Parenthood - Week 516: Buffy's New Bed

“Buffy? Kings, get down here!” 

 

I was upstairs when I heard my wife call me. I wasn’t clear from her tone the mood of the moment, but her voice had a level of urgency. As I came downstairs, I saw Diana standing and pointing at our box of winter wear. In this box full of gloves, hats, and mittens sat Buffy. Her fur was coming out of the sides of the box, and she was resting peacefully. 

 

Buffy had somehow managed to climb into this box, and like a cat in a box meme, she sat there content while looking absurd.  

 

“Silly puppy.” 

 

Buffy has a bed in the front room near the same area as this box, but lately, she has been resting not in her bed but on random jackets, gloves, and other clothing on the floor. Because we live with three children, winter clothing accessories are often not hung up or put away. After school, my kids come in, sometimes needing to go to the bathroom in a rush to transition to being home, which can be a mess at times.  

 

The boys get home from school, and as they transition, Buffy takes advantage of the time before my sons put away their stuff. Sometimes before we can put everything away, she has already settled on Ollie’s jacket. Maybe Buffy likes to lay on Ollie’s jacket because it’s soft or novel, or perhaps she likes cuddling up to the scent of someone in her pack.  

 

A couple of days ago, I was cleaning the house nightly after the kids went to bed. As I moved into our living room, I noticed Buffy slowly following me. When I stopped, she stopped and looked up at me. I sighed and then went to the closet. I took out Ollie’s winter coat and threw it on the ground. Buffy turned around and walked towards the coat. She walked in a small circle around the coat and settled down in the coat. Then she let out a relaxed sigh and closed her eyes.  

 

*****  

 

In the evening, Buffy regularly goes upstairs and wants to sleep in Ollie and Ethan’s room. She gets upset when the door isn’t open after they go to bed and wants to get in. At some point in the night, she wants to sleep back downstairs. When I forget to leave that room’s door open a crack, I will hear her whine or bark in the middle of the night, and sometimes Ollie gets up to open the door for her. We’ve gotten into the habit of leaving that door open so she can go downstairs.  

 

There’s a little space between a chest of drawers and Ethan’s bed. It’s only about a foot and a half wide. I’ve wedged one of Buffy’s bed’s into that space, and she enjoys having this little nook to settle in for part of the night.  

 

I’m not sure why she wants to go downstairs in the middle of the night, but it’s nice knowing she’s keeping an eye on the boys and wants to settle for the night close to them.

Parenthood - Week 515: Taking Care of Buffy

It started with the early mornings. 

Usually, I would take Buffy out before I went to bed around 10:30 pm, and then in the morning, around when I was getting ready for work, at 6:30 or so, Buffy would get up and want to go out. Often it would be later. Then, about a month ago, Buffy started getting up early, needing to go out.

Around 3:30 or 4:00 am, I would wake to Buffy whining from Ollie and Ethan’s bedroom, where she liked to sleep. So I would open their door, and she would go downstairs, and I would let her out. Then, after she came back in, I would go back to bed for a couple of hours. Other times it would be closer to when I would get up, so it didn’t make sense to me to try to go to bed.

It was annoying, but I figured it was part of the deal with having an older dog. It was the least I could do to help out my puppy. Then we started noticing that Buffy was eating less food. So Diana took Buffy to the veterinarian. Two things were concerning: her weight and her heart.

Buffy is a small dog, under 20 lbs, so when she loses a couple of pounds, it’s a big deal, and this is exactly what happened. The other issue Buffy was that her heart was enlarged. So we got Buffy on heart medication, and I started doing all I could to make Buffy’s food more appealing.

I got some dog food seasoning products sprinkled on dog food to make it more appealing, and I started mixing in small pieces of meat or broth. It’s worked. Over the past couple of weeks, Buffy has started eating more consistently, and she’s been sleeping longer and not needing to go out until after I was up. Soon, we will have Buffy follow-up visit with the veterinarian and see how her weight and heart medication is doing.

There were nights that I slept light, not wanting to miss hearing Buffy’s whines, afraid that I wouldn’t hear her and get up and let her out. I worry more about her overall. There are extra things to think about. We must manage her medication, be more thoughtful about her food and check in with her.

