I'm looking over a four-leaf Grover . . .

That's just one of the nonsensical songs I sing to my puppy. I also sing, "He's a goofy Grover, yeah!" which will only make sense to you if you have wasted invested some portion of your life watching Spongebob Squarepants. 

My favorite part was when she couldn't pry
the treat out of the pocket in her skinny jeans.

Grover had his first obedience class on Monday night. This initial class is mostly about socialization with some beginning obedience stuff added, too.  The instructor is a friend of mine. There were a lot of pups there for the first class - including another Boxer. I'd just had a cortisone shot in my foot (yes, the plantar fasciitis saga continues), so I decided to let A do the training, at least for this class. My doctor wants me to take it easy for two weeks, which feels just about impossible. Anywho . . . the kid was beyond excited to get onto the training floor and get started, but there was a question and answer period first.  I can tell that I've been doing dog stuff for too long when I heard some of the questions that the new puppy owners were asking Tina. One guy's pup is just six weeks old and it sounds like he's had her for a bit already. I just felt like screaming, "No! You've made a terrible mistake!" A six-week-old puppy has not had enough time with her litter mates and is very likely to have issues with bite inhibition. I give the family credit for coming to class, though - for that matter, everyone who takes a dog to classes gets a thumbs-up from me. After 16 years of rescue work, many times I have seen situations that could easily have been avoided with some proper training.  Another doggie dad talked about how his puppy wasn't using the puppy pads they bought for him.  Tina wisely pointed out that this can be confusing for a pup, since the ultimate goal is to get the dog to pee/poop outside. I was right with her on that one - I can't think of any circumstance under which it would be a good idea to encourage a dog to do that stuff inside the house.  Grover is getting better, slowly but surely. Nighttime is a challenge because my daughter is hell-bent on sleeping with the puppy. However, her version of sleeping is very similar to a coma. So, she doesn't hear him get up. He poops in her bedroom and she still doesn't wake up.  I'm hoping this situation will resolve on its own eventually.

Last weekend, my daughter was out of town. She was on a mini tour with the choir. P had to work Saturday night.  So, I decided I would have a slumber party in the living room with the dogs.  I inflated an air mattress and wedged it between both couches. Then the dogs and I grabbed some blankets and some wine and settled in to watch Saturday Night Live. Well, I didn't give the dogs any wine because they are jerks when they drink. Anyway, let me just say that it was the worst night of sleep I've had since I had that stomach flu in February. The dogs milled about aimlessly (whining sporadically because the change in routine was apparently just too much for them), the puppy had to poop in the middle of the night, and the air mattress started to deflate in the wee hours of the morning.  Anyway, the kid is mooooore than welcome to keep sleeping with the puppy.

In other news, our foster dog is getting adopted on Friday. I am so happy for him! He's been with us for about three months and is very attached to me, but I'm sure he'll adjust. The adopter has had many German Shepherds, so she is very familiar with the breed (much more so than I am, I'm sure). He is still blowing his coat so I won't miss that.  He doesn't like to be brushed so when I walk by, I often just grab a few tufts that are jutting out (otherwise, I just have to pick them up off the floor once they are ejected).  Agent turns and gently mouths my hand as if to say, "I could break all of your fingers right now, but I choose not to . . . because you're my girlfriend."

I will take in another foster dog at some point, but first I need to take a couple weeks to focus on Sir Poops-a-Lot. He and I need to have some heart-to-heart chats about how the back yard needs his turds more than the carpet does.