Starbuck is back!  I am so happy!  My adorable dog was adopted by a lady who used to walk her at the shelter, then brought back within her trial period due to the woman being unable to handle her.  Translation: she didn't want a dog that wasn't house trained.  I had already been crying for days, so when I heard she was back I just couldn't take it... but I didn't want to put E in a bad position.  I started talking to the woman in charge at the shelter after E said he couldn't bear to see all of us so sad.  I got the answer I was afraid of:  they do not give second chances.  After several conversations about changing circumstances (and a LOT of support from Aunt Taffy, who had become well-known and trusted as a dog lover at the shelter after her tremendous efforts to find a fantastic home for this sweet dog), the woman agreed to meet with us and sent a book home with Aunt Taffy to give to me.  I read the book cover to cover and discovered that E didn't just have to tolerate the dog for his girls; there was actually a solution.  You see, it breaks down like this:

E was deemed by me to be 'not a dog person' because he became frustrated with these behaviors:

Chewing
Accidents in the house
Chewing
Barking
Dog hair all over the furniture
Did I mention chewing?

Things I figured out from reading the book and doing some critical thinking:

I grew up with outdoor dogs and was way too tolerant of 'puppy' behaviors I didn't realize she could be trained out of.
Housebreaking a dog and potty training a child are completely different.  You don't go at the dog's pace like you do with a child.  It can, and should, be done fairly quickly.
I felt bad she was kenneled when I was gone, so I let her roam the house when I got home.  No wonder she chewed things up when left to her own devices!  I need to keep her on her leash with me until she is trained.
When she barks, yelling at her to "Hush!" just sounds like barking back to her, so she continues the conversation.  There are better solutions to barking.
If you keep your giant white dog off the couches, chairs, etc.  she won't completely blanket them in her hair!  Time to invest in a doggy bed to put right next to the couch-- like she even fits on our laps anymore, anyway!
Dogs chew when they're bored.  It's how they fidget.  A large (likely Pointer/Lab mix) like her has tons more energy than I helped her expend during the cold winter months.  Time to buckle down and bundle up!

I missed this dog far more than I ever could have imagined, so I am willing to basically drop everything else in my life right now and play catchup with her training.  I was just ignorant to the fact that we didn't have to just wait until she outgrew some of these behaviors.  She's already had a bit of a mini "boot camp" being back at the shelter, so she's improving already.  I'm going to work with her at home for a while, then sign us up for a training class.  E is already pleased with my determination to rectify the issues I caused by being the one in charge of her and just letting her run the house.  He loved and missed Starbuck... just not the chaos she was causing.  I'm so glad she's home.

CL