Sometimes Buffy goes to bed with the boys before she has had her medicine, so I wake her up and carry her downstairs. I need to coat her pills with peanut butter so that she will eat them. I find this really gross because I used to be allergic to peanuts and have a strong aversion to the smell, but I power through. Buffy doesn’t hear as well as she used to, so after I make her a meal, I pick her up and put her in front of her food, especially with specially prepared meals she digs in.

Buffy continues to do so much for us, and I’m glad we can do things to make her feel better.

Buffy will always be our special puppy. I'm happy to show her love by taking care of her. 

Buffy's vacation blog

To Aunt Janet & Uncle Jim,

It took some effort as Buffy was running around your house but I eventually picked her up, cradled her in my arms on her back so I could say goodbye. Staying at your house for five days while Diana and I visited my family in Seattle was the longest Diana and I have been away from Buffy.

As I tried to talk to her, Buffy twisted her head and torso around towards the boys in the other room gesturing, “Kingsley, put me DOWN!! There’s boys over there I need to chase!” I gave her a hug, told her to be good and let her down and she immediately bolted to the back of the house.

In the car, driving away I felt a hollow sadness of having leaving Buffy but seeing the way that she ran off, knowing how much fun she would have and how well she would be taken care of, I couldn’t help but smile.

During our first day in Seattle Diana and I wondered how Buffy was doing but we didn’t feel a need to call. I mean you got Bitsy, your collie, Kibbles and Willow, your two cats and three sons. Diana and I were 100% confident that you could handle anything with Buffy.

Still we wondered . . .

To our surprise we that evening we got an e-mail from Buffy. (thanks for helping her with the typing, she’s not very good with the keyboard).

*****

Dear Mom,

Today was FUN! I goofed off all day! Potty in backyard! Poopy on walk! Long walk! Loving Kibbles! I think Bitsey is cool!

Me and Bitsey with chew toys!!

The boys are fun! I took a nap! I had a minor potty accident and didn't get in trouble! Willow hisses at me but I'm sure we're going to get along great! Love boys! Love house! Love yard! I love snow!

running around the yard with boys!

I love to run in the yard and get Bitsey to run! Love to bark! Love everyone! No time to eat! Didn't eat any legos! Was very interested in catnip! Can't wait to find out what happens tomorrow! WOW!

Although, of course I miss you somewhere in there but right now I'm not thinking of that. Gotta go, Kibbles is calling for me to chase him.

Your girl,
Buffy

*****

This e-mail really made Diana feel great (well, except that stuff about the accident). Being at your house is an upgrade for Buffy. She has a fenced in yard, kids to play with as well as other animals. These are things that we want for Buffy but we can't give her right now. It was clear in Buffy's second e-mail to us that these things meant a lot to her.

*****

I love all Peterson's! I learned that I can whine and go OUT! I learned when I'm called, I can come IN! I don't need to avoid coming in because I know whenever I want to use the yard, I can go! So I spend the day, IN! OUT! IN! OUT! Love outside. Love outside!

sledding. . . yeah not so sure about this

Doggies are all over! They are on the other side of the fence. They bark. I run to the back door for protection! Then I get brave and hide behind Bitsey and get closer to the fence. Then they bark. I run for the backdoor for protection ! Bitsey is my big cousin! Cool! I dug a hole under the trampoline all by myself! Uncle Jim had to clean up my paws. I was a messy puppy but I had FUN! FUN!

Long walks! Treats! SNOW! SNOW! Dogs everywhere, I meet them on my walks. Friends! Schedule, what schedule? (ooops, not supposed to tell you that).

Love boys! So many! Kibbles keeps trying to steal my food. We lock food in my cage and Kibbles puts his long arms in and tries to grab a nibble. He keeps taking my tug of war toy. Bark! Bark!

Kibbles being silly

He tried to take my bed so we had to lock it. (I stole Bitsey's bed. She pushed me away.) Kibbles is great. Great. He loves when I chase him around the house. We had a 3 against 3 game (Bitsey, Kibbles, me) and it was awesome. We sound like horses galloping upstairs. Soon Willow will be my BFF! I'm sure!

Today is beauty day. Have to go. Chris is calling for me.

Love
Buffy

p.s.: Miss you! Bark!

