puppy trouble

It doesn't look like anyone is going to come forth as having lost the puppy. The puppy looks like it is a black labrador, but we can't be sure it is pure-bred. From photos of other puppies on the net, I think it must be at least 10 weeks old. If anyone in my area knows of someone who would like to have this puppy, please let me know. I do not plan on keeping it myself.

In related news, the puppy is not yet trained to only eliminate outside, nor is it yet paper trained. I had been giving it free run of the (large) garage, but I'm getting tired of having to clean up puddles and worse all over the garage. Also, for paper-training, the puppy should start out in a room with the floor completely papered, and I don't have enough newspaper to cover the whole garage floor.

So. I managed to create a much smaller enclosure within the garage for the puppy. I used the drawers from a metal filing cabinet, 2 large boxes, 2 saw-horses, a portable plastic table, spare shutter panels, wood crate panels, and large sheets of cardboard to create the enclosure. Since the wood crate panels are very rough and splintery, on my first attempt, I covered them with throw-rugs to give the puppy soft, safe sloping walls. But the puppy showed me that he was a good climber, and he could climb up those rugs! So out with the throw-rugs, and in with the large cardboard sheets and the plastic table. I used bricks and a tremendously heavy square of iron metal to stabilize things (it came with the garage; I don't know what it was used for), as well as tying down the cardboard and shutters with cord.

The metal drawers are only a bit over a foot high, so I was worried the puppy would jump them, and that I'd have to replace that part of the wall with large boxes too, but so far it looks like he doesn't think he can jump that high.

Phew. I'm tired. Now I have a small enough space that I can cover the floor with newspaper.

pup

When the puppy is outside, I can't go outside wearing houseshoes, without him attacking my houseshoes. And I can't go barefoot without him licking my feet. So just to shortly step onto the front porch in order to plug the cords together to turn on the Halloween lights on the tree, I have to put on shoes. And every time I want to go thru a door without him following me, it's an ordeal.

He's chewing up the thin carpet which is on the porch. He's pulled the extension cords out from the nice pile I had them in. And when I try to connect the plug into the socket, he keeps jumping at me, and I have to repeatedly shove him away in order to do what I'm trying to do.

I am not a dog person.

He went on the paper twice so far. Yay. In retrospect, I should have laid down some plastic sheeting under the papers to make cleanup easier. I was thinking about getting a litter box with cat litter and seeing if I could get him to use that. But even if he got used to using a litter box, he'd soon grow too big for it. A litter box for an adult labrador would have to be a darn big litter box.

beijing opera

I got to see a performance, "Highlights of Classic Chinese Theater", yesterday. The performers were a group of students of Beijing Opera, from China. They performed episodes from various plays. The costumes and make-up were fantastic. Some parts reminded me of my own dancing; there's certain movements I do when dancing, which are like theirs. I probably picked up those movements from various things I watched when I was younger.

The last episode was a fight scene between 2 warriors in the dark. The stage was not dark, but the play was based on them not being able to see each other. It was wonderful.

If any of you have the opportunity to watch a performance of Beijing Opera, I highly recommend it.

Next week there is going to be a performance of Chinese folk dancing at the Koger Center. I am thinking of attending that one too.