Tuesday, August 03, 2010

The Dog Dreams of Summer

Bartlett's first birthday is next week.
It couldn't come too soon, even though it's always sad to see puppyhood end.
But this puppy was a pogo stick, a motorcycle, an escape artist. Hard to handle, unpredictable.
To all my wise friends who suggested I'd have a rough time of it, and then she would begin to mellow out, you were right. Thanks for the advice.
Her maturation, plus the incessant training we give her, have produced a nice dog. She will come when we call. Stranger (and better) still, she will wait when we tell her to. In the middle of whatever she's doing, she'll stand stock still and let me pick her up for nuzzles. She finally figured out that the nuzzles were far better than the joy she got from being defiant.
She's not perfect. I suppose no dog is.
But she's nice. Smart. Athletic. Cute. Cuddly.
She doesn't beg for human food, because we never give her any.
She has only slept in one place since we brought her home: our bed.
She has developed a gentle independent nature, where she will just wander off into another room and chew on a stick, alone.
She is comfortable staying by herself when we go out. We zip her into her playpen and she goes to sleep. Easy.
She thinks we really like her poo, because she watches us wrap it up in a napkin and put it in a "special place."
She's a big girl.

16 comments:

Nancy Ewart said...

What a charming birthday ode to your dog (you know, I kept on typing god) but I know that's not true. Anyway, I'm glad to read that all your hard work has paid off. So, is she ready to meet the rest of the Bay Area Blogging tribe?

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Awww, lovely, except the poo, which is one of the main reasons we don't do dogs, we don't want to deal with the poo!

Hungry Dog said...

Glad you are enjoying her! She is beautiful.

cookiecrumb said...

Nancy: I certainly should introduce her to my friends, but there's still one behavior we're working on: Overfriendliness. Believe it or not. You'd get a faceful of lick and and your clothes torn to shreds.

Mouse: Her poo is discrete, little lawn cigars. Snatch 'em up with the damask. (No stinky box in the house!)

Dog: I'm only just realizing how nice it is to snuggle with her. There was no snuggle until now. She's the dog I want, I can finally say.

Zoomie said...

Is this her birthday or the anniversary of when you adopted her? Glad you are having fun with her.

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: Remember back last winter when I was thisclose to having you come see her? SHE WASN'T READY.

This is our estimate of her birthday, based on when the Humane Society got her (at about a week old, we think). We didn't bring her home until October.

So, a little more conditioning (and I think I'll call the Humane Society for a little help), and we'll have a get-together.

Kris said...

Happy Birthday Bartlett! CC, I've been enjoying your posts about raising her thus far, perhaps all the digging in the garden might come in useful one day :-)

Chilebrown said...

Happy Birthday Bartlett in advance. Oscar sends a big old smooch your way.

Zoomie said...

No hurry, but you should know I _prefer_ shredded clothes and puppy spit. :-)

Zoomie said...

Oh, and the Marin Humane Society website has good info on common behavior problems and how to solve them. Under the "Behavior and Training" tab, you can download handouts on a variety of topics, including "Jumping up." Free!

Greg said...

People train dogs and dogs train people. One sweet pooch you have there.

cookiecrumb said...

Little Pots & Pans: Hi! She does dig, but only in the potato patch. She knows there's food down there. Otherwise, she has been rather respectful of the garden! I don't think I want to encourage digging. :(

Chilebrown: Bartlett replies "Arf! Arf!" which is doggie for "thanks."

Zoomie: OK, then. I'll see if we still have that vacuum cleaner.
Also, I just visited the MHS web site and read the "jumps up" advice. Pretty much what I thought. We might need your help on this, as a visitor!

Greg: After a year, I think she's finally done training us. It's like we got a whole new dog.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i'm just going to say that i loved reading that... and i'm glad you're a real family.

cookiecrumb said...

Claudia: We are a real family! Happily skipping, tra-la!
xoxo

Kitikata-san said...

Happy Birthday Bartlett, you cute puppy! Your humans love you!

cookiecrumb said...

Kitikata-san: Bartlett says "purrr."