*****

One of the ways that you know that someone meet out with is really cares about you is how they care about things that you love. Your whole family’s care of Buffy during our trip really speaks to how invested you are in Diana and I. That means a lot.

Buffy is very lucky to have a great Aunt and Uncle and we are very grateful to you for taking care of our little girl and embracing her as family. We will definitely be having visits sooner rather than later so that Buffy can spend more time with all of you.

Thanks
-Kings

*****

THX 4 LETTIN ME STAY AT UR PLACE.
I HAD GREAT TIEM PLAYIN WIF ALL OV U AN I CAN’T WAIT 2 COME BAK 2 VISIT. UR HOUZ SMELLS GREAT AN THAR R LOTZ DA THINGS 2 CHASE. YARD IZ GREAT AN I LUV PLAYIN WIF ALL OV U.
I MIS U. TAEK CARE, BUFFY

Buffy vs. Snow

The first time it snowed, Buffy was mystified. Giving into her chase instinct she watched carefully as the snow fell to the ground and pounced on the snow flake as soon as it hit the ground. Unfortunately, the snow didn’t stick that afternoon and Buffy was left confused wondering where the snow flake went.

The next time it snowed it came overnight leaving a blanket of white. That morning when I took her out in the four inches of snow, Buffy was pretty confused. First thing in the morning she goes outside and goes #1 and #2 in specific spots outside our condo. Yeah, that didn’t happen so much. This doubled the time it took for our morning walk as she tried to figure out where her spot went. Eventually she gave up and just went in a new place. Works for me, just as long as she’s not going inside.


Over the past couple weeks it has become clear that Buffy loves the snow and the cold doesn’t phase her at all. There was a couple days when it was below 10 degree Fahrenheit (yes, during those days it was colder in Chicago then in Russia and at the North Pole). She was not a fan, but as long as it’s about 30 degrees and above she’s not phased at all.

In a patch of fresh powder Buffy hops around enthusiastically. She walks around like a hound dog with her nose to the ground often burrowing her entire head into to a snow bank.


I don’t know what she’s looking for or why she’s like doing it so much. All I know is that hilarious because every so often after she does this, she starts pawing at her face because she doesn’t like how the snow won’t get off her face. Buffy, that’s what happens when you STICK YOUR WHOLE FACE INTO THE SNOW!! . . . sigh


No, we don’t put a jacket on Buffy. Though she does have a sweater. . . She really loves it, can't you tell?


Buffy has plenty of fur. While her weight gain has hit a plateau out at 11 pounds, her coat has continued to come in. She know has a proud mane and has a REALLY poofy butt. Buffy’s hair has an amazing way of keeping moisture and the snow on the tips of her fur. Even after being outside for half an hour if you reach deep into her coat it is nice and warm.

This is what Buffy looks like with her mane brushed out.

Yes this does add hand-warmer to the many things that Buffy can substitute as. In addition to being a “hand warmer” Buffy can also act as throw rug, lap warmer and slipper retriever (more like slipper thief and hide them around the condo, but hey she’s trying).


We did buy booties for Buffy. We’re a little concerned with all of the salt on the side-walks irritating her paws. She absolutely hates wearing them but hey it’s for her own good. For now we’re just making sure to wipe off her paws whenever she comes in from a walk. It helps her stays clean and is cutting down the cute but annoying doggy footprints that Buffy leaves behind when she comes in from the snow.


I’m glad that Buffy enjoys snow and isn’t bothered by winter because we have a lot more winter coming up. As much as I hate winter in Chicago, seeing Buffy’s pure joy and enthusiasm chasing snow flakes and jumping throw snow drifts which are almost as tall as her is making the winter that much more tolerable and a lot more entertaining.

Buffy's family

My mom and dad were born and raised in Taiwan during a transition from rural to urban environment in the cities that they lived in. While modern conveniences were present, people still had farm animals around in the middle of the city and for my mother and father this meant that they played with the chickens they later ate for dinner.

This also included having dogs around.

These were outside dogs which mostly ate table scraps and were mainly utilized for security purposes, however the universal appeal of dogs to children was present for my parents and they would play with these dogs and enjoyed having them around.

When I was growing up, it seemed that all of my friends had golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers. I remember asking my parents if we could get a dog, mostly wanting one so we could fit in and they would say no citing responsibility or allergy issues.

