Tessie Tests Us

As I sit here, wetter than the dog, I wonder why I didn’t jump in and lather up with doggie wash. Or

is it called doggie shampoo since she is hairy all over?  Man, can my dog splash in the tub! And I thought the grandkids were like whales in the shallow end of the pool in the bathtub, Tessie has them beat by a mile!  Puppy adventures are extraordinary and so easily forgotten or nobody would ever get one again!

I looked at puppy, wet down, minus her labradoodle curls and she was a skinny runt with long legs, barely recognizable. I had to admit, she was comical. I thought about taking a picture but stopped myself knowing it would be downright embarrassing to her for others to see looking so goofy.  How pitiful does Tess look wet!  Quickly I got her out of there, well actually twice she half jumped out and I not very politely shoved her head and shoulders back in there.

Next was the trip to the bathroom with the cool air from the blow dryer to aid with drying her. Never

having been graced with curly hair, whew, what a surprise was that. Earlier today I did my first mini trim job on her, taking off just a bit of her hair. That bit I cut off must have been enough to make it spring back into action. Blow drying it after the bath, her hair was like a slinky being put up for the day!  Bouncing but not behaving!  She was a sea of poodle curls and not loving the air coming at her. Her mouth was wide open showing me her new teeth coming in as she tried to bite air. Oh great, I am sure to be treated to gas later tonight, compliments of Tessie!

Due to what the trainer calls’ “counter-serving” Tessie is now going away to Camp. Maybe we should call it school for the delinquent or strong willed child.  We called who our vet recommended “Sit Means Sit.”  And then they found out she knows the command sit but her sit is short-lived, like most everything because her attention span lasts about .yeah, that long, a period at the end of a sentence.

Counter serving, by the way, is the dog that has incredibly long legs and can reach up to the top of the counter. Tessie likes to see what is going on there that has my attention. Also, it is imperative she find out if there is anything available to steal, chew or just look at.  If she doesn’t see anything of interest in front of her, she just moves along down the counter with her feet on the ground and her paws sliding down the counter.  Yeah, others think it is cute, funny or whatever. To us, it is aggravating and to the trainers, it is a definite no-no, right up there with the jumping on everyone.

So after spending some time with our little gem, the trainer and I were in agreement, a simple few training lessons is never going to be enough for Miss High-Energy Low on Attention Span Puppy

especially given her breed. Heck, this great trainer had a horrendous time getting even eye contact with Tessie. I think Tess sensed she was going to make her mind and thought, “the hell with this lady.”  So, Tessie will be boarding with them for 10 days and come back a changed lady instead of the Tramp. Get it, from the Disney move…..

She gets walked daily by the driving range. Lucky for her, several golfers in our community are bad hitters and balls land way off the range on the walking paths. Those balls get spotted by Tessie and thus dog walks consistently include a game of chase the ball. This is great fun and wears her little butt out so it has an added bonus.  It is hysterical to watch her overrun the ball, try to apply her brakes which are her legs too long currently for her body.  She lands up splattered on the ground like a deer on ice!  She looks up with you with her raccoon mask like “What the hell just happened?”

I have to say a real shocker is how much Tessie loves car rides. Never have I had a dog that enjoyed the car. With her, there is no drama, no panting, crying, barking or pacing. She simply sits in the back seat and occasionally looks out to see who is out there and possibly if any good looking dogs are tailing us. 

I still have bite marks, as soon as some heal, new ones form. Oh yes, she gets reprimanded, toys given to distract her but in time, that doesn’t work either. This puppy is high energy and smart.  She is learning right along with us, what works and what doesn’t.  And then there are the times, though rare, when she is the sweetest loving thing in the world.   But all in all, I think we’ll keep her! 

Past Teen-Age Loves

They met outdoors, where the sun shines and trees blossom in the spring 

huge in the park unhindered by man. It was a sweet relationship that didn’t’ last

all that long but had its moments of bliss, moments sealed with a kiss and a few tiffs.  There even was a special time sharing hopes and dreams on the telephone, just two young high school kids in love, in love with being in love.

The funny thing about being young is you see what you want to see.  You talk about things teens talk about, looking at the world through the eyes of youth and innocence.  This is part of the beauty of youth, the imaginary mind of seeing all things possible, of believing in fairy tale endings. 

We grow up and meet some of those past love interests that slipped through the grasps of our fingertips in the past.  And as adults, through the trials and tribulations of experiences, we have matured and changed, some of us anyways. Our value systems may have changed. Some people, no doubt, change more than others, some develop more character, fine tune their value systems and become more compassionate.  Adults we knew as children can become catalysts for change in our world; champions for causes for helping fellow human beings have opportunities to advance their lives so that there is no semblance of a caste system anywhere. Some adults are content just existing, enjoying moment by moment. The range of ways we approach our lives is as diverse as people are unique. But what we evolved into is quite often not what any of us envisioned as teens.

Thus teen love interests were usually not meant to last. Connecting with these old love interests can be precious and can be disheartening. Waking up to the realities that, when you were young and innocent, you were like so many youth today, only seeing people through the eyes of idealism and not realism is a hard fact to face. You were human!  You were fallible to wanting to believe something that was not true. Age truly does sharpen your intuition and make you a better judge of character and what matters to you and yes, to those other potential long ago ‘love interests.”  Seeing that those people you thought were so wonderful are on quite different paths of how they define happiness from you and right and wrong is important so you do not live with regret.    The kid that was arrogant may still be or not be at all. The one that seemed insecure may have grown into a man quite full of himself. The girl that was the prettiest may now be someone who is focused on more important things.  Seeing these changes can impact us in positive ways.

