amusement

we have a room, "the other bedroom", which is forbidden territory to sam. unfortunately, he is very interested in it, and it also has a non-closing door. on several occasions, he has gone in there, gotten hold of something, and exterminated it. so the great leader and i decided to be pro-active -- whenever the dog goes upstairs, we keep our ears perked up, and if we hear the tell-tale thump of an opened door hitting the wall, we run upstairs.

sam does seem to have gotten the idea, that he's not supposed to go into the room even when we're not around, but it's hard for him to remember against the lure of "the other room". yesterday, he had a relapse. i heard the door open, ran upstairs screaming, and sam crawled off to the landing like a BAD DOG. then i closed the door and looked at the cowering creature. then, since he was no longer doing forbidden stuff, i praised him. the transformation was instantaneous! he leapt up, overjoyed, bounced around the hallway and proceeded to bound up and down the stairs for a few minutes.

today, the door has remained closed. [...time passes...] until, that is, i'd posted this. then i found sam with a pillow cover out on the landing, and the bedroom door open. that dog! after i took the cover away and closed the door, i praised him, and the whole rigamarole started again. i really hope i haven't taught him a new game...