Stella accomplishes her goal.

Yes - Stella ate a hole in the pool cover.  All the way down to the water.  Estimated damages $500.00.
Just add it to the tab.  :(  Hubby not happy.

Another valuable is gone with the wind!

Stella has chewed up many items since she came to live with us in August 2009.  Just to name a few:
Peter Rabbit's leg, newspapers, stuffed doggy toys (too many to list) coasters, newspapers, pens, glasses (she loves Kevin's reading glasses) yogurt containers, towels, mittens, gloves, shoe insoles, hot tub lid, pool cover, basketball scouting reports, pictures, slippers, rat poisoning, etc.  She has dug up brand new landscaping including but not limited to bushes, sod and ornamental grasses. A few of these adventures involved trips to the Vet's and/or x-rays.  If one was to tally up the damage...four figures is a safe estimate.

So what has Stella taught me regarding material things?  Humans tend to put a great deal of value on things.  I have asked Stella, "Why, why must you do this?"  Her silent response and her insistence on chewing up the next "valuable" item reminds me of the famous line in Gone With the Wind.  If Stella could speak, I believe she would give me one simple explanation,  "Personally Mary, I don't give a damn."

Doggy Lesson/Moral:  Even if you assign value to the things in your life, they might not have the same value to everyone else.

Mr. Fed X Man! Wait for me...

You guessed it.  Stella tried to get into the Fed X truck this week.  It is her strong belief that every car and truck has the potential to give you a treat.  Our mail carrier and waste management drivers provide her with treats...so why not assume Fed X has the same friendly folks.  Only problem is..Stella broke through the invisible fence to try and catch a ride.  Ironically, my childhood Collie, Laddie, (highlighted in Background History Part 1) disliked cars/trucks, chased them down and was hit twice.  So although it appeared to be somewhat cute...we must stop this "I'll do anything for a treat" behavior,  Oh Stella!

Wintertime Blues

Ok, so maybe I wished the pool cover wasn't on and it was summertime, but is that any reason to run around the frozen (non-pet safe) cover, dig down to the ice and chew the cover?   Well...maybe it is!
Out of total desperation for her safety (not to mention the cost of a new cover), I call Stella to the backdoor for a "bacon" treat.  These treats are saved for emergency situations.  For example, like the time she was eating the mouse.  Once again, Stella gets rewarded for being naughty.  Oh dear, what a vicious cycle.  Any suggestions Stella! Blog followers?

Doggy Moral:  If you get your loved ones "desperate" enough they will enable you and reinforce you for making bad choices.

Background History Part I

Unfortunately, I did not start Stella's blog the minute we brought her home, but of course hindsight is 20-20.  I feel it is important to provide background information to help her readers understand...why she is the way she is! ( OK so maybe it is just as much my background as it is hers.  LOL)
I was a young girl during the "Lassie"era.  I begged my parents for a puppy and I won.  Laddie was my dog for some 13 years.  I dressed him up in doll clothes, pushed him in the stroller and confided in him when I became a teenager.  I ran to him (and got bit) when he was hit by a truck and we both lived to tell the tale. There were no "invisible" fences and chasing cars was one of his bad habits.  Of course, back in the old days, dogs were dogs.  They were tied up, not walked often ( for fear of loose dogs attacking) and put in the basement for long periods of time.  They were feed, petted and nursed back from diseases they caught, because there were very few vaccines.   I can still see where I was standing, in my sorority house, when my Dad called to tell me he had to put good old Laddie to sleep.  I cried all day.  When I think of Laddie's dog life I feel bad, but then I remember that dogs were dogs.  So maybe I am trying to make up for Laddie's past by making Stella a MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY!

Fast forward to 38 years later.  I fell in love with a great man in 1977, but I forgot to interview him about pets and allergies.  Thirty years of marriage and no dog.  Then one day, during our empty-nest phase of life, I realized he was not sneezing in houses with dogs!  He outgrew his allergies!!!
Once a dog person, always a dog person.  I began to beg. (Please note I learned how to beg for dogs and win at a very early age.)  My nephew's girlfriend's Golden had puppies and I just went out to look.  Ok, maybe I went out just to hold them.  I found myself driving by, just to see if the puppies were out.  Well the rest as they say, is history.  I did absolutely no research.  I just knew that I always thought Goldens were so lovable and cute.  I had no idea that you shouldn't pick the pup who runs to you first, but I thought that was so cute.  I picked Stella.  No, actually, Stella picked me.
Now I just had to convince my non-dog person husband.

No Respect For Michael Jackson

OK - so Stella was feeling very ignored ( don't we all at one time or another) and she ate my "Beat It" record.  Strange irony that she chose that title when I was communicating to her..."get lost...I have work to do!"  I just found a stack of old"45's" in the attic and hadn't even looked at the titles.  Wow, I wonder what it was worth ( notice past tense).  Baby boomers and "vintage" record collectors will  understand the term "45".  If you know how much, please don't tell me.  LOL
Doggy Moral/Message:  Not everyone appreciates the value of "vintage" records.

