Wow, I have committed to blogging everyday, and this past week, even though I have read, I have missed blogging twice! There is no excuse. I should have made this a priority and I should have just woken up early.
I am finally getting over my illness! Yay! And my doggie is finally crate trained! This past week has been... rough. She really really loves me, just unconditionally. And she's social. So whenever she is left alone, she has been whining and crying and just throwing a fit.
I really didn't do enough research on crate training before I started doing it. The first night, I just put her in her crate with a blanket, a shirt I had worn, and a few toys and just was expecting to let her whine until she fell asleep and I could just drown her out with my earplugs.
Well, that didn't work. Even after I gave her some benadryl, she was just hysterical for over 2 hours. I just couldn't take it anymore so I let her sleep with me in her bed next to me. The next few night, I just put her out in the living room and just let her cry it out, and I couldn't hear her, but she cried all night...
What I was doing during the day was introducing her to her crate-- I was putting treats in there, praising her for going in, letting her be in there when I was home and right there, I did some exercises where I would leave for a few seconds, then come back before she would cry, then I started increasing the time.
I made sure to always ignore her when she whined and barked and cried even when out of her crate so she would know that the behavior she was exhibiting wasn't going to get her any attention. She was really getting better. I finally last night, after a week, moved her crate into my room. About 30 minutes before I went to bed, I put her in there and went out to the living room to finish a movie, and she whined for a couple of minutes then quit. When I went in there to go to bed, she was asleep and didn't cry at all when I went to my bed and turned off the light.
She slept through the whole night and at 9:20 this morning when I was going to take her out to go potty and go for a walk, she didn't want to get out! She was laying down and rolled over and went farther into her crate when I said, "Let's go potty, Bella."
Success!
It really got me thinking though... I had to introduce her slowly to this. When I tried to shove her in a new environment--force her to do what I wanted, it was a disaster and a failure and made us all miserable.
Another thing I have learned from Bella is that dogs (and most people) live in the moment. So when they do something you don't want them to, and you stay mad about it, it confuses and hurts them. I have had to learn to get over it when she has whined and whined for a long time and not be mad at her. Or when we go outside, and she just flat out won't go to the bathroom and will sit in the grass for 10 minutes, I can't stay mad at her.
I can't stay upset when she doesn't do things my way, I can't stay upset when she goes off and does her own thing, I can't get jealous when she is giving other people attention because I will set her up for failure.
When I want to minister to someone, I can't expect them to accept God right away, I can't expect them to stay straight in their faith walk, because I'm not like that either. I mean, when I do things wrong, what if the people I have wronged never got over it?
It's a really hard thing to have disappointed someone so much and never have them get over it and move on. It has happened to me to someone I cared about very dearly. And it was my fault, too. I had done someone horrible and I had not been exampling my relationship with God with this person. I had hurt them and betrayed them, and I really honestly didn't mean to. But I tried so hard to please them and set things right, and it has never worked.
I think about it a lot, and I have asked forgiveness from God for what I have done. And that's all I can do anymore.
The Psalm for today was Psalm 37:1-11
"1 Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the LORD.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the LORD,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
9 For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.
10 Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity"
I was wicked, and I did wither. I still am wicked, and when I'm not trusting God, my life is literally a living hell. At least when I am trusting God and trying to live right, I have peace about rough situations, but when I'm not, I really do wither and die.
I really think that dogs and people aren't so different after all...
God bless,
Lauren
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