The Single Dog Blues

It's a really, really good thing that I've come to terms with the fact that we're not ready to add a second dog, yet.

Even though there's still a hole in our hearts and our household from the passing of Tatiana over the summer, I know that we're just not ready.

I want to hold off on adding a second dog until our house is in order and our finances a little more stable. Until we have the ability to give two dogs the right kind of love and care and attention. We're just not there right now, and that's ok.

And it's a damn good thing that I really do know that because, sometimes, WineDog is an asshole and posts pictures like this:

Sweet William
WineDog was transporting William on one leg of his journey to the safety of a rescue organization. I know that I'm not ready for a new dog, but the picture was just so gorgeous and sometimes I'm an idiot, so I googled Northern California Doberman Rescue and ended up here.

Adoptable Pet List?

Which led to a flat search for Akitas.

Which led me to check in with Bad Rap.

And, yes, of course the first thing I did was check out their Adoptable Pet List.

And just look at this beautiful girl:

SuzieQ has her own blog!
Sometimes I feel so much like I have to rescue all the dogs that seem like they'd be a good fit for our family. When I look into those eyes and feel like that dog is "ours". It's so much work to remember that we can't take in every dog we like and that, when we're ready, the right dog really will find us.

In my heart of hearts, the lovely fantasy I have for my life, I want to live on a huge plot of land and own lots and lots of dogs. All kinds of makes and models. A riotous chorus of baying, wagging, fluffy love. At least that's how it works out in my head. I'd also be happy to live somewhere that I didn't have to worry about Gomi singing her "O Woe Is Me!" song at the buttcrack of Oh-dark-thirty. But I guess that's another matter.

And, for now, her spoiled highness has to stay an only dogchild.

Napping on mom's knee.
You can see how disappointed she is.

Ooh. I think she needs a bath today.

My Heart has Joined the Hundred

It's never a good thing when your wife tells you that you aren't going to work today.

My first impulse is to argue with her. After all, it's a work day, so I really ought to be at work.

It sucks that she's never wrong.


Our Tatiana passed away this morning, sometime in the dark hours of the night, stretched out in her favorite sleeping spot.

My heart is already heavy with missing her.

For those that will ask, she was an old girl for being a large, mostly outside dog. I could tell for the last month or two that her time with us was winding down. I was waiting for some sign from her that it was no longer fun anymore, that she no longer enjoyed her life, that she was suffering.

She was our happy, excited, goofy girl right up to the end. She spent Sunday morning racing MonkeyDo for the plums MonkeyDo was shaking out of the tree. She loved eating plums. Is that weird? Because it seems so weird. But she loved plum season, and she'd eat up any that she could get.

I feel fortunate and blessed that she lived most of her life with us, instead of that asshole that had her first. That she was never plagued with the hip problems associated with large dogs or Akitas, in particular. That she never seemed to hurt or suffer. That she did not suffer in the end, but went quietly, in her time, on her terms.

She was always the Alpha Dog, even though she sometimes let on that she didn't care either way.

I have felt so safe with her all these years. Knowing she never barked unless she had something to tell us. Knowing she always told us if there was a problem in the neighborhood. She always made sure we knew, and then she'd stop.

And the year when SweetPea stayed a few nights with her grandmother, and Tatiana slept in the room with me. On our bed. Laying on my legs. A joy in August in an unairconditioned house, let me tell you. She'd wake me up a couple of hours later to let me know that she'd had about enough of this "inside" business, and she'd like to go back out, now, thanks.

If you threw the ball for her, she'd sit at your feet and watch it go, and then look up at you like "well, that was a pretty fucking stupid thing to do".

And today we laid her to rest under the plum tree.

Dog Rant

So today we took Gomi with us and went to Butch & Nellie's (which I remembered as being dog friendly, but, apparently, isn't so much anymore), and then she waited nicely in the truck while we had lunch at Hooter's, and then we took her to PetsMart, since they are very dog friendly.

Everything went fine in PetsMart, and Gomi got to meet new people, and sniff at some dogs. There were no issues, because we paid attention to what she was doing, and who was around us, including canines. We got some dog food, and a waistband treat sack for all those moist and yummy treats we're going to be using to train both dogs, and we got a couple different varieties of treats. We got three bags of soft cat treats, and two soft dog food chubs for cutting up into chunks and dishing out. These are what our trainer was using, and the dogs (well, Tatiana, anyway, Gomi was with SweetPea, so I don't know) just went nuts over them.

