A Great Read – A Dog’s Purpose

Last night I finished reading A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. All I can say is that the memory of every dog I’ve ever had floated through my mind as I read this book.  A Dog’s Purpose chronicles the many reincarnations of a dog who continues to be reborn in an effort to discover his true life’s purpose. Told from the dog’s perspective, this touching, funny and inspiring story leads you gently along and touches your heart over and over again.

After I finished the book, I looked at my two dogs and wondered – have they been with me before? Had they lived different lives? And if so, where are they in their journey? What is their purpose?

I’ve been missing…

I must apologize for my lack of posts as of late. I’ve been working quite a bit and, more than anything, my husband and I have been focused on house breaking Stevie. We took him to the vet and he has a slight bladder infection so he’s been on antibiotics. The vet also mentioned that Stevie has a very small bladder – which explains A LOT. First of all, his bladder is probably small because of his life in the shelter where he was able to eliminate whenever he felt like it (common in shelter dogs and correctable over time). His bladder should expand as training continues. That’s a good thing because right now we’re taking him outside every hour or so. Accidents in the house have been cut in half, but we’re still getting up in the night. He’s starting to give us cues like running in circles or higher pitched barking, but he still occasionally squats wherever he is and leaves us a nice surprise. We’re getting there and I’m confident it won’t be much longer before he’s fully trained. Woo Hoo!

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The curse of the ‘Purse Puppy’

There are currently seven Chihuahua or Chihuahua mixes living at Bichon and Little Buddies Rescue.  From Taco to Annabelle, Casabella to Tacquito Patrico, these little buddies have a lot of love to give and they are patiently waiting for that someone special to come and bring them to a forever home.

My guess is the latest onslaught of Chihuahua surrenders is due to the fact that people see certain movies with cute talking Chihuahuas and automatically think that any dog of the same breed is going to be as friendly, bright and playful. Here’s the problem, if you don’t do your homework on the breed you’re considering, you may end up surprised at certain behaviors.

Take the Chihuahua. Did you know that Chihuahuas can become extremely attached to their owners and when not properly socialized can become territorial and protective. When socialized well, this little companion can be playful, lively and loving.

Because Chihuahuas are so small and cute, often times they can be coddled and babied which can lead to other behavioral problems, such as dominance. But when trained and treated in a firm, but loving way, can be wonderful family pets and companions.

Their slight size can also make for challenges around young children who must be taught early on to treat these little guys with gentleness and respect. They can be easily injured and can become skittish when found in uncertain situations such as being lifted up over and over again.

And while Chihuahuas have been called “purse puppies” it’s important to note that these energetic pups need daily exercise. Not only will walks provide mental and physical stimulation, they can help curb behavior issues stemming from boredom and lack of exercise.

Chihuahuas are intelligent, learn quickly and can respond well to firm, consistent positive reinforcement training. When raised well, these little dogs are loving, sweet and amazing lifelong companions.

If I could stand on my soapbox for just a minute, I would like to say that celebrities that carry their Chihuahuas around in sparkly purses are doing their dogs, and other dogs of the same breed, a sad disservice.  Ordinary people see Chihuahuas portrayed this way, go out and (hopefully) adopt one and then are disappointed when they run into behavioral issues. The result, hundreds of Chihuahuas sent to shelters across the country every day.

While movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the Taco Bell dog provide a humorous and often sweet portrayal of this lively breed, remember to rely on experts for actual breed information and do your homework before you make your decision. It’s only fair. Any Chihuahua is a shelter today would tell you that.

Marley & Me – And My Dog Revisited

Again, I have to admit I’m behind the times. My husband and I watched Marley & Me for the first time last night. I had read the book quite a while ago, but had never seen the movie until last night. We waited to watch it without the kids because I knew there would be a sad ending and neither of my children like sad endings.

Simple put, we cried at the end – both of us. Afterwards, as I was thinking about it, it struck me that our tears were coming from very different places. My husband had never owned a dog until Toby and Stevie. He admitted that he was especially thinking about Toby during the final half hour or so of the movie. His relationship with Toby is tight. Tighter than I ever thought it would be as he had reluctantly given in to my pleas for a dog nearly two years ago. And his relationship with our dogs is new. His adventure is just beginning. 

My tears came from memories of the first dog I ever had to have put down. Her name was Shannon and she was a black lab/springer spaniel mix. She was a perfect dog. A good girl. Black fur with white paws (we called them lady slippers) and a white cameo on her chest. She was a little lady and as smart as a whip. She grew up with me, protected me, played with me and loved me unconditionally. Her age caught up with her when I was in high school and we made the difficult decision to put her down.

The morning my mom was going to take her to the vet for the last time, I remember sitting on the couch with Shannon in front of me. I pressed my forehead to hers and told her how much I loved her. I said all the things that I wanted to say so that she would know how important she was to me and how much her friendship  had molded me into the person I had become. I told her I’d miss her and I would always love her most of all. I kissed her goodbye, my tears falling on to her black fur, and left for school. When I came home, she was gone and all I had left was her collar that my mom had brought back from the vet’s office. I still have that collar tucked away in my keepsake box. I take it out every once in a while and think of her.

She set the bar for any other dog I would ever have. I find myself comparing dogs from my past and dogs from my present to the Shannon of long ago. And as I watched Marley & Me last night, all of those feelings came back and hit me hard in the heart. The love, the joy, the laughter and the indescribable feeling of emptiness and loss.

I know there will come a day when I will have to go through the same thing with Toby and Stevie, and this time, my husband and my children will be beside me, and we will tell our dogs how much we love them and how much we will miss them. And hopefully, Toby and Stevie will become to my children what Shannon will always be to me.

He Puts the ‘Pee’ in Potty Training

Well, Stevie has been with us now for three weeks. He’s wonderful. So sweet and gentle. He’s a cuddler and loves nothing more than to be near us. He is an exceptional playmate for Toby and they have become good friends. We’ve noticed that Toby’s previous puppy-like behaviors have ceased. He hasn’t chewed up a glove, sock or any of the kids’ homework since Stevie arrived. He corrects Stevie when he is out of line and sits high on the couch overseeing his younger brother’s precocious activities.

Unfortunately, we’re still struggling with house training. Stevie seems to have an extremely small bladder with the inability to hold anything for more than an hour. While we’ve been adhering to a tight training schedule, he still manages several accidents a day. We’ll take him out and he’ll pee. We’ll bring him back in and within 20 minutes, he’ll pee again. We still can’t figure out his cues – he may be walking through the living room on the way to his bed and he’ll just squat. No circling. No sniffing. Just a quick squat and he moves on. He’s doing well through the night and he’s fine in his kennel for the most part. We are just struggling with getting him to do all of his business outside.

We’ve received several recommendations and we’re going to start with a couple of them. First, I need to scent the front door. Since Stevie can’t see where the front door is, we think he may not be able to find his way there in time. Second, a friend of mine recommended a belly band in between our outdoor potty breaks. We’re going to give those a try and I’ll keep you posted on our success.

We couldn’t have asked for a better addition to our family, so we’ll do everything we can to get him on the right track.