A fine day

After re-reading my last post I realized I was having a very bad day. My fault, not Wally's, I don't think dogs have bad days. Everyday is exciting and fun for them to begin. I suppose cat food consumption could make for a rocky start but not ruin an entire day.

We discovered something great yesterday, Wally was very chew-frustrated. Despite purchasing over one hundred dollars in toys for chewing, squeaking and fetching none of them hold his interest for any length of time. So I decided to journey with Carissa to Fred Meyer in search of something new and exciting we could pick up to try. I spent about fifteen minutes reading labels to ensure the toy was manufactured in the US so Wally wouldn't take in any chemicals. Although we're still waiting for half a pencil, a pen cap, eraser, sticks, grass and possibly a bottle cap to pass, we don't want him eating formaldehyde. Carissa finally performed a mini-intervention and demanded we choose something. We settled on a package of pig ears. Cooked to perfection. Processed in the USA. Funny this would be most important to me. I've been making my best efforts to buy locally and know where my food comes from but WINCO meat is listed at the store to be from the US, Canada OR Mexico... Not one but three possible places. I wonder if one package of ribs could contain it's own little diverse pool of pork. Three nations of swine, harmoniously wrapped in Styrofoam and plastic wrap. Foreign relations specialists should take note. If one supermarket can make three nations of meat work together and talk us into purchasing them for pennies a pound, why can't we all learn to get along? I digress..... Back to the pig ears for Wally. When first presented with these triangles of roasted perfection, Wally picked up and dropped them for about five minutes. A bit confused yet intrigued. Then the flavor hit is canine cortex, he bear hugged the ear and didn't come up for air until the last morsel was sent in most likely too large of a size, down the hatch. We were gifted as a result with almost two hours of peace and quiet. Wally was happy, we were happy. Everybody was a winner. Things went so well I decided to let him have another this afternoon at lunchtime. For some reason, I decided to make sure he was okay with sharing his prized possession. We don't need a food aggressive pooch on our hands bogarting his pig ears. I took the ear once, Wally gave me a WTF look. I gave it back. He hunkered down over the ear, I attempted another exchange. Treat for pig ear. He let go a low wolf-like growl. He attempted to run away with his prize, perhaps Wally lacks moderation when it comes to pig ears.... We all have our vices..

Just a bad day so far.....

Sometimes I feel completely in love with Wally, close to how I feel about Carissa. The kind of love that makes you clean off a kids ice cream cone when it starts to melt on a hot summer day. Before Carissa, I used to watch mothers take their child's ice cream cone and lick off the slobbered on melting ice cream and just cringe. Shivering a little and wondering how a person could get to a place in their head where consumption of slobbery ice cream was acceptable. Granted nobody wants their kid to be the sticky, dirty kid but I understand now, you love the kid so much you don't care you're licking their slobbery ice cream. The other day Wally had dirt and possibly slobber on his little nose, I actually wiped it off with my hand without even thinking...

With great love comes great frustration. I remember some days getting to the point of counting how many minutes until Carissa's next nap time. I felt a similar level of frustration with Wally this morning. He started out at 5:30, we went out for a potty break. I am attempting to adjust his schedule to a 6:30 wake time so after our potty break I put him back to bed. Ten minutes later there was an emergency whine, back outside we went, I was lazy this time and didn't put on the leash. He took care of his business and proceeded to lay down in the yard and eat sticks. I didn't put on shoes but trudged across the cold ground anyway to retrieve him, gritting my teeth and reminding myself he's just a puppy. At 6:00am he again announced the day was needing to begin with a series of howls. I refused to get up at this point. At 6:30 I let him out of his crate, we went back outside for a potty break, leashed up this time. Back inside we went. I decided coffee was a must at this point in the morning. For some reason, anytime I'm in the kitchen, Wally thinks something good is being prepared for him. I have not once fed him "people" food but he whines and barks. I couldn't find the blasted lime juice to use for the barking, how I can lose a neon green round container is beyond me. Wally gave me a pleading look which I took for him being hungry but..... the look turned out to be one of "I need to take care of some business and since you aren't getting the point, I'll just go ahead and put it over here". I attempted to get him outside but he already commenced launch sequence. So we just ended up sitting outside for a minute to hopefully reinforce the thought of the potty is outside....... Back inside we went to clean up the mess..... When I purchased a case of bleach wipes last year from Costco I thought I was being a little ridiculous. Not now, I was accidentally planning ahead!

