I have a dog. My dog is named Toby. My dog is cute. My dog is a rascal. My dog…. is mine.
Many of you readers either had personally met my old dog, Prancer or remember the stories I have told about her. She died in December of 2003. Ever since the day after she died, when I couldn’t walk into my house knowing I would not hear the jingle of her tags greet me at the door, I knew that I needed a dog in my life again. 8 years of fawning after every puppy and dog I saw walking down the street, every dog sitting job I had, every trick I tried to teach another pup, it finally happened. I have a dog in my life again. (Cue: the fading out of sentimental instrumentals)
The love, the companionship, the constant stops from room to room just to bend down and kiss my dog on the head — that all is as fresh as it ever was. But my, how 8 years of not having a dog makes you forget about all the crazy crap you have to deal with when having one. Don’t get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into. But knowing it and doing it are two different things.
I’ll give my dog some credit for those of you who feel like a dog’s feelings get hurt when I openly call it a dumbass for times well, when he’s being a dumbass. (They don’t understand sarcasm, which is what made this SNL commercial so brilliant). Toby is incredibly smart. But no matter how incredibly smart a 2-year-old is, they’re still prone to break downs occasionally. It has taught me to be incredibly keen to the small accomplishments that happen every single day. For example, right now he is laying down in another room. Last week if I was walked out of his sight, he would follow me. If he couldn’t see me, he would pee. One should be so flattered! That would be a great dating tell if you didn’t know you were with an insecure guy, “I’ll be right back as I slip into something less comfortable… (exit & return) Ah Com’on! You ruined my newly upholstered furniture. Hold on, I’ll get the Resolve. This isn’t the FIRST time this has happened you know.”
So the little accomplishments are what a new dog, particularly puppy owner, has to pay attention to. It’s a long road of behavioral reinforcement, but if you’re on top of every single opportunity to correct and praise, you’ll have a good-citizen dog!
Here are things I have learned in the 2 weeks that Toby became a part of our family:
1.) I know what it’s like to have kids now (to a certain extent). All I end up talking about are dogs and gravitating toward other dog owners to learn behavioral tricks from them.
2.) I find myself resisting the urge to post something about my dog everyday on Facebook. We all know those moms on Facebook who have abused that privilege. I REFUSE to be her! (that’s why I have my own blog, so I can talk about whatever I want all the time, nah nah nah nah nah!)
3.) I have met more strangers in Chicago in the past 2 weeks than the past 5 years I have lived here.
4.) Puppies make nearly everyone smile.
5.) Chicago is FULL of garbage – because my dog wants to mouth every piece.
6.) Toby is not afraid to go all the way with a dog he just met. If he wasn’t fixed, I’d be paying out thousands in puppy-support.
7.) I’ve never craved a large gated area as much as I do now. This dog has so much g-d energy that 4-5 walks a day at this point in his life are still not enough.
8.) I’ll never wear my shoes in the house again. I tried to get all of Toby’s “grass deposits” but sometimes the stuff sticks. I’m just sayin’. People walk in that w/o knowing it. And then they walk in their house. Never again.
9.) Sir Opti is a really cute dog dad. He has been talking about giving Toby a bath for a week straight, just so he can film it. He also calls me in the middle of the day if I send him a funny text about Tobes. That is a first.
10.) Toby is a good match for me for many reasons, but particularly for this one. Because I work from home I need to get out of the house and be with people. Simple as that. Toby is with me and he needs to get out of the house to be with other dogs. We’re good companions to a point. But we need the unabashed playtime with members of our own species. That’s something I cannot fulfill for him nor he for me.
11.) I’m really happy to have a dog in my life again!
Because of reason #2, I am now using this platform to plaster this post with Toby pics. Enjoy!
"Did someone say treats?"
"I'll only tolerate this invasion of space for one more second."
Sir Opti is: Dog Dad
Love.
Bad Dog!
There we go...
The Whole Crew
