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May 26, 2010

So! Much! Fun!

I might have mentioned a time or three that my puppy is... unique.

It's taken us over a year to foster her interest in balls. Like so many other things, she used to be terrified of them. Then, she just didn't know what to make of them. Recently, she's started chasing about 65% of balls thrown her general direction, pouncing on about half of those, and bringing back... well, almost none of them. But still! She's learning that balls can be fun!

Today, at the tail end of our 45-minute walk run-and-play, we walked past the tennis courts. I hadn't brought along the key, so I couldn't take her in to run around off-leash. But there happened to be a tennis ball on the lawn just outside the fence, and. She wanted to play.

This, as I try my best not to let her get tangled in or choked by the leash. What thanks do I get? She tries to run me into a tree!


She's been passed out on the couch ever since. *g*

May 12, 2010

Patio Puppy Potty

I'm roommateless for the next three weeks. It's weird! Some of it's nice: I can make a frozen banana smoothie for breakfast without worrying that I'm waking anyone up with the blender, and the animals are super-duper cuddly and attention-starved after they've suddenly been home alone all day (evidence: Cymbeline currently curled up and purring in my lap like she hasn't had human contact in months). But mostly it's too quiet and a little lonely, and no fun watching my TV shows by myself, so I'll be glad to have Gen back in early June!

Which, really, isn't the point of all this.

Knowing this absence of Gen's was coming, and knowing that for the fist time since adopting Chloe, I do not work close enough to run home at lunch, we had to figure out a way for her to be okay alone all day long.

Our solution? A homemade patio puppy potty. I got a plastic tray, filled it with gravel, and topped it with sod. I put it together about three weeks ago (changing the sod weekly, of course) and have been diligently spraying it with something that's supposed to make a puppy want to Pee Here. In fact, it might even be called "Pee Here". I then put her smaller crate outside, some toys, and her food and water.

Since setting up the puppy potty, we've been leaving the sliding door open while someone's home, and Chloe's voluntarily spent just about every minute possible outside. That fact is the only thing that makes me okay with leaving her out there while I'm at work. (That, and the fact the weather has been a beautiful and temperate low-70's.)

Up until now, Chloe seems to have been ignoring the puppy potty. She'd sniff it here and there, but spent most of her outdoor time in her crate. Yesterday, though, I came home to this:

Chloe using her grass... I guess she likes it!

Well, I thought, she's enjoying the grass, at least. It's a start!

But then TODAY, I came home to discover she'd actually used it! For its intended purpose! HURRAH! Which means that I feel less guilty about cutting her four daily walks down to three, and leaving her all by her lonesome all day long. I mean, you should see the sad, pleading look she gives me through the sliding glass door every morning as I'm about to go to work!

Now, if we could only get her to be less afraid of humans, we'd have a perfect doggy situation.

May 07, 2010

YOU?!

There's this woman I used to know. Let's call her Ms. D. She is a really awful human being, truly. A typical encounter with her would doubtless include something along the lines of this: "Kate, I really like your hair today! It looks SO much better than it usually does!"

Yeah.

It didn't stop there, and actually got much, much worse. Any compliment, if she deemed you worthy of complimenting, was followed by a jab. Let's just say I haven't missed dealing with Ms. D in the several years since I last had to.

The other day, I ended up in a room with her, and then a friend of mine who I really was happy to see. I told my friend I'd gotten engaged, and he was all, "CONGRATULATIONS! That's wonderful!" and gave me a hug.

The commotion brought Ms. D from across the room. "What? What happened? What's going on?"

"Kate got engaged!" said my friend.

Ms. D looked at me, clearly shocked. "YOU?!" she asked, incredulous.

"What do you mean, 'ME?!'" I asked, laughing. I mean, you have to laugh, right?

"You! You are getting married! I never would have imagined! Congratulations!" And then she hugged me.

HILARIOUS! So, so typical.