Well now, I have two very quiet, happy puppers right now. Stuffed Zeeke’s kong full of peanut butter and kibble, and gave Zoe two cookies sandwiched with peanut butter. She takes forever to eat cookies - though this time she seems to be making more of a dent in them than usual.

The kids are doing good. Jo is still insisistent on getting outside, and driving us all crazy. He’s gotten really pushy trying to get out the front door, you basically have to pin him to the ground or squash him against the wall to stop him. The other night, a midnight pee run for Zoe, he squeezed past my attempts to stop him. While I was trying to catch him Zoe wandered out as well, and then started chasing him… off into the neighbor’s yard in the dark. I think she managed to get lost. I walked down the street calling for her, and when she saw me she looked pretty scared. Soon as she realized it was indeed me she came running for me. I was a very unhappy, scared mama that night, thank goodness the whole thing lasted only about 5-10 minutes or I would have been in hysterics.

I continue to take Zoe with me on short car trips to the corner store or pharmacy, whenever I go. Obviously I don’t take her with me if I would have to leave her in the truck for any extended period, or any time when the temperture is too hot mid-day, but I’m trying to bring her with me as much as I can. I think she’s getting better. She seems to do fine riding in the back with Zeeke, though I don’t like it because I can’t see her! Her preferred place to ride would be on the floor in front of the back seat, she barely has room to move but that seems to be a comfort for her. If she has to ride on the seat she gets more nervous. The one thing that really worries me about the truck is the grate we use between the seating area and the cargo area (where Zeeke rides) sometimes falls down (like every few months). That’s definitely not a good sign for if we were in an accident. We’re going to have to start checking it before trips, making sure it’s really secure.

Zoe’s major behavioral issue right now is barking while crated. She doesn’t mind when she’s crated when we go out, but if we’re home and she can’t be with us, she really throws a hissy fit. We crate them to feed them dinner (mostly so Zoe can’t run over and eat half of his food), and soon as she’s done she starts barking and whining and making such a fuss. So yesterday I refused to even go in there until she was quiet. It took an hour and a half. The first time I went in she started up again, so I turned around and walked out. Next time there was a minute of silence I walked in again. Not a peep. Walked up, nothing. Said “good girl” softly, and let her out. Zeeke followed. I’m still not sure if I should be letting out Zeeke in the beginning, since he doesn’t start up until Zoe’s been wailing for 15 minutes or so.