The terrible twos and threes

Leo now all of ninety days, an active puppy he is. In the phase of the terrible twos and threes, a nightmare he surely is . Always up to mischief, scurrying around with an impish look, his only aim now, to try our restraint.

His initial illness, and set backs, have resulted in compromised immunity. Yet to be fully vaccinated, he is not allowed the outdoors, and his boundless puppy energy, is constrained to the limited indoors . Running , with his ears lying flat and tail flying high, he dashes about, causing unimaginable destruction. Knick knacks knocked down, from shelves and tables , puddles left around for us to clean , whether accidents or testing boundaries, is yet to be determined.

My tired legs and creaking knees , have found new strength, new vigour. Chasing after this little minx, trying to discipline and avert any serious damage to him and property, my day goes by. The sedentary life, as it was, with intermittent naps and forty winks, is no more, but active we are, running with this four legged tornado, full of energy .

It hurts to smack him, to punish him for errors, though it doesn’t stop him from repeating them frequently. Consistency, they say, is the key to success, but all that is heard is our rising’ NO’ perfecting the octave. However, after many failed attempts, at training this self willed puppy, we can boast of some improvement, as he shows a semblance of discipline .

Is there not but a fine line, between discipline and control? In our quest to teach him, are we not breaking his spirit, are we not curbing his freedom his puppy days of fun? Curtailing his basic instincts, his desire to run wild, forage for food, roll in the dirt, splash in water, attack when threatened. Training him to adapt to our lifestyle, to our environment, for our selfish needs. Much like we do with our children, when they are young , controlling them, restricting them, making them extensions of ourselves, our thoughts and dreams, taking away the very joy of living.