So I was surprised when I asked my mom what she thought about Diana and I getting a dog. She immediately told me it was a great idea. She said that she felt that everyone who was willing to put in the time and effort into to having a dog should have one. To my mom, a dog enriches one’s life. Through caring for someone or something else, it invigorates the spirit and getting a dog is a great way to do this.

I’m thinking my mom may have had some ulterior motives.

My mom followed our first couple months with Buffy closely through my blog and conversations over the phone (my parents live in Seattle). In the Fall, my parents usually visit Diana and I in Chicago and my mom and it seemed like a perfect time for my parents to meet Buffy.

My mom called me a week or two before they came and told me she was worried that Buffy wouldn’t like her. I reassured my mom that of course Buffy would like her but as soon as I hung up the phone, I realized that there was a possibility that Buffy may not like my mom.

Buffy likes people. In general she comes up to people that she senses wants to pet her and is happy to be petted and played with. Now there have been people on the street that Buffy has shied away from but she has never not taken a liking to people Diana and I care about. Regardless of this, Buffy is a dog, and sometimes and you really can’t predict everything they do.

When my mom first met Buffy it took approximately 0.5 seconds for Buffy to fall in love with my mom.

My dad didn’t initially know what to do with Buffy, which was pretty much exactly the same as when I was babysitting a dog before we got Buffy (which I discussed in this earlier post). However, within a couple hours I could see that my dad was enjoying Buffy and within a day, he was infatuated with her.

By the time my parents were leaving for Seattle, we had spent pretty much the whole weekend walking and playing with Buffy. We had a great time, it was beautiful Fall weekend in the Midwest and it was great to see how much fun Buffy and my parents were having with each other.

When my mom got back to Seattle, she called me and told me that she and my dad were already missing Buffy before they got on the plane. She suggested that we move our family trip, which we planned to do in Seattle in the spring to the Midwest so that we could include Buffy.

This really warmed my heart.

I’ve always felt that Buffy, Diana and I are a family. But I didn’t have any expectations that my parents would necessarily feel the same way. I know whatever is important of my life, my parents will embrace and maybe Buffy gets that too. Maybe that’s why Buffy and my parents affected each other so much. Or maybe Buffy just liked the way my parents smelled.

Buffy, you not only got me, Diana and Diana’s family but you’ve also go my parents as part of your family. You’re a lucky puppy to have such a great family and we’re lucky to have you as part of our lives.

Buffy, Come!!!

Looking at Buffy, from across the room, I yelled “Buffy come,” and she ran across the room right up to my feet. Ignoring Diana who was holding her collar, ignoring the trail of treats on the ground and the other dogs and owners in the class Buffy came ran right up to me when I called.

I slipped into her mouth the piece of hot dog that was in my right hand, scooped her up into my arms and joyfully carried her back over to Diana as the other owners and Brandi the dog trainer in our puppy class applauded.

Weeks earlier in our first Puppy II class, I called Buffy over to me and she completely ignored me. I went up to her, gave her some treats and ran away hoping she would follow. Nothing. Buffy just wandered over to sniff another dog. We put Buffy on her leash and two feet away from her, Buffy finally came over to me. Embarrassed and frustrated, I knew I needed to make a change.

Earlier in the fall we took Puppy I class at Diana at Barker Behavior. The instructor is Brandi Barker. (Really, if your last name is “Barker” doesn’t that pretty much predetermine your career path as a dog trainer?). This is a fantastic dog training company and if you have any need of training help or classes for puppies or older dogs, I highly recommend you look into taking a course from Barker Behavior. I discussed Buffy graduating from Puppy I in this earlier post.

When we signed up to take Puppy II and it was clear that Buffy wasn’t responding as well to me in class as Diana. For various reasons, I was training Buffy less and it became apparent in Puppy I that Buffy was responding much better to Diana than I was. This concerned both of us. Buffy is our dog, and it’s important to Diana and I that Buffy has a strong relationship with both of us.

After that first class of Puppy II, I committed to working with Buffy more inside and outside of class. I realized that my training with Buffy would improve but probably wouldn’t be at the same level as Diana and Buffy as well as the other dogs and owners in class. This frustrated me, but I couldn’t do anything about the past so I focused ahead.

