Slow learner

Isis does not seem to be deterred by any of the training techniques we’ve tried to get her to mouth softly. She’s still teething, but the pup doesn’t know her own strength. She doesn’t bite out of aggression, but sometimes she gets very excited and wants to chew on our hands or feet. Mostly Rob’s.

We’ve tried ignoring it, leaving the room when she does it, yelping “Ouch,” shouting “Out!” (which is supposed to sound like a mama dog scolding her pups), “feeding her that which she bites” (I don’t have the constitution for this one — Rob forces his hand into her mouth until it is uncomfortable for her), and folding a bit of her lip in her mouth while holding it closed, so she sees how much it hurts (last night this made her cry because it aggravated a loose and bleeding tooth. Rob accused me of being abusive).

Perhaps the problem is that we don’t do any one thing consistently.

Last night, I marveled that for a smart dog, she sure hasn’t learned the consequences of biting.

Then there’s Rob, energetically rubbing her belly and back, sticking his face in hers and waving his hands all around near her face…clearly not having learned what the consequences are for that kind of play.

Like shooting puppies with a BB gun…

So I went to the dentist yesterday to have a filling replaced and was delighted to learn that my tooth in fact was cracked and needed a crown. So did the molar beneath it. But they could only do one yesterday, so I’ll have to have the other one done at a later date.

I think I was a splendid patient during the two hours they drilled and took impressions and fitted me with the temporary. I only almost drowned on the rinse water filled with tooth shavings a couple of times. You’d think my experience with yogic breathing would have helped me, but it’s not so easy to breathe through your nose when your mouth is wide open.

The temporary crown feels weird. I guess I prefer it to the cracked silver filling that had become extremely sensitive to cold. Really, it was quite excruciating to drink water or even rinse after brushing. Never mind drink a milkshake or eat ice cream.

After the excitement wore off, as well as the Novocaine that numbed my face all the way up to my eyelashes, I felt a bit sad that I effectively have a false tooth. I mean, the real tooth is still there, but underneath the crown, so it’s like, what’s the point?

Recent online purchases

  • Dog ID tags
  • Beware of Dog decal
  • Greenies dog chews
  • Prints of photos of my dog
  • Rescue Remedy (a calming elixir for my dog, recommended by the trainer, which I have resisted thus far)
  • Hemp belt
  • 3 Ann Taylor shirts
  • 2 Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs (I must have all of them)
  • Mouthwash
  • 4×6 rug
  • Nikon lens pen

Baby’s got teeth

For those of you who wondering how my dog could carry around that soccer ball without piercing it…

She can’t.

Rob got her a new one. It’s silver with a purple star and says, “It’s a girl thing” on it. But it’s too well inflated and she can’t get her mouth around it just yet. She’s still quite fond of this one.

Next stop, the roof?

As you may recall, a fireplace was one of Rob’s “must-haves” for our house. I meant to have the thing inspected and cleaned as soon as the weather turned cool. But when I called in October, the big chimney place told me they were booked through Christmas.

A few months later, mid-January as I recall, I had another guy out to look at it. He was there for 30 seconds and told me the chimney didn’t need cleaning. It had some water damage, but all we needed was a chimney cap and to waterproof it this summer. That should clear up all the water damage.

He was supposed to come out the next week and put on a chimney cap and then he’d bill me for the consult and the installation. S’far as I can tell, he hasn’t been back. I don’t even want to call to remind him. Just need someone else to put on the chimney cap. I’m going to be annoyed if/when he does show up and bill me, because the work is so overdue. And you know what? It’s rained since then!

What excuse could he possibly have for not coming out? Did he forget?

Then there’s the sad irony that I wouldn’t let Rob burn anything in our fireplace because I was afraid it would burn the house down or fill it with smoke, but it turns out it would have been healthy for the waterlogged thing to have a fire or two this winter.

He’s had a fire in it, like, constantly upon hearing this news.

Voila

My bathroom, remodeled for less than $1,500.

That kind of sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? HGTV’s Design on a Dime does it for under $1,000. To be fair, some of the investment went toward tools and paint rollers that I didn’t already have. And now I do, so I won’t have to buy them when I tackle the next bathroom. If Rob lets me.

And I’m sure I raised the property value at least $15,000…Thanks, Dad, for the seed money!

Click to see more pictures. (Taken with my Coolpix, although a new lens is on the way to my office. Thanks, boss!)

Downward dog

We had great fun training Isis at the park on Sunday. She still loves us even though we use the prong collar on her.

When we returned, I set my camera bag on top of a 5-foot-tall dresser and it toppled over (the bag, not the dresser). It was unsnapped, and the camera fell out, landing on the lens. The camera is fine; the lens not so much. I’m waiting to hear from my boss as to whether to go ahead and replace it while I wait 10 days to two weeks to get an estimate on the repair.
Isis was spayed on Friday. Isn’t it funny that a surgery that is such a huge deal for human women is treated as so routine on dogs and cats? Maybe it would be less traumatic for women if they had it done when they were five months old.

It’s hard for her to take it easy. She really wants to run around with her soccer ball. She picks it up and comes to the sliding glass door, looking so hopeful. Usually I run around with her before crating her when I go to work, but today it was straight in the crate. Oh, the guilt! I’d been with her pretty much non-stop since I picked her up from the vet on Friday.

As you can see from the pictures, she’s doing very well with sit/stay, even if she does wind up looking every which why while doing it. (and licking her nose, for some reason. Maybe there’s some residual peanut butter on her face, since I use that to forcefeed her medicine.) For “down,” we’re supposed to use our bodies to get her all the way down and I’m surprised how much she resists it. The trainer said some dogs don’t like it, but we hold her a lot, and Rob puts her on her back (for belly rubbing) all the time.

Here she is, appearing to be in compliance, but actually planning her escape.

The other big news of the weekend is that I finished painting the bathroom! I’d show the “after” photos if I had a lens with which to take them.

My father’s daughter

I just filed my 2006 tax return.

Nyah nyah.

Note: This is an excellent defense against Rob and my ever getting married. Last year he had to get an extension for his taxes. I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to actually combine our finances. (Shudder.)