Amos and I have been roommates for 9 days, and I think we're starting to figure one another out. A little bit.
First and foremost, an updated list of Amos' likes and dislikes:
Running after Ellie (the cat) and scaring her back into Lindsey's room
Face diving into the grass in an attempt to get his Gentle Leader off
The antler chew toy that's as big as he is
Barking at his reflection in the puddle in the back alley
Sophie, the lovely lady neighbor dog who ignores Amos' existence despite his puppy-love attempts to engage her in a rousing game of 'Bark At Everything Ever'
The first 3 minutes of any given ride in the car because that's scary and wehavenoideawherewe'regoingMOMWHEREAREWEGOING?
The ferns. Still. Dastardly plants.
The fact that the air conditioner blows out cold air, which is good because we stick our face in it and that's fun, but it also makes noise, which is kinda loud and a bit obnoxious
This week also included our first Puppy Class, which I was super jazzed about because all week Amos has been unexpectedly great. He's calm, he goes into his crate willingly and enjoys being in it, doesn't mind getting his nails clipped, and has learned to sit and drop like a pro. All that being said, I had this expectation that class would go off with a hitch and we'd come out of it with some kind of ribbon or gold star pinned to his collar for exceeding expectations right from the get go.
Funny jokes, Sam. Funny jokes.
Our first task was to just sit and hold the pups calmly. Pshhht. We got this, Amos. Do your thing.
Amos' "thing" was to then wiggle every appendage in his body for the next 15 minutes and make incredibly pathetic whimpering noises while absolutely not sitting still whatsoever.
Great first impression, Amos! (?)
Next, the puppies were fit for their Gentle Leaders, which sent Amos into a tizz. If you don't know what a Gentle Leader is, it's a leash attachment that goes over a dog's mouth and around the back of their head that allows you to lead a dog from their head, as opposed to pulling on their collar around their neck. It mimics the pressure that mama dogs put on their pups to calm them down, and is incredibly useful for training. Rather than finding whatever sort of comfort this provides, Amos was sure this was going to kill him right then and there and just dropped to the floor of the training center and didn't move when given the last 5 minutes to play with his litter mates. I image he was muttering something along the lines of 'Woe is me' the rest of the night and car ride home. All in all, not the training class I imagined or anticipated. Ah well. There's always next time, bud.
Despite the sub-par first class, this dog continues to provide a unique kind of joy day in and day out and he really is pretty great. I've not yet had any shoes chewed up, all of our electrical chords in the apartment are still in tact, and sleeping through the night is becoming a more consistent thing. We hope this next week brings more progress in the potty-training department, and perhaps a few more hours of sleep on my end..!
