Auto Confusion

The actual hand that feeds her. Not a smart dog.

As I mentioned in this post I bought a new car last week. It's working out great for everyone but the dog. She's having some trouble with it. When I brought it home the first time she barked at it, which is to be expected and maybe even applauded. Strange car, protect the house, good dog. I got out of the car and talked to her until she figured out who I was which made her very very happy. She was bouncing around and squealing she was so happy. Then I got back into the car to pull it through the gate at the end of the driveway and she forgot who was in the car. She barked and tried to look all mean, which isn't very mean looking, but at least she tried. She was genuinely shocked to see me get back out of the car that I had gotten into moments before and was all excited that I was home. Again. Throughout the afternoon she would periodically look out the front window to see if my wife had come home (she loves my wife) and would be shocked and alarmed by the new car and bark. She seems to have a horrifyingly short memory.
Over the past few days she has gotten a little better. She no longer barks at the car in the driveway. She clearly doesn't like it, but she doesn't bark. She also only barks at me until I get out of the car now. She seems to have figured out that even though it's a strange car, if I get out of it, then it's an ok strange car. She's not excited about it yet. When she seems my wife turn onto our road she starts jumping and turning somersaults and squealing and turning into a noisy tornado of happiness. That lets me know that it's possible for her to retain a memory for a couple of days at a time, so there's hope, but I'm not sure what it takes to implant that memory. Maybe my wife has to take the car for a drive. That might work.
Writing about my mentally damaged dog reminds me of the best pet writing I've ever read. It's from a blogger named Allie Brosh who is sadly no longer writing. Her writing is part of what encouraged me to start blogging. I realized when I read her work that pretty normal events in life can be knock down funny when told right. I'm not actually funny like her, but I promise you, my stories are funnier than my real life. Here's her three dog stories. If you can read them without wetting yourself, they you're a better man than I.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/07/dog.html
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/04/wild-animal-simple-dog-goes-for-joy.html