She has lyin’ eyes. If she thinks I am willing to feed her, she will act as if she is really hungry, even if she just ate.
She takes a 3-hour nap before going to sleep for the evening; then, when she gets up in the morning, she likes to eat breakfast and then lay in the sun.
She has never really learned to play. We have taken her to the doggie park quite a few times in hopes she will run after tennis balls with other dogs, but she would rather sit at our feet and watch the others.
She is exceptional on a leash. With very few exceptions, she stays on our right, without much coaxing.
She has a doggy door, but so far she has not learned to stay outside very much. Perhaps she will like it more when it is warmer, but it appears she is insecure. She wants to be an indoor dog.
Taking a dog for regular walks is more demanding than it would seem like, but it is good for all of us and 45 minutes flies by once we get going.
One time, she was so pleased to see our son, Justin, that she lost control and dribbled some pee on the floor (Justin does that to all of us).
She enjoys nearly everybody; especially children and small dogs. She gets so excited around the little ones that her tail becomes a weapon of mass destruction as it whips back and forth at the speed of light. On the other hand, it appears somebody was too harsh with her. Whenever we cook or wash the dishes and want her to sit outside the kitchen, she acts as if she expects to be beaten. She drops to the floor, ducts her head and cowers in fear. It can be very challenging to guide her without making her feel like she is “in trouble”.
She loves it when we get on the floor and roll around with her, but she has not been able to figure out wrestling. She likes to get “roughed up” but she rarely responds in the playful ways that dogs usually do, like fun-growling, running around the house in excitement, or dropping to their front legs with butt in the air and ready to spring at you, etc.
She does not understand riding in the car. She usually just lies down. We are trying to get her to stick her head out the window and enjoy the fresh air, but not much luck so far. But she will help me plow the driveway.
She has put us in some new and awkward situations. Last week we all went for a walk but I had less time than Patty so I had to head back home a bit sooner than she and Gracie. Along the way Gracie had a nature call so we scooped up the droppings into a plastic bag. It is fairly common to see people walking around with their dog and a little package like that. Well anyway, there is a park a couple blocks from our home so Patty and Gracie headed that way, while I took the little bag of goodies and headed home. Along the way, several cars passed by and the drivers waived as they usually do. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking as they acknowledged the guy who was walking a bag of poop, but no dog!
There are lots of magazines and books for dogs. One offered a product that makes poop taste bad (presumably to dogs). I was wondering if it is really necessary to add anything to poop to make it taste bad? Wouldn’t it already taste bad enough? And how do they test a product like that? Here doggy, doggy!!!
Overall, 100 days with Gracie have made it clear that rescuing dogs from shelters is a great way to get a new pet. We may have forfeited the cute puppy stage, but we bypassed the potty training, chewing on furniture, excessive energy and other problems that come with young dogs. We learned ahead of time if she was going to be a digger, a beggar, an escape artists, a barker, aggressive, protective, good on a leash and a wide variety of other issues.
She is exceptional on a leash. With very few exceptions, she stays on our right, without much coaxing.
She has a doggy door, but so far she has not learned to stay outside very much. Perhaps she will like it more when it is warmer, but it appears she is insecure. She wants to be an indoor dog.
Taking a dog for regular walks is more demanding than it would seem like, but it is good for all of us and 45 minutes flies by once we get going.
One time, she was so pleased to see our son, Justin, that she lost control and dribbled some pee on the floor (Justin does that to all of us).
She enjoys nearly everybody; especially children and small dogs. She gets so excited around the little ones that her tail becomes a weapon of mass destruction as it whips back and forth at the speed of light. On the other hand, it appears somebody was too harsh with her. Whenever we cook or wash the dishes and want her to sit outside the kitchen, she acts as if she expects to be beaten. She drops to the floor, ducts her head and cowers in fear. It can be very challenging to guide her without making her feel like she is “in trouble”.
She loves it when we get on the floor and roll around with her, but she has not been able to figure out wrestling. She likes to get “roughed up” but she rarely responds in the playful ways that dogs usually do, like fun-growling, running around the house in excitement, or dropping to their front legs with butt in the air and ready to spring at you, etc.
She does not understand riding in the car. She usually just lies down. We are trying to get her to stick her head out the window and enjoy the fresh air, but not much luck so far. But she will help me plow the driveway.
She has put us in some new and awkward situations. Last week we all went for a walk but I had less time than Patty so I had to head back home a bit sooner than she and Gracie. Along the way Gracie had a nature call so we scooped up the droppings into a plastic bag. It is fairly common to see people walking around with their dog and a little package like that. Well anyway, there is a park a couple blocks from our home so Patty and Gracie headed that way, while I took the little bag of goodies and headed home. Along the way, several cars passed by and the drivers waived as they usually do. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking as they acknowledged the guy who was walking a bag of poop, but no dog!
There are lots of magazines and books for dogs. One offered a product that makes poop taste bad (presumably to dogs). I was wondering if it is really necessary to add anything to poop to make it taste bad? Wouldn’t it already taste bad enough? And how do they test a product like that? Here doggy, doggy!!!
Overall, 100 days with Gracie have made it clear that rescuing dogs from shelters is a great way to get a new pet. We may have forfeited the cute puppy stage, but we bypassed the potty training, chewing on furniture, excessive energy and other problems that come with young dogs. We learned ahead of time if she was going to be a digger, a beggar, an escape artists, a barker, aggressive, protective, good on a leash and a wide variety of other issues.
Your comments are invited
2 comments:
I love this. :)
-Marissa
I had a friend whose dog had the problem of eating its own poop. Apparently, there is some sort of disorder where some dogs will not digest all of their food. The nutrients are still there, they smell this, and so they eat their remains, not realizing it will make them sick. So they created these pills for dogs who don't digest their food so they won't eat their crap.
As I'm writing this, I've realized that there are some things in life I could do without knowing...this is one of them. :)
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