Scrambling

Seems I’m in a constant state of scramble these days. So much to do, so little time. I’m scrambling just to get a blog posting today. I haven’t had a free moment to think of an interesting topic, but the one thing that does come to my mind is our little Nut. I know I have made some comments about her low IQ in the past and I think I would like to take those comments back. She has really come a long way.

I was convinced that she was NEVER going to understand that she can help herself to going down to the basement for food, and let herself in and out of the house. Bentley caught on almost immediately that he was in control of his desires. If he was hungry, he simply got up and walked downstairs. He fed himself, let himself outside and then back upstairs. This is every dog owner’s dream come true -- a completely self-sufficient dog. Now if we could just teach him how to turn the water on to fill his bowl and scoop the food out of the bin . . .

Then there was Peanut, who struggled for months with this concept of being self-sufficient. She still felt the need to cry and be guided up and down the stairs. But that recently changed. At first she started to follow Bentley up and down. And then suddenly the little Nut started to go down all by herself. I was so proud of her. It was like my child took her first step or said her first word. My little baby isn’t so stupid after all!

And now the little escape-artist has figured out how to break-out of the dog run. My poor mother-in-law was ironing the other day and happened to notice Peanut in the yard (on the North side of the house). Problem is, the dog run is on the opposite side of the house. She managed to guide Peanut back into the house and we weren’t quite sure how she got out. Then last night Karlo was upstairs and looked out the window to discover Peanut in the backyard, near the stone wall (way down near the pond). How proud was I when I called her and she came flying back to me as quick as her skinny little greyhound legs would take her.

Karlo has made some fence modifications and I’m hoping we don’t find her out and about on her own again. But I have a strange confident feeling with her now. Even if she does get free, she is now smart enough to know how good she has it and will not venture off too far. Neither dog has EVER tried to push the boundaries of the yard. As a matter of fact, they usually need to be forced outside.