Doggy Chronicles: Wonder Dog

dreamer

Poor Mississippi hasn’t been getting the star status she deserves on this blog. She’s been doing so great, there’s just less to talk about. It seems every week she gets better and better. We continue to take her on her weekly outing to the Lucky Lab. Last week we sat next to a table full of kids. I had to keep her on a short leash but she was very nice, just sniffing a little girl’s shirt and letting the girl pet her. She settled right in this week at the pub. She’s recognizing when she is supposed to settle in and stay put.

Yesterday we took her on the longest car trip to date. We drove to McMinnville, went to a park, had some lunch outside at DQ and headed back. McMinnville is a little over an hour from Portland. She did great in the car. She only whined a little bit. We’re realizing she’s ready for more public appearances. I think she likes just being with us wherever we go, even if there’s not a lot of doggy fun for her. We may be ready to try a whole meal out with her. We still don’t feel comfortable taking her off leash. She’s too reactionary. If we ran into a cat or even another dog, she could potentially take off and not listen to our calls. She also loves kids and wants to be right in their face, it makes me very nervous because if a little kid starts to run from her, she’d probably chase after them, thinking it was time to play. So off leash at a regular park or place with small kids is just not going to happen right now. I wonder how long it will take before we can let her off her leash outside of fenced dog parks. She might just need to get older and more mellow. We wish she could hang out on the front stoop with us, just like the neighbors do with their dogs. She has a strong need to “protect” her territory so she barks like crazy at people, dogs and cats that get near our house.

hot pepper

She’s staying out of my garden more than she used to, although in this picture she is eating a very hot pepper she has just stolen from the garden. The lattice around my most productive part of the garden has really helped too. She’s developed a new habit in the garden that I really appreciate. She’s taken to finding the giant slugs. She carries them to the center of the yard and she then proceeds to roll on them. It’s kind of gross and very curious but I guess she likes the scent of slug. Whatever it is, I appreciate that she’s finding the big mamas and squashing them. It’s been a pretty brutal battle between me and the slugs since we moved her.

We rarely have to close the bedroom doors now. Occasionally she’ll grab a pair of socks or a shoe and wave them in front of us when we aren’t paying her enough attention, but now instead of playing keep away, she’ll just go crawl under the dining room table or in her crate and drop the item. I make sure she gets plenty of positive attention when she does this because it really beats her tearing our belongings up.

She hasn’t gotten in any scuffles at day care lately. For a while it was happening once a week. I get so nervous about it. Lately I’ve been swamped with work so life just hasn’t been as much fun for her. I’m surprized she doesn’t have more temper tantrums. I’ve been having some of my own, feeling trapped in my office. Believe me Mississippi, I’d rather be at the dog park too, but we gotta pay then rent, kid. I’m sorry things can be so boring sometimes. Today we are taking her on a hike somewhere, I need to look through our dog friendly Portland book and find a nice trail for us.

Next weekend we have friends coming from out of town. I can’t wait to show her off. She’s such an amazing dog.
cute new collar


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