No Phone Calls

Ariana: "Mom, look what else Gracie took outside!"

(Our little puppy enjoys sneaking off with our things and taking them out the dog door).  

Ariana held up our house phone.

Mommy: "Oh no! That's not good.  I'm glad you found that!"

Ariana: "I know!"  (To the dog) "You're not allowed to talk on the phone!"

This just made me smile.

Puppy Love

Our sweet English Springer Spaniel, Jasmine, passed away last June from liver failure, leaving a hole in Daddy's heart. She was a good dog, a loyal companion, always eager to please.

After grieving, Daddy decided the best way to fill this hole in his heart was to get a new hunting companion, but there is only one kind of dog worth having in his mind.

We immediately began the search for a springer breeder in Arizona.  Springers are typically Midwestern dogs, where pheasant hunting abounds, but there were a few advertised in Arizona. Knowing Conan would be arriving soon, I insisted we wait at least until spring before getting a new puppy. Daddy reluctantly acquiesced. We put our name on the waiting list for a spring puppy.

A little over a month ago, a friend of mine volunteered for a couple of dog rescues--one of which was a springer rescue. Thinking it was a long shot, I put our name on a list there as well, specifying that we were only interested in puppies. I never received a reply.

On Tuesday, I was randomly checking my email at 3 am when I ran across a message from the springer rescue. Apparently my email had gone into her spam folder and she had just randomly checked it. Just that morning a puppy had come into the rescue. She was. 12 week old, AKC liver and white springer, were we interested? It was a little sooner than anticipated, but...

YES!!!

It was about all I could do not to wake up Daddy and tell him the good news.  As it was, I kept whispering, "Are you awake?" and "Puppy!" over and over again, hoping he'd wake up.

The next morning we began the official adoption process. Gracie was surrendered to the rescue because of suspected "springer rage syndrome"...she bites.  She's a puppy! The previous owners' ignorance of puppy behavior is our gain. The truly remarkable thing was Gracie had come from the original breeder we'd selected...just $450 cheaper!

Daddy brought her home last night. She looks remarkably like Jasmine as a puppy.  Daddy immediately fell in love. So far we've seen nothing but typical puppy behavior, although her bark is quite gremlin-like.

So now I have a 4 month old baby and a 3 month old puppy.

I must be crazy.

Maggie IS Part German Shepherd...

Okay...so I had a few comments on "Smooth Move" that Maggie does not look very German Shepherdish, but I assure you that it is just the photo. So, as proof, I am going to show comparison photos... She most definitely more black German Shepherd than anything else. These pictures still do not do her justice. It is difficult for me to get her to stand still AWAY from me while not on a leash. She prefers to stand right next to me or right next to Jasmine so when I walk away from her, she drops her ears and looks all pitiful. In the sun you can see the rusty brown under coat that is typical of black German Shepherds (you can kind of see it on her rear end in the top picture of her, but it is more prominent than that in real life--I'm not that great of a photographer and I just can't get her to hold still long enough for a good picture!).

Breed Standard Black Labrador Retriever

Breed Standard Border Collie

Breed Standard Black German Shepherd

Black German Shepherd Police Dog
(This one looks the most like Maggie in real life...minus the "boy" parts)

Random Photo I found titled: "Black German Shepherd-Collie Cross"

Maggie

Maggie

...Are we agreed????

Smooth Move

So...

I won the "Stupid Mom" award for today...

It's Tuesday. Irrigation sign up day. Normally this is a job for my dear, sweet husband, but he is out of town helping a friend build a dance studio and won't be home until late. We live in Arizona so if we want any kind of green, we need to irrigate every other week in the summer. It is the "other" week and so I decided that I would take the kids for a walk. With the dogs. In 104* "dry" heat.

"Remember that one time we took Jasmine for a walk with the wagon?" Honor reminded me in hopes that this time would also be a wagon time.

Okay.

So, I hooked the dogs' leashes to the wagon, put three of the kids in the wagon, attached a second leash to Jasmine, handed that leash to Ariana, grabbed the leashes connected to the wagon and began the 1/2 mile trek to the sign up box. Everyone was excited. We live on a little over 5 acres so there really isn't too much need to take walks for exercise. The rare adventure around our neighborhood is a real treat.

