Lizzy's Tax Season

It is almost half way through tax season and I realized I have not posted about Lizzy dealing with the extra people passing through. The basic reason is that there have been no surprises on her part. She greets most people, has a good smell and then goes back to her current favorite spot. Sometimes she stays where she can see what is going on, but most of the time she goes up front. There are times in the afternoon that she is so soundly asleep that she completely ignores clients.
There have only been a few times that I have had to put her in the back room. Mostly, to protect her from badly supervised kids. If only I could have hid with her.
I have been very surprised at how receptive most clients have been to her. They will baby talk, rub her stomach and just make her feel like a queen. I was concerned because she is a bigger dog and thought that some people would be afraid of her. But so far there has only been one older lady who was concerned. And that was more because Lizzy would go away after first greeting her. My biggest concerned is with my older clients. Lizzy has a habit of plopping down where she stops and occasionally that is right behind someone. So I am extra careful with her around clients who have problems moving around.
But like I said, Lizzy is becoming a great tax dog. Now if I could get her to answer the phone.

Guard Dog

Lizzy showed a different side of her personality today. We were at the park and she started barking and acting a little defensive. She seldom barks unless she sees another dog she wants to meet and occasionally when she gets woken up by a loud noise. But today she woke up every other dog in the area with her barking. And I could not see what had her riled up. The only thing in that area was a snowman. As we crossed the park to check out what had her going, it became clear that the object of her concern was snowman . It was not a great snowman, about 3 feet tall and very thin, but a snowman. Once Lizzy got a chance to smell it, she was fine and we went along smelling another area. The strange thing about the whole incident was that we were at the park yesterday afternoon and the the snowman never bothered her. But today was a different matter.

Ice

We had an ice storm last week. Luckily it wasn't a bad one. The second wave mostly missed us but what we had was bad enough for me. It brought up my concern of walking Lizzy since I hate walking on ice. Sad to say I took the easy way out. For several days, I just put her out in the back yard to do her business when we were home. I still had to walk her at work but sidewalks were clear there. Of course, she jumped the fence several times. But she came home within 20 or 30 minutes.
But she finds the piles of ice and sleet left by the plows fascinating. She will sniff on one area for minutes, maybe paw the ice and then jump around excited. Then it is off the the next section of the pile. She is slipping and sliding but it does not seem to bother her if there is a good scent to follow.
The new issue is at work. She has decided to nap on the sofa/futon. Even with the extra padding under the carpet, the floor can be cold but the sofa is not. But I only find her lying there, never getting on it. I think this is going to be a hard habit to break her of.
Next step is to figure out how to contain her during tax season with lots of people coming in and out. Right now the concern is her getting out the door. Actually, my clients are more concerned than I am. I know she is greeting them at the door to start the smelling process. I am thinking a tether to the back desk when things get crazy. Mostly, I'll play it by ear.

Catch up with Taxdog

The summer has been quiet so I haven't had much to write about Lizzy. Our biggest problem is schedule.
While I was directing a show (The Odd Couple), our schedule was fairly set. Up and to the park by 7:45am. Then to the office. Another walk after the mail came. Then she took a long nap followed by another walk. At 5pm, we would walk again and I would take her home. When I got back from rehearsal, the last walk of the day. Even after the show closed, our schedule stayed about the same even though I was generally home in the evening with her.
But the end of daylight saving time messed her up and she is still not totally liking the new routine. The morning isn't too bad. For a few days, her walk was moved up and and quickie walk was added in the morning. The problem is in the afternoon. At 4pm (the DST 5pm), she is ready to go home. It doesn't help that her view is completely blocked by cars going to the gym across the street and the papergirl generally doesn't make it before we leave. So she is bored. She really liked everyone coming in during the extension rush so I don't think tax season will be a problem. And by then I should have her accepting staying later.

Taxdog Problem

The problem is not with Lizzy, it is a client (and possibly others).
This guy showed up with receipts for me to look. He wants to know if it will be worth it to itemize. Of course, he's bored on a day off and I can't get rid of him. Lizzy had greeted him as usual and I had gotten her back under the desk when a new target arrived and then a 2nd. I thought he had left while I helped the new people, but he was still there petting Lizzy when I got done. I called Lizzy to come back to me and he stopped her from coming. He told me it was okay, she was not bothering him so she could stay there. Here I am, trying to train her to greet and then come back to me, and this bozo wants to play. I finally got Lizzy back to me but he was still hard to get out the door.
Why do people think it is okay to counter a Mom or Dad? Not just dogs but with kids too. I have seen parents trying to discipline their kids (not beat or abuse) and some joker actually encourages the child to misbehave because the child is not bothering them. And this are the people who would, if the child even slightly bothered them, complain how badly disciplined children are today.

Ignored a Client

Lizzy actually ignored a client today. He came in, she acknowledged him and then went to lay down under the table. No sniffing or bothering him. When he left, she checked out where he sat then went back to her hidy hole.
She has been a good sport about how her schedule has been torn to shreds. Since it is finally acting like summer, we have been staying later here (no AC at home). She has also decided she likes going outside at night. It's cooler. Since the backyard is fenced in, I know she is safe until she wants to come in. The challenge will be in a few weeks when rehearsals start and I leave her alone for several hours at a time 3 days a week.

Bald TaxDog

Ok, Lizzy is not bald but from the way she has been shedding I am amazed that she isn't. With it getting hotter she had decided to get cooler by getting rid of part of her undercoat. While she is loosing top coat too it is nothing like the chucks that are coming out from underneath. You can see the light clumps peeking out of her dark fur. Then she shakes like she is wet and the fur literally flies. Brushing helps and Lizzy seems to like being brushed but I can't follow her with a brush waiting to see the first appearance of the offending clumps. I have to get some work done.
The blond fur really shows up on my dark office carpet too. My new exercise is picking up the larger chunks of fur. It would also help to find a paint roller type holder for the sticky lint tape to help with quick pickups. Ideally, a Romba vacuum would be the best solution but those are not cheap. I guess I'll have to stay with picking up the chunks, sweeping with a broom then running the vacuum until this shed is finished.