Bella's shy, but not with everyone

Today I took Bella and a sack of her favorite toys to College Hill Animal Hospital, where she's going to be boarded for a few days. This is the clinic where she spent much of her puppyhood, while the vets there nurtured her back to health after she and her brother and sister had been abandoned and left to starve. We adopted her from these folks. Bella is kind of a shy girl with strangers, but the minute she walked into the clinic today, she made it clear that everyone there is her friend. Her tail was wagging like mad. She was right at home. The staff there seems to love her too. So I can relax while we're gone on vacation, knowing she's being spoiled by people she loves while we're away.

Long walk calls for frequent pit stops in cool grass

We took Bella for a long walk today at Sedgwick County Park. It was a nice day, kind of warm. She was friendly with a boxer puppy we saw on the trail, and with another mutt as well. She was a good girl, but she keeps her own pace; every time we hit a shady spot, she collapsed in the grass and stretched out to cool off. She must have done this about 10 times on our hour-long walk.

My brother Bud and his family were here to visit this week. Bella was a little nervous about the houseguests-- she barked every time my brother looked her way. But after a couple days, she was willing to take treats from my nephew, Ethan, and he led on her leash nicely. I wish they could have stayed longer-- I think Bella eventually would have relaxed and treated everybody like family.

Yesterday we went to a party and instead of crating her, we let her hang out in the backyard while we were gone. Neighbors didn't leave us any frantic "shut your dog up!" phone messages, so we're going to assume she quietly sacked out under her favorite bushes until we got home.

Sleepover at kennel wore Bella out

We went to the Symphony in the Flint Hills concert yesterday about 100 miles away from home. Pets weren't allowed at the event, though I would have loved to have let Bella run loose in the grasslands near Council Grove. Instead, we booked her an overnight stay at Chisholm Creek Pet Resort. They had about 100 dogs staying at the kennel, all of them barking like mad when I went to pick Bella up today. She's happy to be home, I think. And worn out.

She finished her obedience training last week. She did great, but didn't pass her final, unfortunately. She was too frolicksome when I was walking her on her lead, and wouldn't sit still to let the instructor pet her-- she wanted to jump up and say hi. She loved the instructors though, and learned a lot-- sit, stay, lie down, do what we say at least some of the time. We may sign her up for a refresher course when she gets a little older.

Here's a link to an interesting, pro-pit terrier Web site I discovered today: http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/.

On the road with barkin' Bella

We took Bella on her first road trip this weekend. I was able to redeem a handful of reward points for a free stay at the Travelodge in Dodge City, Kan., so we headed west to see new territory, through Pratt, Greensburg and all other points of interest along Hwy. 54. Bella was a terrific travel companion. She was fine in the car, loved stopping for a stroll through Pratt's lovely Sixth Street Park, and was fine staying parked in the shade with the windows open while Dave and I enjoyed a dandy (and quite inexpensive) steak dinner at the Central Station Club and Grill in Dodge City. She was rewarded with a few bites of my leftover filet mignon.

As we strolled around on our travels, she was pleasant to all strangers, even the prairie dogs yipping at us in their well-populated town along a lovely walking trail at the Dodge City Community College. The only time she barked was in the middle of the night, when we were awakened by fellow travelers laughing, cavorting and slamming doors outside our room some time after 2 a.m. She let out a couple loud barks and some growling then on our behalf, voicing our own sentiments exactly, ready to protect us should the revelers want to break into our oh-so-posh room.

This morning we toured the Gray County Wind Farm on our way to breakfast at the quite excellent Pancake House in Liberal. Now we're back in Wichita, and Bella is settled into her old routine, sneaking bites of the cats' food and chewing up the pad in her crate. There's no place like home.

Obedience class is paying off so far

Bella has surprised us in her training class so far. She does not desperately tug on her leash to play with the other dogs, and she actually does what she's told more than half the time. She loves the teacher and volunteers At Wichita Dog Training Club. She happily takes the treats they offer, licks their hands, wags her tail, lets them pet her face and refrains from her usual, "You're a stranger, back away from me NOW," bark bark barking. And she's learning to sit, stay, down, and walk nicely on her lead.

Dave's brother Mike is visiting us this week and so far she barks at him a lot. She needs to learn a little hospitality. Our neighbor Scott is working to win her over, offering her treats through the fence, and she is starting to warm to him a little, though grudgingly.

With us, she is just an affectionate baby. And she's getting better on her walks too. For our class, we bought a prong collar, which looks like a medieval torture device, but she does not seem to mind it at all, and it helps us train her not to lunge when she sees other dogs. Most often when we let her approach another dog to say hi, she's all kisses and tail-wagging, but her friendliness can be a little overwhelming. (So we're surprised at how she pretty much ignores the other dogs when we're at obedience class.)

Let's see if she's smiling next week

We've signed up Bella, and ourselves, for several weeks of training. Last night was the orientation session -- we were told to leave the dog at home.

To show what could be done with intelligent training and a consistent approach, the instructor put a miniature pinscher through his paces, commanding him to sit, lie down, jump and stay for a long time. Most impressive. Those of us with less cooperative dogs watched with equal parts awe and skepticism. Personally, it's hard to imagine the gregarious Bella sitting placidly in a room with only one dog present, much less the 8 or 9 that will be there next week. I'll try and keep an open mind.

One thing though: I began to realize that Bella is comparatively mellow. Each person there had to introduce themselves and describe the behavior they were interested in modifying. Their stories ran the gamut from outrageous to completely beyond the pale. These are not dogs; they're hardened criminals. Now, not only am I worried about Bella falling in with a bad crowd, I'm also a little concerned for my personal safety.

But such is the life of a pet owner: Pouring out food, picking up poop and wondering if somebody else's dog will decide to rip your throat out. The rewards more than make up for it. Or so I'm told.

Pondering the mysteries of the universe

Bella is one stoic pup. Doesn't she look like the smartest dog on the planet?