Dog Lesson

Life lesson number 1,376,046.

Do not bring a new puppy into your household just before record breaking snowfalls.

Had these blizzards hit last year I could have arrived home from work, set a fire blazing in the fireplace, and forgotten about the outside world until morning.

Not so with a puppy still learning to master its bladder.

Even more not so with a puppy who loves to frolic in the snow.

It seems I've been outdoors more often in the past week than in the previous two months.

At least now the dog will pee in the snow. After the first snowfall, having just learned that the grass was the place to do her business, the puppy was in mental crisis. She would indicate a need to go out, race through the door, and then pace anxiously in search of green. I ended up having to shovel a section of lawn clear of snow to avoid the dog having a nervous breakdown.

Thankfully green is no longer required for bathroom trips and I no longer have to shovel the lawn in addition to the driveway. Anyplace outside (including the deck) is now considered an acceptable place to squat - because everything beyond the door to the house is the same uniform white.

Which means there is another training challenge waiting in the wings. Teaching the dog that the deck is no longer an acceptable pit stop location once the outside world returns to normal.