# Apartment living potty training



## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Hey. So i live in an apartment with no garden and Milo is trained to do his business on his pee pads. Hes just completed his vaccinations and is ready to go out for walkies.

With me not having a garden how often should i take him out? How do i make the transition from pee pads to him letting me know he wants to go out side? Any one with a similar experience?

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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Ps: All though Milo has been outside already for early socialization and hes been running around in a private garden where no other dogs go, i take him there after hes done his business so he doesnt do it there as dogs are not allowed. He loves it there. But he doesnt seem to like any where else outside, he just sits and wont move. He prefers to just come inside and use the pee pad!

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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

He will eventually learn to eliminate outside on his own… just give him some time! It may be a LONG time, though, before he regularly signals you that he NEEDS to go out. Kodi was past two before he regularly communicated this to me. Before that, he didn't have accidents, but it was because I pretty much knew his schedule, and got him out when he needed to go. That's what you'll need to do with your guy if you DO want too wean him completely off the pee pads. HOWEVER, think hard before doing that. I know that in Amsterdam, you have cold winters like we do. I find it VERU convenient that Kodi will use his litter box (which he was trained to rather than pee pads) in bad weather. MANY people with Havanese, who live in colder climates, choose to maintain an indoor potty option for bad weather. Most dogs, all on their own, eventually prefer going outside to inside anyway. You don't have to "train" it or even really encourage it. it just happens.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> He will eventually learn to eliminate outside on his own&#8230; just give him some time! It may be a LONG time, though, before he regularly signals you that he NEEDS to go out. Kodi was past two before he regularly communicated this to me. Before that, he didn't have accidents, but it was because I pretty much knew his schedule, and got him out when he needed to go. That's what you'll need to do with your guy if you DO want too wean him completely off the pee pads. HOWEVER, think hard before doing that. I know that in Amsterdam, you have cold winters like we do. I find it VERU convenient that Kodi will use his litter box (which he was trained to rather than pee pads) in bad weather. MANY people with Havanese, who live in colder climates, choose to maintain an indoor potty option for bad weather. Most dogs, all on their own, eventually prefer going outside to inside anyway. You don't have to "train" it or even really encourage it. it just happens.


right on Karen.


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Yep It is cold and rainy here all the time so ill definitely be keeping an indoor option. Thanks for the advice!

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## Cuddles (Jan 22, 2014)

*Housebreaking and Potty Training*

Cuddles is still a puppy, so she tinkles every time I let her outside. (every four hours or so). When I am at work, she has a play pen with an indoor dog toilet She goes outside when I get home, but I can see that she has used the other toilet when I am at work. This makes life good for both of us. 
How old is Carli? :fish:


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Hey, since i posted that last month Milos potty training has been going really well. I removed all the pee pads from the house except if i am going out he has one in his pen. Its easy to judge when he will need to go out so i always get him out before he gets the chance to do it in the house, tho there has been a couple of accidents of course.

btw, i am carli and the pooch is Milo :-D he is four months old!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Carli - Congrats on Milo's progress! I live in the city and to potty train Emmie I didn't wait for her to signal me; instead, I took her outside frequently, first every half hour, then every hour, and I built up the time as she got older. (E.g. she was a year old before the time between outdoor visits was extended to 4 hours.) With this strategy we had very very few accidents indoors. Note that during her first 10 months, I lived in a 5th floor condo so I had to carry her down many flights of stairs to get outside; now we live in a townhouse so it doesn't take as long. This took commitment but the benefit is I've gotten a lot more exercise since I brought Emmie home and am in better shape than ever. 

I also have an indoor potty solution, Rascal Dog Litter Box, but Emmie rarely uses it as she prefers to eliminate outdoors. She lets me know when she wants to go outside by either ringing a bell, barking at the door, or licking my face profusely.