Everything was going just fine until we went to check out. I checked out, and SweetPea took Gomi to stand off to the side, out of the way.

Well, here comes this lady with a Golden Retriever who just wanted to get at Gomi. Sure, just to play and say hi, like dogs do. And Gomi, because she's a puppy and doesn't exactly have great manners yet was all about playing and saying hi.

Only we try to keep our dog under control and don't really let her go after other dogs like that because she doesn't have the best of manners and hasn't been socialized a lot with other dogs yet and is still very mouthy and nips when she plays. Sure, she's a pup, pups do that, and it's not like she's nipping hard enough to break the skin or even hurt. But all it takes is one little nip and one yelping dog for Gomi to become the Evil Vicious Pit Bull That Shouldn't Be Allowed Out in Public.

Because the breed has become so demonized that even normal puppy behaviour can't just be normal puppy behaviour.

Anyway, so here is this lady with her dog that just won't leave Gomi alone and she can't get her dog to get away from her so she starts saying things like "oh, they want to play" and "it's ok, they can play" and "let them play".

And all the time, all I really wanted to say was:

"Look, bitch, just because you can't control your dog does not mean that it is ok for your dog to act that way around my dog. Now back your fucking dog off because I do not want my dog learning that this is acceptable behaviour."

Oh.

And when we were down at B&N's, having our coffee outside, this dude walks by with his two dogs. Of course, SweetPea strikes up a chat. He's got a small white female pit, and a larger, brown male pit & lab mix. Guess what? Neither of them are fixed, because he plans on breeding them.

WTF?

Are there not enough mutts in the world, already? Get a fucking job, dude! Don't try to make a living off your poor dog's uterus. Leave the bitch alone. There are enough mutts being slaughtered everyday without your dumb ass intentionally making more.

I'm torn between whether I need to just keep on keeping my mouth shut about things, or if I need to learn how to tactfully tell someone they're a dumb ass. Although I do know I need to learn how to tactfully tell someone they need to get their dog back away from my dog.

Then again, maybe just telling someone that my dog's "playing" can potentially snap their dog's neck might work pretty well, too.

Adventures in Dog Training

Today was training day for the dogs. Apparently, no matter how much SweetPea insists that Tatiana's a good dog, a good dog trainer can see that she's really a very sweet dog with no manners whatsofreakingever.

Duh.

We did some sits and some lay downs until Tatiana got bored and decided she was done. So we had a bit of a walk around and then did some more sits and lay downs until she got bored again. Then we had a little walk around do you see where this is going? and almost got a snake! Except I held on to the lead and wouldn't walk towards the snake anymore. I know, I am no fun at all! Then we did some more sits and lay downs until she got bored and then we walked back to the truck and got some water.

The dog trainer gave us some advice on Gomi's mouthyness, and said that Gomi will probably need a firmer hand in training than Tatiana. SweetPea wants Gomi to be a service dog, and I just want Tatiana to be well mannered enough to take places. So Gomi will get a lot more training than Tatiana. Ha ha Gomi!

The trainer also recommended getting Tatiana a sensation harness or a martingale collar for her pulling. So I guess I'm going to do some research and figure out which one I think would work the best. I have Tatiana in a regular harness now, with a reflective collar (you know, for the early morning walking we're supposed to be doing). She's pulled out her collar before, and, as big and untrained as she is, the harness makes me feel like I have a little more control when we're out of the backyard. But she's definitely a puller, so that's not cool.

Getting Tatiana into the truck three times was a blast. Yes, I did have to lift her up and practically shove her in, why do you ask? Trainer suggested getting some super yummy treats and work with her on getting up on the floorboard, then the front seat, then hopping over to the back seat.

Anyway, I am super pooped, but, strangely, really feel like going on a nice, long walk. Huh. Wonder what's up with that?

In the morning, I'll be getting up early to procure Easter goodies (uh. oops?), and then going for a walk. We were going to have a visit with my dad, but SweetPea appears to have caught my flu (uh. oops?), so I think pretty much anything is out for tomorrow.

OK, time to do some shopping research!