Exceptions

As I noted in my last post, Shelby is a great dog--for the most part. Of course, we've had to work through a few things as we have started building a framework for her life with me. For instance, Catahoulas are known for their high intelligence. Like Dalmatians and many other highly intelligent dogs, if they do not receive attention and stimulation (mental and physical), they get bored, which brings out all sorts of fun behaviors.

In Shelby's case, she retains the puppy-hood habit of chewing on things if she is not otherwise occupied. I didn't think much about this issue when I came across fluff from some old slippers all over the living room floor; I didn't like those slippers anyway. I didn't think much about the chewing when I found mangled cat toys, either; that's what those toys are for, and the cat wasn't using them.
However, the day when I came home to find out Shelby chewed the backs of my brand new running shoes while waiting for my boyfriend to get out of bed, I took notice. "Those are $100 shoes!" I exclaimed to my boyfriend. "I just got them!" He apologized and told me he would pay for a new pair, but really, I felt extravagent buying new shoes already--buying another pair so soon seemed ridiculous.

The next day, I tried wearing my old pair again when we ran, but I ended up with drastically enlarged blisters on the sides of my big toes. Part of the purpose of the new shoes was to reduce the blister problem by increasing the shoe size by a half and to give my feet more room because I was increasing my distance so much. The blisters were getting painful and ended up getting infected, so I knew I needed the new shoes. Not having time to go to the running store that day, though, I decided to see if the chewed pair could still be used. After a couple of runs, I decided they were fine as long as I didn't let them get too wet, which would destroy the exposed cushioning of the back of the shoe.

Even with the new chewed shoes, though, the blisters (which were nowhere near any spot where Shelby damaged the shoes) kept getting worse, so I finally decided to use a 20% coupon I had for Saucony brand shoes. I had been wearing Asics faithfully for three years, and having been attached to the feel of my old Asics, I decided against a pair of Saucony shoes the last time I tried new shoes. The coupon, the blisters, and the chewing led me down the path of brand heresy, which has been a good thing. Since getting the new Sauconies, my blisters have been disappearing, even with increased mileage.

As for Shelby's chewing, I managed that through a sale on chewing products at a local PetsMart: She, Meeso, and Molly love their cow hooves. And even if they do stink up the house a bit, the hooves are worth it for the shoes and other objects they save. Of course, closing the shoes away in my closet has helped, too.