This being a father thing is hard. Yeah - some of you might think I'm a freak for talking about my new puppy Oscar like he's a baby, but Mrs. D and I are like that - owning a puppy is a full time roller coaster lifestyle change.
Oscar had a great weekend - when we're with him, he's a piece of work: cute, affectionate, smart, charming. But when we leave him alone, he's like Jekyll & Hyde: he goes crazy! This is all pretty understandable of course, but I'm just hoping he doesn't develop these willful disobedience character traits.
This weekend he figured out how to escape from the gate which confines him in the kitchen. When Mrs. D and I returned home from 45 minutes out at dinner, Oscar tried to run back into the kitchen when he saw us - he knew he messed up! Unfortunately for him, he couldn't fit back in.
The next day, our friends brought over another gate which he cannot squeeze through. We fastened it to the first gate with plastic cable ties, said goodbye, and went to Brunch. When we returned two hours later, Oscar, the 5 lb dynamo, had pulled the two gates apart, and snuck though again! He was lounging calmly in the bedroom, waiting for us, and I swear I saw a smirk on his face.
Today was his first day home alone, and he didn't like it. He's sitting on my lap as I type right now, but he's pretty pissed at me: just looking at me with eyes that speak 1000 words. "How could you leave me here all alone - I can't believe you did that."
Oscar knows where he is supposed to go to the bathroom, and does a good job hitting the target when we're home with him. When we leave him alone, however, he totally regresses. I hope it's regression, and not his way of saying "Ok fine - you can leave me - but you're gonna have to clean up my crap when you get back, cause I don't give a fuck."
We also learned this weekend that Oscar does NOT like baths, and really really does NOT like the blowdryer.
In the end, I challenge you to not love this guy:
learning as we go...
-KD
3 comments:
hey congrats on Oscar!
my wife and i own five dogs, out last addition was Tito, a brussels griffon (he just turned one in Dec!) welcome to the wonderful world of brussels ownership!
(if i may ask) how did you come to choose a BG out of all of the dog breeds out there?
my wife and i own a kennel/grooming shop, so we spend a lot of time around dogs (unfortunatley, i have yet to put any pics of Tito up...i am lazy!) we chose the BG for their attitude and scampy nature and continually wonder how we made it through 4 dogs without owning one. they are great little dogs.
words of advice/warning:
** BGs are notoriously hard to house train. it takes a lot of work, but eventually they learn. potty pad training is a lot easier than trying to teach them to go outside.
** BGs are also notoriously self-conscious and needy. they crave attention and need constant love. be careful how long you leave Oscar alone b/c BGs can develop a destructive nature as a method of acting out! also be wary of spanking them; general scolding (voice tone) is generally enough to make them feel badly. they really are very sensitive!
** you will be highly rewarded by letting Oscar sleep with you. we started with Tito by getting a soft, high-walled bed and putting it in between us while we slept. i usually got up every 2-3 hours to put him on a potty pad. the benefit though is that he will grow up super affectionate and think of you as his maternal parents (we got Tito at 8 weeks and it worked out well.)
again, congrats on little Oscar! can't wait to show his pics to my wife.
-->bcd
Chops here.
Man, I got a Bernese Mountain Dog at thanksgiving and it's nuts...I was thinking about writing a similar article but didn't have the time cause the dog...killing my online playing time. Don't get me wrong, totally worth it, but it's like raising a kid, except babies just sleep and shit (in their pants, as opposed to the carpet) for the first six months and you can keep them strapped in a chair...pups wear you out.
yeah, Oscar is killing my poker play - haven't had a chance to play since we got him. But he's worth it.
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