Things I Didn’t Know Before Adopting A Dog
In Austin, dogs are everywhere. Businesses leave water bowls out on hot days, trails provide free poop bags, and restaurants offer treats for dogs. For many, their dog is the most important thing to them. Literally. And I never understood the big deal. Yes, I have always loved dogs — just seeing one excites me. To have MY life revolve around a dog seemed crazy. And still does. But I get it now. Just three months ago I adopted a 4 month old puppy from the local humane society. His name was Rabbit , but after some consideration we ended up changing his name to Rocket in honor of my favorite marvel character, Rocket the Raccoon, from Guardians of the Galaxy. Rabbit didn’t seem to fit. For one, he’s a dog. Two, I didn’t think he looked anything like a rabbit or resembled a rabbit. Three, I didn’t want to confuse people when calling “Rabbit!” and a dog comes running up. While at the humane society my wife and I were able to see him and his sister. Both were adorable in their own way, but Rocket had this playful nature about him that seemed contagious. He warmed up to us instantly and wanted nothing but to play with the toys in the room. He melted our hearts and we had to get him.
Potty Training
The first three days with Rocket were great, he was well-mannered, appeared to be potty trained, and happy to explore his new home. It wasn’t until the fourth day when all hell broke loose. This was when I learned the importance of not taking potty training for granted. He peed in our apartment six times in one day. Four of these times were within a 20 minute period. And these weren’t small tinkles, these were monstrous firehoses. One would have thought we never let him out, but we made due diligence to let him out on an hourly basis. Not only did he pee everywhere, he ran around spraying pee on the walls, carpet, and hardwood floor. If I had known better, it looked like he was having the time of his life. What was most confusing about this was that he was not drinking that much water. He would continue to have these “pee parties” every so often, but after some training he understood when and where to go. Honestly, this was probably the easiest thing to train him to do. I know some dogs take longer, but he got it down in just about a week. He still has the occasional accident, but he no longer has peeing parties.
The Dog Park
Having a dog park within my apartment complex has enlightened me to the gossip and craziness that is, the dog park. Most dog owners are great with their dogs and seem to generally care about the safety and well-being of their furry friend and the dogs around them. Yet, there is always that one dog/dog parent that parents avoid. Whether it is an overly aggressive dog or a parent that does not stop talking, I have found that every park has someone that fulfills this role. In my case, there is a dog owner who consistently gossips about other dogs at the dog park. Oftentimes, right in front of other owners. He gossips about how poorly behaved other dogs are, how mean they can be, and addresses when they are acting out. The worst part about this? HIS dog is consistently misbehaving. He will talk about how bad so-in-so’s dog is when they jump on strangers, while his dog is jumping on my lap. Jumping on others is not the worst thing a dog can do, but when someone is complaining about it to others while their dog does the same thing, it becomes a problem. This helped me learn that others and myself are so quick to judge the parenting of other’s dogs. I am guilty of looking at a misbehaving dog and thinking poorly about the owner. Yet, there are times when Rocket misbehaves and I sure hope others give me the benefit of the doubt in that I am trying me best to properly train him. In most areas of life it is easy to judge others, but I have realized that — just like with children — there is not perfect dog owner. Cut others some slack and only make big deals out of serious situations.
Dog Signals
Now this may be where I receive some pushback, but some of the things that your dog does that you don’t like may be completely normal. Your dog barks when he hears a noise outside? He is trying to tell you that he heard something that is alarming to him and is scared. Your dog growls when another dog comes up to him while he is eating? He is saying “hey this is my food!”. Your dog is humping your leg? Well that’s just annoying and should be discouraged. But you get the point. Most of the time, dogs are trying to communicate something. They are not like humans where they can just say what is scaring or bothering them. They can bark, whine, wag their tail, bite and run around. Not talk. Since adopting Rocket, I am happy when he tries to steal another dogs water and the opposing dog growls at him. He needs to learn that he can’t just take other dog’s food or water. For the most part, its natural. Obviously, if a dog is overly aggressive that is not okay. But these basic forms of communication are what make dogs dogs. For this reason, this is why I am against declawing cats, tail docking, and vocal cordectomy. In nearly every situation, these are done because an owner doesn’t likes how a dog looks or want to have a dog that does not bark. These methods remove one of their core ways of communicating. There are a few situations when tail docking is needed, but it is needed far less than it is done. I can not imagine Rocket without his tail. The thought of it being cut off horrifies me. Tails to dogs are an essential method of communicating and without them they lose their ability to do so. Retracing to my previous point, I learned that I will not encourage poor behavior from Rocket, such as constant barking or scratching, but I will approach it with understanding that he is trying to communicate something. He communicates differently and the moment I realize that I can start to understand him better.
With it being less than four months since my wife and I adopted Rocket, we are far from dog experts. I would consider myself a dog noob honestly. But what I do know is that while my life does not revolve around Rocket, he is a beloved part of my life. He is not my sun, but rather a moon that adds a greater sense of joy to my life.
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