Dog days

We have the cutest pug you'll ever see, no, the cutest; cuter than any you've ever seen in any TV movie or commercial and way cuter than any you've ever seen at the dog park. But let me just tell you, cute ain't enough sometimes. He thinks if you sit down, you are his bed and he instantly jumps on your lap.Pillows from our bed are his bed too. All visitors are coming to play with him, at least in his little doggie brain. Parker's food is his food, especially cookies. If you get out the peanut butter, you'd better give him a spoonful or he'll stare you to death. We still put him in a crate when we leave so he won't get into any mischief, namely trash and dirty laundry. Recently we put his crate upstairs in our guest bedroom. Since the move, he has been "marking" his new territory. And boy does that make me mad!He's 6 years old for goodness sake, he should not be peeing all over our house. So like the good doggie mommy I am, I thought what can I do to make him stop? (I really don't want his dog stank crate in the kitchen anymore so that is not an option.) Remembering the advice of Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic, I decided a daily walk was just the thing my little Max needs, I'll wear him out so he doesn't have enough energy to pee in my closet. I should mention my husband has to be at work around 6:30 AM and is home for dinner most nights and back to work for evening events so trying to find time to walk Max regularly was a challenge. So for the past week or so, I have been taking him in the pitch black cold at 5:30 AM on a walk hoping to stop the spraying in our house. Getting up to walk him is brutal. I literally have to drag myself out of bed and I like to consider myself a morning person but like I've said before, being cold makes me cranky. I am just hoping it stops his current bad behavior. The only thing that helps me is to be organized. I keep baggies, a flashlight and his leash together so I can grab them when we head out the door. I also try to remember to have my clothes ready to layer on the night before. Otherwise, I don't think we'd make it. Hopefully, walking my little pug man will help us both relieve some stress or else one of us will have to go, and I don't mean potty!