September 7-9, Monday-Wednesday

Wednesday

Not much going on today. Elvis was mainly leashed all day since Haley is to the "breedable" stage (or would be if she wasn't so old, but I'm not taking any chances). I did bring him into the living room when we ate dinner and it was MUCH quieter. Now that he knows what goes on in there and what he can have, he really, really, really wants to be in there when we eat. Of course, considering what I know about how he was fed at the puppy mill, I can't really blame him. His food quality and dining experience has improved 100 times. He's become surprisingly food obsessed. :)


Tuesday

Elvis has definitely found his voice. And now that he's found it, he wants to exercise it. During dinner when he's in his crate. I really can't blame him. He knows what goes on then, and he wants to be a part of it. He pretty well barked throughout dinner, so Wednesday night, I'm going to have to find some way to include him. He'll be on a leash, and I suspect I'll tie it to a chair on the other side of the table. Haley usually stays on one side, so I suspect that will work best.

I also shifted the living room furniture around again. Things are still out of whack, but at least the end tables are back on their correct ends of the sofa. It's an improvement (visually), but I still would rather have my chair available for my stitching. I'm really hoping I can get back over there once Haley is out of season. **fingers crossed**


Monday

**SIGH** I am SUCH a sucker. After spending the morning doing chores, I decided that I would go into the living room, sit in my favorite chair and cross stitch. Of course, it's a real production to get this started since Haley is in season and she absolutely demands that she be in there (that means toting her big body pillow in there) and then there is Skeeter, the chihuahua, who believes the gods put that chair there so he could be comfortable laying under the bright light. And, of course, the gates go up to keep Elvis in the den/kitchen.

So in I get. Settled I get. Dogs in the right place, and there's Elvis staring at me (me and NOT Haley) and looking pitiful. So I relent and bring him in with his leash and his bed. Is he happy? No. Not at all. Skeeter ended up vacating the chair to go lay down with Randall, and Elvis is just insistent on getting up in the chair. So I put him up and things just aren't all that great because he gets hot easily. He pants. And he goes to lay on the ottoman. And that's not good enough. So he's back up by me, curled up with his head on my lap. And then standing up and panting more.

Long story short, I call Randall into the living room and we spend the next 30 minutes shoving furniture around into a new arrangement so I can stitch on the sofa so Skeeter can have his place on one side and Elvis can have the entire couch on the other side. And my living room looks like hell. I'm hoping that once Haley is out of season I can change it back to the way it was. **sigh**

The other events today include him putting his front feet up on my chair and stretching and begging for attention. Granted it was 15 minutes before feeding time, so I know what motivated it, but still, it's the first time he's ever done. He's also barked in his crate for the first time. It's a rusty bark, but it's a bark. Not something I want to encourage, but it's the first time I've heard him do this in the house.