Dog & Door

Beau has had a hard time of the move. When we stayed with my parents he wasn't allowed outside as much because he barks and marks all over the place. He's a very protective boy. He was often shipped off to my in-laws to frolic with other puppies but then he missed us. We haven't been staying in the house a week yet and unlike Katherine, he didn't come to visit often before we moved in. He barks at every sound because its new and different. We don't have shutters yet on the windows he can see out of so he's barking at everything that goes past.

Yesterday we took our first walk around the neighborhood and he tried to mark every five feet. That's not an exaggeration and makes for a slow walk. So I have to tell him to move along or leave it alone and keep pulling him forward. Today we had the same problem on our walk. And then the gardeners came. Not only are they close to his house but they are making loud noises. They were in the front and the back yard and he was going nuts. I kept trying to reassure him but he's never taken that well from me. When Mike was on nights and he would bark and could not be consoled. It was almost as if he was saying, "Silly mom, there's a noise out there! I'll protect you!" like a "I-know-better-than-you" protective override. I tried to keep him upstairs (a nice use of the double baby gate system) but he was still barking and whining. We hope he'll get better once he gets used to the place.

Until we get the back fence in and fix the side gates, he can't be out in the backyard off leash. Even then he'll probably be over-protective and bark for awhile. But now, we at least don't have to walk him all the way up to the undeveloped part of the hill to go to the bathroom. I got the gravel down in the dog area which is much closer. The area is 8'x8' and the gravel depth is 2"-3". We have some extra bags because the gravel will probably leave various ways. Its temporary until we pull up that 10'x10' section of concrete but its a good start.

Yesterday I also tried to paint the closet door in the bar area. It was a really dark wood and we wanted it to match the molding in the ever popular "Swiss Coffee." Right away I didn't like the way the paint was going on. The door was finished nicely and very smooth. That meant that the brush strokes are very visible and uneven. Looking back, I should have primed it first. Or sprayed it which was the original plan until Mike wanted it exactly the same color as the baseboards. White is not always white when its next to white. I finished the coat and let it dry. The next time the baby naps (which could be days at this point) I'll try to get another coat on it and see how it looks. The wood looked so dark inside but outside it didn't look too bad. Too late I guess because I'm sure as hell not sanding it.