Mandy the dog

So, here is her story:

We went to the local shelter looking for a dog on Saturday. We just moved in to a house that has a big fenced backyard, and Nate is about at the right age for a dog. He just loves dogs, and we thought it would be good to start him young on proper "pet etiquette" and teaching him to be a "pack leader" as Cesar Millan would say. www.cesarmillaninc.com if you want to look him up.

Having a dog teaches children a lot, and our family was finally ready to take on the responsibility. We had dogs, in our pre-child life, and Steven is quite the "dog whisperer" so it has been a bit odd (though necessary with all of our changes lately) that we have been dogless for so long.

Anyway, about Mandy. In her "past life" she was a family dog, surrendered to the Humane Society onlya week or so ago. Her intake sheet said the owners' reason for surrender was "can't keep her"....hmmm, mysterious....

I need to back up a minute. We went to the Humane Society, and Animal Control, next door, looking to "fall in love". None of the dogs stuck out as "the one," which is weird because it's not hard to fall in love at a shelter. We noticed there were a lot of empty kennels, so we asked the man at the desk if there were more, and he said they were having an adoption event off site, so we drove over to check it out. Long story short, we walked up to the Humane Society booth and I saw her first. She laying on the floor very calmly, just watching people walk by. I went right up to her and looked in her eyes. I could tell she was sweet, and gentle, which is exactly what we were looking for: A mellow dog that wouldn't knock our little guy over, or get too rough with him while playing. I asked the volunteers about her, and they gave me her file, which was basically a questionnaire filled out by the previous owners, and a bill of health. It said she was around children ages 0-2, very gentle, no behavioral problems, housebroken, leash trained, etc. Sounds great. She was the dog for us. Everyone there was so happy to see her go with us. They all gushed about how sweet she was.

It didn't hurt that the Humane Society had an adoption special this month-only $40 to adopt and it's usually $90 or something. Includes all her shots and microchip! Good timing on our part.

So on the way out, she was great on a leash. We immediately established dominance by not letting her walk in front of the family. She stayed to the side or back a little. She was a little bit excited to be leaving, we could tell, but still mellow. She was ready to get in the car, she jumped right in! When we started driving, we noticed she had come up to front by us, which we thought was sweet, but little did we know....

We took her to PetSmart, as we didn't have any dishes, food, toys, collar, leash, so we bought what we needed and were on our way home. She didn't do very well in the store. She became very clingy, a bit scared in the store. It may have had something to do with the guy who came right up to her and tried to shove a holistic, organic treat in her mouth without asking our permission. That made me so mad! People should not give dogs or children treats without talking to the parents! It takes trust for children and pets to accept treats from strangers, and I don't want my kid, or my dog trusting any old random person. People who do this: make a note! Anyway, after that, she was stuck to Steven and I like glue.

So, in general, after a few days, Mandy's behavior is thus: she is still very calm, sweet, cuddley even. She is very tolerant of any "over attention" given her by the toddler of the house, and eager to please. She hasn't eaten much since we have been home, so whether she is picky or jsut adjusting, I don't know yet, but I am not buying different dog food until she is satisfied. No, she can be happy with Iams. It's the good stuff! Well, the best we can afford anyway :P
Her issues are: she doesn't play! I think she is just on the submissive side and maybe was never played with. But we intend to teach her. She won't chew her rawhide bone, or chase a ball. She doesn't get more than 5 feet from us when we are outside, which is not a bad thing, but you can tell she lacks confidence. She does allow the boy to pull her around on a leash, most of the time. If she's feeling lazy and doesn't want to go, there's not much he can do about it, because she's way too heavy for him to get up from a laying position. But we are trying to teach him to use commands and be assertive....tough for a 3 yr old, but we'll get there.

Mandy is becoming a member of the family. We have decided she is not allowed to sleep in our room. She goes to sleep in Nate's room, she is Nate's dog, and that's what we want. Dogs tend to become a little co-dependant on Steven because he is so dominant, they think they have to please him 24/7 and it sort of gets on his nerves. I wouldn't like it if she was in my face all the time either. She respects me, and loves me, but she isn't needy with me like she is with Steven. So he is separating himself from her so that she can be Nate's dog. She is taking to it quite well. And boy does he love it! He giggles when she's on his bed and she gives him a lick, or stretches , or rubs up against his foot.

She has some separation anxiety. We haven't left her alone in the house yet for this reason. I think she just has an abandonment issue from her past owners, and she will get better. This morning I had Steven leave her outside when he left for work at 5am, and she scratched at the door and whined most of the time. One that knows dogs knows not to respond to this behavior if you want it to stop, so I just tried to ignore it. By the time Nate got up, she had stopped, so I had him let her in. He loves having a bit of responsibility, so feeding her, taking her outside, walking her around on the leash, just thrill him!

This has been a very long post, so I am terribly sorry if you got bored. But hopefully I will stick with it and post her progress. Item 1: teaching Mandy to play.

And may I just say, the most annoying sound in the world (to me, right now) is the sound of a dog licking or chewing itself. Thank you.