life and puppies

Yes, today is Wednesday, but you see, yesterday was Tuesday and it’s Tuesday I want to write about. As you know, we are struggling with our new dog. The completion of the fence has been a real lifesaver. It’s been great to just let Gertie out and have her run around a bit. She’s a little weird about it – she’ll bolt out but then bolt right back in – but I love that we don’t have to take her for the bone-chilling, will-she-won’t-she-attempt-to-bite-off-someone’s-hand walk. I realized, though, that the fence was not a long-term option for exercising the dog. Especially because I want to avoid becoming the shut-ins I worry we’re already becoming. So last week I ordered the Halti, which was highly recommended to me by my friend, dog-savvy Wendy. Yesterday, we came home to the Amazon package right on our little doorstep. Hooray! I was ready to try it out. We went and got Gertie out of our bedroom (she stays there during the day and seems to do really well), opened up the package and strapped it on her. The four of us went out for a walk…And it was pretty great. She didn’t pull as much with it, and while she tried to take it off a few times, she seemed to tolerate it pretty well. We didn’t encounter any other animals, so I don’t know how it would have helped me restrain her from them, but we did encounter the specimen Gertie may detest more than rabbits: skateboarders. Oy vey. But, the Halti helped me keep her under control and she eventually settled down. The pedestrians and bikers we saw weren’t of much interest to her (yay) and she seemed generally like a very normal dog. So, my review: good so far. Let’s see how it goes tonight.