_IMO, the *Rascal Dog Litter Box* is a much better potty system than the Piddle Place, which Cuddles and Miss Rosa are constantly mentioning. The reason it's better is that you have multiple ways to use it - with fake grass, with piddle pads, with litter, with a grate like an UgoDog, plus there are 3 box sides (instead of 2), which do not have an ugly picture on them, the grass is machine washable, you can lock in standard-sized piddle pads, and it costs less._


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

I live in a small apartment and I just use an indoor option when we are home. At work he goes outside (but that's on a schedule - lunch break and end of day now, when he was little it was 10 am, lunch, mid-afternoon, and end of day). This hasn't seemed to cause him any confusion. If I go somewhere and set up his indoor potty, he immediately knows that is where he should go. Interestingly enough, when we went traveled to visit my parents at Christmas, he sometimes used his indoor tray and other times he went and sat by the door to go outside. He did this (sat by door) when we visited my aunt as well on that trip. I was thrilled with him! He can bark at every little noise, but if it's something he wants/needs (like water or to go to the bathroom) he communicates silently!


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## HoneyBunny (May 11, 2010)

It took Honey a while to get trained in the apartment, but once she did she has been excellent. She runs to my balcony door to go out and will tap on it if I do not notice. She is trained to go on the potty patch on there, but she will only pee on it... she only poops on it in an emergency.

In good weather, I like to still take Honey for 3-4 longer walks a day for exercise (she usually 1-2 times a day).. In the winter, it is twice a day for the longer walks.


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## Miss Rosa (Jan 22, 2014)

*Indoor toilet training*

With the weather as bad as it has been all over the country an indoor dog toilet makes sense. You can go to dog toilet reviews and see which products are compared and used. I don't know about the spray bottles' contents if they are people friendly or not. The other products aren't made in the USA like the Piddle Place is. I know that made in America is important to me.
In Florida we need an indoor dog toilet  for all of the rain we have and for any hurricanes if we have any and if we travel or own a boat they are perfect for that too. 
Good luck with your training!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

In my opinion, the best indoor potty system, which many of us on this forum use, is the *Rascal Dog Litter Box*. It has 9 inch sides so if your dog lifts his leg the urine stays in the box and it is made in the USA. There are also many ways to use it - with their fake grass (which doesn't get stinky or smelly for me), using the grate, with piddle pads, pellets, or newspaper.

Note that I don't work for this company, I'm just a satisfied customer that bought it after my puppy was housebroken. Emmie was outdoor potty trained for 18+ months before I introduced this indoor solution for bad weather days. She probably only uses it 1-3 times a week.

Please do your own research and make sure to consider the source of any recommendations.

-Jeanne-


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> In my opinion, the best indoor potty system, which many of us on this forum use, is the *Rascal Dog Litter Box*. It has 9 inch sides so if your dog lifts his leg the urine stays in the box and it is made in the USA. There are also many ways to use it - with their fake grass (which doesn't get stinky or smelly for me), using the grate, with piddle pads, pellets, or newspaper.
> 
> Note that I don't work for this company, I'm just a satisfied customer that bought it after my puppy was housebroken. Emmie was outdoor potty trained for 18+ months before I introduced this indoor solution for bad weather days. She probably only uses it 1-3 times a week.
> 
> ...


Yup. I agree completely. (Even if I don't use the grass part. )


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## Cuddles (Jan 22, 2014)

Thanks. So agree, just anything is better puppy pads.


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## Cuddles (Jan 22, 2014)

MarinaGirl said:


> In my opinion, the best indoor potty system, which many of us on this forum use, is the *Rascal Dog Litter Box*. It has 9 inch sides so if your dog lifts his leg the urine stays in the box and it is made in the USA. There are also many ways to use it - with their fake grass (which doesn't get stinky or smelly for me), using the grate, with piddle pads, pellets, or newspaper.
> 
> Note that I don't work for this company, I'm just a satisfied customer that bought it after my puppy was housebroken. Emmie was outdoor potty trained for 18+ months before I introduced this indoor solution for bad weather days. She probably only uses it 1-3 times a week.
> 
> ...


Jeanne, I have found websites on getting an older dog to use an indoor potty. What worked for you?


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Right when I got Emmie at 11 weeks and started taking her outside to pee I said "Go Potty" and had a party whenever she went. Eventually she would go on command, which made it fairly easy for me to teach her to go on the fake grass. I used the scented RASCAL DOG training spray that came with litter box and rubbed some of her urine on the fake grass, and then gave her the potty command. She didn't go right away but then I started to see her walk into the box herself and just stand there, so I marked that behavior with YES and Good Dog, and gave her her favorite treat. Then when I actually witnessed her defecating I very excitedly said YES and Good Dog and gave her lots of treats (jackpot). 

