For the love of dogs
Dogs can be companions, they can be workers, or therapy dogs, or they can be forms of amusement. They are huge benefits in our lives. They change our lives. They drive our passions and become our motivation. They can be anything you've experienced them to be.
This is a short story of how it all benefited for me.
We all have dogs we love. That we believe changed our lives. You're thinking about that dog right now, he's popped into your mind and you smile as you remember how much you cherished that dog. Or perhaps he is cuddled into your side on the couch right now (or the bed, hey it may be midday, but I don't judge).
I grew up in a household that always had a dog. My parents adopted a Staffordshire x puppy, Beauty. Then came along a Jack Russell, Pebbles. And finally came a Beagle, Buddy, who is now the only one who roams my mums yard, patrolling the fence-line with his arthritic gait.
My passion for animals was always there, I was known as the little girl who got overexcited seeing horses, cows, or even birds. I famously (only amongst my family, mind you) quoted a sign when I was pressing my nose up against the rear car window, that said "Dogs not allowed past this point". I loudly announced "but dogs can't read!" and started to get very upset about what would happen to any dogs who walked past that point into that unit complex.
I loved the zoo. Take me to the zoo, any day. I loved seeing dogs on our evening summer walks. I used to stare up at the birds in the sky during recess and lunch (and sometimes Sport class on the oval, can you blame me?). I was never a cat person, though. But cat-lovers, don't worry, that story gets better.
The dog that changed my life, though, you ask?
A beautiful Border Collie, named Timmy. My fiance, Anatoly, and I acquired him at 8 weeks old from a breeder North of Perth. He was the kind of puppy that your eye was instantly drawn to. He is a handsome chocolate and white BC, with ears pricked skyward and symmetrical chocolate patches covering his eyes.
Timmy is now over 5 years old, and it has been an amazing five years with him. But I'm not gonna lie, it has also been the toughest challenge.
When Anatoly and I turned up to meet all the puppies, we were presented with Merles, lilac, black and white and all sorts of BC coats! We had no idea where to look, and decided to pick the prettiest puppies to hold and sit with. However, none wanted to pay attention to us (I should've mentioned that there were about ten other people there) and each of them waddled away one by one.
But then the breeder directed us to the one puppy that was fast asleep in a huge dog bed, tucked away in a corner. He was curled up, a little ball of chocolate fluff, pink paws curled under his body to keep warm.
Now at this point, you're probably shaking your head and asking 'why did you look at BC puppies without knowing one thing about them, or how to even pick a puppy out from a litter?'
Believe me, I ask myself the same question all the time. How stupid were we? But oh wait, it gets worse.
"Now at this point, you're probably shaking your head and asking 'why did you look at BC puppies without knowing one thing about them, or how to even pick a puppy out from a litter?'
As we 'awwed' and 'ahhed' at little Timmy sleeping, the breeder said we could pick him up and waved her hand flippantly over her shoulder as she walked back to the other puppies and potential adopters. Anatoly looked at me, I smiled at him, and he reached down to pick this tiny body up out of his warm bed.
We joke to this day that the moment this 5 week old puppy growled at us, was the day we knew he was ours. The grumble that came from this tiny puppy made us giggle, not put him down right away and walk straight out of there. He did not like being woken up after his afternoon of (what we suspected) destruction, dominating the other puppies in play, and being the first to introduce himself to all other potential adopters that day. But yet we still held him as he yawned, stretched his little paws out and relaxed in Anatoly's arms. And agreed this was the puppy we wanted (particularly when the breeder said he was $100 cheaper than the others).
Well, we should have known better.
But you'll also see where it's taken me. Just wait and read a little longer.
As we went shopping for puppy toys, bedding and food bowls, we got more and more excited about the idea of owning a puppy. We could hardly wait a few weeks to be able to pick Timmy up and bring him home.
I told everyone who would listen that we had adopted a BC puppy, and what amazes me now, was that no-one mentioned anything negative. No-one asked if we had researched the breed, no-one asked if we had owned a puppy before, no-one even asked if we were prepared. Because we hadn't, and we weren't.
I'd like to say that I knew what we were doing. That I knew how to train and bring up a herding dog breed in a suburban home. But we didn't.
Now in the present day, I'd like to point out, that I knew all of our mistakes, and mistakes are how we learn. I'm sure we have all been in the mindset that we did everything right, and then look back and wonder what the hell we were doing. But now we have Timmy's lifetime to try and rectify everything we did wrong and change his behaviour.
I'd say wish me luck, but I think this is something I should be confident on by now. If anything, I wish myself luck, but I also wish all of you the best of luck. Because through all the tough times, having a dog at the end of the day, is still one of the best days you'll have.
Basing off Facebook comments, watching family and friends, and hearing stories from everywhere - I'm going to assume that you, reader, have been there. You may have raised a dog, or another pet, and then had the realisation that you were doing it incorrectly, or accidentally taught them to behave naughty, or followed the wrong advice.
Or perhaps you have decided to adopt a puppy, and have come here to learn from my mistakes.
Either way, I hope my story of how my dog benefits me and has changed my life, helps you along the way.
I'd love to hear from you. Let me know the story of your dog, and whether you had a better experience picking a puppy than I did!
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