Scooter, Scooter, Scooter

Scooter is a Beagle and so cannot be blamed for his no stop barking. So no blame, but I am working on calming him down and trying to get him to be a dog and not a furry car alarm.

Scooter barks so much that he goes home hoarse, and his owners don't like that. So they send him with doggie downers, but I can't sedate a dog for 2 weeks.

So I am hoping the Dog Whisperer's techniques can help even Scooter. I have been taking him on a leased walk and that really seems to calm him down. Problem is that it doesn't stick. I have to do this pretty much every play time. He is good for most of the day, but by late afternoon, he has worked himself back into a tizzy of non stop barking.

I have two weeks maybe I can get him to relax and interact with the other dogs. Right now all he does is stay by himself and charge and bark whenever two dogs are wrestling.

I did see him 'smell a butt' yesterday so maybe there is still a little dog left in him. I know he will be happier and a lot less barky if he would just 'BE A DOG!'

Courtnee, I love the name but they should have named you Garbo

Courtnee 'vants to be alone'.

She doesn't want dogs to come near her, run near her, play near her and she certainly doesn't want them close enough to smell her or for her to smell them.

I have a solution for this, give Courtnee her own section of the play yard.

My idea was greeted with some very strenuous complaining, whimpering, whining and endless barking from Courtnee.

Oh, I see, you 'vant to be alone' in a crowd.

She actually pulled it off. She growled and glared and snapped at all the other dogs until even Shiloh (all enthusiasm and no steering) got the message and left her alone.

My 'Be a Dog, You Will Be Happier as a DOG, Smell the Butt' speech was lost on Courtnee.

"Daisy, you are a DOG."

I don't know what kind of conversations you have at work, but I have ones that go like this.

"Daisy, you are a DOG."
"Daisy, they are all DOGS."
"Daisy, be a DOG - you will be happier as a DOG."

"Come on, Daisy, smell his butt!"
"Get it over with, just do it!"
"Smell his butt!"
"BE A DOG!"

I thought I had the perfect situation, three little dogs all equally skittish and unsocialized, Daisy, Scruffy and Kaizon. This should work like a dream. They will figure out how to play together and then they will be able to play with any dog. Daisy was just not buying into my plan. Finally, yesterday morning she did it. She stuck up behind Scruffy and Kaizon and did the most polite thing a dog can do - she smelled a butt. The second lesson in doggie etiquette is to stand there and return the favor. She wasn't quite ready for that level of civility but she did walk away slowly acting like she didn't notice Scruffy 'back there'. A huge improvement over squealing and running that she was doing. They were playing together in no time.

I figured with one more day, I could have gotten Kaizon in on the playtime, but Daisy went home last night. Too bad.