The invisible fence

Such a kind name for a fence that shocks you!  Well Stella and I have been working on this "invisible" fence training thing for over 3 weeks now.  My husband was adamantly against the fence.  We had already spend well over 4 figures on Vet bills and he had to draw the line some where.  Now you must know that it took me over 30 years to convince my dear husband to "get a puppy". He was not a Dog Person.  (A blog entry forthcoming). But they day my neighbor almost missed her flight, because Stella showed up in her backyard...he saw the light.  We had to do something.  Stella was now running around the neighborhood to play with her new friends.  Our wonderful friend installed the fence saving us a significant amount of money...looked at me.... and said now the fun begins.  You have to train her to stay within the safe boundry.  Kinda of chuckled and drove away.  He knew many of our Stella Stories, so I figured he was laughing because nothing with Stella had been easy so far, so why would this be!

To make a long training story short. Stella did quite well and only ran through the fence 3 times.  Twice to visit her doggy friends and once to greet a man on the street.  (As you might or might not be aware, Goldens LOVE everyone and act as though they have never been petted once in their life). So dashing through the fence seemed to be worth it for one warm greeting.

I am happy to say that it "appears" that Stella gets it...and she has gone one week w/o breaking through.  Not sure when I will feel secure enough to let her out alone.  YIKES.

Doggy moral:  Go for it! Sometimes "it" is worth the risk of getting shocked.

No Treats at the ATM?

How can Stella know that the bank drive-thru always gives dog biscuits (after only one experience) and after 1,000 times being put in timeout she still jumps on the kitchen counter to steal food?
I suppose this is the difference between positive reinforcement and punishment.  
As I drove up to the bank lanes, Stella became so excited and was already licking her chops.  Unfortunately, (for Stella) I pulled up to the ATM lane.  Her nose was hanging out the window and she jumped around the back seat filled with hope.  As I performed my transaction, I explained to Stella that a treat will not come out of this machine.  I do realize most children think "treats" do come out of this machine.  Perhaps her frustration is similar to our frustration when the ATM is down.   I couldn't believe I was explaining this to my dog and telling her not to worry...we will stop at the pet store and buy a few bags of her favorite treats.
Doggy moral:  Bank tellers are more personal than machines.

Stella performs surgery on stuffed "fart" dog

This might sound strange, but someone in our family received a stuffed dog for Christmas that makes a "farting" sound.  Of course Stella was quite intrigued with this creature that didn't move but made an unusual tooting noise.  For once in her life (18 months) Stella seemed "somewhat" afraid.  Unlike the other stuffed creatures we bought to keep Stella company( that she ripped to shreds), this one was different.  She seemed to respect it...maybe even showed some mother-like instinct by being kind.

Well so much for my theory.   After getting lost while reminiscing through old pictures, I thought things sounded awful quiet downstairs.  Something inside of me said I better get down there to see what Stella is up to now.  Unfortunately, my husband was enjoying an afternoon nap and Stella performed surgery on the "fart" dog.  I asked, "Where is Stella?'"  "She is in the mudroom (location for timeout) and she ate the "fart" dog."  OH NO.... I ran to the kitchen trash compactor to discover only the stuffing.  I panicked and said do you mean to tell me she ate the rest of the dog!!  The fur, the eyes and the "noise making gadget" inside??  Please don't tell me I will have to turn to the Hydrogen Peroxide to get the "fart" dog out.  My husband said he didn't know how much she ate - but he put what he found in the trash compactor.  He even suggested  that Stella hid the remaining pieces.  I looked around the family room and could find no sign of the "fart" dog, not a trace...  So I opened the mudroom door dreading the process of saving Stella from getting "fart" dog gadgets stuck in her body (or another trip to the Vet's) and explaining exactly what a "fart" dog is and how we know Stella ate it....then what to my wondering eyes appeared but a tiny FART DOG lying beside Stella.  The FART DOG WAS NOT IN HER BELLY!   Stella had skillfully opened one seam and removed only the stuffing... Thank goodness this one had a happy ending.  Oh of course, I threw out the empty "fart" dog.  Moral of this doggy story: Things aren't always as they appear!

Dog Catches a Mouse

You might think that cats are the ones to bring you a mouse.  Not true, not true.  At least with Stella it's not true.  Yesterday she was flipping what looked to be a stuffed animal up in the air and rolled over on it.  When I called her to come to the door (with a cheese bribe) two back paws and one long tail was hanging out of Stella's mouth.  You guessed it.  She dropped the mouse on the ground before me... to gobble up a piece of cheese.  Sweet irony!  Catch a mouse and your owner will give you cheese.  Too bad the mouse never had a taste!

Life Lesson

Life Lessons Stella Has Taught Me…. So Far

1.      If you wipe your feet, the house will be cleaner.

2.      We are more motivated to do a task if there is a reward at the end.

3.      If you don’t make time for constructive use of your energy (playtime), one might get into trouble.

4.      If you don’t know when to get out of someone’s face they might bite you.

5.      It always feels good to be greeted by a happy face (or wagging tail).

6.      If you “bark” loud enough and long enough someone will eventually react.

7.      Grooming matters. If you don’t keep clean you will smell.

8.      Treats always taste better than the same food we eat each and every day.

9.      It’s hard to leave when you hear whining or crying in the background.

10.   We all need to be stroked from time to time.

11.   If you hear a sound like someone is tearing off the top of your hot tub lid, they probably are…

12.   Good behavior only comes after lots of hard work, consistency and rewards/praise.

13.   If you suspect that a loved one has swallowed an earring, you will rush them to the doctor.

14.   Strong bonds are built through a healthy balance of giving and receiving.

15.   Socializing with others helps us to behave in a civilized manner.

16.   Sometimes you like the window to be down when you sit in the backseat of a car.