Around the house

 

Ember scraped some of Stony's paint off.  

Things never seem to stop growing around here.  Thursday's trimmings.

Another of Ember's makeshift toys... a strap and four drapery ties make this one up.  She's fascinated.

She quickly broke the little loops on the ties, so I've reworked this toy already.

This one is a Holee-Roller with the braided shoelace handle... she loves it but wants to play by herself with this one.

Egg carton food puzzle.  She consumes the food, then destroys the carton.

The wall that Ember has been targeting most recently.  It's right outside the bathroom/pantry, where mommy disappears to "go potty", human style.  Sigh.  I need another baby gate.  Her potential allowable spaces keep shrinking.

This may just be Stony's final spot, right by the front faucet.  I can coil a hose at his feet.  And Stony is a "he", btw, you can see this from certain angles!

I think what she is feeling is frustration.  Mom keeps changing things on her, from her nap schedule to her food to how many car rides she's expected to endure in a week.  But that doesn't make it any easier for Mom.

Late Friday morning, I think it was Susan who came to my door.  By the time I got Ember into the XPen and opened the door, she had left.  But I don't have her phone number, nor does she have mine, and I don't even know the exact location of her front door, the way the townhomes are laid out.  What I see is the side of her house and her "back garden".  And being me, I'm a "what if I misidentified the video and it wasn't her?"  I had an appointment to get to, so did not follow up.  I might have done if Ember hadn't had another "episode" of the bites a little after 3.  

I was feeling pretty bummed out end of day, Friday.  Three episodes of teeth on Mom or Mom's clothing.  The first was in the early morning inside the XPen.  Bite protocol seemed to work well in the confined space.

I think the second was on the deck.  I had easy access to separate us by a door, there.

The 3 p.m. one was the worst of the bunch.  I was streaming blood down my arms from several scrape wounds.  It happened way in the back where the shed used to be.  Ember was not on a leash, and the "grab the collar and reduce the tension she's putting on your pant leg" did not apply, although I did try to adapt it.  It wasn't the pant leg, it was my arm inside the sweatshirt, and she had hold of the arm, not just the fabric! 

I shimmied myself out of the sweatshirt, but this did not deter her.  I eventually got her inside, freezing and stepping, and stroking, and freezing and stepping and stroking.  I stayed outside to calm myself down.

Then I reversed our positions with her on the back deck and me inside to clean up. 

I have bloody laundry.  The dog stripped bandages and ate them.  She had "No legs" to get in car to go to puppy class (so mom called us in "going to be absent").  She expanded the damage on the wall.

Saturday morning I woke in a more optimistic mood.  This lasted until the adolescent decided she wanted to use the kitchen trash can for a chew toy.  I took her outside and she started digging up trouble in the old river rock bed next to the sandbox.

I had some idea of what I wanted to train on Saturday.  The plan did not make it to the execution stage.  

At least so far, we have not had a major biting incident on Saturday.  She has shown signs of wanting to, but I have been ready with interventions.  For example if she is focused enough, I give her a cue to do something simple, like "sit" or "hop it up".  I traded her the "magic dust pan" for the lid to the kitchen trash, then moved the trash can behind the gate to the family room.

As I was eating my salad on the deck, she went for my shoes, and I stepped her inside, closing the sliding door.  She settled herself down and was civilized by the time I finished my lunch and was ready to deal with her again.

I diagnosed tired and hungry.  I put her down with a Kong full of kibble and plugged with peanut butter, and she's now down for puppy nap #2.

Life is good, even when challenging.  Spark on!