much can take place in a week

there's a full moon tonight. i'm getting more attuned to the night sky as i spend time out with a doggie that needs to relieve himself, bounce and play, or be prevented from eating all the lobelia.

sam is everything i expected him to be. an all-round good boy who sniffs, wags, licks hands (and occasionally ears) and kills "prey".

he also steals and chews clothing, toys, and any food he fancies and can get hold of, has bad habits such as jumping up or nipping people, and has been used to relieving himself on hard floors for too long. his hat of being separated from his pack knows no bounds, and he's got a good howl in him. the need for constant vigilance during the day, in addition to disturbed sleep at night, has made the last week, and sam, a real handful.

it was the worst of times, and the best of times, to get a dog. november is, actually, the cruellest month, with its rains and winds, not to mention firweorks around bonfire night, which happened to be the night after we picked up sammy-boy. luckily, he's not afraid of firweorks at all, just traffic and other loud engine noises. although i'm on studying vacation, my husband has a lot of work to do, having recently received his school's first batch of students, while at the same time having to prepare a new curriculum (and other stuff) for next year. and daughter dear has a runny nose. all this means that, all things considered, it's the best time to introduce a canine, because if we can get through this, we can get through anything.

we alreayd knew from the rescue centre that there was a lot of bounce in sam -- the kennel workers tended to have difficulties putting his collar on, taking it off, and entering or leaving the kennel without him getting out -- but we also found out he really liked mouthing things. the first few days were spent teaching him not to jump, and leaving our stuff alone. we can measure how calm he's become with us by seeing how much he still bounces in new and frightening situations. he's learnt the leave, sit, and out commands, although he chooses to pretend he hasn't sometimes. the nipping, which could be painful, has become more of a gentle tickle. he still jumps sometimes (such as right now), but we have found that sending him outside tends to burn off excessive playfulness.

i think we have succeeded in convincing sam that outside is overall the best place to put pee & poo in, although accidents may happen if he's overly stressed. twiggy's yell of "quiet" stops him from barking and howling his way through the night. best of all, he and little boo peep are getting along very well -- she can hang on him, lie down on top of him, and even pull him around by a chain, without either of them causing the other too much trouble.

everyone seems to be getting more trustful. the dog can go out into the garden on his own without worrying that we'll disappear, and we can have the same trust in him. he'll probably still nip at the lobelia, and possibly bounce through the forbidden kitchen garden, but he at least knows he's called sam and that he's our dog.