Learning the hard way

So the World's Best Dog had her first hard lesson this week. If you run in the house, someone will get hurt.

Maybe you. The dog was in a full puppy frenzy - playing, growling, chasing, chewing, and running, sort of a pre-bedtime burst of energy. She tore into the kitchen as if she'd seen a squirrel, and - we think - hit a cabinet and knocked her kneecap out of place.

Post surgery she's doing well. We're supposed to keep her "calm" for a MONTH to help her heal. She doesn't get it.

Luckily she's so good natured that when I hold her collar and prevent her from chasing the neighbor's dog, she simply sits and watches them longingly. I'm worried that puppy training class will be problematic, but I hope training her will give us good strategies for entertaining her without straining her leg...?

Doting

So here are some more photos of our girl. She's making excellent housetraining progress. Tuesday she's scheduled to visit the vet and at the end of the month we'll start puppy training classes. No moment too soon. Jonathan is wryly concerned that Sebby is smart enough that she'll train us before we realize what is happening.



And rightly so!

Little Sebago

We have an unexpected, but much appreciated, new family member.


This is our Little Sebago. That's a big name for her, so we call her Sebby.

A not quite impulsive addition, when we picked her up on Wednesday night, she was so frightened that she tried to hide under bushes instead of walking. Once in the house, she tried to burrow under sleeping Noodle on the couch.

Since then she has calmed down and perked up. She's an excellent walker, which is going to be a big job to keep up with. I'm hoping that when she's full grown I can run with her. Or run while she walks. She's already able to walk the 1.5 mile loop.

We are repeatedly delighted with her personality. She is a lab and husky mix, and it seems she is endowed with a mellow and friendly character. Sebby loves other dogs and happily greets humans. When she seemed frightened and panicky, I inadvertently taught her to sit and wait for passing cars, which would be fine, if we never wanted to walk in an area with roads busier than our own lazy street. I take this as a sign that she will train easily, if we are consistent and disciplined.

Q, who is intimidated by dogs, is thrilled with her. He walks her on her lead, constantly cooing, "GoodgirlSebby!Goodgirl!GoodgirlSebby!Sebby!Goodgirl!No.Goodgirl!"



Here's a small video of Sebby playing with her found toy (the first toy I saw her really play with):