By the way, I have 2 pieces of fake grass, which allows me time to clean and completely dry one while the other is in use. If I had only 1 it would be harder to do so. However, I'm also intrigued about transitioning to pellets if it ever gets to the point where there is an odor problem.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> Right when I got Emmie at 11 weeks and started taking her outside to pee I said "Go Potty" and had a party whenever she went. Eventually she would go on command, which made it fairly easy for me to teach her to go on the fake grass. I used the scented RASCAL DOG training spray that came with litter box and rubbed some of her urine on the fake grass, and then gave her the potty command. She didn't go right away but then I started to see her walk into the box herself and just stand there, so I marked that behavior with YES and Good Dog, and gave her her favorite treat. Then when I actually witnessed her defecating I very excitedly said YES and Good Dog and gave her lots of treats (jackpot).
> 
> By the way, I have 2 pieces of fake grass, which allows me time to clean and completely dry one while the other is in use. If I had only 1 it would be harder to do so. However, I'm also intrigued about transitioning to pellets if it ever gets to the point where there is an odor problem.


I also had NO trouble transitioning Kodi to the fake grass using the spray that comes with the Rascal Dog. I have to admit, I was a skeptic, but it worked right away. He went over, sniffed it, climbed aboard and peed! 

I had two of the grass mats too, and no matter what I did, (bleach, vinegar, enzymatic cleaner) (and no, Cuddles, it the mat does NOT remain in contact with waste with the Rascal Dog) I couldn't get the smell out enough that I could stand it in my kitchen. Either I have a sensitive nose, or maybe they have changed the grass mat since we got ours, since ours are several years old now. (I think I've had them about 3 years)

It doesn't matter, though, as he will use them open with just the pellets, or in the trailer, (where my whole goal was to stop stepping on hard pellets rolling on the floor!  He will pee through the grate, with the pellets below. He hardly EVER wants to poop inside the house, but once in a great while will use the pellets for that&#8230; I don't think he has ever pooped on the grate, so I'm not sure if he would.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

krandall said:


> I had two of the grass mats too, and no matter what I did, (bleach, vinegar, enzymatic cleaner) (and no, Cuddles, it the mat does NOT remain in contact with waste with the Rascal Dog) I couldn't get the smell out enough that I could stand it in my kitchen. Either I have a sensitive nose, or maybe they have changed the grass mat since we got ours, since ours are several years old now. (I think I've had them about 3 years)


Perhaps that's the difference, that my Rascal Dog grass is newer (i.e. 3 months), and I keep it in the master bathroom (upstairs), so it is more tucked away. My setup is a piddle pad below the grate and the grass rests on top of the grate; therefore, the grass never rests in urine. And Emmie pees AND poops on it, lucky me!

FYI - Emmie's breeder potty trained her with disposable piddle pads. I used them in her expen at first but then she started tearing them apart so I decided to take her outside to do her business 100% of the time. This worked out very well and I'm in better shape than ever. One of the reasons I got a dog was to motivate me to walk more and not use rain as an excuse for not going outside. (Here in Seattle it rains A LOT!) I live in an urban environment so when I take her outside it's always on-leash. Thankfully, I live in a safe, well-lit neighborhood, so taking her out in the wee hours of the night (when necessary) has not been a problem. But now I have a backup solution....I'm still taking her out most of the time but if the weather is really miserable I can wimp out and stay indoors and know she won't suffer. 

-Jeanne-


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## dickli (Jun 19, 2012)

I just have to mention the Pet Patio Potty again, even though no one else here seems to use it. It comes with grass that has Alphasan (an antimicrobial) incorporated into it, and in my experience (we have it in the kitchen), it doesn't stink. It can be ordered in different sizes and different materials, It includes a sturdy tray and you can use clumping cat litter underneath it, and grass or pebbles on top. When it gets frequent use (like this winter), I scoop the litter clumps every few days, rinse the grass every week to 10 days, and change out the litter about once a month. Due to the cost, it probably isn't for everyone, and since it isn't made of plastic, it is somewhat heavy. When traveling, I take just a small piece of the grass with pee pads to place underneath it. This works well in the family restroom at the airport.