The walk to the box was great. Jasmine and Maggie tuckered themselves out pretty quickly and so it was a fairly smooth ride for the kids. However, when we got to the box, we came across the first problem: other dogs. Granted they were behind a fence, but it was very difficult for me to get Jasmine and Maggie to sit down long enough for me to sign up. But we did. All was well.

Ariana and Honor switched places and we began our trek home. "Mom! I want to go for a longer walk!" Samuel cried from within the comfortable confines of the wagon. He wasn't pulling 120 pounds in 104*heat.

"We are going for a longer walk. We have to walk home now."

"Okay." He was mollified.

We turned around and CRASH!!! The wagon spilled over. The three inside were quick to assure me, "We're okay!"

Honor noticed the problem right away. "Look at the wheel, Mom!"

Connor had felt the need to see how the wheel had been attached. "Had been" was the operative phrase. "Connor, what part of this did you take off?" I asked as I tried to rescrew the red cap back on top, which just kept spinning and spinning.

"I don't know." Standard response.

"Okay, kids. Out you go. Connor, you walk the wagon, Honor, you walk Jasmine, and Ariana and Samuel, you walk next to me." And I held the leash of the two tired dogs who now carried a much smaller load.

We walked about a block before Samuel started lagging behind. "Samuel, keep up!"

"I'm tiiiirrrreeedd," was his very whiny response. So much for the "longer walk."

"Come on, Son. Hop on my back." Whines all around from the other three who still had to walk. I was pulling two dogs attached to a wagon and carrying 42 pounds in 104* heat and they were whining about being hot and tired. It's all relative I guess.

Because I had to have one hand on Samuel's bottom, I had let go of Maggie's leash. She had been very tired and actually walking behind me so I wasn't worried about her taking off. We went another block when tragedy struck. Neighborhood dog...without a fence.

The large reddish brown-dog came out of nowhere to protect its property from this large herd of invaders. It ran right up to Jasmine and started barking. That set our two off. I wasn't quick enough and Maggie took off. With the wagon. Pulling it over Connor and Ariana (thankfully it was just a big, plastic one and not a metal red rider!). That gave Jasmine extra strength and she took off, snapping the smaller leash that I was carrying. Honor was the last line of defense. I'm actually quite proud of her. She was dragged a good ten feet before she finally admitted defeat. I quickly bent to drop Samuel off my back, but he didn't understand what I intended and fell about a foot rather than jumping off. So, I had to leave four SCREAMING children while I chased down two not-so-tired dogs and a wagon with a broken wheel. Of course, Jasmine thought this was just a great game. She didn't realize I was actually trying to catch her. In her mind, I still held the leash and was now going for a jog. She just sped up. I love that dog.

(Maggie--80 lbs German Shepherd/Border Collie mix... Jasmine--40 lbs English Springer Spaniel)

"Jasmine, SIT!" I finally yelled. To my great surprise, she halted immediately and sat. Since Jasmine is our "alpha" dog, Maggie immediately stopped as well. I grabbed their leashes and the wagon and headed back to my children who were lying on the side of the road as if the world had just ended.

"It's okay, kids. You'll be fine," I reassured them, all the while uncertain if they really were okay or not. They were. Fine, I mean. Only Honor had any scrapes at all and surprisingly enough they were very minor.

I put the kids back into the wagon with the broken wheel because it was safer than letting them continue to walk. The dogs were now thoroughly exhausted, having used their last bit of energy chasing the dog who had disappeared completely by this time. We walked home, bedraggled and nearly passing out from heat exhaustion. Maggie didn't even wait to go inside before lying down. As soon as I disconnected her leash (a little before we reached our property--they only wanted to go home anyway) She found the nearest shade tree and made herself comfortable. As a family, I am certain we drank two gallons of water in a matter of minutes.

But we will have irrigation next week.

Kiki

Jasmine in the "Hunter Orange" chest protector Daddy got her for when she dives through thorny bushes in search of elusive pheasants (and rabbits, but she's not supposed to look for those...)






Jasmine and Daddy preparing to hunt birds. Note the attentive look Jasmine is giving Daddy. Hunting birds is something she doesn't want to miss.






