Let's just see how ridiculous we can get.

The dog's presence continues to uproot our lives in ways we didn't know were possible. It has been a Learning. Experience. Like one of the ones in which you can never really prepare for, nor even begin to expect because there's just so much that would blow all expectations out. of. the. water. So many things you never would have considered that happen- that you never would have put on the list of "things to consider if I get a dog." Or maybe that's just me in my ignorance as an animal abuser. Who knows.

Two things lately in regards to the dog:

1) Training
So I would have THOUGHT (when we initially got a dog) that we would be able to train it. I can be patient, I know what to do, it shouldn't be that hard, right? Well, I quickly learned and heard from quite a few people that enrolling your puppy in puppy classes is SO beneficial and crucial. So we enrolled her in puppy kindergarten. People were right. It was SO worth it. Just having the consistency of one hour a week to just work her made her such a better minded puppy. We then recognized the benefits of formal training (not only for her but for us) and enrolled her in a second obedience class. We got discouraged when it seemed repetitive and like we were just paying to teach her to continue to sit for an hour a week... which she already knew. So she hasn't been in a class again since that (which was the beginning of August).

Lately we've been noticing that as she's going through her terrible teenage days, she's picking up some bad behaviors. We're not sure if it's a stage that she'll grow out of or if she needs more formal training to break the behaviors before they become habits. These behaviors are: horrible recall ESPECIALLY when out and there are other distractions around (think ADD puppy). Not that I totally blame her because why would we be exciting when there are new, awesome things around? So by saying that she's sucking at that is kind of setting her up to fail because at this stage in her puppy hood I can't really expect recall to be 100% all of the time. BUT. Still. I would like a LITTLE bit of a response. And no more of this run towards us and then promptly jet away. That's annoying. She's also taken to dominating smaller dogs. And biting on other boxers that she can dominate. I'm not sure where she got this behavior but it bugs me. It's not ok. She doesn't bite us or any other dogs BUT boxers (and then only the ones that she thinks she dominates) but I don't want the dog that bites someone else's dog, much less their puppy. Seriously, not ok. It's not always even biting, it's sometimes just mouthing but I just don't like it. We've tried EVERYTHING to stop these behaviors. Working with her on a long lead with treats/toys for recall, teaching her nice play with a puppy in front of her by NOT using her mouth, putting her in a submissive position when she starts to mouth/bite, giving her time outs, "clicking" at her with a training clicker when she bites, etc., etc.

Sometimes I don't feel like we're getting anywhere, sometimes I do. I think it just depends on whether she feels like listening or not. (Which, by the way, is annoying).

Last week at the advice of Bella's brother's mom, we went to the place that they train at to see what class Bella should enroll in. Upon meeting the trainer Bella continued to jump on her (oh yeah, another bad behavior) and lick her (obsessively, oh yeah... another one). We were not off to a good start. We told her about the recall and the biting and she seemed a bit concerned, like we are, which is why we were there. So then she tried to sell us on a three week training course. You take the dogs there all day (12 hours), every day for 3 weeks. And then they are trained, POOF! Sounds perfect. What's the catch? It's $1200!!! I mean, seriously?! SERIOUSLY. Jaw dropped, catch it, SERIOUSLY?!! How much more money can we really spend on this dog? I can totally understand how this training camp would be great but really, she's not THAT bad of a dog. She listens perfectly at home, she is really good 99% of the time. Do we really need a $1200 camp for that 1% of the time? I don't know. Sigh.

2) Boarding/Daycare
I knew that boarding would be an issue when we got a puppy since Tim and I do like to travel. We got lucky with Bella as a puppy since my friend Gina and her boxer Dallas took care of Bella when we were out of town. Since Gina got a new puppy, I knew that she was out as our puppy sitter so I had to find a place to board Bella when we are in Hawaii and to put her for puppy daycare during my busy season on the days that Tim is working. I THOUGHT that it would be easy. Nope. I was becoming thoroughly discouraged trying to find a place. I did NOT want to put her in just any old boarding place where she gets a 2X2 concrete space and you can pay an extra $20 a day for her to get a 30 minute walk. HA. A 30 minute walk a day for my very energetic boxer? Not ok. Or how about the place that said that they wash out their "kennels" every day if they go to the bathroom in them but if the dogs choose to hold it, they get taken outside for 3 potty breaks a day. Which costs $5 a time. ARE YOU JOKING? That just seems ridiculous and almost cruel.

At almost my wits end, I got a recommendation from a friend for the Happy Hound Hotel. I email the owner, get information, and trying not to get my hopes up too much, I drive out there last week with Bella to meet her.

IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.

Each dog has his/her own ROOM with hardwood floors, their own big padded doggy bed, food/water bowls, a window, and their names are written on the door of their room. They get "cookies" every day before nap time and bedtime on their pillows and the best part? They have acres and acres to just run all day with the other dogs there. There is a schedule out there so they basically eat when they get up in the morning then spend all morning running and playing with their buddies (or going on off leash hikes with the staff) and then they nap from 12-4. Then they eat dinner and run some more after dinner. Then at night, there is quiet time for a couple of hours where the dogs and the staff just kinda hang around in this big play room- getting pet, brushed, loved etc.

It was awesome. The owner of the place was absolutely phenomenal. It was a little pricey but it's basically like a vacation for dogs. Bella got to play there for an hour with the dogs that were boarding or were in daycare while I talked to the owner and toured the place and Bella LOVED it. I can't wait to take her there... she probably won't want to come home. I know that we'll feel so much better knowing that she will actually be taken care of while we're gone.

So that's basically what's new in Bella's world. She's a puppy teenager so we're trying to figure out training and she goes on her first puppy vacation next week (which means, also, that we go on our Hawaiian vacation next week- yes!) She will also have a place to play/stay while I'm working long days in busy season when Tim's working which will also make for a very happy dog. Perhaps just by being at the place she'll board at, some of her behaviors will be tamed so we won't have to even THINK about a $1200 training camp? That would be fabulous. Because another $1200 on the dog? I just don't know about that.

So while this has all been a learning experience, it's been good. A good learning experience. Because we are growing. She's teaching us, without knowing it. She's teaching us patience, she's teaching us how to be good parents. And I think, I hope we are succeeding. If a happy dog is any indication, I'd say we are.