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## Cuddles (Jan 22, 2014)

Carli said:


> Hey, since i posted that last month Milos potty training has been going really well. I removed all the pee pads from the house except if i am going out he has one in his pen. Its easy to judge when he will need to go out so i always get him out before he gets the chance to do it in the house, tho there has been a couple of accidents of course.
> 
> btw, i am carli and the pooch is Milo :-D he is four months old!


Woo hoop "go" Milo. Make us proud


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

I used them in her expen at first but then she started tearing them apart so I decided to take her outside to do her business 100% of the time.

-Jeanne-[/QUOTE]

I used disposable pee pads also. Milo did start to chew on the corners of them and try eat it, which was worrying becase they are soft plastic but then i tried folding down the corners and voila he never tried to chew it ever again haha!

I found that they worked just fine for me i had one in the living room and one in the hall way and he would always go to one of them. When your puppy is very young his poops arent that big or offensive yet so they dont stink out your house, as long as you throw out the pad straight away obv.

Then after a few weeks i took all the pee pads away and go outside with him as then i know his potty schedule. If i put a pee pad down now he will still go on it, which can be handy.

Anyway, pee pads worked just fine for me


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I don't know if it's what Kodi eats or what, but there is really no offensive smell to his poop. We don't even know he's pooped until we see it in the litter box. And it is small enough to just pick up in a kleenex and flush down the toilet.

WAY different from the cat… her litter box is in the basement, and we are good about keeping it clean. Still, the MINUTE she goes, we know!!!


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

I'm thinking about the indoor potty options for the pup I will be getting in a month. I think I would eventually like to be able to have him go out on our patio as well as being taken downstairs (we're on 3rd floor in a condo). Of course I think when I am away for a few hours I will set him up in an expen with crate and a pee pad or other such option. 

Was thinking of just using pee pads with a piece of light grating from home depot cut to size on top to prevent wet paws and tearing of the pads. Figure that would be cheapest? Would that work? As he gets older though I guess he will be lifting his leg to pee... in that case the walls on the Rascal dog would probably be handy. 

Our patio is not covered (so awesome for plants) but not so awesome for keeping an outdoor potty option in a very rainy part of Canada (Vancouver). Any ideas?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

You've probably read about most of the different options people use. Just wnated to mention that it's not at all a sure thing that he will start lifting his leg to pee. Kodi lifts his leg to mark, but stands on all 4 to pee. Since he wouldn't DREAM of marking in the house, it's never a problem with his litter box!


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

I used the Piddle Place in an ex pen and liked that option a lot. After Sheldon got a little older, I moved the 'pad' from the Piddle Place into a walk-in shower, that he uses now. 

If I had a need for an occasional indoor option, I'd probably use disposable pads. But in a 6th floor condo where we've already had 45 days below zero this winter, our indoor option gets lots of use. 50 below windchill as I type!


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Krandal its true, where i live theres an area in the gardens where cats poop and it stinks!!! Milo thinks its a yummy treat for him haha, i always have to clean it up so he doesnt try to eat it. Yuck. 

Natureslover, dogs mainly lift the leg to mark, and there is a very low chance that he will try to mark in the house. When he actually needs to pee he will squat


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

DebW said:


> I used the Piddle Place in an ex pen and liked that option a lot. After Sheldon got a little older, I moved the 'pad' from the Piddle Place into a walk-in shower, that he uses now.
> 
> If I had a need for an occasional indoor option, I'd probably use disposable pads. But in a 6th floor condo where we've already had 45 days below zero this winter, our indoor option gets lots of use. 50 below windchill as I type!


This has been the worst winter EVER!!!

I think it's amusing that everyone has stopped talking about "global warming" and is now talking about "global climate change" Not that we shouldn't take it (and our environment) seriously, but there isn't a heck of a lot of "warming" going on around here!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Carli said:


> Krandal its true, where i live theres an area in the gardens where cats poop and it stinks!!! Milo thinks its a yummy treat for him haha, i always have to clean it up so he doesnt try to eat it. Yuck.
> 
> Natureslover, dogs mainly lift the leg to mark, and there is a very low chance that he will try to mark in the house. When he actually needs to pee he will squat


My training room is in the basement, and we have to go right past the cat box to get to the room. I ALWAYS have to go down first, "police" the cat box, THEN bring Kodi down&#8230; Otherwise he will help himself to "snacks". uke:


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

We usually get freezing, snowy, windy, rainy horrible winters in holland but this year so far weve had no freezing temps and barely any rain!! Its been a lovely winter so far


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Carli said:


> We usually get freezing, snowy, windy, rainy horrible winters in holland but this year so far weve had no freezing temps and barely any rain!! Its been a lovely winter so far


I'm glad SOMEBODY is getting some benefit out of this!!! 

