Moving!

Hi to anyone who reads this blog. I've moved over to WordPress because Blogger isn't sufficiently supported on iPads and I want to be able to blog while sitting on the couch instead of hunched over my computer. Plus I really don't like the new blogger format. I don't know that I even liked the original one. WordPress is way better. Anyway, it's the same url, just replacing "blogspot" with "wordpress:"

dancingmathprofessor.wordpress.com

I've moved everything over already. Happy reading!

Looking up

Things have, indeed, gotten better. As I'm sure is no surprise to anyone, most of the improvements have to do with Kraig and me honing our puppy skills.

I spent an hour yesterday afternoon chatting with my mom on the bed in my room with the dog gated off in the livingroom and diningroom. I needed a break away from her company. Mom had some good suggestions that my sleep-deprived brain hadn't come up with, like putting something that smelled like us out for her to curl up with. Finally, I have something to do with Kraig's stinky hockey shirts other than gag while putting them in the washing machine!

Anyway, that worked. We also talked about whether she was leashed trained or not, and I realized that, no, she's not the least bit leash trained, and that what Kraig and I were expecting of her on walks was simply not realistic. I also tried using her kibbles as treats instead of the "grain-free, organic chicken" treats we bought her as a present. I thought we'd adopted a mutant dog who didn't like treats. Turns out, those things were just crap (and also didn't agree with her stomach). Now all we have to do to get her attention is hold up a kibble. I spent 10 minutes with her on-leash walking slowly around the apartment next to me, sitting whenever I stopped walking. Success! I even got her to do it twice outside this morning when she went out to pee. It's still a bit too busy outside during the day to expect her to focus, but I'm going to keep working inside and hopefully it'll translate naturally to her walks once she gets the hang of it.

The VERY BEST bit of progress from yesterday is that she SLEPT BY HERSELF IN THE LIVINGROOM!!! Kraig and I have been taking turns sleeping on the couch and keeping her company, which sucks, and last night we decided that she was used to the house and was going to have to suck it up and deal. She whined for about an hour (apparently; I passed out immediately) and then settled down and slept through the night without any accidents. She was even still asleep when we went to take her out in the morning, so maybe we can sleep in a little on weekends.

At the moment she's playing contentedly with her tennis ball and fabric frisbee in and around my office while Kraig showers and shaves. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get some work done later today while she amuses herself. She's figured out a neat trick of picking up the ball wrapped inside of the frisbee so that she can carry them both around at the same time. She has a seriously adorable puppy prance when she's proud of herself.

Kids have GOT to be easier than this

It's been a rough day with the dog. Given the following my posts about her on Facebook have received, I am not saying anything about it there. The LAST thing I feel like getting is a barrage of sympathy and advice and, "Don't worry, it will get better!" Damn fucking straight it'll get better. It still sucks now.

This morning started fine. Serif nosed me when she woke up and needed to go out to pee around 7am. Kraig and I are taking turns sleeping on the couch in the living room with her. She doesn't like crates because of her previous owners who kept her locked in one all the time, and she isn't secure enough to sleep in her bed in the living room. She'll sleep in our bedroom eventually, but for now that's the cats' territory.

I drove to Northwestern with her this morning to meet with a student. Also fine, though she's shy now that she has "her people." She met my student and the department admin, and after my meeting I went outside to take her back to the car and home. She was being really fractious outside because the area around the math department is so busy. I was waiting for her to calm down to pee and looking around thinking, "where's my car? Did I park somewhere else?" Normally this is the case; I routinely forget where I've parked and think my car's been towed. This time it really had been towed. There's street cleaning every third Monday of the month. Instead of just leaving a ticket like Chicago, however, Evanston tows immediately.

So I freak out because now I have a misbehaving dog who won't pee because she's too distracted outside and no way to get home (dogs aren't allowed on the trains anyway and OH BOY am I not getting on a noisy train platform with a skittish dog who doesn't even like squeaky toys because they make noise). Oh and I left my cell phone plugged in by the bed because I wasn't sleeping there and so didn't grab it when I woke up like I normally would.

Solution: head back to the office and enlist Kraig's aid via gchat. He's at work 2 hours away via public transportation. So he stops at home to get spare keys and look up the license plate number (haven't bothered to memorize it yet since moving to IL). He had lunch while he was home, figured out that the plate number is not on the car title or the insurance paperwork, found it on our garage lease, and then left to go get the car -- without the spare keys.

So then Kraig takes a train and a bus to the lot where the car is, figures out he doesn't have the keys, and then has to take a taxi to the math department where I've been holed up with the dog in my office. Fortunately, my friend Bethany who also works at Northwestern is an angel and brought me some grilled cheese for lunch (comfort food!!!).

I went out to take Serif home at 11:30am. We'd been there since 9:20am. By the time Kraig, Serif, and I got home, it was almost 4pm and we were all EXHAUSTED.

And now, she just took a big, liquidy shit on the carpet in my office. Oh the joys of pet ownership. Either the shelter didn't give us the same food that she's been on, the treats don't agree with her, or all of the stress has mixed up her digestion (probably a bit of all three -- she doesn't care for the treats much).

Tomorrow we have a vet appointment at 10am and then I am staying home for the rest of the day with her and relaxing. It's supposed to be super hot out so there isn't any point in taking her on any kind of significant walk. Fortunately, it's Kraig's turn to sleep on the couch tonight, because I'm exhausted.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I left my Petit Ecolier by the windowsill out of reach of the dog last night and they're melted today? Sigh...