I showered, Wally barked, I dried off, Wally barked, I dressed, Wally barked. At this point, I was feeling like squeezing his head a little. I decided a walk was in order for both of us. We leashed up, I noticed how frayed the end of the leash was becoming. Wally chews sometimes while he's dragging the leash around the house. We were not outside two minutes before Wally stepped in mud and then jumped on my work pants. I remembered I was going to wear sweats on our walks from now on. Too late now..... Two more blocks in and he was pulling again. I attempted to bring him back with treats, he comes back only to take off again. Two more blocks and the leash snaps. Wally takes off with reckless abandon. He then realizes he is alone. Stops, turns back to me and returns at a low to the ground super-pup sprint. I looped the leash around his collar and resisted the urge to scream. We returned home, me more frustrated and him still full of energy even though he didn't want to walk anywhere. How can I wear the dog out if he won't walk?

I'm sitting here writing realizing I am the problem.... I love the dog but I am so frustrated with him!!! Puppy class Saturday, perhaps some extra sessions will be in order.

Lowering Standards

I believe life is filled with compromise, give and take, ebb and flow, win and lose etc. etc. etc...... Each thing I take on usually first has a vision or perhaps more accurately a fantasy. For example, I used to high jump, I would see myself effortlessly floating over the bar at six feet. While this was the vision, the reality was I cleared 5' 51/2", yes there's a 1/2 in there and it's important. Or when planning a hiking trip you see yourself poised on a cliff overlooking a breathtaking valley, face not dirty, no mosquito bites, no blisters, no thoughts in your head of eating all the food in your backpack so it will be lighter, just you, a vision in front of the camera capturing your bliss. There's a point to this story....

I awoke to Wally flopping around impatiently and whining in his crate at 5:30am, otherwise known as O'dark 30 and damn early on a Saturday but alas what makes dogs great is time does not matter. We love them for this quality. Except at 5:30am on a Saturday... I am all for seizing the day, just not at 5:30, on the first Saturday of a 3 day weekend. I drug myself out of the sweet spot I'd just found again in my pillows and stood up feeling around for clothes because I'd slept in my boy short drawz. I couldn't find my robe, couldn't locate any sweatpants, didn't have one pair of pajama pants in my dresser..... So, I did what any self-respecting animal lover would do and I went to Wally's crate, told him good morning handsome, complimented his wagger tail and stood on our front porch in the middle of Vancouver in my underwear. When I envisioned our time together as dog and owner, him contemplating a good pee spot while I shivered in my underwear, was not part of the vision. Nothing's perfect though, as he sleeps now exhausted on the kitchen floor after a full day of playing, all seems right. Perhaps since he stayed up late, we won't be up so early tomorrow. Either way, I'll make sure my pants are close!

Disgusting

Wally will eat anything..... I mean anything. If it's on the floor, and he can pick it up and get it in his mouth. He's going to try to chew and swallow the item. This morning he found something he was so pleased with on Carissa's floor there was no getting it from him. Our cats are fluffy and sometimes projectile the occasional hairball. Last night one of them worked one up and left it neatly on Carissa's floor. Wally and I went to give Carissa her first wake up call. He happened upon this unattended treasure and sprinted off to further examine his prize. I found him by our front door attempting to hide and protect this delicious find. Normally the presentation of a hot dog treat will force him to drop anything, not cat puke though, oh no, he gulped and then snatched the hot dog treat down. He didn't eat much of his breakfast.... Too full from hairballs.

Puppy Talk

A confession and question. Why is it when communicating with Wally, I feel the need to revert to this high pitched, chooo choo choo voice? I am a grown up asking my 10 week old puppy "Where's your Wally wagger"?, in that annoying voice that comes out of me that even I hate, bending over him rubbing his little puppy soft ears which is the canine equivalent of gently pinching a baby's cute little chubby cheeks. He looks up expectantly wagging his tail which will soon be a one wag clutter clearing machine. Eagerly awaiting what he hopes will be a hot dog treat because that choo choo choo voice usually means something good is about to happen.

