Sawyer Boy

There comes a day in every puppy's life when he becomes... a dog. That day is today for Mr. Sawyer Boy. That's right, as we speak Sawyer is at the vet's office, probably getting ready for some anesthesia so that he can be neutered. What a great way to start off a new year, eh?!Puppy Sawyer- cute little fur ball

Dog Sawyer- still cute but not so much a fur ball

Speaking of Sawyer, he is beginning to outsmart/outwit Jason and I. He never was very fond of his kennel, so we gave that up about 4 days after we brought him home. The solution that worked the best for us and him was to keep him in our laundry room with a baby gate while we are at work. I can't say he loved this arrangement but it was better than the kennel. He just doesn't like to be alone, I think that is normal for his small breed. I hate to keep him home alone all day but I don't have much of a choice and if you ask me he's in a better situation than stuck in a pile of hay bails on a flea infested farm.

He does pretty good in the laundry room, only cries a little when I leave in the morning and he doesn't use the bathroom until I come home to let him out. I say "pretty good" meaning he hasn't chewed completely through the gate, almost but not all the way. However, this last week has been a particular struggle for us. I think he got spoiled last week being with us for 5 days straight, not to mention all of the play time he got with my dad and brother over the weekend. So, when Monday morning came around and I started to blow dry my hair, he knew exactly what was happening. He just laid around all morning looking up at me with those sad puppy dog eyes that say, "Are you really leaving... can't you just stay?" I wanted to, I really did, but I had to leave him in the laundry room... crying for me as I walked out to my car. So I decided that I would definitely come home at lunch to play with him. When I got home, much to my surprise he greeted me at the door. Now, this has happened before but today I made sure that the gate was very tight between the wall and washer. I had even shut the door enough (I thought) that if he got out he couldn't get out of the laundry room. I was wrong. I went upstairs to see how Sawyer had done it. The gate had been moved a tiny bit, allowing him (I'm assuming) to climb over it and get out. I have to admit, it's sort of cute to come home and see his tail wagging self so happy to see me and so proud that he had gotten out of the gate. But not cute enough for me to let him roam around my house all day while I'm at work.Here's what happened Tuesday: put him in the laundry room as usual, but this time shut the door all of the way. Came home and he had gotten out of the gate again and was sitting between the door and his gate.

Here's what happened Wednesday: put him in the laundry room, moved the gate from between the wall and the washer to between 2 walls, thinking that it would be hard for him to move the gate at all... didn't shut the door at all. Came home and he was, once again, happily greeting me at the door. I went upstairs to see how Sawyer the Houdini dog had done it. Apparently he is getting old and big enough to jump right over the gate, which is pretty surprising considering he will barely jump off the couch.Between now and Monday, J and I need to put our heads together and figure out a new arrangement for Sawyer while we are at work. We need to outsmart our dog. Any suggestions...