You may have noticed that I failed to post a comic last week… yes, I officially let the ball drop, but for good reason. These photos are to illustrate my life’s focus for the past week or so. May I present to you…
Harry the Dog!!
We adopted Harry last weekend from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, just across the Thames from our place. He’d been in the shelter for about a month and a half. They weren’t sure about his age or background, but estimate he’s around 9 months old. He arrived at the shelter via the municipal dog pound, and seemed like he was reasonably cared for in his prior home, but nobody ever came to retrieve him.
Based on his rugged good looks we figure he’s got quite a bit of German Shepherd as well as some Staffordshire terrier in him. He’s a super-smart, friendly boy who’ll do anything to please. He’s still got a puppy’s excitability and energy, but I’ve never seen a puppy who’s so capable of self-restraint as this guy. For instance, he naturally like to chase after pigeons and other birds that fly off when he approaches, but now that he knows we don’t want him to you can see him struggle with internal conflict whenever we walk by a pigeon. Usually he manages to restrain himself.
Because of these qualities he’s easy to train. In the first week we’ve already taught him (lie) “down”, “stand” (from lying), “heel” (ie. walk in step with me on the right side), and to “sit” until we release him by saying “OK”. He’s almost got “stay” (ie. stay in one place without moving until released) and he already knew “sit” and “paw” (also known as “shake”). He was also (thank god!) already toilet-trained. Also, right from the get-go I could pretty much let him wander around the house unattended and he doesn’t get himself into trouble like I’d expect (like, chewing our stuff or trying to get at food in the kitchen). He just walks around, plays with his toys, and then usually passes out on the carpet for hours at a stretch. What a boy!
We take him running in Hyde park almost every day and he just runs along next to you, happy to be out. We’ve had to get him used to meeting other dogs and people. His natural tendency is to be a bit reserved around strangers until he gets to know them, but already after only a week he’s much more relaxed about it, and has been great with the dogs we’ve encountered in the park for the last few days. Even when they get scared and lash out at him (often smaller dogs), he for the most part maintains his cool. A couple of days ago he met the Springer Spaniel next door, a male of some years, who immediately engaged him in a dominance struggle (including what was quite literally a pissing match on the corner). I think Harry lost the bid for dominance but was definitely the more composed of the two, and despite the other’s growling he happily trotted after him hoping to win him over and get some play time in. Alas his hopes weren’t to be realized that day, but we haven’t given up yet.
The biggest issue we’re having with him is separation anxiety. He really really doesn’t want to be left alone, so we’re having to build him up to the point where we can leave him for any amount of time. I think this is characteristic of both Staffies and Shepherds since they get so attached to their owners. Also though I figure it might have to do with being displaced during those all-important formative months…he probably had a few experiences where he got attached to people (at the shelter for instance) and then they stopped coming back…who knows? Anyway, we’ll get over this hurdle with a little time, once he’s feeling a bit more confident, as he is more and more every day, he’ll figure out we’re here to stay. In the meantime it’s a little like having a newborn baby. We have to trade him back and forth so that each of us can go out and attend to our business. It’s kind of a drag, but that’s what we signed up for when we decided to adopt a dog.
So besides the one issue it’s been an awesome experience so far, and I’m looking forward to watching this little guy grow into a super companion, even moreso than he already is. We’d debated rescuing a dog versus buying a puppy from a breeder, and I think we made the right choice. I’ve trained puppies before and it took way more work…it’s so nice to get a dog with a bit of maturity already, but still with enough puppy to have some fun with. After visiting the shelter a few times we knew we had to rescue one of those dogs…there are so many of them that would make amazing pets. It was really hard having to choose, and even now I think of some of the great dogs we met there that are still looking for homes. Anyway, we’re happy to have found an amazing little guy who we could help out.
Welcome home Harry!
