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| Me and my friend the wolf Atka (Mommy where do dogs come from? ) |
Puppy Love and how to be a rock star
A few words on puppy love…and being a rock star.
Everyone loves a puppy and who wouldn’t want to be a rock
star.
So you want to take that puppy home and love it forever and
ever and ever.
And now that you have a puppy (your biggest fan) when you go out with your
new puppy, you two are now the center of attention. Out the door and down the street, when you go to the park, you and your puppy are rock stars!
You will hear “OMG,
How cute! Can I pet him or her?” and when that adorable little puppy looks at
you with those sweet, innocent eyes that say,
“I love you and I just want to be
with you always”.
You may think “can it
get any better that this?”
But then… go home and sooner or later the honeymoon is over.
You’re still a rock star when you walk out the door with the
little one.
But when you are home alone with your new BFF little fan….
 One of the biggest rocks stars with his fans |
| Singer Roger Daltrey in the countryside with his dogs on his estate in Sussex, 1978. Photo by Terry O'Neill |
Now lets stop here for a moment and; remember that admirer
that you thought you wanted to date because he or she was so friendly to you
and you could do no wrong and they looked at you with such love in their eyes
and maybe you thought I could spend the rest of my life like this… until, he or
she started calling you up at 3 in the morning and said “I can’t live with out
you!!”
(Bark, whine. Bark.. Bark.
Whine… whine.)
Then you think what was I thinking? What did I get myself into?
But, how could you know? You were blinded by this, so cute, unconditional
love and “I am such a rock star”.
Now what?
You just made a 10 or
even 20 year commitment with a doody and a chew everything barker, who whines
all night when you have to be up at 6am!
So where am I going with this?
I have seen this so many times and spent years rescuing and
placing unwanted pets.
It makes me sad and after many years, the styles and music
have changed and I now have to wear glasses: But the little puppy situation has
not changed and who, through no fault of their own, grow up to be untrained,
unwanted dogs.
I wrote a little story about a new puppy “Little Puppy &
The mystery of the doody in the hallway” to be funny about an unfunny subject
but also to give a voice to the critters that live with us who try to be “good
pets” and to illustrate that they have feelings and needs too.
So, I want to share some basics for when you get a new puppy
and let me just say that there is great info and plenty of experts on the subject
and I have worked with some of the best, so you can go further than what I am
offering here.
That being said...
Here it is… worth repeating for the- puppy loves you and
rock star feeling you or someone you know will have some day.
The first thing I tell people is to picture your life in 1,
5 years or even 10 or 20 with your dog.
What does that look like?
If it fits, great, if not, rethink either the breed or the
timing in your life.
The second thing to think about is walking the dog.
I know this seems obvious, but I hear this a lot when people
come to me for doody training advice: “I am too busy to walk the dog, he has
the whole back yard.”
Yes, this is true you have that backyard but dogs need to be
exercised and mentally I believe that they need to use that great sense of
smell as a “social calling card”.
Also the first day you bring your pooch home matters
As in any relationship there should be ground rules.
If you let someone (the puppy) sleep with you on the first
night then they will want to sleep with you every night and will not understand
why they can’t.
I know the first day is hard, you feel bad and you want to
show them how much you care, but when you start out with a crate they may still
cry the first night or two but it will shorten the time the puppy needs to adjust.
The same goes for potty training and feedings. Just like
having a baby (part of your fan club) you do want to keep it on a schedule and
just like having a baby you would never leave them unattended, the puppy should
go to his “crib” when you are not watching them.
Dogs, “they say” (I not sure who “they” really are but “they”
are usually right) come from wolves which are den animals which means they dig
a hole in the ground and keep the pups there until it’s safe for them to come
out and the puppy will understand this, and if the puppy has regular outings
and is properly cared for your little fan will never feel that its create is a
cage.
I tell people to think of your little puppy as you would a
toddler in the house and when he or she turns into a dog they are still kind of
like a child that tries to understand and wants to please you but they do have
the limitation of; well being a dog and need a little TLC and understanding.
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| A page from my Little Puppy book |
One more thing I would like to share with you; is that dogs
have a different language than us and we can meet somewhere in the middle of a common
language. I think it’s important to try and learn some of theirs, after all,
would you go into a long term relationship with someone from another culture
with a completely different language and expect them to only learn your customs
and language?
Find a mate (you new pup) that’s right for you and your
lifestyle and if you do take home a little bundle of joy, with an investment of
time and patience, you and your pooch will always be rock stars to each other.
Here are a couple of links.
Your fan,
JoAnne
About dogs IQ
This one’s fun:
Some basics on doggie talk:
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