energizer bunny

Mylo has become a frenzied dog whenever she gets to chasing balls. She cannot control herself and becomes a wild barking maniac and an embarrassment just like any wild 2 year old who has a will of their own. There is never any doubt that she is visiting when we are down at the Casita near the waterfront. She has learned to swim and doesn't want to get out of the water. She will bring the ball up the stairs and drop it at your feet but give you no time to even pick it up before she is barking uncontrollably. We all have to try to be consistent in our discipline. We have tried the bark collar, spraying her with vinegar water till she stinks, yelling at her-"NO BARK", hiding the ball and ignoring her, all to no avail. Sometimes we actually think we are making progress with her-we grab her by the collar, hold her muzzle, and look her directly in the eyes-"NO BARK", till the tail stops wagging (it is only then that the message is heard and she can calm down-don't let go too early).

The other day she escaped from the backyard when I left the gate open for a minute to throw the trash away. I came back into the house and began looking for her as I was needing to get into work. "MYLO!","Here girl". She usually comes running. I searched the house and returned to the yard, then I heard her bark from across the street. I trotted out the back to see a flash of brown across the street at Bill and Joy's house. Oh dear! They are fragile older folks and I was worried about the rambunctiousness of the terrible 2s Mylo, but at least I could see that she was with Dirk, the son. I apologized to Dirk for the escape, but failed to grab Mylo before she had dogged me and run into their house. Joy yelled, "Dirk, there's a dog in the house!". We both hurried into the front door just in time to see Joy rounding the corner into the kitchen with her walker, Mylo on her tail, as the tennis balls on the end of her walker legs were the focus of attention. But wait! Between Joys legs rolled a moving whole tennis ball and Mylo slipped between Joys walker legs to fetch the rolling ball. We avoided catastrophe and I caught Mylo and we exited the house to calm down. Whew! The story has since been elaborated upon and we have all laughed at the visuals it has conjured up. I am acutely aware that tennis balls have new meaning in our house right now. I wonder if Mylo will ever graduate from the school of bark.