Alys: Ryder, what’s happening?
Ryder: not much, not much at all.
A: Are you content these days?
R: Somewhat.
A: Somewhat?
R: Yes, somewhat.
A: Not completely then.
R: Not completely.
A: How can we make it so that you completely content.
R: You can’t. You will never get rid of that puppy. She has you both wrapped around her little paws. I have never, ever, seen anything like it.
A: I think you have a short memory. I remember coming home from Idaho with a border collie pup in the back seat. We couldn’t do enough for her.
R: Do you mean to say that you brought home two border collie puppies, one after one trip, and another after the other trip?
A: No, there was just one trip. And that one puppy was you.
R: Oh.
A: And, as you should recall, you made that 1,500 mile trip with Rainbow who was very tolerant when you were rambunctious.
R: What do you mean? I was the perfect dog from the very beginning. Rainbow was very impressed.
A: I beg to differ. You made Shadow look like a rag doll.

Alys and Ryder

R: Shadow is her own dog.
A: That’s right. She, like you, has puppy energy.
R: It could be what you’re feeding her.
A: She’s getting what you’re getting, Taste of the Wild.
R: So she’s getting my share of the food.
A: No, no, no, this just means we go through bags of dog food twice as fast as before.
R: And she’s also getting MY canned salmon.
A: Chill. We also have a lot of it, too.
R: Okay. So there’s enough food for both of us. A question – is she ever going to settle down?
A: Actually, she’s more settled than most puppies. She’s fairly quiet a lot of the time.
R: And I do my doggy duty and play with her several times a day.
A: And for this, I thank you.
R: But, there is just one thing. . .
A: I think we’ve had this conversation before.
R: And we are having it again.
A: The peeing problem?
R: It’s downright annoying. You or Pete go to pet her, and she pisses all over.
A: We are unsure of what to do about this. Tomorrow we are going to puppy training class and we are going to ask Claudia Sihler what to do.
R: I doubt she’ll have answers.
A: You mean this problem is not solvable?
R: Yes. The best you can hope for is that she’ll grow up and out of it.
A: And if she does not?
R: You will have no choice but to have her be an outdoor dog.
A: What about when it gets cold?
R: You’ll have to get her a winter coat.
A: Fur lined?
R: Only the best.
A: It may come to this. An aside, I think that in the near future we are going to have a few baby goats running around.
R: In the winter?
A: Yep.
R: You mean you’ll be milking Stormy in the winter?
A: Yep.
R: I fail to understand why you bring these things on yourself.
A: If I knew why, I would tell you. But it’s all a mystery to me.
R: Indeed.
A: Yes, indeed.

Next: 250. 9/10/20: More on Lessons Learned