Muddy Paws...

This morning has been awful and it's only 9:37... This morning I got up and got ready for work, while J and the dog continued to sleep. By the time I was finished getting ready and gearing up to leave, the dog was full of energy and insisting on going outside. So, I let him out. He did more running than anything else, a puppy-smile spread all across his face. He was kicking up the dew from the yard and running in figure-eights, completely pleased with himself. After a little running in the yard, I let him back in. The cat was meowing constantly, sitting by the dog door that leads into our garage (where his food and litterbox are located). This usually means he's out of food... but that wouldn't make any sense because I fed him last night... I let the dog back out into the yard so I could feed the cat in peace. Upon looking at his food and water bowls, I saw puppy-nose prints in the bottom of each, telling me that the dog had eaten all of Leo's food and drank all of his water sometime during the night. I also found a little, conspicuous pile of cat litter on the floor of the garage, telling me that the dog had been snacking out of the cat box...AGAIN. Greeeeaaaatt..... 'Too bad I can't punish him after the fact...", I thought as I walked back into the house. I walked to the glass sliding door to let the dog back in and saw him digging a hole, where we had already filled a hole and treated it with this no-dig stuff from Zamzow's. I couldn't believe it!! I'd only turned my back for 2 minutes, literally!! Luckily I had caught him, not only in the act, but before he had the chance to do much damage. I immediately came storming out of the sliding door, and he immediately ran away, bouncing playfully as if to say "ha ha you'll never catch me!!" I was furious!! It seems no matter what we have tried in the past few weeks, he simply refuses to stop digging. I called him over, and when he came within arm's reach, I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Leading him to the hole he'd just re-dug, I attempted to swat his butt, but couldn't because he was thrashing about, screaming as if I was cutting his legs off! When I reached for him with my other hand, he snarled and tried to bite me!! Shocked, I released my grip and he immediately bounced away, tail wagging, tongue lolling!! I hadn't been hurting him at all, he was just trying to get out of trouble!!!! "YOU LITTLE SHIT!!", I yelled in my mind. I was so angry, my cheeks were getting hot. All four of his paws were covered in mud (thanks to the morning dew and the digging), and now I was between a rock and a hard place. He was muddy, but I was all dressed for work (not exactly dog-washing clothes). If I let him in, he'd track mud in with him, but I had to leave for work and he had just proven to me that he couldn't be trusted outside, and I couldn't put him in the kennel because he would cry and whine which would prevent J from sleeping after the night-shift he'd just worked. So, I let him in, muddy paws and all, telling myself I would sweep, mop and vacuum when I got home from work, since I don't work late tonight. I gathered my things for work as he followed me around the house, prancing and panting and smiling, only irritating me further. As I was walking to my car, I walked in front of the front window, where I saw Huck standing on top of the couch looking back at me, muddy paws and all. "F***ing awesome...", I muttered to myself. What a great start to my day.