The New Hobbit Hole

[Corin Stormhands]

Is MIL really moving in?

Sure looks that way.

[Corin Stormhands]

What a lovely picture!

I ain't postin' mine and you can't make me...

[HairOfTheDog]

Corin, I can't wait till I can buy you a pint!

[RMDupree]

Tom dumped you for Goldberry that elf hussy! :) You're better off without him.

[RMDupree]

What? You don't actually look like Gimli? *shocked expression*

[Lil'freeper]

No no, he looks just like Mel Gibson!!

[Sam Cree]

"I just found out I'm the clueless foot-in-mouth type."

That's OK, I'm the "oblivious" type, so I am often finding out. Sometimes I like being oblivious, though.

[Corin Stormhands]

The dog needs to respect Corin Jr. too. and anyone else in the house.

I try to reinforce that. It drives Jr. nuts, but I insist that he's the one to feed the dog and take him out when he's home.

As for the crate thing, no he won't make the connection. By the time he gets to the crate he won't remember we have a couch. But if we reinforce him staying off while we're out, he won't regress when we're gone if he's in the crate.

Actually I don't mind him being on the couch as much as I mind him getting an attitude when he's told to get down.

[Overtaxed]

Snooty elf-dog?

[RMDupree]

oh yeeeaaaahhh! I forgot about that! :)

[HairOfTheDog]

Yep... that is the problem!

[Sam Cree]

My MIL moved in to our house to die, with FIL, when she had cancer. It took months, was very hard on the family, tho the rest of us got thru it OK. There was times when I really struggled with it, tho I think I was mostly helpful. My wife still misses her mother alot, even 9 years later, but she's fine.

I guess it was the right thing to do.

[NewCenturions]

A rain shower was her wash day! How could I compete with that?!

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I am back on $#&%*^$#! dial up! Pace is set at (drum roll....) 21.6!

My cable modem lights are blinking and flashing like a Christmas tree, which how it tells me that it has ceased to carry any signal whatsoever. Maybe it thinks I will be happy just watching the pretty lights until it works again.

[RMDupree]

I trained Scruffy to stay off the furniture period. It was part of my training mentality that in order to assert that humans are always the Alphas in the household, he could not be afforded to do what we do whenever it suited him. Don't get me wrong, I spoil him terribly whenever I see him - but he was never taught to be equal for fear that he would challenge authority. (he weighs about 90-100 pounds).

So, I bought him a washable dog bed, put it next to the couch and praised him every time he laid down on it. (Something along the lines of: What a good boy! That's your widdle doggie bed, yes it is! All for you cuz you're such a sweet boy!)

He's a very smart dog and got the connection right away. To this day, you can pat the couch next to you and he will hesistate and whine, ears laid back until you assure him that it is ok, just this once. He will NOT do it otherwise.

[Sam Cree]

Were you guys here when we were discussing who Tom and Goldberry were?

I believe we decided that Tom was the spirit of Tolkien's beloved vanishing Oxfordshire countryside and Goldberry the spirit of the rivers that ran through it.

Stuff that JRRT was personally in love with.

Those analogies make me happy.

[RMDupree]

Harumph! I see. Hippie elf.

Tom had no color coordination anyway. You couldn't take him anywhere without that silly hat!

[Corin Stormhands]

"Sam" (Samuel Adams Stormhands) was also trained to stay off the furniture. But he started sleeping on the couch when we stopped crating him all the time. Usually he stays off when we're there.

But, like I said, he doesn't mind Jr. very well.

[RMDupree]

I missed that! I'm still new to New Row, so please forgive me.

I agree with those analogies. They make perfect sense.

[Overtaxed]

Maybe it thinks I will be happy just watching the pretty lights until it works again.

Awww....it just has a lot of Christmas spirit!