We started her off young. Jasmine is a fantastic hunting dog. It is in her nature.



Sigh.


Today while I was putting away the ponies, I heard a commotion coming from the chicken run. Honor had been in there grating citrus peels for the chickens (don't ask...I don't know why). From that distance, I couldn't see what the screaming was about, but I shut things up and got out to look. Then I saw it. Flashes of brown and white dashing back and forth.

I wasn't worried at first. I assumed Jasmine was outside the chicken run. But I was wrong. The fence had been opened and Jasmine was in full hunting mode.

I yelled for Daddy to intervene, but it was too late.

When I got to the run, Jasmine was out, and Daddy was holding a dying Kiki in his arms. In Jasmine's defense, we don't think she meant to kill her, but chickens aren't as easy to hold in her mouth as pheasants are and so she had to grab her around the neck instead of the body. I am calling it manslaughter rather than murder--she was only doing what she'd been trained to do.

Poor Honor was especially heart broken. I heard her tell Ariana on the way into the house, "I'm sorry I let Jasmine out to kill your chicken, Ariana."

I cuddled with Honor, Connor and Ariana on the couch for a bit (Samuel remains blissfully unaware of the incident). We talked about why it is important that we keep Jasmine in the kennel when we are all outside doing chores.

And then I promised them that we would get some more chicks. They were fine.

It helped that Kiki was Honor's least favorite chicken..."she pecked me two times!"

Actually Kiki was our most outgoing chicken. I shall miss her.

There was some small debate as to what should happen to Kiki's body. I was willing to make her dinner (she is a farm animal after all!), but Daddy couldn't handle that. So...he put her in a garbage bag and "buried" her in the dumpster.

To make the kids feel better, (and to distract them from "the burial") I told them they could give the remaining chickens some bread as a treat. That cheered them up.

On the way out to the chicken coop, I caught Honor sitting by herself next to a citrus tree--praying. What a special memory that came out of this sad event. It was a blessing to me to see Honor seeking comfort on her own from the only One who can truly provide it.



Goodbye, Kiki. You will be missed.

Video of the Ponies

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In case you couldn't quite understand what was being said over the loud panting of my dog (who is finally starting to relax around the giant monsters in our backyard...), I have transcribed it for you below:

Ariana:

Awww! She... won't stop runni...No, no, No! Stop biting! No!

They're biting! That's not very KIND!

(Connor is in the background sword fighting with a stick...hence the "ching" sound)

Horsies...ponies...are not supposed to run. Horsies, NO!


Connor:

They ARE supposed to run.


Ariana:

Oh...
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The Dog Locked Us Out

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Yes. I'm serious. Our dog locked us out of the house today.

See, Daddy took Connor on a Men/Boys church campout this weekend, so I decided to do something "special" with the other three and walk up to Subway for lunch--we haven't done that for a while and the weather was BEAUTIFUL today. Well, Daddy took our truck which has our house key on it--the other house key is on his mustang keys which is being borrowed by a friend of ours.

No big deal. We have an alarm on our house, so I set that and left the door unlocked. I could hear Jasmine panicking inside (She has had minor panic attacks when we leave since DeJour died--it's worse when I leave separate from Daddy...like today), but we went ahead and left anyway, figuring eventually she would calm down.

Fast forward nearly 2 hours.

I tried to open my door, and the dead bolt was locked. Impossible. At first I thought my neighbor must have come over and locked the door, but they would have called me first. So we walked to the back of the house and I had Honor climb in through the doggy door (I figured it didn't make much sense that a robber would go in our house and then lock the door) and unlock the back door for me. Jasmine had spilled water all over the kitchen floor.

And then it hit me. She locked the door. Somehow during her panic attack, she must have jumped up and hit the deadbolt.

She must not feel safe when we are gone...

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Fun With Connor's Present

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Fun with one of Connor's smallest birthday presents.




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That's the Kind of Dog She Is

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The neighbor girl came over to play yesterday. Although she has come over to play many times, Connor felt the need to introduce her to Jasmine.

"This is our dog, Jasmine. Don't worry. She's not a biting dog, she's a licking dog."

