We woke up that morning and Pippa just knew. Something isn't right. I had expected I'd feel sad about driving Pippa to Edisto to leave her at behavior training for three weeks but instead I woke up with big nerves. Oral presentation nerves. Dry mouth, shaky hands. Brett and I couldn't come up with a reason for this over-reaction, except for it just being me. Pip eyed me suspiciously. We packed up her little brown dog bed, her collar and a bag of food. Brett grabbed the paperwork and I wrung my hands and tried to convince Pip it was a normal day. Grace stayed in bed, unburdened by the stench of my inner turmoil.
Typically car politics work like this; Brett drives and I navigate. Grace sticks to the left side of the car, rotating between laying down in the back left corner or standing just inside of the passenger window behind Brett's head. Pip patrols the rest of the car as we rocket through space but most notably she stands front and center with her front paws on the center console and her long neck stretched as far forward as possible so that her face is equidistant between Brett's and mine. To oncoming traffic it would look as though the three of us were sharing a bench seat. We often tell her to "backup" and then she'll do a quick perimeter search of the car before her head arrives again in the front seat. She's an adrenaline junkie.
On this day, this nerve-filled, nearly two hour drive, Pippa cowered in my lap like a little weenie. She trembled and batted her minuscule eyelashes at me and occasionally let out a wheezy hum. She pulled out all the stops. She played me like a fiddle and I was fine with it.
Collectively, Pip and I were very uncomfortable. We're both bony to start with and Pippa has claws. On normal days, when I'm not oozing of fear, I can pick Pippa up and toss her around like fresh pizza dough and she settles onto me wherever I've placed her. We're prodigious cuddle buddies. On this day, Pip's trust in me waned and she resisted my attempts to lift her into comfortable car riding positions. So I supported her hefty butt with my forearm while she clawed into my thighs for stability. It was awful for both of us.
We arrived at base camp. Pippa watched the other inmates having yard time and felt both joy and worry. We left her in the car while we spoke with her trainer, Simms, and then it was time to take her to her cell. Corner cells give nervous dogs a bit more peace of mind than ones open to other furry friends on both sides. For that reason, Simms reserved the very last kennel on the left for Pippa. A thoughtful notion. We passed through the office into the kitchen and then Simms opened the door to gen pop. Chaos erupted. Barking and leaping and twirling. All the other inmates were hooting at Pippa. Simms carried on casually and continued talking to us even though we couldn't hear a thing. It was deafening. She screamed at us, "It's usually quiet in here but they get excited when a new dog arrives."
My mom instincts wanted to pick up my love bundle and run away as fast as possible. Pippa hates loud noises. Simms lead us down the narrow path dividing the kennels while all the other pups banged their cups again the cell bars. Pippa melted into the floor. Her legs were vibrating. She army crawled the length of the building, eyes darting from cell to cell. We made it to her kennel and Brett went in with her. She accepted a few gentle pats from Simms while looking up at Brett with terror in her eyes. Her neighbor is a big black lab full of unbridled excitement. He was so excited to meet Pippa that he flipped his little cot up into the air with his nose and then he splashed around in his water bucket. Pippa trembled as she extended her nose to sniff her new neighbor. I noticed that the black lab's water bucket was chained to the wall and it turns out he gets too excited and sits in the bucket so they had to elevate and chain it. It was immediately obvious why he was at training school.
Simms didn't let us linger in the kennel with Pip. She said that's the hardest part for everyone so she ushered us out and I watched the betrayal wash over Pippa's sweet face as we left her in that chaotic, echoing prison. Outside, we discussed more of Pippa's plan and got to meet some other furry friends. We looped around back and saw that Pip had already learned how to use her doggy door and was in her outside pen wagging her little tail at the black lab. The tail wag made us feel so much better. We shouted our goodbyes to her and then we drove home recounting the whole thing over and over looking for highlights and positives. She liked Simms. She met her neighbor. Can go in and out as she pleases. It's fine. She'll be fine.
Since then we have received pictures, updates and videos from Simms. It took a few days of adjusting and then BAM. Pip loves the kennel. She loves the trainers and the other inmates and particularly loves "going to work" each morning.
"Pippa is doing great. Really wants to please and is happy to be obedient." We spoke with Simms last week and she told us that Pip has made friends with the other pups in her training group and that her up and down tail makes the staff laugh everyday. She was described as a sweet bundle of energy and she plays rough so they have to put her with other dogs that can take it. Here she is with her new friend Czabin.
Pippa greets all the dogs in the kennel with playful bows as she walks the line down to her room. The actual training area is a short drive from the kennel and when they let Pip out to load up, she races through the kennel and leaps into the car. She can't get there fast enough.
Pippa is blazing right through the training steps and has become a more "confident" pup that "lives in the moment." We laughed out loud at that.
Back at home, the house is quiet and clean without Pippa. We hate it. Grace is still more cat-like than not but she has made it clear that she enjoys being the only pup. She comes around for cuddles slightly more often and no longer goes on walks begrudgingly but with excitement and potential. We feel awfully guilty about what's headed her way. Not only does she have to go to behavior school, but Pippa will be back when she gets home. She'll never forgive us. We're anticipating a very different report from Simms once she gets to know Grace. Maybe we'll get a refund.
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