We’ve had Mississippi for over two months now. It’s been a whirlwind. She’s definitely our dog now. She’s not afraid to tell us what she thinks of us. The other day I was sitting in what she now considers to be her chair and she tried to push me out. Why can’t we just get along kid? Every day we’re learning to be better dog owners. I have to remind myself that she can’t understand English so I need to show her my love, not just tell her. Sometimes that’s all she needs, just a scratch and a hug. I need to remember that when I get frustrated at her acting out. Most of the time however, she needs excitement. She’s now been going to doggy day care pretty regularly. She’s so much happier now that she can rely on some sort of excitement every day. On the days where I have tons of work, it’s the only thing that’ll keep her happy. Before I was a dog owner, I wasn’t a fan of dog day care. Now that I own a border collie/lab, I completely understand. Even on the weekends with both of us around, she wants more. Humans are so boring. I don’t think I realized how boring I was until we got Mississippi.
Each night she sleeps at the foot of our bed. Sometimes she gives a disapproving snort when it’s time to go to bed. If we stay up and read when she is tired, she seems to give another kind of disapproving snort that the lights are still on. In the mornings, when she can wait no longer for us to get up, she gives her tags a loud shake, then prances around our room, making weird grumbly noises until we give her a good scratch. She looks forward to the sound of the coffee grinder as a sign that the morning is starting and she enjoys her morning romps around the garden. She gets her bowl and a practice walk with Tom in the front, then off to day care. On days when she says home with me, it’s a torturous 3 hour wait until it’s time to go to the dog park and she gets a few short practice sessions each day on her commands. In the evening, it’s time for more scratches, some tug in the backyard, or an “after school kong” in the grass.
Things are going well for all three of us. She is an adorable doggy and I hope she loves us as much as we love her. We’ve had no major disasters. She hasn’t torn up the house or destroyed any priceless heirlooms. We had just two accidents in the basement since we got her and those have stopped now that she’s “taken over” my studio chair downstairs. Before the chair was there, the basement seemed like a perfectly reasonable place to relieve oneself. She was just never down there to understand it was part of her castle. Now we can occasionally let her be down there by herself. Though Tom’s music equipment makes me nervous. For all we know, she’s got plans for hocking his stuff on eBay.
Mississippi, thanks for being the best dog ever. Now please stop barking at the neighbor Andy, stop taking my socks, and please try to pull less when you are about to go into the dog park. And please don’t kill the neighbor’s cat or get hurt eating bees. Please just stop eating bees because I love them and want them to live. Please continue to get better at coming when we call because we’d love to take you to the beach. Thanks for letting us eat dinner in peace. Thanks for letting us sleep until 7:30 or 8. Thanks for your cute smiles. Keep sitting in our laps when we sit on the floor because I really love that. And please continue to be a big weirdo, because it’s really cute.
Speaking of bees… No wonder she is a bee hunter….