That's an understatement...

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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Seven

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We are almost done with the dog sitting...tomorrow is our last FULL day (although Steph isn't getting back until late Saturday night...)

Jasmine is going to miss having her "friend". I caught them playing tug of war (something we try not to do very often with Jasmine since she is a hunting dog and you don't want her to play tug of war with a bird...but it's fine for dogs)....they were having a blast! This was a bad picture, they were moving around so fast. But now you get an idea of how the two dogs interact...it's quite amusing. Makes me want to go out and get my Bouvier...

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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Six

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Rawhides and Kid Toys Don't Mix

Have I mentioned that Bogie LOVES Jasmine? He follows her around like...a little puppy dog (except he's a big puppy dog...have I mentioned he's BIG???). And when she leaves the room and he is in his kennel, he cries.

The night before last, I stayed downstairs until 4 in the morning (I kind of took a nap on the couch) because he couldn't fall asleep. I thought he fell asleep at midnight, so Jasmine and I went upstairs. Of course, Jasmine isn't very subtle and she shook her collar which jingled and woke him up. He then got upset because she wasn't downstairs and started whining....loudly. "Honey, I'll just go downstairs and watch tv until he falls asleep." I said to my husband. I didn't know that midnight would turn into 1 am and 2 am without him falling asleep. Sometime between 2 am and 4 am he actually did fall asleep and I woke up cold from my little nap to go up to my warm bed.

So last night we had Jasmine go upstairs with Daddy around 11 pm so when Bogie fell asleep around midnight, I went to bed no problem. Around 3 am, Bogie woke up and started whining. "You better go down and sleep on the couch again." said my thoughtful husband. In his defense, the dog does like me a lot better than he likes him.

"No. See, he's stopped. He'll be fine." Uh huh. I won't make this mistake again...

5:30 rolled around and Bogie woke up again. "Dear, go let him out and then bring him up to our room."

"I'm getting up in 15 minutes anyway, just give me 15 minutes."

5 minutes later, the whining turns to a loud bark. "GO GET HIM. I don't want him to wake up the kids!" I hiss at my husband.

"I have to get up soon anyway...just let me sleep a couple more minutes!"

2 minutes later. "UGH. FINE. I'm AWAKE now anyway...I'LL go get him." Yeah. That was a mistake.

I could smell it from the stairwell. Apparently Bogie DID NOT miss Jasmine that much. Apparently, rawhides and kids toys don't sit well in his stomach. I can say one thing for him...he tried to keep it out of his kennel. The three large piles of doggy business were outside of his kennel. The vomit unfortunately was not.

So at 6 am this morning, Daddy and I gave Bogie a bath and I washed his doggy pillow and scrubbed the floor.

"Are you going to shampoo the carpet?" Daddy asked.

"No! I'm not crazy! That's hard work! I'll wait until Bogie's gone before I bring out the big guns."

"How are you going to get the stains out of the carpet?" We are out of carpet cleaner...

"Um...baking soda." I lied, knowing he wouldn't like my real answer. He has some sort of an aversion to using dish soap on carpet--despite the fact that it is gentle enough to take oil off of penguins!

DAWN takes grease out of the way... and does a great job of take dog poo stains out of the carpet.

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Dog Dominance...

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I feel bad for docking Jasmine's tail. Sure it saves her from getting all bloody as she dives into bushes to flush out pheasants, but it doesn't do much to help her claim of dominance over "the pup". Bogie, on the other hand, has a big, long tail that sticks straight up when they are playing. He lords it over her like a flag, "See, I can be the dominant dog...I have a tail!" Jasmine tries to wave her little stump, but it just doesn't go anywhere, "Um...I'm the big powerful dog, you little pup...see my...stump!" Yes...definitely a disservice.

It's a good thing she makes scarier faces...
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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Five

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The List

This is what Bogie has destroyed so far... (2 days)

• Samuel's sippy cup (he's particular... he only had two of the kind he likes, but we bought 2 more today so now he has three...)
• The Soccer Ball
• The Bouncer Ball (that the kids bounce on)
  
• The Rubber Bouncy Ball
• The Plastic Football
• The Plastic Bouncy Ball
  
• The Bubble Tiger
• The Plastic Watering Can
• The Sidewalk Chalk Paintbrush
  
• The Water Rocket (all three parts)
  
• The Hose

I caught him with the lid to the gas tank for the lawn mower, but he didn't eat that. He has also NOT eaten the rawhides or the kong...except for when he is in his kennel and that's his only choice.

