Friday, September 2, 2011

Dickens In Development

Still hasn't figured out the ball thing yet, though.


Tomorrow is Dickens’ one-month anniversary here. Today I re-read some of the early entries in this blog and it’s like I was writing about some other dog--which in a sense I was.

Dickens has been having light-bulb moments every day. This afternoon I put him in the car for a run to the supermarket, and when we got back I opened the tailgate expecting the usual furry red missile to bound toward freedom. What I saw instead was Dickens in a very nice sit, waiting patiently for me to give him the all clear.

In fact, Dickens seems to have decided that sitting is the equivalent of saying "please." It gets my attention faster than barking or running around in circles or making Wookiee noises. I’m encouraging this every chance I get.

Aside from the couch-related incident of a few days ago, Dickens has been good when left alone in the house. Today when I left in the early afternoon to go for a motorcycle ride he seemed to know he was going to be on his own for a while and stretched out on the floor instead of following me around the house trying to get me to play. Dogs are good at recognizing patterns of behavior and what they lead to, so maybe he’s figured out that when I put on those boots, and that jacket, and pick up that helmet, I’m going away for a while.

Dickens will be a year old on the 11th of this month. I look forward to the dog he’ll be by the time another year has gone by.

2 comments:

  1. Glad to hear about the improvement! Hoping he can continue to improve!

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  2. Such fun to see the progress and "becoming" in just a month--celebrate! And, yes. Look forward to the dog Dickens will be in another year. But savor all the moments--the good and the infuriatingly naughty--inbetween. Losing one at age 4 I now just laugh at the muddy paw trail across my freshly-cleaned carpet to find a guilty, wiggling Rex at the other end. All the moments are sweet...okay, most all the moments...
    Jeanne & Bob & Rex

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