Mystery Poop and More Changes

Having six dogs is a LOT of dogs, especially when they are not "outdoor dogs" (a term I never heard of until I moved to the Midwest) and spend 80% of their time inside with us. No, they aren't Great Danes so they don't take up a lot of space. But there's a lot of hair, you have to watch where you're walking - particularly if you're up in the middle of the night - and the occasional Mystery Poop.
That's what my husband calls it.
We get up in the morning and the house doesn't smell so fresh. Someone didn't bother to wake us when nature called, and left a deposit somewhere in the house. But like outdoors, I can pretty much tell who the culprit is by its location.
Dining room - Shiloh
Base of the stairs - Daisy
These are the biggest offenders. Blitz and Moto do a good job of trying to wake up someone if they have the Urge.
Lately we've gotten gift packages as often as twice a week. With both of us working pretty much full time now, cleaning up takes precious time we could use for getting ready for work.
This gorgeous Sunday morning found us discussing the Mystery Poop problem, as there was a pretty impressive package at the base of the stairs.
Since Dusty and Pinch are crated now, hubby suggested we crate ALL the dogs at night. Not a bad idea. But here's the catch: we have six dogs. Where are all the crates going to be? We do not live in a large house with nice big rooms. So the Crate Discussion began. I hauled up crates and arranged them a certain way, only to come back and find hubby had arranged them another way. There were a few tense exchanges and more re-arrangement. Finally, the compromise: I agreed to give up a piece of furniture in the bedroom to allow for more crates. One more arrangement. While our bedroom looks more like a Doggie Ritz Carlton, it works.
Now that the crate problem has been solved, I realized all the crates need Coop Cups in them. Can't have a thirsty dog in the middle of the night. Plastic vs. metal - again, hubby and I discussed the virtues of which to purchase. I vastly prefer metal. While it's a bit more expensive I think the water tastes better and they are easier to clean and maintain. Hubby volunteered to go to PetSmart to purchase more. We'll see who comes out the winner here.
Tonight will be the first night in my dog-owning history where all dogs are crated. None on the bed, no dogs strewn on furniture and in hallways. There will be no mystery poop in the morning. I wonder how they will like this new arrangement.
Dusty is actually doing much better sleeping in the crate. Erik and I are sleeping better. We'll see if the other four like this change as much as we do.