I think your Mom is just too nice in her choice of words. The story is The Thirsty Donkey, and the man keeps saying, Patience, Jackass, Patience. LOL!

Kathi and Murphy

First of all, congratulations on taking this step!!  She is very cute (what a face!) and given time, you will find your routine with Jasper Lily.

Boomer is what my very good friend would call a "chicken-baby".  That's what she called all the fearful dogs that would come visit her at her coffee shop when I still worked at the sanctuary.  It sounds like Jasper might be a bit of one, too.  While house training wasn't really an issue with Boomer (he had a few accidents in his crate when I first got back to Ohio, but that was his separation anxiety) new places continue to be a problem for him.  He is more confident now than he used to be but anytime we go someplace new, I have to be extra aware of the surroundings.  He is nervous of the typical stuff, bikes, skateboards, etc, but he is also really scared of children, so if it is a park where there might be kids, I always have to keep an eye out for any approaching kids.  Fortunately, Amy thinks kids are the bees knees, so she usually runs interference while Boomer hides behind me.  I think someone has already mentioned it (I skimmed the other posts, but not in detail) but let me just reiterate, Thundershirts ROCK!  Boomer and Amy share one, she wears it during thunderstorms and he wears it when my nieces are visiting, he's going to the vet, or doing anything else that might send him into panic mode.  They are effective with about 80-85% of dogs.  We sell them at the store where I work and we rarely get returns on them (and a lot of times, returns are because people have unrealistic expectations of what the shirt will do).  It is very rare that a Thundershirt will miraculously make a dog act "normal" when you put it on them but it will help diminish the severity of the fear response.  For example, when we have storms, Amy gets really nervous and restless, she can't find anywhere she feels safe.  When I put the Thundershirt on, she isn't relaxed and she still won't eat, but instead of searching the house for the perfect safe place and relocating every 2-5 minutes, she is able to find a spot and just hunker down and wait for the storm to pass and once it is gone, she recovers much faster.  She isn't her usual self, but her fear is much more manageable.  You might find that with a Thundershirt, Jasper will still startle at loud noises, but she won't shake and she will take treats.  She doesn't know you that well yet, but keep in mind that if you are acting normal, she will read that from your body language and act accordingly.  If you baby her and worry over her when she gets nervous, that reinforces the behavior.  I never baby Boomer when he gets scared - I am proactive on his behalf and if I see a situation that I know will send him over the edge, I do what I can to help him through it.  Kids often want to pet him because he is just so handsome but I will tell them that he is pretty scared of kids so they can say hi to him from a few feet away but he would be happier if they didn't pet him.  I always let people pet him if he approaches them but I let him tell me when he is comfortable.  When you are out walking with her, if she gets scared because you are too close to the beach or another scary location, move away from the area, but don't take her straight home - maybe go back a block and then go north or south a block or two, or go past your house and walk another block in the opposite direction.  Expanding a dog's comfort zone can take a lot of baby steps but over time you'll get there.

As for the house training, it sounds like if there is a burst pipe, there might not be such an issue there after all.  But as several people have said, keeping her tethered to you is probably the fastest approach and I wouldn't use pee pads because once she gets used to using them, you will then have to train her to stop using them.  Poochie Bells can help in the training process too.  We have lots of customers who swear by them (they are bells on a ribbon that you hang by the door and jingle them each time you take the dog out for potty breaks and eventually dogs figure out that they can jingle the bells themselves to let you know they need to go out - it sounds a little silly, but they do work for a lot of dogs).

-Allison

Such a cute picture. Jasper Lily looks so darn proud of tucking her babies into bed. If your local pet stores do not carry Thundershirts, I saw them today at Bed Bath and Beyond. Do not know for sure if they are a nationwide chain, just wanted to pass that on. Glad you had a good day with her. Love from, Lori and Ty