Just a cute picture of a crazy little baby

I expected that the first few weeks of house-training the dog would be hard, but this I did not expect: Jasper is a very good dog, but he is a bad influence on Lucy.

We were out by the pool the other day, and I had the little inflatable one set up as well for Lucy and Abbie. Jasper kept trying to bite the plastic, but after re-directing him a few times he got the hint and left it alone. Not long afterwards, however, I looked up to catch Lucy flashing me a huge grin.......right before she bent down over the side of the pool and bit it. She even tossed her head from side to side, just like the dog. Re-directing works great with Jasper; with Lucy, not so much.

Jasper also likes to run around the yard a few times a day, and for the first few days it took some coaxing to get him back into the house. He would jump around when I opened the door, still wanting to play, and trot a few steps back towards the yard when I came to get him. He's getting much better, and more often than not will immediately run into the house now as soon as I open the door. Lucy, however, now thinks that it is the funniest thing in the world to start running for the hills as soon as I call her to come in. Luckily, those chubby little legs aren't conducive to a fast getaway but, for goodness' sake!! She has also taken to licking our hands as she passes by. How many bad habits can a baby pick up from a dog??

I know that right about now you are probably thinking about this post and giggling to yourself. I can't blame that one on the dog, but adding him to a mix like that could make things a whole lot....you know, I can't even finish that thought. I don't want to think about it.

As we have been reading up on training animals, we've come to the realization that Lucy is just like a problem pet: she begs for food, doesn't listen to commands, is loud and unmannerly...the list goes on. Well, if she's going to act like she's a little female Tarzan, living with the wolves, maybe I should treat her like one. I think I should train Lucy and Jasper together. He needs to learn how to live with humans and she......well, she needs to learn how not to act like an animal. It will be interesting to see who is giving me more trouble in a few months. Tune in for the results. :)

(My money, for the record, would be on Lucy.)