windows, which seems to be helping. If nothing else, it keeps him busy walking around to check all the rooms constantly. We continue to ignore him when he gets too excited and give him plenty of love when he is calm and relaxed. When I come home, before I enter the house, if Scout is barking, I tell him to "go lay down" through the garage door and I confirm that he has followed the command (by looking at the camera via my phone) before I enter the house. That has seems to keep him from getting so excited when I walk in, and it gives me an opportunity to take my coat off and go over to see him while he is more relaxed. We are still only a few weeks in but I am confident Scout will become more confident and settle in and appreciate having his day to nap in great comfort.