The Wrong Side of the Bed!

Sunny, the pup, is making great progress.  She has learned to be more dog-like and less puppy-like all the while keeping her youthful spirit that makes her so lovable!  Some days, she does so well that I tend to forget that she is a puppy and relax my vigilant eye.  Today was one of those days.  Things started out well.  Earlier, Mark had taken Ms. Ez to the vet's office to get her treated for a bad rash and while they were gone, Sunny had full run of the place.  She was happy!  No one was there to reprimand her for her nosiness or her "puppy-ness".  After he returned with Ezzy, I thought about crating Sunny but she was actually being sweet. Both dogs lounged on their beds and enjoyed the breeze coming through the screen door. I was impressed!  She behaved so nicely that I never thought twice about leaving her unattended as I ran to the kitchen to snap some green beans. Big Mistake!!!!

I listened for the thunder of two romping dogs at the other end of the house but never heard a sound.  Again, I was impressed!  I kept snapping those beans for the next twenty minutes or so and then decided it was time to check on the puppy.  Oh, my goodness!  It almost appeared as if the living room was covered in green snow!  Pale green Polyfil stuffing was everywhere!......and in the midst of all that pillow-stuffing sat one gleeful pup!  She almost appeared to be totally proud of her deed! She had demolished that evil bed!  Just a few weeks ago, I had bought two new dog beds..one for Ezzy and a matching "big-girl bed" for Sunny.  No more would she sleep on the tiny little mat from her crate..she was growing and needed this bigger bed.  Well, that big-girl bed was now in shreds and the destroyer was caught red-handed!  Need I mention, that the nice breeze through the screen door was now wafting pale green "dust bunnies" around the room.  Miss Sunny happily pounced from one fluffy wad of stuffing to another.  With each pounce, more stuffing exploded from the torn bed until my living room resembled a soft green cloud.  Oh..it resembled a soft green cloud with a white puppy playing leapfrog!    Sunny had totally reverted back to the mischievous, attention-deficit toddler that I had so patiently trained into a well-behaved dog.

How do I train this pup from eating everything inedible? Should I mete out some horrendous punishment for these misdeeds?  Do I just count to ten (or ten million) and chalk this up as another puppy-caused casualty?  (And might I add, those puppy-caused casualties are numerous!)  Or do I just bide my time until August and the return of Sunny to her real family, daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Robbie.  (Hmmm...hehe..now there is a thought!)  I looked at Sunny as she romped in the green "snow" and thought of how much fun she was having.  Bad dog!  Bad dog!....she leapt into my lap for some snuggles.  Awww...bad dog, bad dog...you are just so cute!  Perhaps tonight when she is sleeping on the tiny mat instead of her nice, cushy bed, she will realize what a mistake she made...hopefully???  I doubt it.  She will insist on sharing Ms. Ezzy's bed.