Diaries I Read:
We�re going to our first puppy school class tonight. It�s about six months overdue, at the very least. Dixie doesn�t come with us tonight; it�s just an introduction class for the �parents.�
I�ve been to obedience school before, with my parents� dog, so I know what to expect. What I expect tonight is the speech that �there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.� No arguments here.
Keeping in mind that WE are the ones to blame, here is a list of �bad� things Dixie does:
� Poops on the floor
� Pees on the floor
� Jumps on our table and/or countertops whenever we�re not looking and there�s anything tempting on them (e.g. the cat, a plate of brownies, a sparkly decorative apple�)
� Runs across the street (if she didn�t do this, I might be able to handle all her other bad habits)
� Tears up Kleenex, Q-tips, paper towels, etc.
� Chews up shoes
� Shreds books
� Ignores us when we call her
� Ignores us when we tell her to stay
� Barks at people outside our house
Now, she doesn�t do ALL of these things ALL the time. She hasn�t destroyed a book for at least two months. Ditto for the shoes. But that�s basically because she�s continually proven herself to be entirely untrustworthy, so any time we leave the house, we put her in her crate.
We don�t like putting her in her crate (especially because now she has begun running away from us and hiding � under tables, under the bed, etc. � whenever she knows we�re getting ready to leave), but we don�t have a choice. We�ve given her many chances, and she�s blown it.
(It�s not that she really even minds the crate. Once she�s in there, she�s fine. We kept her crated a lot when she was a really young puppy, so she�s used to it. We�re really not cruel parents!)
Anyway, I�m sure this will be the beginning of a great adventure. I really hope she�ll be a good student. I don�t want to be the parent of the flunkie!
Working at home - Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
Toronto - Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
On the way to Toronto... - Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2004
A Good Day - Monday, Nov. 08, 2004
Another letter - Thursday, Nov. 04, 2004