Sally Takes a Stand

We knew Sally wasn't thrilled about the baby. We had watched as she tried to ignore Meg's presence, and moved away as if burned by acid whenever the baby just happened to be placed in close proximity to her. However, we assumed that since she hadn't really been acting out, that Sally was just adjusting, and that soon all would be right with the world.

Well, the acting out has begun.

At first it was barking. Sally has never been a particularly vocal dog, but since Meg came home she has been barking at everything. The mailman. The yappy dog next door. Any visitors. The cats. Ryan. If something moves, she now barks at it. We are working on shushing her, but so far that is not working.

Next, she started being a jerk on walks. Before this time, Sally was the best dog to take on walks ever. She would walk without a leash and stay with us, or, if she had to be on a leash, not strain or pull. Those days are over. Now, if she is off the leash, she is off the leash. That mans she runs ahead, and back, and into the street. I can't decide if she is trying to run away or just trying to end it all. Since her new behavior means she is on the leash a lot more, we have also noticed that when she doesn't want to walk, due to laziness or a delicious smelling patch of grass, she will practically pull her head off trying to get out of the collar. We may have to get a halter collar just so we can walk her without risking doggy asphyxia.

As bad as the barking and the walking are though, we figured we were getting off easy. After all, Sally's current bad behaviors were nothing compared to those of the past. Or so we thought. When we came home the other night we found this...
That is my Blackberry. Or at least what is left of it. Don't you love how she very carefully peeled off the protective skin to make sure she got to the electronics? I sure do. I also loved how she had hidden the pieces that had come off by stuffing them down between the couch cushions. How thoughtful. Believe it or not, everything on it still works. It's just not as pretty and has more sharp edges than it used to.

When I found my Blackberry I instantly assumed that more damaged had to have been wrought, and went straight to our bedroom where I had left out Meg's activity mat and several toys. None of them were touched. Not even the little bug that emits a squeaking noise that makes Sally salivate. And then I got it. Of course Sally isn't going to eat the baby's stuff, because her problem isn't with the baby. It's with us.

It was hard to be mad at her after that. I mean, I was, and I still am, but I understand. We have treated her like the baby, and now that we have a baby we are expecting her to roll over and play dog. That's not fair. I think we need to work on better family integration. For instance, last night we made sure to pay attention to Sally while Meg was with us, to show her she is not always in second place. It may sound silly, like we are crazy dog people, but it's important that every person and thing living here is comfortable. Otherwise they act out, and that makes everyone unhappy.

Also, we can't afford any more new phones.