Sex Ed in Higher Ed

College instructor teaching human sexuality rants about the dumbing down of America, the lost art of manners, grammar and (the perfect combination of both) the thank you note. Also includes random rants about life, pet peeves, and sometimes raves about favorite things.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

This is What Fear Looks Like

When you rescue a dog who has multiple "issues" you spend a lot of money. And you get a lot of photo ops. Here, we have the Biting Wonderdog who is SO freaked out by our ripping out the hideous kitchen wallpaper (downstairs) that she actually climbed into a full laundry basket. (Or maybe she's just been freaked out by the hideous wallpaper for so long and she finally found a way to tell us that she too, hated it.) This is a new trick for her. This is a dog who will not even go up or down steps if there is a chance someone will carry her. She has never really grasped the concept of "fetch." An extremely expensive trainer told me early on in our relationship (mine and BWD's - that trainer and I never got past that first intake process because I couldn't afford more than that) that BWD was "socially retarded and had no sense of humor." She must have been scared out of her little lemon-shaped brain. Also note - underneath just the top layer of laundry is a Human Sexuality textbook. She seemed to enjoy standing on it.

8 Comments:

Blogger Art Nerd Lauren said...

At least she didn't poo, pee or barf on the book. My cats like to do things like that when inanimate objects have in some way wronged them.

March 05, 2006 4:25 PM  
Blogger Art Nerd Lauren said...

Do you think she was a former purse dog? My boss is convinced that her shelter yorkie was one, once. She got a little too big to be inside a purse any longer, and to Morris Animal Refuge she went. Griz, the dog, shakes and barks and is a general pain in the ass. Like the award.

March 05, 2006 8:23 PM  
Blogger Art Nerd Lauren said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

March 05, 2006 8:23 PM  
Blogger Liberal Banana said...

I love dogs, but skittish ones scare the crap out of me. Me no wanty to get bit-y.

"Socially retarded and had no sense of humor" - HA!! I'm proud of you for taking on such a responsibility. Shelters get a lot Dogs with Problems returned to them. You have to be a really special person to work with a dog with issues. Go you!

March 06, 2006 1:24 PM  
Blogger Teacher lady said...

Yeah, if there were a skittish pageant, Minnie would take home the crown every year. Once, while we were taking our evening constitutional, a big gust of wind came up and blew up the (thankfully) empty grocery bag I was carrying. Minnie looked like someone shot her in the rear and took off running.. Really, really fast. Scared by a plastic bag. She's my little mess, that one. Thanks for the praise! I really do appreciate it. I'm either a saint or a nut. Jury's still out.

March 06, 2006 1:29 PM  
Blogger Chicky Chicky Baby said...

Aw, I'm a sucker for a rescue dog with "issues". I've got one of my own - who could (and would) eat Minnie as an appetizer since she's 80 lbs. and a little... How should I say this? Bitchy. Good for you, brave lady, for taking on a special case. It's not easy.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your thoughts. I'm really enjoying yours as well. If you stop by again, please be easy on my grammar and punctuation! :)

March 10, 2006 8:33 AM  
Blogger Teacher lady said...

Mrs. Chicky, I welcome any dog advice you might have. We've put up with, I mean had Minnie for 2 and a half years now, and honestly, in spite of hundreds (nay, probably thousands) of dollars on trainers, vets, tests (the thyroid thing of course - that was cheap!) and even some drugs which I won't mention here (for Minnie, not for me, although the first year we had her, I sure could have used something stronger than Excedrin Migraine!), not much has changed. We just less shocked and horrified when she had a little outburst. So, in your professional opinion, can a dog with "serious issues" ever really be improved? Thank you most sincerely, Minnie's mom.

March 10, 2006 12:00 PM  
Blogger Chicky Chicky Baby said...

Oh-kaaaay. Define "Serious Issues".
Feel free to email me. Like I said - I'm a sucker for a rescue dog with issues. And the people who are gutsy enough to adopt them and try to "fix" them.

March 10, 2006 9:50 PM  

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