Apparently he is a dog of refined taste...

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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Four

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Honor: "Bogie is the best doggie in the whole world!"

Daddy: "No he's not! Jasmine is the best dog in the whole world!"

Honor: "Jasmine is a good doggie too."

Daddy: "No, Jasmine is the best doggie in the whole world!"

Honor: "They are both the best doggies!"


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Connor: "Oooh. Dog poopies. This one has colors in it!"

Mommy: "Yeah. That's Bogie's. He's been eating your toys again."
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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Three

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Doggy Bootcamp

My sister-in-law actually told me on the phone today that Bogie is in "Doggie Bootcamp" at my house. I am expected to turn this little pup into a DOG in six days. Yeah. I don't think so.

Oh, we're doing well. He now sits fairly well on command from a distance and he "drops" whatever is in his mouth, etc. He is learning basic manners. But I can't guarantee he'll be over his "puppyness" when he gets home.

All I can guarantee is that he will learn the nose trick. And I think that's all they care about.

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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part Two

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The Problems

Honor and Ariana did not like him. Let's rephrase that...Honor and Ariana hated him.

"Time to go to Aunt Steph's!"
"Is Bogie going to be there?"
"Yes, of course."
"I don't want to go to Aunt Steph's house!"

And of course you remember the Dinner Conversation where Honor said she can't go to Iowa because they have dogs...she was thinking of Bogie at the time.

You see, the first day we brought the kids over to meet Bogie after Steph decided to keep him, we forgot about Honor's irrational fear of all things animal (she's even afraid of our chinchillas if the cage door happens to be open--how is she possibly my daughter?????). Bogie immediately put his nose in her face (same height) to smell her and she screamed and ran. He's a puppy. He chased her.

And the hatred began.

She passed this hatred on to Ariana who mimics Honor in everything. We learned our lesson and Bogie was never at the door again when the kids came over, but the damage was done.

So Steph and I went to work on desensitizing her. While the kids were in a "movie trance", Steph would let the dog in unnoticed and he would silently lie down by the couch. Of course Honor didn't notice him until it was time for her to leave and then she would refuse to get off the couch. Then it was my turn. "Honor, you will get off that couch, I am not going to carry you. Bogie will not bother you. It is time to go. Steph isn't going to put him outside." Eventually she would have to get off the couch--as far away as possible from the offending dog--and Bo never left his comfortable spot.

After a little while, we started introducing "tasks" that Honor needed to complete before we could leave the dreaded dog. "Honor, Steph will put Bogie outside if you pet him three times." "Okay."

It worked a little, but we were out of time...Steph only had a couple of weeks before vacation. It was now time to work on the bigger problem--Jasmine.

See, I knew Bogie would be socialized and I wasn't worried about him, but I was worried about Jasmine. She's a little...over protective. So a few weeks before the vacation, we began introducing them. The first night was a bit rough. We kept both dogs on leashes and Jasmine "attacked" any time Bo got too close. Eventually we let her off her leash and she stopped attacking him. And pretty soon they were both able to run loose without any major problems...as long as Bogie stayed in line.

Then time was up.

Late Friday night, Steph dropped off Bogie, his giant kennel that takes up most of our living room, his giant pillow that takes up most of his kennel, his leash, his dog bowls, his giant bag of dog food and her obedience school manual so I could work on his "homework" with him. And she left.

They were doing okay, but neither dog would settle down for the night while the other was in the room. So, Daddy took Jasmine upstairs and gave me some one-on-one time with Bogie. We went outside and I attempted to wear him out with a game of fetch. He happily ran after the balls I threw, but thought it was a fun game to keep it from me. So I pulled a trick from the Dog Whisperer (Hey! Don't judge! There was nothing else to watch while I was in the hospital with Samuel!). I threw the ball and then turned around. Standing with my shoulders back and my head held high, I waited. And waited. I could hear him getting closer to me--trying to get my attention--but I didn't turn around. Finally a little ball rolled down by my foot. I turned and Bogie was waiting expectantly--he had "joined my pack".

