Sniffydog — Train Your Dog’s Nose

The two puppies rescued from under the rubbish pile are still here. I’m beginning to understand why, despite the cute pictures and the nice descriptions, nobody seems to want a puppy right now.

The real mystery, in fact, is how the dog has hung on as a human companion for thousands of years.

This morning, I looked up from the breakfast table to see that Bruce, who had been out minutes before, was peacefully beginning to poop on the carpet. I shot to my feet. “No!” I bellowed. “Outside!!!”

He gave me that peaceful serene look that puppies have at moments like those and didn’t move. I trotted to him, meaning to scoop him up and deposit him outdoors — gingerly, you understand.

Wanda, dear little sister Wanda, charged with me. However, she began on the right and ended on the left, managing to trip me twice in a single straight-line diagonal. She doesn’t really understand about accidental stepping-on, assumed I was trying to kill her (I was assuming something similar about her) and screeched. I did too. Bruce reached a logical conclusion: we were both out for his blood. He bolted.

However, he has been eating fur off the floor, which was hindering him in his original project. At this point, I had a puppy running terrified through the house with poop in progress and stuck. Unhappy with the situation, he too began to screech, which fascinated his sister, who began to chase him. Meanwhile, I went to the door caroling “Outside!” and eventually “Get out the ******* door!” This had all the effect one might expect — the adults shot outside while the puppies vanished in another lap around the laundry room circle.

I did eventually capture and release Bruce. We did sort out his fibrous issues. I did clean the early-stage poop off the floor. Minutes later, he and his sister were both busily engaged in reminding me why we keep these creatures. They really are cute, sweet little bugbears.