My Dog Has Become - An Animal!

I should have expected it. It's like when my kids started kindergarden - something changed. Prior to K, they were sweet, thought I knew everything, and pretty much worshipped me - mainly for the rides I could give them to fun places, the toys I would purchase for them, and the snacks only I could make for them. Then came the big change! They walked into the K door an innocent child and came out a know-it-all, mom-knows-nothing, punk kid. I was in shock the first time that happened but by the time my second child started kindergarden, I was dreading, but expecting the change. Now I understand why parents want to home school.

The same thing is happening with my sweet little quiet, innocent dog/human, Seymour. It just took him a few extra days to make the change. He went into doggie daycare as a naive little dog and came out like an - animal! First, I noticed that his loyalty to me was waning - he looked forward to leaving me in the morning to be held in the arms of another woman. Then he went from a dog that wouldn't bark if someone knocked on the door to an animal that barked at tree stumps. But the worst thing is that he's starting to smell like a wet dog - all the time. He goes in to his daycare smelling of lavendar and comes out smelling of doggie poo and doggie breath, but with a smile plastered on his face.

He no longer wanted to sleep with me so I had to bribe him by lifting him into bed and massaging him until his knees and eyelids both dropped. He's not happy that he has lost control of his bedtime "attitude", but his need for a massage is a little more important than control. This gives me a flicker of hope that I can slowly get my little boy back and eventually make him forget he is an - animal. I couldn't save my kids from growing up and learning that I wasn't as smart as they are, but I think I have a chance with my dog, thanks to the fact that he'll never learn to drive, text or read self-help books. I just might get my boy back.