From that point on, he really listened well to my instructions. He followed me around the house and listened when I told him what to do. When it was time for bed, he fell asleep in his kennel and I went upstairs for the night.

Neither Jasmine nor I slept well that first night. I kept picturing my house destroyed by Bo--he can get out of his kennel if the door isn't facing the wall so I was scared he would just break down the rest of the kennel. Every time I sat up, Jasmine began pacing. I didn't want to let her downstairs in case Bo should hear her and then start whining and she didn't like having the "strange dog" downstairs unattended. At 4 am, we crept downstairs and peeked around the corner (the baby gate was up). Bogie was awake, but calm inside his kennel. I quickly ran upstairs and hoped he hadn't seen me.

Morning came and he hadn't gotten out of his kennel. He was still behaving himself nicely. Now came the challenge. See, we had told the kids that Bo was going to stay with us for a week, but they weren't awake when he arrived. He had done well all night and I was ready to introduce him to the kids. Connor was no problem. "Hi Bogie!" But the girls were another deal altogether.

I waited outside their door.

"Girls, look under your door and tell me what you see."
"We don't see anything."
"Okay. Well, I just wanted you to know that Bogie is out here with me..."
"Nooooo! I don't like Bogie!!!!" in chorus.
"Shhhh....just listen. Bogie is out here with me and he is being a very good dog. I need you to be kind to Bogie because he's going to be staying with us for a whole week. You don't want to scare him. He's our guest. If I open this door, can you be kind to Bogie and not scream and scare him?"
"Uh, huh."
"Okay...here we come then..."

I opened the door and the funniest thing happened. Honor came right up to Bogie and said, "Hi Bogie! You're a good boy!" and then patted his head. Silly girl! Ariana wasn't quite willing to pet him, but she didn't scream and run away either.

We all went downstairs, and that's when the problems with Jasmine started. See, Jasmine was doing fine with Bogie as long as he left her alone, but she was quick to put him in his place if he stepped out of line. She is the alpha dog and she will not allow him to walk past her shoulder. So, just like she follows me everywhere, he follows her everywhere--it's like a little train.

But he's a puppy and he wants to play. So I kind of feel bad. It's like I brought home the annoying younger brother that is always pestering her to play and she just wants to relax. For the most part they do well together. Bogie lies down about 3 feet from wherever Jasmine lies down--always behind her in reference to where I am sitting. But every few hours he starts feeling puppish.

It starts with a little "bow" to her with his tail wagging. She ignores him. Then he nips at her foot and Jasmine snaps at him. Ooooh...that's what he wanted. Now she is paying attention to him. He barks. She ignores him. He sneaks forward and nips at her ear. She jumps up and "bites" him in the throat (that sounds and looks much more vicious than it really is...she can actually look quite scary when she wants to, but there has never been any blood). Now she's "playing" with him and he gets all excited and starts dancing around. She goes into her kennel to get away. He bows outside her kennel, waiting for her to play some more. He gets her a bone. She takes the bone. Ooh...now there is something for her to protect inside her kennel. He tries to take it. She snaps at him again. I take the bone away and shove Bogie outside. He comes back in (stupid doggie door!). I make him lie down. And he is calm until Jasmine gets up to move again.

So you would think that Jasmine hated him, but I don't think that's the case. She roughhouses with him outside just like she used to do with DeJour (except their roles are reversed) and I know that she "loved" DeJour (I know anthropomorphism, but she didn't have any signs of separation anxiety until DeJour died...). I think she's just annoyed with him. And I feel bad for her, but they are working it out.

Oh...and if you are scared for the kids, don't be. First, the kids stay away from them when they are "roughhousing"--if they happen to start when the kids are around, the kids quickly get up on the couch out of the way (but the kids typically are in the front room where the dogs aren't allowed anyway). Second, the dogs are not fighting--there is obviously no malicious intent--Jasmine is simply teaching the "puppy" (that's twice her size) how to behave. And they have never bumped into anyone (adult or child) during any of these incidents--they are in control of themselves. It might look scary to someone who doesn't know dogs, but if they were trying to hurt each other, they easily could--and they haven't tried.

