More Dog

What can I tell ya. Life as we know it has changed forever it seems ... this truly reminds me of our new-baby days. Every waking moment is focussed on the dog. Every conversation is about - the dog. Daily chores and outings are planned around - the dog (and her nap schedule - sound familiar?). Those phone calls from dh checking in through the day? No longer about much other than - the dog. And the occasional home renovation question (that's a topic for another post, though). When we get away from the dog and have a nice dinner out together, what's the conversation about? The dog. And I won't even get into preparations for leaving the house with the dog ... it's the "just let me load up the diaper bag/playpen/stroller/cooler" thing all over again.

But, I can see that it is getting a bit easier day by day. Some of it is us getting used to our new reality; some of it is Lexi getting used to her new reality. She really is a very smart dog, and she is learning (and growing) by leaps and bounds. A week ago I was at wit's end trying to deal with her constant chewing and frequent nipping. I just realized today that she really hasn't tried chewing any of our furniture lately (our shoes - a whole 'nother story), and the nipping is less frequent, at least with me (the boy - a whole 'nother story).

So to date she has learned Sit, Down, Come, Stay (stated in order of how often she actually obeys these commands, from almost always to less than 50% of the time). She has learned that when I make coffee in the morning, my next move is to get her food ready (so she alternates between going completely nuts and sitting pretty every 10 seconds). She has learned to pee and poo on the grass (and not in her crate, or on the back deck; and has had very few accidents on the floor, the latest being several days ago). She has learned that the crate is a good thing, and has even been known to walk into it without coaxing on occasion. She has learned that actually WALKING when going for a walk is more fun than lying down in one spot. She's still working on learning that not tugging on the leash is more fun than choking herself by tugging on the leash ... but we're getting there.

We have learned things too. We have learned to be ever-vigilant and not let her out of our sight for a minute. We have learned that a puppy can run faster than a quarterback on Red Bull - especially if she's carrying a shoe in her mouth. We have learned that it is possible to spend stupid amounts of money in the toy aisle at PetSmart. We have learned that the only thing as interesting as the consistency of baby poo, is the consistency of puppy poo. We have learned that as we have increased in years, we have decreased in patience.

And finally, we have learned the reason why puppies are so darned cute: their continued presence in human homes depends on it!

So let's see, what else can I tell ya about life ...
-no scrapping in at least 4 weeks
-the Girl hasn't received her Gr. 11 report card yet; pretty late this year
-our plans for spending the last week in August in New Hampshire and Cape Cod have morphed into plans to stay close to home and rent a cottage instead (side-effect of dog ownership when said dog is too young for kennels)
-I have 8 working days left before vacation number 2
-I have serious sleep deprivation
-the Girl and I will be taking a girls' trip to Montreal soon
-I have come to the conclusion, having replaced my boss for all of 6 working days now, that I don't want to become Director General anytime soon, and maybe even nevah

Ciao everyone! See ya next time I come up for air!