A lot has happened since Layla ate our computer charger.Yes, that's right, she chewed through an electrical wire. Fortunately, she didn't injure herself or anyone else. Although I think there were a few sparks when Nate tried to plug it in...
Since then we've gotten a new charger and some plastic tubing to protect it, but it prevented us from doing any updates for a few weeks.
Where to begin...
We started taking Layla to obedience school twice a week. So far, we've only gone twice due to long work hours and other commitments and I have to say I'm still not sold on the whole process.
I expected Layla to be learning commands - sit, stay, down, roll over - but instead the trainer (we'll call her Olga to protect her identity) has her doing agility training. You know, running in between sticks, traversing over a three foot ramp all for little bits of doggie treats. Layla seems to have a good time doing it, but it's not really what I expected.
Then at the end of class, Olga gives us homework like work on the command "down". This is where Nate and I run into problems. I mean, if we had the time, patience and discipline to work on commands at home we wouldn't be taking Layla to obedience classes.
I'm just saying...
Plus, the first time we took her to class we had an "incident". I call it an incident because we were shamed into leaving, but really it was just nature taking its course. So I'll just come out and say it -
Layla pooped in the middle of the training field.
There I said it - nothing earth shattering. Last I checked, we wanted her to go to the bathroom outside. Normally, we praise her. But this time it was different.
Every person - and dog - in the class watched Layla do her business in the middle of the field. Oh the horror! After that, everyone sent "shame" vibes our way. Olga was even shaking her head back and forth and started speaking to her friend about us in German. We're still not sure what happened. I mean, it was on a grass field and to his credit, Nate picked it up and threw it away.
Weird, right?
So anyway, the jury is still out on obedience school. I'm sure we'll go back to class next week, but we want to make sure Layla is feeling up to snuff before we expose her to other dogs again.
Unfortunately, Layla stayed in the kennel for a couple of days (Olga runs one out of her house) and she caught a doggy cold going around. She's been to the vet twice since she got home, had to get shots and is now on antibiotic tablets. The meds seem to be working since she's been a lot more active the past couple of days and is back to her ornery ways. Apparently, the cold has hit this part of Germany pretty hard and lots of dogs are sick. I wonder if this could be H1N1. Just kidding.
Other than that, Layla is doing well. She's up to about 50 pounds and doesn't realize how much power she has in her compact little body. She has a habit of running and jumping on you while you're sitting on the couch and it feels like a wrecking ball hitting your lap. Her tail is also fairly thick and she's now tall enough to knock things off the table with her tail. Earlier today she knocked a glass over, which somehow managed not to shatter and fortunately was empty at the time.
Layla has also managed to find a permanent spot in the bed. Despite having initially declared that she would never sleep in the bed, it seems to have become a regular practice. In fact, I am officially giving up. At this point, if I can keep her at the foot of the bed I'll be happy. However, I think this too will take some training. Currently, she prefers to sleep like a human with her head on the pillow and her body sprawled all over the bed. This results in her taking up 50 percent of the bed and the majority of the pillows. And if you try to move her she'll just move farther up the bed so that she's laying on all of the pillows. She likes to put her paws on your shoulders and rest her head on top of your head. Usually I wake up because she's trying to eat my hair. At which point, her taking up half the bed doesn't seem so bad anymore...
Ah and finally, Layla has most of her big girl teeth now. She shreds her toys like they're paper. We find miscellaneous feet and wings all over the floor. Not to mention, stuffing. These poor stuffed animals have their necks broken and their insides gutted. She shows no mercy.
Cheers,
Jen and Nate
