pet mom stuff

A neighbor adopted a dog about a month ago. She told me that I was her inspiration (the neighbors see me walking Tom a lot). He's a sweet Akita, about two years old, that she brought home from the shelter. We run into each other frequently and often stop to chat. Hutchie (her dog) is still making the adjustment and there some destructive separation anxiety issues that are at work. Yesterday, C asked me if I'd ever considered returning Tom. I admitted to her that I had. We talked about that a little bit and about how things do get better. I think C felt a little better, hopefully I gave her enough of a boost to get through the current rough patch.

The conversation got me to thinking, though, so I decided to just lay out some of the stuff that's been going through my mind.

( the stuff )

7. The best thing about puppies is that they become dogs. Tom is a month shy of his second birthday. He's still, I think, more puppy than dog. But I see light at the end of the tunnel and I think within the next few months he's going to fully transition into dog. And I think he's going to be a splendid dog. Well, he's already splendid. He'll be splendider.

I'm thinking back to the conversation I had with C yesterday. I think it was a relief to her to hear that "yeah, there were a couple of times that I wanted to give up." I think a lot of times dog people give off the impression that training and living with a dog is a piece of cake. Just a few waves of the hand, say and do the right things, and you'll have a perfect dog. Easy as pie. (Where I've really seen that attitude is on listservs. Fortunately for me, I've mostly run into supportive people in my everyday and everyday online life.) But I think the know-it-alls often either consciously or unconsciously make owners who are inexperienced or having trouble feel like crap if they have a lot of difficulty. I think it's a lot more helpful to know that sometimes you're going to feel like a failure. Sometimes you're going to want to give up. Sometimes it's just really, really hard. But it gets better. And it's all worth it when it does.

about pets

A neighbor adopted a dog about a month ago. She told me that I was her inspiration (the neighbors see me walking Tom a lot). He's a sweet Akita, about two years old, that she brought home from the shelter. We run into each other frequently and often stop to chat. Hutchie (her dog) is still making the adjustment and there some destructive separation anxiety issues that are at work. Yesterday, C asked me if I'd ever considered returning Tom. I admitted to her that I had. We talked about that a little bit and about how things do get better. I think C felt a little better, hopefully I gave her enough of a boost to get through the current rough patch.

The conversation got me to thinking, though, so I decided to just lay out some of the stuff that's been going through my mind.

( the stuff )

7. The best thing about puppies is that they become dogs. Tom is a month shy of his second birthday. He's still, I think, more puppy than dog. But I see light at the end of the tunnel and I think within the next few months he's going to fully transition into dog. And I think he's going to be a splendid dog. Well, he's already splendid. He'll be splendider.

I'm thinking back to the conversation I had with C yesterday. I think it was a relief to her to hear that "yeah, there were a couple of times that I wanted to give up." I think a lot of times dog people give off the impression that training and living with a dog is a piece of cake. Just a few waves of the hand, say and do the right things, and you'll have a perfect dog. Easy as pie. (Where I've really seen that attitude is on listservs. Fortunately for me, I've mostly run into supportive people in my everyday and everyday online life.) But I think the know-it-alls often either consciously or unconsciously make owners who are inexperienced or having trouble feel like crap if they have a lot of difficulty. I think it's a lot more helpful to know that sometimes you're going to feel like a failure. Sometimes you're going to want to give up. Sometimes it's just really, really hard. But it gets better. And it's all worth it when it does.