Amy Lu's View

Our dog StanLee is adorable and sweet and lovable.

He can also be a complete asshole.

Chad and I know this, but we were still almost in tears when we recently had a bad “parent-teachers conference” with his doggy daycare. (We do not blame the teacher for saying this–she wasn’t mean or rude, just keeping it real). Simply put, StanLee is super anxious and insecure and often acts out by being obnoxious and aggressive with the other dogs (nothing dangerous but definitely annoying). The staff usually manage this by moving him from room to room (the “big” dogs are often able to put him in his place) and giving him time outs.

We weren’t really surprised by this. Frankly, we were surprised StanLee B. got to stay in doggy daycare in the first place. (During his first day of assessment we kept expecting them to call and say he was kicked out). But we were lulled into a false sense of security that his “rough playing” was working for the other dogs.

StanLee really wants to play with other dogs, so we’re sad he’s so bad at it. But we’re thankful that we can get him more training. Yes, StanLee is getting MORE training, this time with Leigh, the “teacher” we had our Come to Jesus talk with. (I’ve dubbed her “Sergeant Leigh”).

We (okay, Chad) actually were pretty successful with StanLee’s first round of intense training and made good progress, but he’s dealing with a lot. It’s like he did a Couch to 5K–which is great–but we want to get him to a Half Marathon. He’s got a lot to overcome in our quest to have him not be an asshole.

As part of his training regime, StanLee is now going to special socializing sessions on Sundays. Sergeant Leigh calls it “Sunday School.” It reminds me of puppy Breakfast Club.

StanLee seemed to really dig Puppy Sunday School, but unfortunately ripped a nail at the end of the day. He seems fine now but last night was a little tense as we made him wear a Cone of Shame and a Bootie of Frustration to keep him from licking it.

So we continue on our quest to help SLB be a Dog Who Is Not An Asshole Who Can Play With Other Dogs* and Go Out In Public and MAYBE One Day Meet Our Cats.

We’re open and optimistic… we’re even trying CBD oil with SLB (and who knows maybe we and the cats will try it to).

*OMG we have a new puppy neighbor who is a dachshund named Gus. I may die from cuteness overload.