Black Dog Training

So, for a while there I thought the puppy and me had got things to a civilised routine. But puppies being puppies, I was of course wrong. My black dog is back to barking through the night at strange hours. Early wake up calls. And chewing the furniture. Okay, he's not chewing the furniture because if that were true then that would in fact mean we had a much bigger problem than little old depression and you should all be calling the white coats for mine and your own safety. So he's not chewing furniture. But he is breaking off his lead and making me run after him in a frantic battle to get him under control.
Early morning he crawls into bed with me, takes up much of the bed and steals the duvet cover whilst whimpering at every sound that scares him. And if I try and ignore him, he licks my face. I have tried putting him back in his own bed but he just comes back. And it's an exhausting battle. So in the end, I let him in and we lie there together, tossing and turning. Then the alarm goes and neither of us wants to get up. He jumps on my belly and puts his weight on my chest in an effort to keep me under the duvet that little bit longer. It always works and before I know it I am late for work. Stumbling around in a sleep deprived haze, like all new mothers and attempting to get ready and out the house in time to be acceptably late and not horribly late. And then we get on the bus together and he sits on my lap and stares at me with those big brown eyes because I didn't take him for a walk. Which is a cardinal sin, as all good dog owners will know and leads to some very bad behaviour indeed. By the time we get off the bus he is pulling on the lead trying to chase birds and I am left running behind trying to steer him in the direction we need to go.

When we eventually arrive at work and I've wrestled him under the desk he is in a very tempestuous mood. Nipping at my heels and scratching the desk. He wants to play, like all good puppies. But I'm at work and I can't play and he shouldn't be under the desk so it's quite hard trying to pretend he's not there and hoping my colleague can't hear the whimpers. Eventually, he exhausts himself and falls asleep and I am given some respite in the middle of the day.

By the afternoon though, he really really does need a walk so he's up and he's in a playful mood. He constantly tries to jump on my lap and play fights my feet and wags his tail and it's really hard to ignore him because in this mood, he is irresistable. Finally home time comes and I let him off the lead for a good run. Of course, he won't come back when I call him and he often plays hide and seek so I find myself running after him and getting caught up in bushes or falling in mud as he tears around all unruly and excited. When I finally catch him and put him on the lead we are both muddy and invariably wet. Home for a wash and he sprays me with water and runs from the shower and won't stay in his towel. When we finish this nightly fight we are both exhausted and all we can do is slump in front of TV. He curls in my lap and we lay there cuddling until sleep finally takes us...and then we do it all over again the next day.