I learned the hard way the other day that we should have used different words when potty training Sammy and the dog.
Because he’s still a baby, Mojo has to go outside every few hours. It’s a little like having an infant again — only instead of 8 to 10 diapers a day, we’re getting 8 to 10 trips to the evergreen tree by our back steps.
Once we get him outside, we say, “OK, Mojo, go potty,” and he usually pees right away in the grass. Then we have to guide him back to the grass six or seven times, saying, “OK, go poopy,” until he gets the idea. Otherwise, we just find that part on our carpet within five minutes.
Last week, as I was upstairs getting dressed, Mojo was hanging out in the hallway and Sam came clambering up the stairs. I met her at the top of the steps, where she said, “I have to go potty” and darted into the bathroom.
And Mojo promptly squatted and peed.
On the plus side, at least he recognized the words and obeyed. On the down side, uh-oh. This isn’t good. Those are the words Sam has used for more than a year to describe that particular bodily function.
So whose wording do I change now? Mojo just figured it out and seems quite proud of himself when he understands (of course, that excitement could be because he knows he’s going to get a treat). And I really don’t want to teach Sam any other words for that because I don’t want her yelling fairly gross words at inappropriate times, like when we’re in a restaurant (because you know she will).
What do you think? Do I just live with it and take out stock in companies that make carpet-cleaning products?
Hilarious story, Amy! Sometimes you just can’t win…