As the weeks of Puppy II progressed Diana and I made an effort to better split the training time with Buffy in class more evenly and I spent a significant more time with Buffy doing training not only at home but also during her walks.

Here's the thing, Buffy really enjoys training. Often during walks, she will look up at me looking for some praise or direction. Sometimes during walks, it's easy to just go through the motions but Buffy likes to have some variety and who could really refuse to engage a puppy with those cute eyes looking up at you.

We first practiced comes from two feet away on leash and eventually Buffy and I got pretty good at comes around the house, but I didn’t really expect that she would be all that great with comes in class. So when Brandi set up Diana at one end of the class with treats in the middle to distract Buffy, I didn’t really think that Buffy would come all the over to me. However, Buffy surprised me as she ran right over and I was ecstatic and everyone in the room applauded knowing how far Buffy and I had come.

Buffy is still not perfect with coming when she’s called. It’s not one of those things she’s naturally good at like sitting or rolling over on her back to get her tummy rubbed (ok that’s not so much a training thing but it’s REALLY cute). But we’re getting there.

With dogs, just like kids, it’s the little moments that make it all worth it. Whether it’s a lick on the face, a wagging tail (I’m talking about dogs here btw), or a little fuzzball responding to a command.

Buffy and I have a long way to go, but we’re getting there. At the end of Puppy I, Buffy was hardly responding to anything I was doing in class and at the end of Puppy II, I was the one commanding Buffy as she passed her final exam and we more than caught up with everyone else in the class.

I am really proud of you girl.
I can't wait to see you when I get home.

Still not a fan of dogs, but I love Buffy

I don’t like dogs.

I’m not a dog person. I don’t go up to people and ask to pet their dogs. While I agree that being cruel to dogs in immoral, I don’t spend time trying to fight for that cause and I wouldn’t be caught dead reading a dog magazine.

However, I love my dog.

Okay, if this doesn’t seem to make any sense, let me try again. Many people have children, and most of these people love their children. However, few people in society like kids enough to want to devote their life to teaching kids. You can love your kids without loving “kids” and you can love your dog without loving “dogs.”

The people who are most awkward with dogs like me are people who did not grow up with them. I clearly remember the first time I spent an extended period of time with a dog (which I wrote about in this earlier post) I stood their looking at the dog having no idea what to do. I mean, it’s not like the dog talks back. They are nice to pet, but they also kind of smell funny. Anyways, I got over that in time but I still find that I can be pretty awkward with dogs.

I wrestle with Buffy, flip her over and do pick her up in weird positions. I feel confident that I know how to handle her and there is nothing that she does that intimidates or scares me. Other dogs on the other hand, not so much. There’s a dog in our puppy class who is from shelter dog. The owner is dog fantastic work with the puppy but the puppy continues to be scared of men, which may be because of some trauma.

In class we like to help each other out with these kinds of issues so I walked up to the dog after the instructor asked me to and the dog lunged towards me and growled and I jumped back and at that moment I was ready to consider wearing adult diapers next time I did this exercise.

Not cool.

But I wanted to be helpful, so they calmed the dog down and the pup eventually got to the point where he let me pet him and I did but that was one of the quickest and most disingenuous “good dogs” pets I’ve ever done.

At a recent party one of my friends mentioned to me how this early photo of Buffy and I made her understand why anyone would want to get a dog.

This friend of mine had been bitten by a dog as a child and has never understood why anyone would want a dog in their lives. But there was something about this photo of Buffy taking a nap on my chest that made sense to her. She has niece and nephews and she has pictures of every one of them sleeping of their mom or dad’s chests just like Buffy sleeping on mine and started to make sense for her.

When dogs used to come up to me and lick me, jump up or smell my crotch I used to just get uncomfortable and question why anyone would chose to have one of these slobbering, poo-producing things around the house. Now when a big dog greets me, I still get a little uncomfortable, however after having Buffy in my life for almost four months I understand what it means to share your life with a little ball of fluff.

Buffy 1st Halloween or “How We Robbed Buffy Of Her Dignity”

Teachers often say that if you don’t find kids entertaining you shouldn't be a teacher. The same thing applies to dogs. If you don’t’ find the everyday things that dogs do hilarious, you really shouldn't have a dog.

