A year with Joshua.

DeVore

So, this day 1 year ago Joshua came home from the pound. I think both of us were shaking from the stress of not knowing the future but one year on, I'm still here and he's still alive.

I talked about not being ready for a dog on this forum and about the preparation and post-rescue phase with him here too. Then I decided to let things settle for a while and see how things went rather than week-to-week updates!

So what has the first year been like? Well, last time I wrote I was kinda feeling the stress a bit because Josh can be quite a handful but while he hasnt exactly quietened down... he seems to have come to accept that this is isnt a bad deal at all and that it isnt going anywhere. He and I seem to have come to some accomodations with each other as to how "things have to be". I don't win every one of those arguments it has to be pointed out, but we have found a way to live with each other.

Josh is a boisterous dog who has boundless energy and wants to play, run, chase and JUMP all the time. Unfortunately, I live alone so its just me and him. I have several companies I run or am involved with so while I can be home a lot of the time (most days), Josh doesnt get as much attention as Josh would like... ie: 24/7
Although he gets a solid hour in the park every day, I feel bad about that. Still, the alternative wasnt all that great for him so I guess we dont all get what we want in life.

The chewing has turned from wonton destruction to naughty playfulness. He loves to nick stuff and take it to "his garden" and chew it. Tv remotes, shoes, rolls of bin bags and toilet paper are his favourites but hats, scarfs, jumpers will do too. He will quietly take something and when I notice he's no being his usual Tigger-the-tiger self it sets off alarm bells. When I spot him making off with something it really turns from a comical tiptoeing out the door to a full belt I-regret-nooooothing sprint and then we play Josh's favourite game where he runs around with the thing is his mouth while I stamp my feet at him to "come". I can do that till I'm blue in the face, the only way he will give it back is if I threaten to lock him out.

Thats the worst bit, well, that and the cold wet days when he still has to get his walk or life wont be worth living! The best bits are when I watch TV. Josh loves to lie on top of me and fall asleep. There's little as comforting as a big warm furry dog making happy drowsy noises to remind you life isnt so bad.

Having Josh has helped with my occasional bouts of depression too. He reminds me that its the simple things in life that should make us happy... a bone, a walk, play. He keeps me focused on the now, rather then the past or future. His life is wonderfully uncomplicated and his affection is unconditional.

He still has separation issues... HATES me leaving or being separated from him. Gets very defensive and can be quite aggressive around other male dogs so unfortunately we've had a couple of instances of Josh getting a bite from a bigger dog. Doesnt seem to bother him a great deal but I have to keep an eye on that.

Its been quite a bit of work during the year. In some ways more than I anticipated (specifically walks and not being able to travel as freely) but in some ways less like food isnt a big deal (he gets 2 loads of dry kibble mixed with meat pate a day and we're done!).
He has a crate which has a pet-door from it into the garden so whatever time I get up he already has access to the outside. I don't like getting up early

So, would I do it again? I swear there have been days if not weeks when I would say no, but then there are times when he's the best decision I made all year. He's bolshie, head strong (omg is he headstrong) and bonkers but he's my dog and we kinda somehow make it work out between us...

borderlinemeath

You talking bout me?

Dodd

Most sound normal to me if your dog is les than two years old.
They start with bitting cables and go on to bigger things,shoes/boots then tables if you don't give them something else.
Do you let your dog smell around while you are walking him.
Smelling will wear the mind out more rather than just walk as dogs can walk for ......
You will look back at the bad times with your dog and see most of them as funny in the future.:)

I have had dogs but my son never had a pup,it cost us about five/six hundred euro damage in the first three months.laptop chargers etc.

DeVore

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You talking bout me?

Thats the look , right there!! The look thats says "I know I'm not supposed to do this and I'm probably in trouble, but I aint sorry!!"

I get that look A LOT.

DeVore

UPDATE AFTER YEAR 3 and a BIT!

So, talking about Josh in the other thread got me thinking about updating the story of him. (predominantly as an in-depth look at what going from Zero-To-Dog is like in reality).

Not a huge amount has changed since my last update... Josh is getting a little older, not a whole like wiser and perhaps a little less jumpy. Perhaps.

He's barking more now, that's for sure. Lots of things are greeted with barking. Lots of barking. I'm doing my damnedest not to reward it by accident and actively discouraging it but it seems like I'm losing this war.

One plus side is that he doesn't howl. At least not yet.... a few months ago I wasn't well and I went to bed early. I put Josh in his crate (which is connected by a flap to the garden) and went to bed. Josh was not best pleased by this early bed time and went outside to complain up at my bedroom window. Normally he barks or jumps at the back door but this time he started trying to howl. He isn't very good at it and at first I couldn't work out what he was doing (and I was worried he was actually in pain) but then he managed one half decent howl ... and stopped.
That's the last time I heard him do it too. He sounded soooo sad but for fear of rewarding it, I stayed in my bed.

The very strict habit of walks every day come rain hail or shine has, I'm sorry to say, gone. I'm still pretty diligent about getting him a walk every day and if its only a short one then we play ball to make up his hour but on the days when its lashing rain... yeah, I make it up during the week to him

He's absolutely healthy as an ox, his coat is looking great (always has)... he's got a set of muscles I would kill for and he hasn't been sick a single day with me so... I'm giving myself some credit for looking after him. He gets the very best of everything so, there's that I guess hahah.

I lost the War of the Couches I'm afraid to say.

So life continues and Josh remains the only thing that makes me spontaneously laugh out loud. There are days when I don't want to do the walks or when he's just chewed something or when he STOLE MY 18oz FX BUCKLEY MARINADED STEAK AND ATE IT ALL.... but he's still enriching my life I guess

hadook

Reward that barking If he's barking a lot you can teach him the "speak" command & it's a very short step from there to teach "quiet". I'm jealous, my dogs don't bark very often so I'm having no luck teaching speak (for some reason the postman doesn't want to stick around and be barked at so I can teach a 40kg GSD to bark even more enthusiastically at him. Public servants!)