December 28, 2003
Guarded by toys
6:00 p.m.
About 90% of the day was good, and the other 10% has me really frustrated. Let's start with the good parts...
Dusty was an angel all day. It was so warm out today that I set up a chair on the balcony, put on my shorts and a t-shirt (I'm serious!) and worked on my tan as I read a book. Dusty layed in my lap for awhile, then jumped down and layed in her basket. She rolled over so her belly could get a sunbath. It was SO cute.
In the afternoon, I curled up on the futon and took a nap. Dusty curled up beside me, her back pressed into mine in a total mirror image. I wish I had a picture of that!
Perhaps it was pent-up energy from all the sleep she's been getting, but Dusty was a brat on our evening walk. She pulled the leash out of my hand three times, ate garbage off the sidwalk, and then topped it off by scaring the daylights out of some poor woman by unexpectedly barking at her as she passed on the sidewalk.
This scared me too. I reacted immediately by saying 'NO!' then I put Dusty in a downstay, but I wonder if there's any way to train her *not* to bark at people. It doesn't happen often, and when it does I suspect she's just startled, but she has a loud 'yip' that really scares people. I'd much rather be a good citizen and not frighten my neighbours. *sigh*
Anyways...she's back to being angelic, as she always is when she's in the apartment, hanging out with me. If only she could be this good when we're out in public.