It is just very annoying.

"Bogie, Eh Eh! Outside!" My throat is getting sore!

And then there is the problem of the chinchillas. Not really a problem since Bogie isn't allowed upstairs unsupervised, but he wants to go upstairs. He wants to eat the chinchillas. He is a terrier after all. Small rodents are his specialty. So far the baby gates have been keeping him downstairs and he really is fine as long as we're downstairs, but one of these times he's going to realize that it wouldn't take much for him to knock down the baby gates...

Oh well...we'll deal with that when it happens...

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Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part One

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The Dog

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE dogs? I am an animal person through and through, but I especially love dogs...and I especially love BIG dogs. Little yappie dogs are good for someone else and I'll happily pet them at others' houses, but only medium-sized or larger dogs for me. I grew up around hunting dogs. My dad actively involved me in the training of our dogs from when I was really little. I honestly remember taking my springer for a walk at the tender age of 5 all by myself (it was a different world back then!). She was bigger than me!

In general, I really don't trust little dogs--the only dog that has ever actually tried to bite me was a little Chihuahua. I would never let my kids stick their faces near a little dog, but they climb all over Jasmine. They pull on her jowls, her ears, her tail. They ride her like a horse (not that she lets them, but they try). She cleans off their faces after breakfast (when they climb down before I can clean them off) and I don't bat an eye. I'm always in attendance--but I'm not scared of an attack. Because Jasmine is an English Springer Spaniel--they are rated as "very good" with small children. And she is. Of course, I have taught my kids to respect dogs and be gentle with them and frankly, my kids typically leave dogs alone--the dogs (DeJour and now Jasmine) have always followed me around and pretty much ignored the children so the children pretty much ignore them.

So when my sister-in-law called me up a few months ago and said they found a stray pit bull puppy, 'But he's really sweet and we're thinking of keeping him,' I was kind of surprised by my reaction--I tensed up. "Hmmm..." I said to her. "I really don't know much about pit bulls. I will have to look them up." That's what I said. What I was thinking was, "aren't those the dangerous dogs they use for fighting?!! and you brought it home!!!"

Now let me explain. I have always been a firm believer that when dogs show aggression, (unless the dog has some disease) it is almost always the owner's fault. Dogs are pack animals and enjoy being trained, but people try to treat them like babies and think it is "mean" to make them obey, which confuses them into thinking they are in charge--and then the dog acts like a dog and reinforces pack order--the dog as alpha. Or on the other end, people think dogs are "happier" outside being a "dog" and only give it attention during feeding time (again they are pack animals, social animals) so the dog that is left outside without a lot of socialization again doesn't feel like it's part of the "pack" and then acts like a dog--it defends "its" territory.

I have always defended German Shepherds and Rottweilers. I have never met a "bad" one. And at one time in Iowa, German Shepherd Mixes were considered "vicious" and required extra insurance so I had to license DeJour as just a plain mix breed to avoid any issues. But for some reason, Pit Bulls scared me. They didn't get the special "protection" from me that the other dogs got because I had never really known one.

By-the-way...Steph is WAY less trusting of dogs than I am--she did not grow up in a "dog family" (and had heard more pit bull horror stories than I had)-- so I figured if she liked this dog, he must be pretty good.

The next day I went over. As the self-proclaimed "dog expert", I figured I could help Steph decide if this would be a good addition to their family (granted that no one claimed him--she was responsible and called the pounds and put an ad on the lost dog website they use--no one claimed him).

I was impressed. The dog was not what I was expecting. He was very cute (picture the Little Rascal's dog without the ring around the eye and brown spots instead of black) and he was fairly well-behaved. It was obvious that someone had worked with him at least with basic obedience. He walked well on a leash and seemed to recognize simple commands. And I saw absolutely no signs of aggression. His body language was very submissive.

