Molly, AKA TheBean, is my first born bulldog. She is quickly approaching 2. For a while, we thought we had her under control, but we were sadly mistaken. After a short stint with puppy prozac, we took her off the meds in hopes that the vigorous training we did while she was on them worked. Boy, were we wrong.
She has started to act up again in several ways. Molly barks nonstop during dinner (we eat at the table in the dining room, and her cage is adjacent to the table). She picks fights with Roscoe. She can not share toys. She is fearless. Literally. She’ll run with the biggest dogs at the park, and try and take their tennis balls. Hi, when you are a 50lb SHORT dog and challenging a German Shepherd, well, it isn’t the smartest thing. She pretty much thinks she is invincible. It would seem that I am her only pack leader in this world as she listens to me when I give commands. She doesn’t even do well listening to TheBoy. It is like she is mine, and Roscoe is his because God only knows I have trouble controlling him and his 100lb self. Short of becoming a stay-at-home-dog-mom, I’m running out of ideas.
The answer? What would Caesar do? WWCD. My new catch phrase. Should I make t-shirts? He would say she needs more exercise. So we started to do these long ass walks when we come home from work with the dogs. They get pooped and we burn calories. Win/win for everyone! Except Molly doesn’t get pooped. She comes home and wants to play some more. It is exhausting. An English Bulldog is SUPPOSED to be LAZY, not this fireball of energy. How did we ever get so lucky? *Sigh* Seriously, I believe a child would be less work than my dog. Yes, I am dead serious.
We decided that Molly needs a more creative outlet, so we enrolled her in Doggy Daycare here. It is as swanky as it looks, probably more so in person. Two to three days a week is our goal. $105 a week on daycare for our dog. Christ. But if it helps her out, then it is worth it to us.
Day 1: She gets dropped off, and is put in the small dog playgroup. No. That won’t work because she likes to terrorize the wee ones, so we tell them she’ll be fine with the big dogs. And for a while, she is. That is until she starts some dog riots. Apparently, my little brat doesn’t want any other dog to have toys. She tries to take them from EVERYONE which causes controversy when you try and take a bone away from a German Shepherd. I guess she kept getting the big dogs all riled up. So much that it warranted not one, but TWO time out sessions for her. After the third riot ensues, she is moved back down to the small dog group where she causes more riots and has to be put away into solitary confinement.
When we arrived, the staff member at the reception desk said ‘oh you are Molly’s parents? You’ll need to come with me please’. They went on to describe the events of the day, and said they didn’t want to ban her just yet as they would like a few more times to see if she gets more comfortable with the staff. Great, my dog already has a reputation. While we were in this “parent-teacher conference”, several staff members walked by and referred to Molly as ‘Tough Girl’. Awesome.
We will try Doggy Daycamp again on Wednesday. Until then, pray for us….or send Caesar.
NOT ALWAYS PERFECT 