So I felt the need to share....

I follow a few blogs on a weekly basis or so and I maintain a separate one for posting portraits that I've taken as part of my business. But I thought it'd be a neat idea to post some of the misadventures I encounter while working from home. Most of them come from my new puppy, Maggie. She's a 4 month old Boxer-lab mutt that we rescued from the Camden County Animal Shelter. She fills my days with happiness and a tiny bit of frustration. For those of you who think puppies are cute, they are. Training them, however is like dealing with a baby! Seriously consider this point before you fall victim to those cute little puppy dog eyes.

Do you like your possessions? Well kiss them goodbye. I can currently hear her ripping the back flap off my couch as I am typing this. I just sprayed it with bitter apple to deter her chewing it. However, much to my dismay, she has decided that she's the only dog in the world that enjoys the taste of bitter apple. She has destroyed 3 heating pads, one space heater, a desk light and countless Pokemon cards. And I have her confined to one room and I try to keep it "puppy proof". I've come to find that there is no such thing. If there's nothing laying around for her to get into, she'll just chew a hole in her bed.

Enough complaining though... She is very cute! And she loooooves people. Even my brother. If you haven't met my brother, you should know that dogs think he's a chew toy. He's 6'4" and still gets abused by dogs. He's been that way since he was young. I think dogs can sense his general apathy for them.

So anyway, here's how I found her this morning pre-bitter apple... Head stuck in the couch, trying to unvelcro the back flap so she can scratch her butt against the metal underneath. (The fluff all over is from the bed she is currently shredding) That's a puppy teething toy she is ignoring.

She is a lot like my kids- smart but stubborn. She is excelling in her puppy training class at Pet Smart. She does everything and picks up on it right away. However, she, much like my kids, has the unique ability to totally ignore me when she chooses.

I did manage to teach her one great command- "Watch Me'. Instantly gets her attention. In my next post I'll get into how to train your dog to pose for a picture.