Longtime Corner readers might remember my bleg

from two or three years ago for advice on what kind of dog to get, if we got

a dog. Lots of good feedback on that. I suppose I should inform you that we

finally did succumb about three weeks ago, and acquired a personal hound.

She’s a German shepherd pup that my space-mad six-year-old has named,

naturally, “Laika.” Laika’s a beautiful dog, just about the best you could

ask for, I think. Except: she IS a 14-week-old puppy, and that means she has

certain … needs. This is a period of adjustment for the Drehers, and

basically, my life would be a lot simpler and more restful now if I could

control her puppy urges with a judicious application of duct tape. Arf. I

prefer to think of this period as “calibrating my home security system.”