Wally takes a stand against technology

Wally's day consists of the following:

• Several walks/runs where he is bribed to keep going with hot dog treats
• Chewing
• Asking for a hot dog treat because he is so very hungry all the time
• Surfing the floor for objects that are not edible yet might be good to swallow (pencils, plaster, wood, nail polish)
• More chewing
• A short game of fetch
• Attacking Carissa

From any room in the house you can hear Carissa scold him and redirect while she plays on the computer, his tantrum escalating if she continues to ignore him or attempts to do anything that does not directly involve him. I believe he finally had enough of her ignoring him for all of these other electronic toys. In an effort to get her outside to play he chose something that would have an immediate impact, a direct hit to her fun... He chose, the IPOD synch cable. He was so passionate in his pursuit of killing this Nano beast that he chewed the chord into three pieces before I could take the three steps between us to trade him. Nano chord for acceptable chew toy. Another lesson in puppy proofing..

Puppy School

Wally performed well on day one of puppy school. All of the proud pet owners lined the room. The purse dog section was sanctioned to one portion of the room while those of us who had not considered poop size in our dog choice were seated at the other end. Our hounds squirmed, barked, chewed, evaluated each other. The purse dogs just sat in their owner's laps, happy, no biting, no chewing. The equivalent of little stuffed animals. When released to play they batted each other playfully utilizing excellent manners. The adult poodle the trainer brought in to teach manners to the puppies only scolded one little fluff ball the entire time. Our hound group however, was immediately attacked by the alpha frizz ball. She went from one to the next informing them with a snarl that NO they could not get all up in her business without asking politely. Even after asking politely they still would not be allowed. Labs apparently are not born with a need, want or respect for personal space. Wally respected this fine alpha lady. I think he might even have a crush. Carissa was bored to tears in puppy class and stared longingly at the docile purse dogs snuggled into their owners laps. I did however find her curled up on the floor snuggling Wally as he slept that afternoon. I think they'll be good friends after all.

Hot Sauce

Wally nips and bites like many puppies do. Completely normal behavior yet one I would like to stop immediately. My calm-assertive-alpha state of mind apparently is not enough to curb this desire in him.... So I moved on from the dog whisperer book to my 365 days of dog training (thank you again Vanessa!) which has proven to be very useful.. Suggestion one: Rub hot sauce on hands and put on pant legs, puppy nips hands/pant legs, puppy does not like taste, puppy stops. EXCELLENT I say to myself. This dog friendly dog training is really going well. I might not be a dog whisperer but I have 30 bottles of hot sauce. I chose chipotle tobasco sauce. Perfect! I rubbed it all over my hands, put it on my pant legs and capped the bottle smiling to myself at what a good dog mom I was going to make. I pictured my grown Wally and I walking on a beach in the sunset, him perfectly trained at my side. It was then I realized my hands felt like they were on FIRE! The hot sauce idea while great, not so much a good one after one has suffered multiple nipping cuts... The burning was killing me. Wally then attacked. Got a taste of my hot sauce and proceeded to lick it all off of my hands. Such a good helpful puppy. At least my hands didn't burn anymore.

Today I Showered with a Dog

I woke up at 5:00am to Wally's plea for a bathroom run. I let Wally out of his crate and together we trudged outside. Me wearing shorts and a t-shirt and no shoes cursing the rain. I know we need rain, but really? I gave wally his hot dog treat and put him back in his crate hoping to get a bit more sleep. 30 minutes later Wally was ready to start the day. My choices, let him whine and wake up everyone else or drag myself out of bed and hope he won't bite my ankles too much while I make my morning coffee.
I decided a shower was in order to try to shake off some of my sleepiness. I left the bathroom door cracked a bit. I heard the door push open and the shower curtain moved. Wally bounded into the shower, attacked the streams of water. Barked at me a few times. Grabbed Carissa's shower scrubby and leaped from the shower soaking wet to spread joy, cheer and water all throughout the house all the while our cats watching wondering what wrong they committed in this world to be flung into such a hideous state of affairs. Life with Wally.....