So, on my days off I've been working on "Come in!" when Dudley is in the yard. He suffers from that backyard-induced deafness so common with smart, busy dogs who have agendas of their own. He has been dragged out of the jasmine by the harness more than a few times, and has had his vocabulary expanded by some extremely colorful profanity in the process.
So, today we have made enormous progress - in two repetitions he learned, "Good boys who Come IN get treats!" and now comes in willingly when called and heads for the treat jar in the kitchen. Um, that was TWO repetitions.
And he's too damn smart because he figured out how it works on the second trip and is now playing me. Dudley asks to go out every two minutes, so he can be a Good Boy and Come IN when called, and Get a Treat. He is knocking at the door even as I type this, so he can go out and come in again. Just to show me what a Good Boy he is now. And I don't want to say no, because he is 99% housebroken and does ask to go out when he has to go, and if I did not actually SEE the poop leave his ass, I may be Wrongfully Accusing Him of Snarfing Snacks when he actually has a reason to ask to go out. And I think he has figured that out, too.
This puppy is not quite 5 months old. I expect him to do my taxes next year.
Oh, and the Boys give Scooby Snacks a big Hell Yeah! Dudley will eat anything and his opinion means nothing, but Murphy, who is a short, hairy gourmet and rejects 97% of dog products, loves these things even more than the expensive gourmet biscuits. This is an unpaid testimonial, though if Del Monte would like to put the boys in a commercial, we could talk.
The gray Ribby Cardie back is about 8-9 inches long. Love Plymouth Encore. It's SOFT and it totally looks like 100% wool, except, uh, it's softer than any basic worsted I've ever felt. I love merino, I love cashmere, I love all that stuff, don't get me wrong, and Cascade 220 is my favorite workhorse wool, but this stuff is good. Very good.
After Roof Man came and we spent about 12 minutes flat signing the contract and picking out a shingle color (I went with a gray-brown, the Ultimate Neutral, so the house can be painted any color at a later date) I hit the nearest mall for a bit. Two new pair of jeans, For Work - and I cracked up when I compared the new Levis 515s to the ones I was wearing - I don't need to buy "distressed" jeans, I do it myself, thanks. And then, in Macy's - SCORE! I have needed a new purse for a long time. I carry this big, lovely Frye leather bag that weighs a ton empty, and then I load it with all my worldly goods, and I have honestly felt my wrist go "pop" when I heft the sucker off the passenger seat. But I am particular re purses - it MUST have a pocket for my phone, and a pocket for a PDA is good, and enough room for wallet, sunglasses, brush, makeup, of course. And a strap just long enough to tuck up under my arm, but not long enough to be dangly and annoying. Just a few purse rules, you know. And on the sale table in Macy's I found a cocoa leather Fossil bag marked down twice from $118, and I had a $20 gift card I've been carrying around since Christmas, and I walked out with my lovely new bag with all the right pockets for $40 with tax. A very good start to the week.
I did an hour at the gym today and will do an hour every day this week. Yes, I will.
I'd nominate Dudley to run for president in the next election. I think he'd do well with voters. He's smart, and certainly has the cuteness factor voters like. Now that he's learned to respond to "come in", I think he's a shoe-in.
ReplyDeleteOscar actually cleans up after himself. He keeps his toys in "his" room, and when he wants one, he goes to get it, and when he's done, he takes it back to that room, then comes back out to play with the people or cats.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get Oscar to train Ken.