Sophie's Late Night Expeditions into the Jungle Yard
Sophie's been driving me insane this last week. It's gotten to the point where I am screaming at her late at night, probably making me a hit with my neighbors.
Late at night when I let her out to pee and all that, she's started taking a liking to roaming around the yard -- which is covered with thick and tall grass right now (I haven't had a chance to find a landscaper that is reasonably-priced and not crook-like). When I call her, it's like she doesn't even know I'm there and she continues to explore the nighttime jungle yard, prowling in the darkness like some kind of wild animal, pouncing on and sniffing everything.
It's been cold and rainy the last few days...so I'm unsure where the fascination is, because she's a little wimp and can't handle too much cold and dampness. I'll leave her out there -- not all night -- but I'll leave her out there to do her business (whatever that is), until I can hear her pawing at the back door and whining.
It's been getting increasingly later and later, though...which is why I'm still up, writing this entry. I love Sophie to pieces...but come on. She needs to stop with these late-night ventures into the yard, because they're becoming more and more annoying. I think it's because I haven't been walking her as often as I used to, as I'm still working on the cleanup project on this house...so I know it's my own fault. I've also been pretty stressed over things, which also results in not walking her, which leads to increased stress (hey, that's exercise, and exercise relieves stress)...and finally, this manifests into yelling at her, which now causes her to NOT want to come when I call for her to come back because it's late at night. It's a horrible, horrible, never-ending cycle.
About twenty minutes ago, Sophie and I had another altercation over her roaming. I let her out, she didn't come back for a good 5-10 minutes, so I turned out the light in the yard, and went back to my bedroom, where it was much warmer because I have a space heater donated by my mom. When she pawed at the door and whined like a baby, I came to open it...but she ran from the door, tail under her legs because she was afraid I'd be mad (I wish dogs had the ability to reason because if she knows to be afraid...then she should know not to roam around for so long in the yard in the first place!). I had to coax her in, but then she bolted for the bedroom, hopping up on the duvet without getting her feet wiped off first (she knows that is part of the ritual, too). This subsequently resulted in my screaming at Sophie, and then she was all confused and didn't know what to do.
Long story short, instead of allowing her onto my bed to sleep tonight, she's currently huddled on her dog bed that I brought into my bedroom from the living room. I think that's a good spot for her to be, especially right now!
Late at night when I let her out to pee and all that, she's started taking a liking to roaming around the yard -- which is covered with thick and tall grass right now (I haven't had a chance to find a landscaper that is reasonably-priced and not crook-like). When I call her, it's like she doesn't even know I'm there and she continues to explore the nighttime jungle yard, prowling in the darkness like some kind of wild animal, pouncing on and sniffing everything.
It's been cold and rainy the last few days...so I'm unsure where the fascination is, because she's a little wimp and can't handle too much cold and dampness. I'll leave her out there -- not all night -- but I'll leave her out there to do her business (whatever that is), until I can hear her pawing at the back door and whining.
It's been getting increasingly later and later, though...which is why I'm still up, writing this entry. I love Sophie to pieces...but come on. She needs to stop with these late-night ventures into the yard, because they're becoming more and more annoying. I think it's because I haven't been walking her as often as I used to, as I'm still working on the cleanup project on this house...so I know it's my own fault. I've also been pretty stressed over things, which also results in not walking her, which leads to increased stress (hey, that's exercise, and exercise relieves stress)...and finally, this manifests into yelling at her, which now causes her to NOT want to come when I call for her to come back because it's late at night. It's a horrible, horrible, never-ending cycle.
About twenty minutes ago, Sophie and I had another altercation over her roaming. I let her out, she didn't come back for a good 5-10 minutes, so I turned out the light in the yard, and went back to my bedroom, where it was much warmer because I have a space heater donated by my mom. When she pawed at the door and whined like a baby, I came to open it...but she ran from the door, tail under her legs because she was afraid I'd be mad (I wish dogs had the ability to reason because if she knows to be afraid...then she should know not to roam around for so long in the yard in the first place!). I had to coax her in, but then she bolted for the bedroom, hopping up on the duvet without getting her feet wiped off first (she knows that is part of the ritual, too). This subsequently resulted in my screaming at Sophie, and then she was all confused and didn't know what to do.
Long story short, instead of allowing her onto my bed to sleep tonight, she's currently huddled on her dog bed that I brought into my bedroom from the living room. I think that's a good spot for her to be, especially right now!