Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

My Opinion

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Before you read any further I’d like to say this is an opinion piece for my participation in 31 days to a better blog.   I  tried to state myself clearly and non-offensively, but I didn’t want to make it too sweet because after all it is an opinion piece.  If I offend anyone I apologize.

This is the conversation that took place on Monday (at work) between me and my friend J.

J was very excited, “Oh my God, guess what?”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he blurted out, “K and A got a puppy!”

“Really, what kind?”  I’m sure my response showed a limited amount of enthusiasm.

“A puggle, he’s sooooo cute.”

“Where did she get him from?”

“A breeder in Massachusetts.”

“Really?  A breeder?” I’m sure there was disappointment in my tone.

Ok, I sort of summed up the conversation because I can’t really remember the whole thing.

Then yesterday we had another conversation.

“K might bring the puppy in!”

“Really, when?” I asked, this time there was excitement in my voice, I mean who doesn’t want the opportunity for those sweet little puppy kisses. 🙂

“Well, first you have to promise that you won’t say anything to her about where she got the puppy from, she’s sick of hearing people tell her she should have rescued.”

(I guess I’ve been on my soap box before.)

“I would never do that!” I exclaimed and went on to explain, “I don’t have a problem with RESPONSIBLE breeders, it’s the people who run puppy mills, that have many dogs that they constantly breed that I have issue with.”

Some of my best blogging buddies have bred or purchased dogs from breeders, that doesn’t mean I look down or judge them.   Certain dogs are bred for a purpose, to fulfill a need such as hunting dogs like the 2BrownDawgs. The 2BrownDawgs were procured from RESPONSIBLE breeders.  How do I know the breeder is responsible, because the breeder has maintained a relationship with the 2BrownDawgs owners.  They actually care about those puppies and the homes the puppies go to.

On the flip side both of my sisters unknowingly purchased dogs from puppy mills.

My first sister wanted a JackRat (a cross between a Jack Russell and a Rat Terrier) she found a breeder in North Carolina and when she got there she realized it was a puppy mill. 🙁  Poor little Bandit he had never walked outside of his crate.

My other sister got a dog from *shudder* Missouri, she said “Oh she’s not a puppy mill, she says she’s not.”  But when you look at the website and see the variations of designer dogs up there, well you know that she is.  The dog was sent by air and was so freaked out in the crate that he vomited on himself (which could have been air sickness) and he is now terrified of crates.

When she took him to the vet neither of his testicles had dropped, and he had a growth on his lip.  Her vet said, “Call her up and tell her she shouldn’t breed his parents anymore.”

See the difference?

Do I want more dogs to be rescued?  Of course I do. I see so many dogs with such potential being abandoned and discarded and it breaks my heart, but I also realize the value in breeding certain dogs to fulfill certain needs.

So when K finally brings little Pugsly in, I won’t say anything to her about where she bought her dog from, but what I will say is, “REALLY, with a face that cute, you couldn’t come up with a more original name than Pugsly?”

Walking

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I didn’t have the opportunity to take the dogs for their walk on lunch yesterday, which meant we walked them around the block last night.

Delilah is on the thirty footer, no doubt about it.  On the thirty footer she has a little of the freedom that Sampson has, but I still maintain control.   I work her pretty hard on that leash, practicing for when we approach the dogs.  I let her sniff off to the side, then I say “This way” or “Come here pretty,” and let her make her own choice.  And last night she did, over and over again.

Last night the neighborhood dogs weren’t outside, but I would still say our walk was successful and truthfully I kind of prefer working Delilah without that added distraction.  She did try to wander close to the dog’s yard, looking for trouble but I had made sure I had treats to help distract and reward her.

We decided the dogs should wear their reflective vests when we walk them at night.  I discovered that my little point and shoot doesn’t do so well in the dark but I did manage a couple of pictures.

That tiny speck in the distance is Delilah

Sampson and Delilah getting their 'sniff' on.

Who's been peeing on my pole?

I also wanted to mention a sad bit of news I came across today.  A wonderful woman who rescues and helps many dogs, lost five of her fur babies in a fire last week.   If you’d like to send her a message here is the link to her blog.

Snarky Dogs

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We had our first play date with another dog at our house yesterday. 

I was a little nervous as to how Delilah would react, so we wanted to introduce the dogs in the best way possible.  I’ve heard all kinds of ways to introduce dogs, but this is what we decided to do.

Since the new dog, Pheebs was female we introduced Sampson first.  As I’ve mentioned previously Sampson is very good off leash so Hubby brought him outside and made him wait while our friend got out of the car.  Then he released Sampson to welcome our guest.

Then Sampson noticed Pheebs in the car so our friend opened the door and Pheebs jumped out.   After a quick greeting, she started running around the yard and then she ran up to the front door where Delilah was waiting.  When she approached the door Delilah started gnashing her teeth, barking and growling.  🙁  This really wasn’t a surprise because Delilah tends to be snarky with other dogs when there is something between them.

I opened the door and Delilah came charging out, but after a quick few seconds where both girls stood stiffly still sniffing each other they were off and running.

I opened the gate to the back yard and all three dogs ran inside, where they continued checking each other out.  Then we opened the door from inside the house and they all came inside.

As it turns out I didn’t need to worry about Delilah at all.  She and Pheebs were fast friends, they played like Sampson and Delilah usually play.  Everywhere Delilah went Pheebs was right behind her.  🙂  It was so cute.

Sampson was the snarky one. 🙁

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