The adventures of DR Matthew and DD Ben, a mini-opera.
Today, DD Ben accompanied me to a rehearsal for a revue I played in this evening. Everyone loved him and he hung out in his bed by my keyboard the whole time. I took him out to do his "business" afterward (about 3 1/2 hours) and he didn't want to go.
Then we headed to auditions for The Wizin which DD Ben was cast as Toto - no joke. I didn't take him to audition, it's MY show!! LOL, but the director loved him and he will be spending time at camp with me, so we cast him. That was 2 more hours without doing any "business"
Afterward, we came back to the apartment and I took him for a walk around (he's still not "getting" the walk thing, but he's better) and we walked and pulled and dragged for a good 35 minutes. No "business". At this point, I was getting late to get to church, so we went upstairs and I changed clothes, and DD Ben began to pace and sniff, etc. I immediately took him back outside to see what he'd do. And.... nothing. I got frustrated, brought him upstairs, and instead of penning him in the kitchen, I put him in his crate and left to go to church and to my gig.
I was one guilty Papa. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I felt really bad. I was reassured by a friend that DD Ben wouldn't do his "business" where he slept, so that helped a little.
I got home, approximately 6 hours later, and found DD Ben in his crate, happy to see me and NO "business" in his crate. So, I grabbed some treats and off we went. It took a bit, but DD Ben did his "business" and was rewarded with a treat or two. He also walked well on the leash this eve.
So, for now, if I have to leave him, he's going to be crated for the time being. I'm ok with that.
Now, DD Ben is asleep on the couch. His favorite place... he can even get up there himself. In fact, he was so hyper this eve, he hopped up with some hang time.
End of mini-opera.