Lesson learned

The dog gods hate me. They think it's really funny to knock me back a couple of steps just when I'm making progress with Maya. 'Oh no!' they say. 'You're not out of the woods, you're not free, you're not going to have a normal dog. Nope, you need a little more psychotic in your life'. I tried to tell them I really don't, that I'm newly pregnant, planning a wedding and my stress level is actually kind of high. I don't really need a misbehaving dog on top of things. Stupid dog gods (say that five times fast).

So Maya has been really g-o-o-d lately (trying not to jinx things, but honestly it's kind of too late). Sunday, we sat and watched tv and she actually chilled on the sofa with us, happily chewing her bone and not bothering a soul. We were a little family and it was so nice. I kept telling Drew how shocked I was that she was being so g-o-o-d. I should have known.

She's been really good with the housetraining thing as well. We've been letting her sleep outside the crate and with the exception of one accident it's been going well. We were sound asleep one night and I heard the unmistakable sound of pee on hardwood. The pee started coming out, I think it surprised her and she tried to walk away from the pee. She left a lovely trail in the sitting room that Drew had to clean up at 11 o'clock at night. Why we decided to press our luck after that, I have no idea.

We started leaving her out of the crate in the kitchen which has access to the back yard. It began with short trips - grocery store, Lowe's, things like that. We would come back and with the exception of a few sticks she'd brought inside, all was good. We were so smug - we thought we had the smart dog who was growing up and showing us that we could leave her out during the day. We then went out to dinner one night. We backed out of the driveway holding our breath, but we came home and there she was, sitting patiently in the kitchen on the other side of the gate. The big test was leaving her out while we went to work. Such a rookie mistake.

The first time was fine which lulled me into a false sense of security. Yesterday I left for work, thinking that we were finally coming into the tail end of the puppy phase; that maybe, just maybe I could start to like this dog. Ha. This is what I came home to last night.No throw pillows on the sofa and the blanket, previously folded, now in disarray. Note the sticks and bones but more importantly, the dog in the living room. This animal figured out how to nudge the gate aside and had run of the house for 12 HOURS - I foolishly ran some errands after work, so smug was I. She ran to greet me when I walked in the door, eager to show me what she'd done. Join us, won't you?

No bath mat in the bathroom, some remnants of it as an ominous indicator of what was to come. Where is the bath mat you ask? Allow me to show you.
Ah, there's the bath mat! Oh and look! Some of the throw pillows from the living room! Oh, and do I spy the bath mat from the other bathroom too? Why yes, I believe I do! But Desiree, you ask, what are all those little flecks in this picture? Your camera lens must be dirty! Oh no my darling, those are the little strands of yarn from the orange bath mat. And what are those little white flecks you ask? Oh let me show you.

But first, let's have a closer look at what remains of my two lovely bath mats. *sniff, sigh*

This dog has a very annoying fascination? obsession? with toilet paper, cotton pads, q-tips - basically all that soft stuff. She'll grab some tissues out of the trash can and dart over to her sofa in the sitting room, like she's 'safe'. I'm constantly walking over and calmly taking whatever it is out of her mouth and putting it in the garbage in the kitchen. It's like she thinks it's a game. Oh, the sofa in the sitting room! How could I have forgotten!
Now, on to the scene of the crime.

I do have to say that I am impressed that the sofa cushions and throw pillows remained intact, if not on the other side of the house. I wish I could say the same for my blue bath mat - it's got a bald spot now. The orange bath mat doesn't have any bald spots which I find interesting given all the little yarn thingies that were everywhere. This ridiculous dog just followed me from room to room as I silently surveyed the damage. I didn't get any shots of the kitchen because she had jumped on the desk in the sitting room and started shredding some more paper. By then I'd had enough and put her in her crate so I could start cleaning. But rest assured that room didn't remain untouched - she'd gotten some sticks from the back and chewed those to crumbs which coated the kitchen floor.

Maya is spending today in her crate.