Walking the Path

While I take Maisie to the dog park for her off-leash romps, the fenced in "Puptown" area is actually just a small section of the much larger Margate Park (for some reason considered part of Lincoln Park, can any Chicagoans explain that to me?) which is located right at the end of my block.  When the weather is as beautiful as it was yesterday, Maisie and I often go for a stroll after work on the path that runs alongside it.

It gets us out of our everyday routine and gives Maisie the opportunity to sniff some new spots.

The park includes a fieldhouse that offers classes and a fitness center...or so I hear!

There is a (slightly rusty) sign out front detailing some of the building's history.

And a colorful mural decorates the wall on one side.

We also saw an unusual garden set back a bit from the path itself.

Although Maisie is very dog-selective when on leash (she snapped at a Doberman at the beginning of our walk, lest I forget), she took a shine to a couple of rat terriers we encountered (and almost got peed on).

One dog was named Jim and the other Jack.  Their owner was a tattooed woman I'd estimate to be in her late 50's...she said they were named after her favorite bartender and favorite drink!  

Maisie loved being outside in the sunshine...

In fact, she had so much fun walking the path that she had to stop and do her happy dance in the grass!

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Pretty Much Wordless Wednesday

Why "Crazy Maisie" continues to deserve her name...Exhibit A:

(click to enlarge if you want to view the insanity more closely and clearly)

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Morning Maisie

Since yesterday's video was sort of a downer, I thought I'd post a more cheerful one today.  Sorry again for the dim lighting (the "motion picture" mode on my camera records in a darker setting for some reason), I hope you can still see it.  Anyway, here's part of Maisie's waking up routine this morning.  I helped a little bit.

While I always try to show both sides of Maisie - the good and the bad - she usually is a pretty happy pup!

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Busy Weekend = Guilt

This weekend was Gay Pride here in Chicago and since approximately 95% of my friends are gay, that meant a lot of activities.  My friend Curtis and I spent Friday night grilling, watching an interesting documentary about Joan Rivers and celebrating gay marriage becoming legal in New York.  Maisie hung out with us throughout.  Saturday afternoon, I took her to the dog park for some exercise before I went to a BBQ.  She was home alone in the crate for five hours or so (about the maximum time I feel comfortable leaving her).

Sunday morning, I put on my sparkly rainbow heart t-shirt and headed to the Pride parade with a bunch of friends.  Pride is one of my favorite events of the whole summer, but too loud and crowded for Maisie to accompany me.  The weather was unexpectedly beautiful, which made the day even more fabulous.

I knew I'd be gone most of the day, so I arranged for the dog walker to come take Maisie out to the park halfway through her crate time.  But I felt terribly guilty regardless, because Maisie shakes and pants and generally freaks out when that crate door closes.  Here she is this morning, with me sitting right next to her:

The noise you hear is the bottom of the crate vibrating against the floor from her shaking (and maybe also the sound of my heart breaking just a little bit).  So what's a girl to do?  Maisie already takes Clomicalm for separation anxiety and in addition to that, I utilize all the tricks I know.  I leave her with treats and a Kong stuffed with frozen deliciousness (plus either some Composure liquid or "Tranquility" drops).  I line the crate with comfy blankets (frequently torn and/or partially eaten by the time I return).  I have a radio playing NPR next to the crate and a Dog Appeasing Pheremone diffuser plugged into the nearest outlet.  

But nothing really helps.  The Thundershirt makes a very slight difference, but not a significant one (and unfortunately, the dog walker forgot to put it back on her after the park yesterday).  

It can be difficult for me to enjoy myself when I am out with friends, because part of me is always worrying about Maisie.  For a long time, I tried to never crate her two days in a row but eventually started feeling my life was so restricted by her needs and issues that it wasn't fair to either of us (especially once I began to feel a bit resentful towards my poor, scared dog).  I am now crating her more often when necessary and keep reminding myself that her fear is not a life-threatening condition.  I took the day off from work today and I'm looking forward to cashing in a massage gift certificate that I received for my birthday, and to maybe make a Whole Foods run.  But that also means today will mark one of the only times Maisie has ever been left in the crate for any period of time three days in a row.  Although I will only be gone for maybe three hours max, I still feel incredibly guilty.  Hoping I'll be able to fully appreciate the massage anyway!

