Budget Blown

Now that Emmy is with me, my budget seems to have gone out the window.  I've always had a soft spot for getting Emmy things that she really could live without.  In her opinion all she needs is her frisbee.  She is now all stocked up on Kongs, IQ toys, glucosamine supplements for her joints, a new poop bag dispenser, training treats, training treat pouch (for me), seatbelt attachment, a new portable water cup, and plenty of frozen marrow bones to keep her teeth clean.  The UPS man has been stopping by to drop off boxes since Tuesday.  Needless to say, there has been quite a bit of money spent.

As I said in my last post, I also purchased a few books on dog training too.  I finished the booklet on Separation Anxiety last night.  After I get some peanut butter for the recommended training, we will begin.  It is going to be a long and tedious process, but I think we can do it.  The book says that most cases can be cured in six to eight weeks.  Reading the cases about other dogs who would run through class windows or chew at their crates so much that their faces were all cut up, I'm glad that Emmy isn't that bad.  She's pretty bad, but not that bad.  If they can be cured and feel secure, then she can too.  At first when I started reading the book I thought that maybe she was just a bad mannered doggy who tears at stuff and slobbers all over herself just because there is no one around to tell her not to do it.  As I got further in, it was very clear that she definitely is a dog with a serious case of Separation Anxiety.  (It would have been much easier to train her if she just had bad manners.)  So, after I get some peanut butter to stuff in her Kong, I'm we're going to start the whole processes with me putting on socks and then taking them off.  Yup, she starts to get upset and knows you're leaving as soon as you put on socks.  By the time you go for you keys she's beside herself that she will be left alone.  The book did a great job of spelling out how slowly you have to take the steps.  The vet told me to casually walk out the door, wait, and then come back in without acknowledging Emmy to build up her tolerance for when we leave.  This book, however, tells you how to do it step-by-step for things that I hadn't even thought of.  Instead of just walking out and then coming back in, the book says that I need to start making her feel "happy" before I'm even out the door.  For her, happy will be a pb stuffed Kong.  We better continue on our three mile walks otherwise she'll be a very pudgy doggy by the end of the training.

On top of all the Emmy purchases that I have been making, my windshield wiper blades broke so I had to buy new ones.  They were expensive!  All I have to say is that they better last me at least five years in this mild weather otherwise I'm going back to the cheapy ones from Walmart and replace them once a year like usual.   I also decided this week that I'm going to take out my plugs, the earrings that look like fat screws, and go back to regular earrings.  I haven't worn regular earrings since college!  I got these today from endless.com.  They are perfect: silver so my ears don't flare up and itch, and stars.