I should have known something was wrong when I woke to the sound of the alarm clock instead of Hershey’s crying for a potty break and food. (Usually we end up turning off the alarm clock before it goes off, thanks to the pup.) So, I was kind of excited to wake to a buzzing sound instead of barks—maybe Hershey was learning to sleep in longer.
Not so much. Apparently someone (me) forgot to lock her crate when they let her out at 2 a.m. (Hey, I was still dreaming about flying in a helicopter with a monkey when I let her out, so it’s no wonder I missed the latch.) I feel like I’ve got a newborn all over again, stumbling around in the dark, doing whatever it takes to stop the crying—and get back to bed.
So what does a little doggie do with free rein of the house for the night? Well, pooping in several locations of the room seemed to be in order. And who knows where she peed. (Can you say steam cleaner?) But the big event of the night seemed to be knocking over the garbage can for one heck of a free for all. That was a super fun way to start the day, picking up chewed up paper towels that had been used to clean up her messes from the day before. It’s one of those moments you think, Why did we get a dog again?
But here’s the weird thing. She definitely knew what she did was wrong when we came downstairs. She knew we were mad. So why do it? Was she just so frenzied with the excitement of being out of the crate that she couldn’t help herself? Was it not until after she did it that she thought, Uh-oh. The people aren’t going to like this.
Dogs get into all sorts of trouble when they can. One of the dogs we had growing up licked all the icing off a birthday cake we’d left on a table that she could reach—right before the party, so there was no time to make a new one. It’s so hard not to be mad at them—and yourself—when you make a big oops like that.
And it’s so hard to anticipate all the trouble they can get into. Who knew Hershey would pull the magnets off the frig and chew on them? Who knew she’d destroy so many pieces of Riley’s clothing by nipping at her sleeves and pants?
So, later that day when we were getting ready for dinner I noticed the platter of freshly grilled hamburgers was sitting close to the edge of the counter. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought before. But now we have a dog; a dog who tends to find mischief. So, I pushed the platter far, far back—just in case. I’m trying my best to stay one step ahead of this puppy.
Although it seems to work out better for me when I’m awake. Won’t make that crate mistake again. (I hope.)
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Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
Related posts:
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – What’s In a Name?
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Second Thoughts
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Hello Stranger
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – The Dog Whisperer
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – First Trip to the Vet
