Kiwi update

She was awfully quiet so I had to go check to see what she was up to before sitting down at the computer.

Our new Border Collie pup, Kiwi, has found her comfort zone here at our home as well as a lot of socks, kleenexes and slippers. In fact, Bill made a special trip to Wal-Mart last night to purchase a new pair of slippers. Over the past couple of days, Kiwi had eaten most of the foam from his others and scattered it around the bedroom floor.

Now, she's discovered where I put my shoes near the stove, so they may have to find a new residence. Since moving here, she also has a house of her own inside our house. It's a nice canvas portable dog house, complete with windows on the side and pockets for doggie supplies. Last night it took only three tries to get her to listen to "Beddy By" before she promptly jumped inside.

Not that she stayed inside, but we practiced several times, and she knows the command. I figure convincing her to stay in her portable doghouse is just like persuading your horse to climb into a trailer. You don't stress 'em out; instead, you just let 'em check it out for themselves, and eventually they'll not feel threatened. Kiwi is also smart as a whip about her bathroom duties. Hasn't had an accident inside since that first hour after her arrival.

Now, I do have one problem where I'm gonna threaten this little bundle of fur a time or two if it persists. She thinks it's cool to remove the cat logs from Charlie's litter box and deposit them at strategic points around the living room. I discovered that while talking on the phone the other day. What I thought was part of an old shoe turned out to feel much softer when I picked it up.

And, speaking of talking on the phone. These pups are just like kids. They know that when you're distracted in a good phone conversation, that's the best time for them to go into action. So, I've changed my ways a bit in that department. I send Kiwi outside.

There's a problem there too----my flower bed. She's discovered that if you pull on those little posies just right, they come out of the ground and you can carry 'em around with pride.

Kiwi's a big help with all outside projects. She loves to snoop around the garden while I pick beans or dig potatoes. She'll lie down----in the shade---and watch me while I clear out weeds along the fence. And while I paint, she likes to stay close. Now the white paint wasn't too bad when she stuck her nose in the bucket, but yesterday when I was touching up the fence with "farmer brown" paint, she stuck her nose in again.

I tried to tell her that when I'd picked her out from the litter, I wanted just black and white----not tri-colored. Those new brown spots should wash off soon. Oops, excuse me a minute.

KIWI, whatcha doing?????????