Now there are different categories of things that dogs do that are entertaining. There are the natural things that they do independently that are cute. These are things like yawning, rolling over, chasing their tails, stretching and all that other cute stuff. Then there are the things that we enjoy through interacting with them like going on walks, rubbing their tummies and playing fetch.

Then there’s the things that we make our dogs do that they really don’t enjoy all that much that we find awesome. Now there’s a line between teasing and tormenting dogs. In no way do I think it’s funny to do mean things to dogs. I wouldn’t find something entertaining that truly distressed my puppy Buffy, but making her a little annoy for our entertainment is relatively harmless.

Things like moving furniture to freak her out . . .



. . . or putting a blanket over Buffy’s head . . .




And then there's the ultimate in doing stuff to dogs that they get no joy out of but we do anyways because it’s cute and entertaining: dressing up dogs for Halloween.

Unlike other over commercialized holidays, Halloween has absolutely no pretense of its original meaning any more. What does dressing up like Hannah Montana or scantily clad flight attendant and begging for candy have to do with the Christian day of All Saints, celebrating the harvest or scaring away evil spirits? I’m not trying to hate on Halloween. If you get into it and have a great time, it’s all good. God knows towards the end of October we need something to lift our spirits.

I don’t personally like dressing up for Halloween but parties are fun, so why can’t the dog join in? Well, I told myself I wasn’t going to be “one of those” dog owners who dressed up their dogs, but that was before I actually got Buffy.

Let me backtrack a second. When we were deciding whether we would get a dog, any concerns we had would be answered with “but she’ll be really cute.” For example, “what are we going to do when we go on vacation? That might get tricky,” and my wife would respond “but she’ll be really cute.” The thing is that Buffy is really cute and honestly part of me kind of becoming “one of those” dog owners in relating to dog cute-ness levels and when you got a puppy that’s as cute as Buffy, you got dress them up at least once.

Does Buffy like wearing a costume? No, does any dog enjoy wearing costumes? I don’t really think so. Part of me thinks all those dogs in costumes who look happy are photoshopped. Oh wait THERE ARE NO PICTURES OF DOGS WHO ARE HAPPY IN COSUTME!!

So after visiting a couple different stores (yes it not only took multiple stores but multiple nights to find Buffy a costume) we decided on getting Buffy a Tigger costume from Winnie The Pooh. Yeah, it wasn't exactly a piece of cake to put the costume on her:

But eventually I got it on her:

The best part is how it look like Tigger is trying to eat Buffy. And really, look how happy she looks!!

Okay, Buffy looks like she wants to die. But c'mon, this is really cute. The original plan was for Buffy to dress up like cat and this is pretty close to that and lately she has been bouncing around a lot.

Am I mean owner trying to torture my puppy? Maybe a little . . . Look Buffy has a great life. She gets plenty of walks, gets a lot of attention and has a more active social life then I do. I thinks he can withstand a little humiliation for my own entertainment well and for yours.

Happy Halloween everybody!!

. . . mebbe if I luk pathetic enough, him will taek dis fin of uv meh . . .

Leaving Buffy Behind

[the following are my thoughts while away on a weekend trip]

Buffy had no idea that we were leaving her.

The only thing that she was focused on was the fact that I was taking her crate away as she barked and whined frantically. Diana and I took Buffy to the car with us, so she could see where her crate was going, but this really didn’t calm her down all that much.

We were going out of town for the weekend and she was going to stay with my in-laws. Buffy spends a couple days a week at their house when Diana and I are at work. She loves it there. Diana and I are lucky to have the support of her parents with this puppy adventure. They’ve been a huge help and its nice knowing that she always has a place to go when Diana and I need to be away.

The plan was to leave Friday afternoon, so we had to get all of Buffy’s stuff ready to take over my in-laws house in the morning. I was stressed and so was Diana. Buffy sensed this that morning as I tried to get ready for work and help with Buffy’s things all at the same time.

After helping Diana move her crate it was time to head to work, and I didn’t really say goodbye to Buffy as I planned to see her later. The plan was to head to my place after work, do some last minute backing, go over to the in-laws house, say by to Buffy and get Diana.

