I wrestled a long time with An Issue. Gypsy was a bit slow on the housebreaking progress, but once she was convinced that telling me she had to go was a good idea, I started sending the dogs outside to potty on their own. It didn't take too long before I started noticing they both developed Really. Stinky. Breath. I hadn't experienced that particular stench on one of my dog's breath before and really had no idea what was causing it. And then came the day when I saw what was causing it. Caution: a really disgusting statement ahead. If you are like me, it will totally gross you out. I'm serious. There is no funny punch line ahead. You might want to not read it. I certainly never wanted to witness it.
They were eating their own and each other's poop.
Ok. Seriously disgusting. Gross. It turns my stomach. I've learned that's not unusual dog behavior. I've also learned it is behavior that, once adopted, is not likely to be stopped. You can try assorted flavoring efforts to dissuade them, but in general, that's ineffective. I tried. For months, I tried. You can only prevent the behavior by constant meticulous pick up and hyper vigilance. And I did that, along with the attempts at behavior modification (positive, not punitive because punitive makes for anxious dogs, leading to more unacceptable behavior). But a dog with Molly's persistence and intelligence is not easily dissuaded from anything. And Gypsy follows Molly's lead.
In discussing this Issue with their breeders, I discovered some humans are far more capable of accepting such behavior than I am. Turns out, that activity is well established among Gypsy's litter mates, as well as Molly's mom. Their breeders routinely rinse the dogs' mouths with mouthwash. I know intellectually that the dogs do not find it a disgusting habit. But as much as I tried to understand and accept and work around it, I was left with a seriously high level of revulsion. They'd come rushing inside with that breath and want to kiss me and lick me as happy dogs do. It made me almost vomit. Which meant I kept pushing them away. And the poor dogs just didn't understand. And on one dog training show I watched in hopes of learning how to train them out of this, the trainer had one family's home tested. Turns out their dog, doing the same thing, left high levels of e. coli on almost every surface of the house. Including kitchen counters.
There is much less than pleasant that I have learned to deal with. Dirty bunny butts - well, nuff said on that. But I can't get past this. And I can't stand the dogs being so unhappy with being rejected when all they want to do is love me. They deserve better. It took several months of attempts to change the situation and some serious soul searching, but in the end, my reaction is as insurmountable as the dogs' behavior. A couple weeks ago, I sent them back to their breeders. It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one.
Azalea is tucked kind of out of sight, at the junction where the itty bitty rig
ht side of my yard meets the beginning of the deck. Most of the year, she is a bit of a n
ondescript place holder, but today she is in her glory. 
d then there is this bit of curiosity out in the garden. I've been watching this little drama play out since I started pulling leaves out of the gardens at spring's first hints. Bearded Iris vs dried leaves. Who knew dead dried leaves are more powerful than the firm blades of growth?
