Vote-is for Otis! 


Does he look like a Davis to you? 

Okay, so it turns out that Otis was seriously turning on the charm and good behavior when we decided to hang onto him last week. He was especially sweet and fun when Marc was away in Arkansas and I took him out to a ranch. First clueless, he quickly learned everything from fetching to swimming as Ella showed him the ropes, and by the end of the excursion he had even figured out his new name! He and I definitely bonded, and he stuck by my side whenever he and Ella weren't off playing on their own.

Then I went to D.C. and Marc came home. It seems he didn't have the same sense of loyalty and bonding with his new foster dad. In the course of 2.5 days, Otis presented Marc with 4, count 'em 4, giant craps (all on carpet, of course). He also managed to chew on some couch pillows and shoes, and generally behave in the puppy-like ways we thought were magically nonexistent for Otis. In hindsight, we were pretty naive to think a pup that had been neglected for his first half year of life would have magically known all the rules.

In any case, Otis is now being crate trained by day, which is working like a charm. However, it completely defeats the purpose of having a buddy to goof around with Ella, which is really the only reason we every entertained the thought of a second dog. While crate training can be temporary, it's still a pretty annoying months (if you're lucky) long endeavor -- annoying because you have to get home in the middle of the day and also you have to keep a gigantic crate in the middle of your dining room.

So what's your vote? Otis, or No-tis?

 

Posted: Wed - November 2, 2005 at 07:02 PM          

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