Saturday, July 31, 2010

Another dog, another milestone

*please excuse the long post!*
Here are our experiences with having four dogs, and how each dog is another huge milestone.

Our first dog Laura, was, you could say, a very easy dog to care for. At that time, we knew next to nothing about dogs, not to mention rottweilers! Well, all we knew was that we had to feed the dog and give it a home. Training dogs was a different language to us. So many things were unknown to us 'newbie' dog owners.

Luckily for us, Laura proved to be an easy dog to care for. She didn't need much attention, and she didn't behave badly at all. For the first 5 years or so, we didn't know much. We faced no huge challenges - no health problems, behaviour problems, etc. About 3 years ago, Rosie became more interested in the outside dog world. She learnt more and more about dogs, not just knowing what breeds they were, but more about the rottweiler itself, and she shared it with us. It was when Laura was about 8 years old when Rosie wanted another dog to keep Laura company. That's when we adopted Mika.

Mika came to us at 8 months, a healthy dog. Then soon after, by the time he was 1 year old, we had lots and lots of trouble with him. Although he was neutered, it didn't mean he wouldn't stop marking his territory EVERYWHERE! He was extremely dominant and had bullied us a lot (although now he's learnt who's boss!). Then came his eye problem - we have to clean his eye everyday with medication because he has something called Dry Eye Disease. And later his yeast infection which at first, we couldn't fight, but now we know what to do. Everytime it dies down, you can't expect his skin to be fully recovered because soon after, it will come back. The poor boy hates his 1.5hour showers now!

During the time Mika came to us, Rosie's research grew, she started wanting and learning about lots and lots of different breeds from huskies, german shepherds, bernese mountain dogs, shelties, etc.  From that research came Hana (and we can't blame her for it!).

With Hana, we learnt how unbelievably beautiful, gentle and loving a dog can be. I learnt how to groom a dog (especially shelties with all that fur!) and how grooming really promotes healthy looking fur. We also learnt the miracles of puppy birth and the craziness of taking care of a newborn pup and raising it! We also learnt the pain of losing your loved one too soon.

Enter Princess Eva the pup who so far has gotten the most love and affection from humans so far!
I learnt how to housetrain a pup and obedience train her and how to play with her and give her kisses.
Then we learnt more when she got her cowhocks and hip problem and tried to confine her to non-slippery floors and what supplements to give. We also realised that some dogs (namely Eva) are CRAZY about cars, motorcycles, vacuum cleaners, oven doors, and breadmakers!

We also learnt that each and every one of our dogs is COMPLETELY and utterly different from the rest. 

We've never had a naughtier yet sweeter dog than Eva. But owning a dog, it's all a huge learning process for everyone, I'm sure you'll all agree.




18 comments:

Bocci said...

And such beauties they are! Thanks so much for dropping by Bocci's Beefs-we just became a follower of yoru beautiful blog! Drop by again and become an official "follower" if you'd like. We'll put ya on our blogroll too

Your buddy,
Bocci

katie, Maizey and Magnus said...

hi priscilla, and the incredibly responsible rosie!:))

A beautiful post and so true! Each has their own personality and challenges, both physical and emotional. You are way ahead of the game though with all the learning you are doing!

I think I may have been unclear in my last comment. For sure a release word is vital, but when clicker training the click marks the exact behavior you want, so a click after the release word, to me, would mark the release, not the actual behavior. As I said I have been fairly unsuccessful at this with Maizey and am still learning. Sorry If I mislead you. I also commented on this over at Lessons From and For 4 Legs.

houndstooth said...

We've had six dogs in our adult lives and every one of them has been different and unique! You've had some beautiful dogs!

Donna said...

O hai! I am glad u love ur dogs. Love is vurry good. :)

Elizabeth Bergesen said...

Hi,

Just visiting from the Blog hop and will be back to visit!

Elizabeth & Luna

http://www.dogbloggingwithluna.com/

koko said...

Dogs are just like hoomans, each their own but it was really interesting to learn about the pack, thanks for sharing with us... it has been a bitter sweet period for you and rosie.

Licks, hero

George The Lad said...

No two dogs are the same, you just grow to love them for who they are and there funny little ways.
Jan

Yas said...

Mommy says that i am her first dog. She's had lots of cats before. She treasures each day that we spent together and will forever keep our memories alive!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful story!

Cheers,
Maxx and Mommy

Chris and Ricky said...

I am my mom's first dog too ( not counting the dogs she shared with her family when she was growing up) and mom has learned tons of stuff from training me and watching me grow up. It has been a wonderful experience!

D.K. Wall said...

The part about each dog being unique is totally true. While there are certainly breed characteristics, that does not mean every member of a breed act exactly the same way. I have to come to realize that you can not replace a pack member who has gone to the bridge - because he/she is unique. You can add a member, but they will bring their own personality.

But in the end, that is what makes living with dogs so great.

Unknown said...

As with us humans our fur friends too are unique and special. And bring us such wonderful gifts of unconditional love and companionship! I have wordpress.org blog for moxiepaws.com.
Wondering if you could add Name/URL for comment section? Many thanks..

Marianne Pysh said...

I'm following you from The Saturday Pet Blog Hop! I'm so happy I found your blog, and I look forward to more of your stories!

Lucy's Human
http://lucyshuman.blogspot.com

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Priscilla never, ever apologize for a "long" post (your posts are never long because they are so interesting!)

I love the contribution and learning experience each of your wonderful dogs has presented you with.

I do have a question. When you said Eva is "crazy about cars, motorcycles, vacuums....etc" did you mean crazy as in hating the sounds of them? If so our Dakota is exactly the same! He hates cars, hates when garage doors are left open (I am NOT kidding), he hates when the coffee pot beeps when it is done, hates the disposal...I could go on and on!

Peggy Frezon said...

Such beautiful dogs! I found you on the blog hop and look forward to visiting again! hop hop woof!

Diana said...

Vacuums, cars, bikes ect.... welcome to sheltieville. LOL Diana

Sara said...

Yes, each dog is different...but every sheltie, finds something to bark at, no matter how strange.

the booker man said...

oh, yes, each dog is different and presents it's own unique challenge. but i can think of few things more rewarding than sharing your home with a dog. :) your dogs are precious!

the booker man and asa's mama

AC said...

I love how each of your dogs brought something new-new blessings, new challenges. They seems to have touched you, each in a unique way. How we're lucky to have our pups!

 
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