Things didn’t go exactly as planned.

After work, I rushed home, finished packing and when I was done to my dismay it was almost 4pm. I needed to leave from Diana’s house a little after 4 and I had planned to make it there around 3:30 to see to Buffy, but time had moved quicker than I had anticipated. By the time, I got to Diana’s parent’s house, I had about 10 seconds to say goodbye to my little girl.

Standing in the rain in my in-laws driveway, my mother-in-law handed Buffy to me. Cradling, her I gently rubber her stomach, leaned in close and told her to be a girl. In response, Buffy looked up to me and licked my nose. Then it was time to go.

I’ve seen Buffy every day since we first got her. For the first month and a half I spent literally all day with her since I was on summer break. When I went back to work it was weird being away from Buffy but as the school year progressed and I became more engaged with my students, Buffy moved from being at the center of my thoughts to be becoming another facet of my life.

Now after my first full day away from Buffy, the thing I missed the most was saying goodnight to her and seeing her first thing in the morning. My wife goes to work later than I do, so she usually puts Buffy to bed and I take her out for her first walk in the morning. When I say goodnight to Buffy, she’s usually cuddled in the corner of the coach. I pet the scruff of her neck, lean in so she can say goodnight by touching her nose against mine.

In the morning, I find Buffy curled up in a ball of fluff in her crate.

I reach in and pet her and half awake, she licks my hand. I pick her up, careful to keep her in her "ball form" and put her in my lap as I put her leash on. She yawns, and snuggles up into a tighter ball, often trying to fall back asleep. It’s usually not until we are outside that she remembers that she actually really needs to do her business and becomes excited for the upcoming day. There really isn’t a better way to start the day.

Am I wreck away from Buffy? Not really. While I don’t worry about her 24/7, I can’t help but be a little worried. Most of all, I’m looking forward to seeing my girly.

One of the things I miss from the early dating days with Diana is seeing her when I’d return to college after visiting my family in Seattle. When Diana would see me, she would literally run up to me (ala romantic movie cliché). With the most radiant smile on her face, Diana would hug me like she would never let me go. While I don’t miss spending time away from my wife, I do miss that feeling of relief and joy of being reunited with Diana.

I imagine seeing Buffy when I get home will be similar except there will be more tail wagging and face licking.

Miss you girl, can’t wait to see you.

[This is Buffy saying hello to Diana after work, it was pretty much like this when Diana and I saw her when we got home.]

Buffy Graduates!!!

Buffy graduated from Puppy Class !!!

She demonstrated three different commands without using food as a lure and completed the course. It’s official, there’s even a certificate (however we are still waiting for the transcript request to go through).

When Diana first brought up the idea of taking Buffy to a puppy class, it seemed like a great idea. Buffy can learn some tricks, get to know some other dogs and a good time would be had by all.

Once class got started, the story was a little different. First off, Buffy didn’t have a spectacular first class (which I wrote about in this post). As much fun as it was, it was a lot of work, not only for Buffy but for Diana and I. There was homework, assessment by our instructor and an organized and structured class. All of this to help teach our dog how to follow a couple commands, really?

Here’s the thing, teaching your dog commands is so much than a party trick. The main reason to take your puppy to class and learn how to train your dog is to raise a dog that you enjoy living with. No one likes to walk into a friends house and be attacked by his or her dogs. No one enjoys being pulled down the street when walking a dog and no one enjoys having their house be chewed up or worse covered in dog poo. Training can solve all of these things.

Yes, dogs have unique individual personalities and you can’t train the personality out of a dog. However, most dogs, regardless of how timid or crazy they are can be trained to be a dog that’s a pleasure to live with and not a nuisance. While having a dog that doesn’t do things that you don’t want it to do is a nice practical bonus, it’s really not the most meaningful thing you get from learning how to train your dog.

Buffy talks to Diana and I all the time. It’s not just barking, but it’s in her groans, whines, and little squeaks. She’s almost sounds like R2-D2 sometimes when she’s trying to communicate to us. Even though we are getting better at recognizing what she is saying with her sounds at this point, it’s still pretty much guessing. And as much as Diana and I talk to Buffy, she has no idea what we are talking about most of the time. However, when I command Buffy to sit and she sits, we are having a conversation.

