My Dog is Happier

One of the exciting things I've noticed about my dog Krystal is that she's always changing and growing. Sometimes in startling ways.

One of my challenges is to "let" her grow, and not confine my idea of her personality by the dog she was during the first 6 months she lived with me.

When she first came to live with me she'd been in the shelter for only a month. But before that she was a stray. The shelter told me that given her condition when she arrived, they thought she'd been out there for awhile, perhaps several months.

A dog on her own, weighing less than 11 pounds. I'm filled with admiration for her fortitude and ingenuity. To this day, she digs acorns and eats twigs and leaves. I don't leave her outside on her own, she'd fill up with all those things that her digestive system wasn't designed to process--but that clearly saved her precious life.

She was literally my shadow when she first arrived. Underfoot, on my lap--constantly staring at me exuding extraordinary adoration and joy.

She loved being with other people as well. Women, men, children and babies. She went up to each of them spreading her adoring love and joy. She loved going to the mall on rainy days, greeting each person she met with special gentleness and happiness. I called her my "social butterfly".

Krystal suffered my enjoyment of walking in the woods. There was no real joy there for her. Perhaps too many memories of her time as a stray. Neighborhood walks were ok, but it was the walks in malls and crowded parks that really brought her happiness. When she saw a person coming her way, she would go "on alert" and focus on that person--she had spotted a "petting opportunity."

The most difficult thing for her was other dogs. She was terrified of them, and would go into loud and lengthy fear barking episodes.

During the summer I took her with me on a hike on Mt Mitchell in western North Carolina. After hiking about 1/2 mile, her DNA suddenly kicked in. She became a different dog. She started scampering over the rocks and fallen trees, tail wagging, mouth open. Openly exploring. I couldn't walk fast enough for her. A West Highland Terrier / Poodle mix, that was the terrain she was born for. She had a ball!

Back home, over the last 6 months she's become more confident with other dogs. She's joined a pack with her BFF Winnie. She's now more territorial than fearful. While walking in parks, she'll often want to meet and play with other dogs.

She's more at home with her environment as well. She now lets me know where she wants to go for her walks, and often insists we explore places we haven't been before.

When we're walking around the local lake, she's doing dog things--meeting and smelling other dogs, playing and running about, smelling the air, smelling the ground where there's been dog poop or pee, checking out what the local traffic has been, peeing and marking her presence.

She still "spots petting opportunities," but it's not her only concern. I used to have to end each petting episode, and almost drag her away from the children, babies and people petting her. Now, she greets them, lets the kids pet her, and then lets me know she's got other things to do.

Around the house, she's still a constant presence. But in the morning she often sleeps in after her morning pee, and appears in my office an hour or so after I've started work. In the mid-afternoon she's in the living room, snoozing in the sun that comes through the window. In the evening, she's on my lap until she decides it's time to spread out for a good sleep. Then she goes off to her living room cushion for a comfy snooze before bedtime.

She's a happier dog, I can tell. She's making decisions about snoozing in the sun, rather than obsessively curling up tight on my lap while I'm on the computer. A year ago that would have been unthinkable, she was on my lap all day long. Now she lets me know how long she wants to be petted by children and people she meets. She also lets me know where she wants to go on her walks. Most of the time we agree on the latter, but I'm still the alpha dog in this family so I do make the final decisions.

And my alpha dog self says its great to see Krystal coming into her own as a dog, doing dog stuff. No longer is she my beloved "social butterfly." I'm on the alert for new aspects of her doggie personality as they manifest.

Comments

[jan]

Watching shelter dogs blossom with love all around them is so rewarding. How great for all of you.

[Kaye Swafford]

Thanks Jan,
It's an exciting time, as I'm sure you know.

[dog houses]

Good for your dog! Every pet deserves to be happy... http://www.doghouses-4less.com

[Kaye Swafford]

I couldn't agree more. Thanks, Kaye.