Puppymoon Over?

She was young. She was cute. She was fluffy. She was shy.

That, my friends, was the Siena of two weeks ago. Nowadays, Siena is still young and cute and fluffy, but she’s anything but shy. I’d describe her more as outgoing, rambunctious and at times devious and hellacious. Take for example, the evening she chomped down on my calf or affixed herself to my shirt, thereby tearing a hole in it with her cute little sharp teeth. Or the evening where she seemed to be possessed by the devil and vehemently attempted to destroy our shag rug. (On that occasion, she actually looked me in the eye while pulling on my beloved Crate and Barrel rug, seeming to take delight in my futile attempts to stop her.)

After a few days of enduring the Monster, I wised up. I researched like a fiend, channeled my inner Cesar Millan and vowed to stick to the Dog Whisperer’s three principles: exercise, discipline then affection. We all know that most problems with dogs aren’t really the dogs themselves, it’s usually the owner. [Head hung low.]

Yesterday evening, Siena had her walk, and then, when she started her nightly attempt at removing my digits, I put her in puppy jail. Once she quieted down she came back out and went back to her old tricks. Back into the slammer she went. After calming down again, she got it. We did some training that rewarded her for licking my hand, not biting it off, and then she really started to get it. Ryan and I spent the evening relatively bite-free, and things were pretty peaceful.

Although Ryan claims that I am the next Dog Whisperer, or at least the Siena Whisperer, I’m not declaring victory. The pup has a strong mind and some sass. This whole learning-not-to-be-a-brat thing may take some time. Now that the puppymoon looks like its over, I’m just taking it one day -- and nip -- at a time.

p.s. Pictures of puppy jail to come soon! She does a really good 'I’m sorry' pose. :)