Heart Like a Dog

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

I Miss My Puppy….Day One Hundred, Ninety Two

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I started this blog in December.  Prior to December I had/have a blog on webs.com and two blogs on blogger.com none of which I consistently blog/blogged on.

I started consistently writing in December of 2009, on a site called CaringBridge.  Some of you may have heard of CaringBridge which is a website for families who have loved ones with illnesses.  The site is designed so a family member (or friend) can post updates as to the patient’s progress/treatment on the site.

Family and friends can sign up to be alerted when the site is updated and there is also a guest book for messages.

When I started writing on CaringBridge I did not know Alexa, but knowing her grandparents I wanted to lend my support.  Not knowing who I was writing to, I tried to find a subject a nine-year-old could relate to.  I started writing about my dogs.

Alexa had surgery to remove the cancerous bone in her leg and replace it with a prostetic which can be re-sized (non-surgically) as she grows.  She is currently in remission and has just celebrated her 11th birthday.  Needless to say, I don’t write daily on CaringBridge anymore.

But I missed writing and I know that some of my stories brought joy, amusement, comfort and at times just a few minutes distraction from the daily ordeal they were all going through.  So I started  this blog and made a commitment to initially write every single day for one year.

Recently I went back to the CaringBridge website and started re-reading my posts and as I did so I realized just HOW MUCH Delilah has grown and matured and how some of her behaviors actually brought me immense amusement and joy.  And now with a fairly well behaved dog I realize: I MISS MY PUPPY!

One thing Delilah use to do was to smack her lips.  She would sit in front of you when you were eating (usually with big globs of drool hanging from her jowls) and her tongue would go in and out of her mouth and she would make this little ‘thwoop’ ‘thwoop’ ‘thwoop’ sound.  Lynnie and I would laugh and laugh over this.

As I read that particular post, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time Delilah made that little ‘thwoop’ sound and I also realized with a twinge of sadness how endearing that sound actually was.

 

Plan B…Day One Hundred, Ninety One

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We’ve had a couple of really hot days, and the weatherman promised thunderstorms were coming today to push the hot out and usher in some cooler weather.  Well the weatherman was right and the storms came through with a fury right around 5:00 pm and lasted a good couple of hours.  Our planned walk washed away with the rain so we needed to come up with Plan B.

We decided to take the dogs around the block, like we use to do before we discovered the park at the top of the street.

I was at once excited but anxious.  Delilah always presented a challenge on our walks because 1) she use to pull really badly on the leash and 2) when confronted with other dogs she became aggressive.

We started out, Chet, Sampson, Delilah and I.  Delilah was on leash and Sampson was not.

I was really impressed with her leash walking, she barely pulled at all; but there was still the matter of other dogs.

Naturally I remembered where all the dogs were and I was afraid that she would too.

There is one particular house where there are two dogs; inside an invisible fence.  One of the dogs usually just stands and watches and occasionally barks.  The other dog likes to run back and forth across the lawn, barking and posturing.

In the past, Delilah has reacted to the posturing dog by barking and growling and basically lunging from the end of the leash.

As we approached the house I could see that both dogs were outside, I indicated as much to Chet so he would be sure to rein Sampson in.

As predicted one dog just stood and watched, Delilah seemed to not even be aware that there were dogs outside, until the Posturer made himself known.

Her head lifted and her ears perked up, she started walking towards the other side of the street, but I remained calm and guided her back to my side.  I told her to “leave it” and  reassured her she was a good girl and I continued forward.  With the exception of that one little bark, and the slight pull we had an incident free walk.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of Delilah, she has come so far and I want to reassure you, if you are struggling in any way with your dog, there is hope.

You too can have a relaxed and happy dog.

Wordless Wednesday…..Day One Hundred, Ninety

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For Wordless Wednesday I will use the time I would have spent on the blog, working on Delilah’s health story.

My sister bought Sampson a hat at Disney World....he was less than thrilled.

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