And today we learned...

... that it's not OK to chew on wicker baskets.

John Lee is no dummy. Pretty sure he remembered the lesson about the wicker basket in the bathroom. While I was brushing my teeth, he was lounging in the master bedroom, just out of my sight. But not out of earshot.

I heard "crunch" - and immediately and loudly gave the signal that it was NOT OK. Not sure how I'd spell out this sound, but it attempts to replicate the game show buzzer that tells contestants: "WRONG!" When I popped my head around the corner, John Lee was laying next to the toy basket with his mouth poised inches from the newly-moistened rim.

He looked guilty (or maybe he just looked like a Greyhound - hard to tell). Maybe he thought that since this was a different basket from the one that he'd learned was off limits, it was OK to bite it. I let him know otherwise, and then he leaves it alone, right?

Except he seems to have figured that perhaps the problem is not in biting wicker baskets, but in doing it when I am looking. I watch him for a moment, waiting for another opportunity to correct him if needed. He looks at me like, "What - me? I'm not even thinking about biting that nice crunchy basket that is just inches from my mouth." So I go back to what I'm doing, and a couple minutes later I hear "crunch."

I correct him again...watch him for a few moments for another opportunity...and he restrains himself. But I'm not buying it.

I walk back into the bathroom and sit on the edge of the tub, positioned so that I can see the basket but he can't see me. It's not long at all before he makes his move and I yell out my awful-sounding correction signal. He stops. I wait - longer this time. He tries it again - just to make sure - and immediately gets the "WRONG!" sound from me again. I wait...I hear nothing. I wait some more, then pop my head around the corner to find him lying down next to the basket looking dejected (or perhaps just looking like a Greyhound).

More freedom means more opportunities to get into trouble. I realize that catching and correcting unacceptable behavior is an important part of shaping John Lee into a good pet, and that as curious, energetic and enthusiastic as he is, he will test the limits more than some dogs. But then he has a lot more spunk than almost every dog I've fostered, and that is downright endearing.