We often have snowy Februarys, but typically, the sun is warming things up enough that daytime temperatures are in the 40's (F) a lot of the time. I don't think we've seen daytime temps above freezing more then one or two days in the last 6 weeks. And then it rained, then froze again. It has been in the single digits many nights, and the "warm" nights are in the teens. So nothing is melting. Everywhere there isn't deep snow is a glacier of ice.

The ice is so slippery on the paths we dug for Kodi that he is afraid of them, so the poor thing has resorted to pooping on the driveway. (which he HATES, but what's a boy to do!?!)


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Im so glad i didnt have to deal with snow (yet, fingers crossed it doesnt come) potty training with milo would of been a nightmare if we had the kind of winter we usually have!

This is milo at the beach yesterday. Obv there was no sunbathing involved, way too cold for that! But the sun was out :-D









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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Carli - Milo is VERY cute! Glad the weather hasn't gotten in the way of his potty training.  -Jeanne-


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## Carli (Nov 5, 2013)

Thanks! Hes my pride and joy hehe! And Emmie is a little stunner also 

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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

krandall said:


> I'm glad SOMEBODY is getting some benefit out of this!!!
> 
> We often have snowy Februarys, but typically, the sun is warming things up enough that daytime temperatures are in the 40's (F) a lot of the time. I don't think we've seen daytime temps above freezing more then one or two days in the last 6 weeks. And then it rained, then froze again. It has been in the single digits many nights, and the "warm" nights are in the teens. So nothing is melting. Everywhere there isn't deep snow is a glacier of ice.
> 
> The ice is so slippery on the paths we dug for Kodi that he is afraid of them, so the poor thing has resorted to pooping on the driveway. (which he HATES, but what's a boy to do!?!)


Karen, you've got to get Dave out there with a lawn spreader to spread sand on those icy paths. It seems that Bud has done that more times than I care to think about this month. He actually has blown the snow from the entire fenced in back yard area each time and then when it froze over, he used the lawn spreader to apply sand over the whole area. It was imperative for Tyler this year, as we don't want him to reinjure his knee after he has done so well. Thankfully, we have seen the grass down here for a while now. In fact, my daffodils are up about an inch or so near the foundation. The snow melted and there they were. Can Spring be far behind. Yeah!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sandypaws said:


> Karen, you've got to get Dave out there with a lawn spreader to spread sand on those icy paths. It seems that Bud has done that more times than I care to think about this month. He actually has blown the snow from the entire fenced in back yard area each time and then when it froze over, he used the lawn spreader to apply sand over the whole area. It was imperative for Tyler this year, as we don't want him to reinjure his knee after he has done so well. Thankfully, we have seen the grass down here for a while now. In fact, my daffodils are up about an inch or so near the foundation. The snow melted and there they were. Can Spring be far behind. Yeah!


Dave is a CPA and he doesn't do ANYTHING but taxes this time of year!  I have been sanding the driveway and spreading the non-toxic ice-melt over it, but you know how big our driveway is&#8230; that's about all I can handle. I'd be afraid of using the ice melt where the grass is&#8230; I know it's non-toxic for people and pets&#8230; It doesn't say anything about plants!

Don't tell me about daffodils, or you may find Kodi and me on your door step, looking fro a place to wait out the rest of the winter!!!


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

krandall said:


> Dave is a CPA and he doesn't do ANYTHING but taxes this time of year!  I have been sanding the driveway and spreading the non-toxic ice-melt over it, but you know how big our driveway is&#8230; that's about all I can handle. I'd be afraid of using the ice melt where the grass is&#8230; I know it's non-toxic for people and pets&#8230; It doesn't say anything about plants!
> 
> Don't tell me about daffodils, or you may find Kodi and me on your door step, looking fro a place to wait out the rest of the winter!!!


Come on down!


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