So, I went back to my house and researched pit bulls...and I was surprised by what I found. Where as my gentle Jasmine is ranked as "very good" with children, The American Pit Bull is ranked as "excellent" with children. They are very loyal to their owners and good with people in general. Their only real "flaw" is that they are dog aggressive--which makes sense since they are used for dog fighting. Someone who would want a dog for dog fighting would want a dog that was loyal to people so that he wouldn't attack the person during the fight. And because of their popularity and reputation for being a "vicious" dog, it would also make sense that there would be many cases of bad owners and dog attacks.

So I told Steph that if she liked the dog and intended to make him part of the family, I didn't see any reason not to keep him. I even volunteered to dog-sit when she went on vacation--provided she got him neutered and attended obedience school for socializing since these dogs need "strong" owners and are dog aggressive.

He was obviously a puppy, but he was fairly large--about the size of Jasmine. I told Steph that he looked fairly full-grown to me...that he would probably get broader, but not much taller. I was wrong. The dog grew very large. I really think he is mixed with a Great Dane (or at least somewhere down the line there was some Great Dane mixing). He is a horse! But still very cute.

So the time came a few months later that I was called upon to dog sit her 80 pound puppy. What was I thinking? Thankfully he is now kennel trained so I don't have to worry about him destroying our couch when we are not in the room like he did theirs...or destroying our backyard by digging (he is a terrier). And they did take him to obedience school (where he was the star of the class...he behaves very well... on a leash...).

But I did have two things to worry about...one less of a worry than the other....

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THAT Dog!

We have a gorgeous springer spaniel named Jasmine. She has beautiful brown eyes that touch your soul when you look into them. They are the epitome of puppy dog eyes. I picked her out for my husband for our first Christmas together as a married couple. He had been jealous of my relationship with our other dog DeJour--the BEST dog I have ever owned. DeJour is the type of dog who lays in the corner quietly until I move from the room....she will then get up and follow me into whatever room I am in and lay down quietly. I sometimes forget she is there, but her undying devotion to me is remarkable. She is also the best type of dog in that I could leave a plate of food lying on the floor and leave the room for 10 minutes and she won't touch it.

Then there is Jasmine. I blame my husband for her. He had never had a cute, cuddly puppy before and he spoiled her rotten. I told him, "don't let her sit on your lap--she will get bigger." "Oh...she'll be fine." Now she thinks she's a lap dog. I told him, "don't encourage her to lick you so much." "Oh...I love it when she gives me kisses!" Now she is a drooling, slobbery mess who won't STOP "kissing" you. I told him, "don't encourage her to jump on you." "Oh...she's just a puppy, who is she going to hurt?" Talk to any visitor who walks in the door. I told him, "don't let her lick your fingers clean....she will want people food." "Oh...its not hurting anything." Today she ate my lunch.

Now let me explain something...she has been jumping up and "cleaning our plates" for a while now. It is an annoyance and we go out of our way to make sure food is not left out. She especially likes pizza. When I was 2 months pregnant with Samuel, I left half a pizza sitting out on the stove because I was going to eat it when I got back downstairs after putting the kids to bed. Jasmine had other plans and I was left a sobbing mess because my hormones dictated that I needed to eat that pizza and I had nothing else to eat. Well, the only thing that is worse than a hungry pregnant lady is a hungry woman on a "diet" who has trained her body to eat every 2-3 hours! If I am late eating, my blood sugar level plummets, turning me into a very non-pleasant Mommy.

After I had put Ariana down for her nap, and while I was trying to do "school" with Connor and Honor, I began making my lunch. I cooked the potatoes and broccoli, made my salad and started looking in the refrigerator for my chicken. That was when I remembered finding an empty plastic dish on the floor when we came home and realized I had accidentally left my chicken out on the counter today when I left for dance class. That left Jasmine 4 hours to figure out how to get the lid off of the plastic container and eat my lunch, my mid-afternoon snack and my dinner. I was livid. So mad in fact that I accidentally told Jasmine I was going to kill her. You must understand that I go out of my way to avoid saying things that I don't want the kids to repeat..it about broke my heart when Honor started saying "I don't care" and I realized I had used that phrase too often. How much worse will it sound one day when the kids get angry and yell at each other, "mmmm...I'm going to KILL YOU!" Oh well...maybe they didn't hear me say that over the slamming of the refrigerator door....