Dog, Interrupted

Here's Bartlett looking a bit like Taylor Lautner mid-metamorphosis.
No, I haven't seen any of the movies. But I did see Toy Story 3 today and it was super great.
Bartlett has metamorphosed into a good dog! She is able to stay home alone for over three hours while the two of us go out and take in some adult doings — like watching Toy Story. (The truth is, I have barely left her in over 10 months; maybe five or six times.)
Well, she's ready now. She stays in her mesh playpen with the zip-on roof (she is a good jumper and could easily scale those prison walls). We put her food, water, chew stick and toys in there, and she just lies on the blanket and goes deep, coma deep, for the whole time. The other day I actually had to wake her up when I got home.
She can still be a twitchy mess. Sometimes she just needs to run in frantic circles for no reason at all.
But my observation is that she is becoming reasonable. She will come away from the fence (there's a dog next door) when I call, now. A little liver treat helps. She will wait, most of the time, when we implore her to. She will allow us to attach the leash, and she will even pee and poo while on the leash. These are all such important Real World skills.
She has always been a nice dog. Now, she's a friendly dog. A little too bouncy around new people, but she's mellowing.
Gah. It has been a trial.