~12 to go.
Puusti the Dog turned one today and I would like to say it has all been smooth sailing with him, but no - he is a bit of a dick. It isn't his fault entirely, since he is a dog. It is mostly because there is inconsistent training where I try to train him and my wife just lets him do what he wants.
Inconsistency isn't a great training methodology.
Despite his undeservingness, Smallsteps bought him a gift which she wrapped, put a name tag on with our names, and helped him unwrap again this morning before she went to school. We thought he would eat the nose first, as he seems to have a liking (or disliking) for them and it is usually the first thing to go, but he went for the fluffy spikes instead. Now there is brown material strewn around the living room. I tried vacuuming - but ten minutes later it was all back again - and the hedgehog has a lot to still rip off.
Instead of vacuuming again, I cleaned the vacuum cleaner.
Puusti is both curse and blessing though, as while he can be super frustrating at times with the mischief he gets up to, he does generally make up for it with his cuteness and quirkiness. He has lots of little funny traits in his personality that make him interesting and funny. Having a dog in the home is a good thing for everyone - most of the time. It is nice to have him around when he is playful or cuddly, it is mainly when he is barking that he gets annoying. But, that is improving slowly.
VERY sloooooowly.
The main thing is that Smallsteps is happy with him and of course, my wife is happy with any animals. Smallsteps occasionally complains about having to take him for a walk, but overall she is doing really well and she spends time playing with and talking to him. As an only child, I think it makes her life a bit better for having a dog in it and the additional responsibility can't hurt. And for Puusti, he has a home where people care for him and spend time with him and he returns the love with love, as dogs do.
Hopefully he learns a bit more in year two.
Taraz
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Happy Birthday to Puusti! He sure is photogenic!
Training a dog takes a dog's lifetime. It never ends. A dog's lifetime of learning for everyone who loves it. I can't imagine a home without one for me. Chewed up shoes and all.
I think he is training us. We have had to move all the chairs away from the dining table, as he climbs up and chews whatever is there. A monopoly hotel and a dice didn't make it.
Oh my gosh! He is such a small dog, I should think things on the table would be very safe! I'm glad he survived eating choking items. Eventually he will understand what you like and do not like. Dogs do want to please their humans above all. With my dog, the bad behavior (she takes soles out of my shoes) comes back during stressful, changing, times.
He scores a hundred percent in Cuteness...I reckon he is a handful 😂
For a dog so small, two handfuls.
No matter if he is a dick sometimes. He looks lovely in the photo
I guess his dickishness suits the family.
Once an animal becomes part of the family, it becomes a wonderful companion and a source of joy ;)
And a little frustration!
How time flies, there is a saying that goes, “if you are enjoying someone and you give a year to repay it and thing it’s a long time then you won’t know when the time will lapse.” There is one thing to like animal, it’s another thing to be able to take care of it. It’s good to see that Smallstep is getting along with the dog and sooner they will become best of friends.
Too many people these days get pets without actually wanting to care for one. Lots of abandoned animals and animals that don't have a rich life. If you make the decision, you have to commit.
That was fast, it seems like you got him not that long ago! We have fish serve the same purpose for our daughter, as we go away from the house for multiple weeks during the year it fits our lifestyle better than the dog would...
Fish are easier, a little less cuddly to watch TV with. Does she have a name for each or are they nameless?
Oh she has a name for all of them, she also has her favorite fish types and among those specific favorites 😀
A whole year is down. Time files too fast and Dogs really make the passage of time feel a lot more grounded, especially on the daily walks, right nah?
Te three (at least) daily walks. It has been decent weather for the most part, so it is okay. When it is pouring with rain or -20C, it is a bit different.
I found this story interesting. He had a family but decided to live among humans. I wonder if by now he thinks that he is a little human as well.
I don't know if that's better or worse than J inadvertently but very consistently untraining all our dogs! Like I always have the most problems with "heel" (where they walk nicely beside you, our current dog will do that in anticipation of head scratches and if we don't have far to go she will literally walk with her head pressed against my leg because she's tall enough that I can just give her as much head scratches as she wants while we're walking like that) so will usually settle for them walking wherever but NOT PULLING. But J is too impatient for the pulling discouragement (which basically requires stopping and sitting for a few seconds and then trying again which can be a very slow process if the dog is particularly stupid or it becomes a battle of wills). And despite knowing that the dog herds chickens and having watched her doing it with me he has yelled at her for helping get the chickens in and I'm having to try to retrain her now -_-
Sounds like he's at the annoying adolescent stage now so have fun with that XD He is a very good dog who will be a very great dog in a year or two when he starts being an adult :)
Happy birthday to him! It's kind of hard to believe it has been a year already. Do you have any of the "thinking" toys that keep them busy trying to get to hidden treats and stuff like that? They work pretty well to exercise the dog and kind of mentally tire them out, though our dog used to figure them out pretty quickly. It gave us a bit of a respite.
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