As the beginning of the school year grew closer and closer, I began to daydream about long hours of kidless time. Long bike rides around town while doing errands, getting lists actually done, the library all by myself. All of the things that sound completely boring, but to be done without a couple of short stacks whining from the back seat about getting Cold Stone Creamery after knocking over a bunch of cereal boxes at the grocery store, is pure bliss. Don't get me wrong, when its fun time, its fun but errands need to get done to get back to the fun.
10 days. That was my time. 10 days. Then came the new "addition" to our family.
My wife had been wanting to get a dog for a while and was hoping for a specific breed to run long distances and be protective and all other traits that everyone wants in a dog. The internet told her that a Rhodesian Ridgeback fit her description to a T. Well, as luck would have it, after a few weeks of search, we found one at the Decatur Animal Control. She was 4 months old and cute as a button. No ridge and possibly mixed with boxer. We took her home that day.
We named her Zuzu and she was the cutest thing ever. We spent a bundle on all sorts of gear that a Standard American Family needs. The local big box pet stores will tell you what you need, by the way. So very helpful. Thank You. Crate, toys, treats, leashes, harnesses, just about everything you need when you adopt a dog. Adopt your pets, people. Seriously. We had our new little ball of puppy energy and were all in the sweet honeymoon phase of happy, wrinkly puppy headed wonderland.
Enter Zuzu, ultra strong, chewing, spastic, warrior princess. Ho. Li. Shit. As a professional child herder for 7 years, I can handle some pretty crazy stuff. Ephram covered head to toe in a Costco sized vat of vaseline. Soijer, similarly covered head to toe, but in poop. But this was a challenge. A highly mobile, chewing machine with the talent of seeking out the most important things and destroying them and with boundless energy. Seriously, I felt like like Sarah Conner in the Terminator "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop! ever! until you are dead! Couch pillows. Kids Toys. Our tree in the back yard. My Triathlon Bike. My freaking triathlon Bike? Coats. Gloves. Anything and everything that this little beast could get her mouth on was chewed to bits. There was jumping on random people and digging giant holes in the yard and all other sorts of crazy behavior.
I was having complete adoption regret but was determined to get a handle on this animal.
We tried a few things. People told us we had a dominance issue. Zuzu would not leave my wife alone with jumping and nipping. She, my wife, needed to assert her dominance they said. Not the best idea. It made for a confrontational back and forth and was frustrating to us all. We went through Puppy I and Puppy II at Petco. She did really well. Did I mention that she is a genius? Sit, come, lie down, blah blah, all the basics, she was a pro. But the aggressive behavior towards my wife as well as other visitors persisted. We needed some help. We were considering shock collars, pinch collars, anything that may work. I didn't feel good about causing our new pup pain but we were getting desperate. Enter Bob Ryder at Pawsitive Transformations. Compassionate, humane training. No intimidation or painful reinforcement. Hippies unite! We called him, he came for a 90 minute consult and by the end, Azsure was sitting on the couch and Zuzu was sitting politely on the floor next to her. We hired him for the 5 session Canine Good Citizen package. That package just ended a few days ago. Bob is awesome. Zuzu is a different dog. Controllable at least. Still a bundle of energy but manageable.
And I love the crap out of her.
She is my buddy. She still has her problems and needs but she is here and sweet and beautiful. She brings me happiness and stress and calm. Often, I go over to where she sleeps in front of the fireplace and baby talk to her while I scratch her belly. I'm a 38 year old man baby talking to a dog. Why? Because she loves the crap out of this whole family. She gets that funny dog bendy wiggle when my wife comes down in the morning to go to work. She is always willing to play. Always. With anybody. She has some sort of weird dog sense that it is time for the kids to come home on the bus and she goes and sits at the window to watch for them. She is our newest member of the family.
and I am grateful for her.......
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