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Find your Own Fun

In Maisie's world, something as small (and seemingly un-treat like) as a fish oil capsule can be cause for celebration and even inspire a short rendition of the "treat dance."  Such was the case in my living room last night...sorry for the dim lighting, hope you can still enjoy the video!

I'm sure there's some kind of life lesson to be learned here, right?

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Baby Gates

Sometimes, Maisie needs to be contained...as in, not able to roam freely.  When that's the case, I often rely on baby gates.  They have been a vital part of bringing Maisie to work, where we have a fairly open design with cubicle walls but no office doors.  The gate at work confines Maisie to my area so she can't bug my co-worker (and more importantly, keeps her away from the UPS, FedEx and water delivery people).

The gate at work is a very nice, hands-free model with a foot pedal to open/close it.

Although Maisie is not thrilled about it being there (and it won't be there much longer, since I'll be working from home soon), she's gotten used to it and understands that she is not allowed to cross the threshold of the gate unless someone opens it for her.

I use another pressure-mounted gate at home to block off the staircase, though it's not such a fancy model.  I live in a coach house with no screen door and no interior hallway, so I need to restrict Maisie to the staircase landing when greeting visitors (or paying the pizza delivery guy) or she could easily run out the front door and take off.  Because of our somewhat unique living situation, the gate at home is essential.

It definitely has some signs of wear...I have learned that although the gate is strong enough to withstand a frustrated little pit bull, the same cannot necessarily be said for a drunk, stumbling gay man.  It still works though, and gives Maisie a good opportunity to practice her "wait" command right after I open it.

I also like having the option of keeping Maisie downstairs (or upstairs) with me when I want to keep an eye on her or prevent her from doing who knows what on the other floor without me there.  But I usually let her come and go as she pleases while I get ready for work, after she's had her morning walk and breakfast.

Again, even though she is accustomed to it by now, she doesn't really appreciate the presence of the gate.  Sometimes she expresses her displeasure by showing me her "sad prisoner" face, which (unfortunately for her) I actually find kind of cute and amusing!

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Hangin' in the 'Burbs

To celebrate Father's Day, Maisie and I went to see my parents out in the suburbs.  Since Maisie has uh, marked her territory on their carpet in the past, I was nervous she might have another "accident."  She actually behaved like a perfect little lady this time, though precautions had already been taken.

First, I got Maisie groomed the day before to reduce her seasonal shedding and to present her in the best (aka cutest and cleanest) light possible.  Next, my mother used a blanket to cover the nice couch in the "living room," which in reality is a room in which we do no living at all as it is primarily for guests...real guests that is, as opposed to me or my brother.  Maisie loves that couch because she usually gets it all to herself.

Third, I always bring a blanket or towel (or in this case, a bathmat) as a "home base" for Maisie.  She is trained to "go to your bed" when necessary...for example, if she begs for food when friends are over, becomes too riled up during a Mr. Peepers play session, or gets overly excited when the dog walker arrives at the office.  It's a very handy command, and I used it with the mat yesterday as we were eating appetizers on the (other) couch in the family room and when I just wanted her to lie quietly nearby.  Finally, I brought an antler along to keep Maisie occupied and provide an appropriate chewing outlet should she get bored.

The bathmat served its purpose quite nicely, though it was too small to completely contain Maisie all stretched out in frog mode!

It wasn't long before my brother beckoned her onto the couch next to him for some pets and scritches.

A little later, my mother and I took Maisie on a leisurely half hour stroll around the neighborhood while my dad and brother watched baseball, then the humans gathered around the dining room table for dinner.  Maisie took full advantage of the newly vacated couch and hunkered down for a post-walk snooze.

All in all, it was a very successful parental visit with no negative incidents whatsoever.  Could it be that Maisie really is becoming a better behaved dog on a fairly consistent basis?  Or is this all just part of her evil plan to make me let my guard down?  Only time will tell...

Edited to add: Maisie totally snapped and lunged at some random guy when I turned my back to close my umbrella as we entered the office building this morning.  So while she has definitely shown improvement, her behavior is still somewhat unpredictable and she can't be trusted 100% (at least, not around strange men).  Disappointing.  :(

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