Dog Sitting

So as fate would have it, after posting a blog about how twenty somethings shouldn’t own dogs, here I am pet sitting for the week. My girlfriend left me her dog, Maggie, as she went up to Ohio to hopefully get people to give her money in order to go save the world. In the past few days Mags and I have spent some quality time together, and I haven’t spent one second inside of a bar or had a night on the town since her arrival. So I stand proudly as my own best example of shameful dog ownership.

Have I ever owned or even lived with a dog? -No. Have I seen The Dog Whisperer? -Yes. That hour and a half of my life more than qualifies me as “pack leader” for the week. In just two days I’ve trained Maggie to walk along side of me perfectly. Beyond that, I’ve accomplished nothing. She’ll follow me around the house obsessively, then I will turn and call her over to me and she just stares back and then runs away when I approach her. How do you train a dog to come when you call it? I’ve always gotten a good laugh at people, namely Sam Ed, who call and call their dogs to no avail, but now I am one of those people. I really could be the most shameful of dog owners.

So what’s intrigued me the most about Mags this week is her obsessive routines; most notably her pooping ritual. I’ve broken her habit of constantly pulling on her leash, but right before she poops she will pull on the leash, dip her shoulder and circle counterclockwise 2 times. This gives you a good warning incase you want to pull her out of it and avoid a shitting. If you yank the leash at any point before she squats, she will abandon her quest to poop, hence my inability to rid her of this habit. Once she poops, she will take about 4 steps forward and then claw at the ground as if she is trying to burry her poo, even though she is typically clawing nowhere near her poo and she only kicks up the smallest amount of grass. I was quite proud of myself yesterday when I saw Maggie circling around and was able to bag her poo straight from the anus. To my chagrin, she dropped two more logs, but I was still impressed with myself.

Here’s a video of Maggie displaying one of her illogical fears. The two things she fears in my house are large cardboard boxes and air vents. Rest a toy on a large box, or a vent and it’ll drive her crazy. What a weirdo. Does anyone know a good dog therapist?