Bootsie Update

There has been some progress with little Miss Bootsie, Indoor Pooper Extraordinaire. Dad was given strict direction from Paul, the dog whisperer (who, by the way, returned the samples of smelly fabric pieces back to my parents last week).
Dad was directed to go out and work on leash training every morning. He is to use a choke collar with nasty, unfriendly but necessary spikes on it to do so. He must use only certain phrases when training the dog…
No, Bootsie!
Bad Girl!
Good Girl!
…or something like those phrases.

So far, she seems to be doing well. I’m told she is getting better at walking on a leash, on the left side. She is still having accidents regularly, but my parents say they knew her pooping issues would not go away overnight.

Talking with my Dad on the phone, Mom too, is always amusing.
My most recent conversation with Dad was peppered with “Bootsie, get off the table. Good girl”
“No, that’s not yours to chew on.”
“Bootsie! NO! Bootsie, get down off the counter!”
“She’s running in circles,” he says, talking to me this time, adding that when she was praised up and down that morning for peeing outside she came inside and raised hell. As though she’d earned it. By afternoon, she was still burning track-marks in the floors with her running around and getting into things.
“Bootsie, what’s gotten into you?” he says to her in a sweet voice, encouraging her to come sit quietly by his feet.
“Good luck with that” I tell him, knowing the little one will not sit still enough to relax at his feet. This is no old lady Tilly.
Then, “Ouch!” follows when little miss piranha teeth chomps down on Dad. This is a new trick of hers. She bites everything. Hard. Seemingly with excitement rather than aggression.

Mom told me that when she comes downstairs in the morning, Miss Bootsie greets her exuberantly. She then follows Mom around the house periodically biting her butt. Right, ‘cause that will put you on someone’s good side first thing in the morning.

Anyway, the pooping chompers and her parents have a ways to go.