Saturday, February 21, 2009

Frustrated

I'm really down today...despite sewing my two goodies for the day, and I even got them listed. I splurged at wal-mart and got some new pink fuzzy stuff (not quite fleece, not quite fun fur) and some really neat lightning bolt fabric for doggy clothes. Oh, I even got some beading needles to give a try at beading that blasted vest that's been in the UFO box for forty-lebben years.

No, SEX (Stash Enhancement eXperience) and "retail therapy" didn't seem to help much.

Ok, so why am I frustrated?

Because of my DOG.

I love him dearly but he has been a constant source of frustration since we brought him home. We know little to nothing of his prior owners, so we don't know how he was raised. What we do know is that he is the biggest scaredy cat dog we've ever seen.

He pees. A LOT. I'm not talking about fountains when we take him for walks, I'm talking about when someone sneezes. I sneeze, and he pees. Loud noise on tv, he pees. Kids start fighting, he pees. My phone rings, he pees. I get a text message, he pees. Look at him sideways, he .... you get the point.

Soooo....I've been REALLY hesitant to use him as a model for my dog clothes. I don't want to send something out that he piddled on.

This morning I got up extra early and took him for a walk while the husband and kidlets slept. He did his morning piddle, and while we were walking around, I sneezed, I coughed, I hoped that I timed the walk just right for the train to go through at its usual time (two blocks from the house)...it did, by the way, and I even pretended to trip and nearly lose my balance. I was trying to get as much of his piddle out of the way before the pics as I could.

We came in from the walk and I gave him a drink of water, a few treats, and lots of love. I got the backdrop all set up, and put the hoodie on him.

He didn't pee. Ok good. We're off to a roaring good start. Normally he freaks out when I put his coat on him and we have "Lake Ripley" to clean up. Thank heavens for hardwood floors!

The furnace kicked on. Not so good. He still didn't piddle, but had a look of utter horror on his face. Crap. Forgot about the furnace scaring him too.

I took the pictures anyway. They turned out ok, except there is a terrified dog in them. I forgot that he doesn't like the camera.

*sigh*

I don't really have anyone around me with a small dog that I feel comfortable enough asking if I can "use" their dog as my model. My dog is scared of everything. When I use a plushie, people think I'm selling the plushie and not the coat.

I'm frustrated.

I'll figure something out, but in the mean time, one of my kids just dropped something in their room, and I have a mess to clean up under my desk.

2 Unique comments:

Insanity and Daisies said...

Ok. First I have to stop laughing...Second, I know you probably didn't mean for this to be funny, but it is hilarious!
As for your poor little pups, it sounds like he was abused. I don't know how long you've had him, but give him some time and let him see loud noises don't mean anything. He may never get over being scared entirely, but maybe the water works will cease. If you want to use him as your model, I would suggest doing that with him everyday, several times a day to get him used to modeling and the camera. Make an outfit just for him to practice in. And be sure to use a very quiet place, void of all noise and distractions, like a bedroom or large closet with good lights.
Be patient and good luck!! Keep us posted!

UBK said...

Any time you pay any kind of attention to him he freezes up like that. When you tell him good boy, he will thump his tail a little, but that's about it. *Sometimes* we can get him to chase a ball or one of his stuffies but mostly he just turns and looks at you like he's just gotten in trouble...right before he pees on the floor =(

I'm getting ready to give him his Saturday Bath, which is a whale of a lot easier than bathing a squalling 2 year old human. He just sits there and acts like you took away his favorite toy. He doesn't bark, doesn't squirm, won't shake the water off until you TELL him to...he just stands there and lets you do it. I'm sure that somewhere, someone is jealous of this...but he is usually a little more playful and cooperative after his bath than before.

If he seems to be in a better mood, I'll try for better pics.

*sigh*