Heart Like a Dog

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

Follow That Dream…Day One Hundred, Sixty

By

“Oh mom.” The kids would roll their eyes and I know that they snickered about me behind my back.

Little whispered, “I swear she likes the dog better than she does us.”

“Can you believe she’s having a cookout to celebrate the dog’s birthday?”

“I think the dog (s) have more toys than we ever did.”

“Is she really leaving the party early because she wants to get home to the dog (s)?”

When I first became a dog-a-holic I admit I was consumed with my dog; ok truth be told I still am.  Since being in love with a dog was so new to me, I had no idea where to find other fellow dog-a-holics to chat with.  I seriously thought I was the only one who was crazy about my dog(s), who took nutty pictures of them and who thought there were no other dogs on the face of the earth who were as cute as mine.  Boy was I wrong.

Oh I still think my dogs are the cutest/smartest things going, but now I know that there are other people out there who feel the same way about their dog(s); and there are a lot of them!

It’s a big pop to my ego balloon and my hopes of ever getting published to realize the magnitude of pet related websites, blogs and books which are all focused on and related only to dogs and dog lovers. So how exactly does one make their mark in a market so saturated?  What do you need to write about to keep yourself from receiving one of these?

“While it’s a fun book for friends and family, there are just so many dog stories out there I didn’t feel this one was quite unique enough to break out in the crowded market. So I’m going to pass.”

I am a firm believer in things working out the way they are supposed to, the trouble is that I’m not good at waiting for things to happen.  I second guess myself all the time, I wonder am I just spinning my wheels, wasting time, when I should be pursuing other ventures?

Statues….Day One Hundred, Fifty Nine

By

When I was a kid we played this game, I can’t remember what it was called, but for now I will call it “Statues.”  We would play it at dusk or just after dark and when a car came down the street and its headlights shown on us, we would have to freeze our position and stay that way until the car had passed.

Sometimes now I wish things would “freeze” for a moment; especially when we are walking with the dogs and we see another dog; I would like to be able to “freeze” either my dog (Delilah) or the other dog; until we had passed each other.

Today when we walked the dogs Chet said, “Let’s follow this trail and go on the rail trail.”  I cringed inside.  There are a lot of people on the rail trail, they are walking, running, riding their bikes, and walking their dogs…on leashes.  Delilah doesn’t do well with other dogs when she is on leash.

It took about 12 minutes for us to get to the rail trail, almost immediately I saw some people in the distance with a dog. I clipped Delilah to her leash and I asked Chet to scope it out with Sampson and let me know if the dog was leashed; it was.  Thankfully, the owner and dog headed off the rail trail;  and we continued on with Delilah on her leash.

Within another minute or two we were approached by a couple with a little dachshund, I saw them before Delilah did and I urged her off the trail onto a slight incline with a rock.  I had her sit and then from our vantage point we watched the couple and their dog pass.  I kept my hand on Delilah’s head, stroking her head and telling her “Good girl.” “It’s ok.”  “Good girl.”  I had a loose leash but I was prepared to correct her if I needed to, but I didn’t.  I rewarded her with some meat.  Then I saw a jogger with a dog approaching, so we stayed on the rock, and I used the same technique; again I was rewarded with a dog sitting patiently with me as the other dog passed.

I’m not sure what was more effective; the fact that Delilah and I were above the trail and therefore above the other dog, if we were far enough away from the other dog so it was not perceived as a threat, or that I had Delilah sit and I was calm and in control.  What I can tell you is how pleasurable it was to not have a dog growling , snarling and lunging.

Hey Sampson, Do You Have the Time?…Day One Hundred, Fifty Eight

By

The alarm went off; Sampson rolled over and checked the time, 6:15 am and neither dad or mom were up. He lifted his head and looked up at Delilah who was curled at the bottom of the bed.

Delilah opened one eye sleepily and said, “Do you want me to wake them?”

“No, you did it yesterday.” was Sampson’s reply; “Today I’ll do it.”

He got up off the floor, stretched and yawned then jumped up on the bed, “Rooo Rooooo Roooooooo” his throat was a little dry from sleep, but he managed to make himself heard.

Mom smiled and rolled over looking at dad, “I’ll get up, you sleep.”

“Come on you two,”  mom said, “I’ll let you out.”

My dogs don’t really have watches, but sometimes I swear they can tell time. Every morning between 5:45 and 6:00 am they get up. Monday thru Friday they get up with dad, he lets them out and gives them a each a carrot and they come back to snuggle with me until my alarm goes off at 6:15 am.

Unfortunately for us the dogs don’t seem to grasp the concept of weekends and sleeping in, so on Saturday and Sunday mornings, they wake us up. Yes, last weekend Sampson actually got up on the bed and “Roo Roooo Roooood;” Chet and I both smiled, I mean really it’s cute as hell it’s just neither one of us wants to get up at 6:15 on a weekend.

They also know when feeding time is, Delilah in particular won’t let you miss a feeding or snack time. She starts about 15 minutes before. First she tries the stare down, when that doesn’t work she whines, if that doesn’t work she barks.  She is very insistent and persistent;  but you cannot give in even one minute because the next night she will start a half hour early.  Some nights at snack time she starts an hour before, as soon as you move she jumps up and runs after you, most nights we find her antics quite amusing, but there are other times when I wonder what happened in her life to make her so obsessed about her food and it makes me sad.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...