The first night Patty sleeps happily downstairs in a comfy dog fort, full of dog beds, bones, and blankets. But the next day it becomes clear that confinement of any kind make her very uncomfortable and so begins our battle of wills that Patty will ultimately win and that will define our relationship thereafter.
I decide that Patty needs to sleep downstairs confined to her dog fort. Not only because she has no house-manners but because I have not introduced her to my other dogs or my baby daughter yet.
No big deal right? For all my other dogs a baby gate fastened into a doorway has always been enough to ensure their confinement. I set up the baby gate as Patty watches me, as soon as I am done she reaches down and moves the gate aside with her nose. Oops ... clearly this is going to take more thought.
Next I set up two gates securily fastened on opposite sides of the doorway. She examines the gates for a minute and than in a single hop she is on the other side. Umm.....okay....so now I go all out.....two gates and two chairs, to add not just height but also depth to the barrier. Good, Patty is stuck on the other sided looking at the clutered doorway. I head upstairs, and after a moment I have a feeling that I am being followed.....I turn around and there she is .... Patty is following me up the stairs! How did she get out?! I go back downstairs, the gates are untouched, the chairs have been carefully moved back .... okay .... your on.....two can play at this game.....
I recruit my husband (an engineer) and together we design a series of three barriers in three different doorways. The first one is tall. The whole doorway is full of boxes. The next one is heavy. We wedge extra pieces of baby crib, dog crates, the baby's car seat, an old chest full of old dishes. We fill the whole landing with any awkward heavy big object we can find. In the kitchen we create an obstacle course, chairs are wedged against each other and walls, baby gates in between, blankets covering everything. In the final doorway we create an unstable barrier. A book, a tray, a plastic box, and a few other nick-nacks are balanced in the air teatering upon pieces of wood weaved through the doorway, the smallest nudge of the wooden supports will result in the whole thing collapsing. As a final touch I hang a single bell from the top of the barrier and set up the baby monitor by it.
Of course I forgot to provide Patty with water. It takes me a half hour to make my way through the barriers with my husbands help. There is no way she is getting out.
Regardless I don't sleep well that night. I have a nightmare that Patty appears in our bedroom upstairs confronting my sleeping dogs who she has not yet been introduced to. My dogs are startled and a huge dog fight ensues. I wake up from this nightmare just in time to hear a single quiet bell ringing in the darkness over the baby monitor. NO WAY! I run downstairs and meet Patty in the living room she is panting hard, she must have been working for hours. I look at the barriers. Untouched. Unbelievable! To this day I can't understand how she did it.
I look down at Patty and realize that she is much smarter than me. At least I know when I am beaten. I decide to accelerate dog introductions and revise how I will teach her house manners. Okay Patty we will do this your way.
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