It’s an amazing feeling with a simple command to realize that you don’t need a common spoken language to communicate. For a split second, Buffy knows exactly what I’m saying and she’s letting me know that she understands.

More often that not I’m guessing what Buffy needs and she’ trying to figure out what I‘m talking about (which really isn’t all that different than the way most of my friends interact with me). It’s funny but it keeps us at a distance. Nothing in relationships separates people more than a lack of communications. On the other hand, nothing brings people together like being able to understand each other.

Every time I give a command to Buffy and she does what I ask, I feel like I’m getting just a little bit closer to my little girl. Sometimes it’s not the content of a conversation but simply spending the time to talk that shows how much you care. Hopefully Buffy understands how much I care about her, because she continues to tell me with every look, chirp and sit how much she cares about me.

Buffy forgives and forgets

Back in high school when I was having woman problems my mom explained to me one of the differences between men and woman.

Women are like duct tape. When you put duct tape on something and take it off, it leaves a gluey residue. Women hold on to feelings for long periods and even after woman reach resolutions to problems often there is a little left over emotional residue that never goes away.

Men on the other hand are like scotch tape. Sometimes you have to work at getting a piece of scotch tape off something but when you do it doesn’t leave anything behind. Men don’t hold grudges in the same way that woman do and are more likely to forgive and forget.

Dogs I’ve found on the other hand are like post-it notes. Post-it notes are easy to take off and leave no residue. All it takes to make up with Buffy is a quick pet and before you know it, it’s like she was never mad at you at all.

The other day we decided to give Buffy. You aren’t really supposed to bath Shelties all that much, maybe once a month. If Buffy gets dirty, Diana usually just wipes her down with a wet hand towel. That works pretty well but giving a full bath is far more effective in getting her cleaned up.

So we took Buffy in the bathroom and we let her wander around a little bit. Buffy is not a complete stranger to this room as Diana often lets her wander around when she is getting ready for work. Diana picked up Buffy and placed her a couple inches of warm water in the bathtub and Buffy immediately attempted to jump out of the tub.

After we got soaked and it becomes clear that Buffy was not going to stay in the tub all by herself. Diana decided it might just be easier if she got in the tub with Buffy. To calm Buffy down I offered peanut butter smeared on my hand for Buffy to lick off. This initially helped Buffy calm down and stop struggling but soon she stops wanting the peanut butter or any other treat I offered.

Buffy is a smart enough dog to know that when Diana and I are doing something with her that she doesn't like the fastest way for it to be over is for her to stop fighting it. So eventually Buffy stopped struggling, but started to quietly whines as Diana shampooed her and rinsed her off.

With a towel in my arms, I lifted Buffy from the tub. She struggled and clearly wanted to shake off but I wanted to get as much water off her as possible initially to prevent her from spraying the entire bathroom with water. To Buffy's relief I finally put her down, she immediately darted across the bathroom away from Diana and I and to shake herself off.

Tired, wet and hopefully only slightly traumatized, I expected that would Buffy need some time away from Diana and I, but she comes right up to Diana and I looking up at us, wagging her tail and ready to play. Too bad for Buffy, she needed to spend some quality time with Mr. Blowdryer.

Shetland Sheepdogs have remarkable double coats that keep them warm and dry in cold weather. The problem with the coat is that sometimes the coat traps moisture against the skin. This can cause skin infections and the only way to make sure Buffy was really dry was to use the hair dryer and man did she hate that.

While Diana held Buffy down, I blow dried and brushed her out. She barked, whimpered and tried to bite at the hairdryer. I have never seen her so angry and uncomfortable at something that we were doing to her. The amazing thing is that every time I turned off the hairdryer to give Diana and Buffy a break Buffy would walk around, shake herself off and walk right back up to us. It was as if she had completely forgotten that we were the ones who were making her uncomfortable and forcing her to deal with Mr. Hairdryer.

Maybe Buffy forgot what we were just doing, or maybe she understood that we were doing something for her own good. Or maybe it's the fact that she loves us so much that nothing we could do could change that at this point. I’m not sure. Whatever it is, Buffy’s ability to forgive is the purest example of loving the sinner regardless of the sin, I’ve ever seen. It’s inspiring, amazing and simply heartwarming.