The Prairie

We walk through the parking lot twice a day. It's overgrown with weeds. I call it the 'prairie' and imagine that I am a pioneer with my faithful hound. The puppy prefers to think of our strolls as 'patrols' and insists that he has to stop periodically for a thorough sniffing because he's working on his 'case.'

In the morning there are a lot of magpies, cackling loudly.

"Why don't you let me off leash so I can catch one for you?"

"It's ok. I don't think I want a dead magpie."

"Everybody wants a dead magpie," he pouts.

"No, really, I'm ok. Thanks."

Puppy gazes longingly at the magpies in the trees, with one forepaw half raised in hope. He thinks to himself: "Tomorrow she will change her mind and let me hunt magpie."

He particularly despises magpies because "They are mocking me!"

Welcome back

to my life.

(photo credit: Richard)

Summer time at home

me (hot day, bare-feet);

and the dog ('don't talk to me. it's too hot.')

I spent this morning

running around the flat with puppy, arms flailing, shouting excitedly and inexplicably. You'd like my dog.

"Who, me?"

The pleasures of owning a puppy

Got home late, let the puppy out. he charges to the door, and then starts to pee. I stop him and pick him up to take him down stairs (to stop him peeing in the lift). He then starts to paw my face, so then I was in the lift, with dog pee all over my face. Just another day with puppy.

Usually if I scold him he lies belly down and sometimes puts his paws over his face. Then when I've finished jabbing my finger and raising my voice, he'll come over and lick my hands or knees and generally cozy up to me. The worst is when he makes a mess that I need to clean up (like when he pulled out a whole roll of toilet paper and danced around with it), so I need to put him in a separate room right after he's been scolded. Then he cries inconsoably. I think it's because he thinks that I'm still mad at him (true) and that our relationship will never be repaired (false).

Like Charles Chulz says, happiness is a warm puppy. I think I'm going to paint that on my wall.

小光

At first he didn't know how anything worked and cried a lot - when he's alone, when he's tired, when he's being reprimanded for misbehaving, when the lift doors open and close, when normal doors open in his face or close too close to his hind legs, when he's washed, when he's in his crate, when he's not in his crate, when he's leashed, when he's walked, when he has to have shots etc. etc. etc.

Now he's house trained, he can play fetch, he can come here and sit down and he never snatches biscuits from my hands anymore. His fur has almost all grown back, and he knows how to be good or at least pretend to be good so someone will give him a treat. He only cries now when I reprimand him or when he's nervous. He almost never barks (except when you take too long to give him his food). He's still teething so he chews absolutely everything. Recently he's become fond of chewing feet. We're still working on that.

Phew. The first 2 weeks were hell. I'm glad we got through that.

It appears

that I have adopted a dog.