Someone told me awhile back that I saw them through youthful eyes still. Looking back, they were right; I see them through idealist eyes, the way I wanted to see them, not for who they are.  I thought they had changed, maybe they had or maybe they were that way all along and my innocence never picked up the signs.  I wanted my value system today to be theirs so that a bond would still exist and we could be friends. When the morality and character are so vastly different, the odds of having a friendship dissipate.   Relationships don’t work that way. People are meant to move in and out of your life, not everyone can stay.  Learn what you can about past relationships and how you viewed those people as a youth but let go of those innocent eyes, of looking at past lovers through dream-struck visions because the reality is they are flawed individuals too. Their paths may have been meant to cross over yours again but may not be meant to stay.

Tessie's Back

Okay, here it goes an update from the woman who will never win Puppy Owner of the Year Award but also, the most honest!  Bet you are wondering what life has been like in my world with Tessie. Suffice it to say, a bitch of an adventure!

It hardly seems like there is a minute’s peace unless she is napping. Those afternoon naps are the best time of the day to get things done, until she hears movement, ouch,  then she is up and ready to

rumble.  However, one day, we were out and about in the house and no sound of the scraggly rug rat underfoot. As we said her name after about 15 minutes, there was no response. We searched all the usual sleeping places calling her name to no avail. Finally, the only door closed in the house I slipped open. Staring back at me was Tessie, still as a mouse, ready to pounce.

She had found her way in the walk-in closet which allowed her to walk in but, once entering, the door has to be pushed back out to open. Miss Smarty Pants doesn’t have that trick down yet. Note to self, great place to put puppy on a time-out!

Why is it that our puppy prefers wrapping herself around the base of the toilet to sleep rather than the comfy places in the house? Though the bathrooms are cleaned religiously, it seems rather uncleanly to be sleeping here. Every time I catch her, it is fight against her will power and mine to pull her out from around it. The one good thing I will say about the struggle, by the time I am done, the bottom of the bowl is extra shiny!

Puppies are so cute, to everyone else but their owner!  When we take her somewhere, like to the vet’s, she is so demure and innocent. She is cooed over and told she is one of the best puppies they see. I brush off the compliments about the cutest knowing full well that is said to every puppy owner. What her like kids grow up to be teenagers, ugh!)

Some of my closer friends have had the privilege or rather disadvantage of seeing Tessie in her

normal stage, hell on four paws, or rather none!  She prefers flying at you like a Frisbee and has no breaking power because you are it, your body, wherever she hits! ‘ No’ means you want more of whatever she is doing wrong!  Nipping is her way of saying hello and she loves repeating greetings.  She is the hostess that has to be the center of attention and makes us look like first time dog owners, which neither of us are!  We frequently get asked “Are you putting her in dog training?” Yes is the answer and we have been in it before, numerous times,  but have never had a Tessie before. Can I stop here?

This puppy is not an eater. In fact, it is a wonder she puts on weight. We switched dog foods, tried watering the food down. Cut back the times she was fed to see if she got hungrier, pet her while she was eating, and finally gave up. We suppose she will eat when she is hungry and she does, but not nearly what the vet said she should eat. But she grows and eats some.

And like the other day, finds other things on the ground she prefers to dog food, like other dog’s poop. Unfortunately, I did not pull the lead hard enough to get her away before it hit her mouth. So here I am, with Miss Tessie, her pretty pink lead with hearts on it, my puppy just having been brushed all pretty walking through the front yard with a large turd half in her mouth and half hanging out. As she is chewing I am trying to retain my composure. As I battle internally telling myself yes, I must do the unthinkable, I remember I have baby carrots in my pocket. I had brought them out to give her not realizing someone else left her something disgusting to munch on.

So I bent over, with carrot in hand and yelled at her to drop it, spit it out as if she would understand

and waved that damn carrot as if it were the best damn thing on earth to no avail. She was not letting go of that turd, no way no how. I was not getting out of this easy!  I saw she was chewing it which made my stomach turn and thought I saw her start swallowing part of it and pull the other part in her mouth. Okay, I told myself, just go for it so I stuck my finger in her mouth and flicked it out yelling all the while thinking hell, I will take a bite from her but darn is she is chomping on someone else’s dirty deed. I flipped that turd as high and hard as I could and silently wished death on the person who did not pick up after their dog! Thank you very much!

Playing on the floor with Tessie requires the utmost attention. One evening, as I was messing around with her, she was climbing up my back. She was getting abit rough and I held her off. I should have known to stop the play right there.  I learned a second too late, puppies don’t have brakes on play time and sometimes go too far. My ear let me know, as she bit it. I held my hand to it, and when I pulled it away, it was full of blood. Yelling for my husband, I couldn’t help but wonder if I lost part of my ear flap. Lucky for her I didn’t or I would have had to retaliate!  Puppy’s mouths are danger zones sometimes.

Drama seems to abound with Tessie. Even when I am leaving her and putting her in her zipper cage. I zip one way and out pops her head the other. Having a smart puppy makes the owner feel stupid. I

swear she is laughing half the time saying “Gotcha!” Even throwing in a treat in the back of it, she grabs it much quicker than you can zip it up or says, “Hell with the treat, I am coming out” and heads for the door regardless leaving me with an empty crate looking at a dog treat left behind.  When I finally get her in the darn thing, she creates a racket to let me know how ticked off she is. And darn if I don’t  feel guilty. How do puppies do that? Give you that puppy face and make you fall in love with them all over again like the first time you saw them and they said “Take me home!”

Well suffice it to say, as many times as I say “You love her, you can have her” I think I will hang on to her awhile longer. We seem to be getting a grove going now but sure have our bumps along the way.  She is a lover at times and those cuddles make all the other things fade at the end of the day from memory.  And then, the sun comes up……. Tessie’s awake!