Looks Can Be Deceiving

Don't be deceived! Buffy looks like your typical yellow lab, but she's not! Well, maybe she is...

I got Buffy three years ago when she was just 8 weeks old. She looked like the puppy on the Advantix commercials - you know, the one at summer camp who sings the song, "Hello, Mother... Hello, Father..."

She's the first dog with papers I've ever had, and I gave her the sappy name of Bella Buffy Vanilla Pudding. Bella because she's so pretty. Buffy because I was totally into Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the time. Vanilla after the best dog I ever had - a yellow lab mix. And Pudding because she seemed so sweet. Little did I know!

This dog has been such a handful! I love her to pieces, but she has demonstrated an affinity for every bad behavior known to dogdom. She and her brother/cousin Reagan (he was once my dog, now he's my sister's) ate very large portions of the driveway gate and the frame around the garage door. She's currently attempting to eat her Igloo doghouse, and she's making really good progress. She's partially consumed a couple of dog beds. She barks at the poor guy who lives behind us everytime he goes out in his yard. Luckily, he's a dog lover and he assures me it's okay, however it's not okay with me.

She pulls plants up out of the yard and eats them or runs around gleefully with them. She's stolen fruit off the kitchen counter - she really likes peaches and bananas. She steals my socks and underwear on laundry days. Yuck!

On the other hand, she is very smart and learns commands quickly. She has a pretty big vocabulary. She will drop any item (even food) if I tell her to drop it. When food is involved she will learn and do anything. I taught her to roll over in under ten minutes using treats to motivate her. Now she'll roll over without a lure.

She loves to go for a walk, but she hates to wear any sort of restraint. She pulls the entire time, which is really irritating to me. And it was on our walks when I realized that she has a fear of small children. In the past, her fear made her get very nervous at first, and then she would growl and bark at any little kid we happened upon. This, of course concerns me because next year there will be a baby in the house.

So, my new strategy is to walk her more often through the park near my home, and to stop at the children's play area and just sit and watch the little kids playing. We did this today, and while she was interested in them, she did not react like she has in the past. There was no growling or barking. So, I'm hopeful that with continued exposure to kids and her maturity she will be a good companion for Jillian. I know that I'll have to vigilant with my training and careful when they are in the same room together - just in case.