It's a dog's life!

WE HAVE A NEW DOG, HER NAME IS PIP...
OUT ON A WALK SHE LOVES TO SKIP....
SHE STANDS ON HER BACK FEET, PAWS UP IN THE AIR...
AND LOOKS LIKE A MEERKAT YOU CAN COMPARE!!!!

Hello again,

This week I have been wondering why people say, “It’s a dog’s life” to imply a bad or hard life. From what I’ve seen I think it would actually be rather nice to have a dog’s life! You get fed and never have to cook or wash up. You get taken to exciting places for a walk, you can lie down and have a snooze whenever you like, you have children ready and eager to play anytime you want to, and you get to snuggle up and have your back stroked in the evenings!

OK, that may not be every dog’s life and that’s why rescue centres are so important but it is pretty much Pip’s new life.

We have had her for three weeks now and she seems very settled in her new home. For the first few days she would follow me absolutely everywhere, including the toilet! She also seemed to be constantly shivering even when you were giving her affection. That has all passed now and she is happy to lie in her favourite place on the back of the sofa whilst I run around doing the jobs at home. She doesn’t shiver anymore when sitting on your lap at night for a cuddle. She just lets out the occasional big sigh! For a two year old I think she has had a busy life before coming to us. Apparently before her most recent litter of puppies she had two other litters previously. Considering she is only the size of a large cat she must have been exhausted by all those pregnancies and births!

It also became apparent that she has a fear of men. The first few times Rob came round after we had her she would always wee on the floor as soon as she saw him through sheer terror! (He has that effect on most people but really is very nice once you get to know him!) She also barks when she sees a man walking along the street and hides behind my legs, but runs up to ladies and children with her tail wagging. I think we have to put that down to a possible bad experience of men in her previous life. Now that she knows Rob she is fine with him and the accidents have stopped.

I have seen no evidence of the chewing and yapping that seems to be a Jack Russell’s reputation. In fact the first time I heard her bark was when the postman came to the door the day after we had her. It was actually quite reassuring to discover she did have a voice after all. She doesn’t chew anything up but does like to take anything that smells of me and cuddle up next to it. I usually find my slippers in her dog bed in the mornings! I just checked where she was as I am writing this and she is curled up on my jumper and bedclothes that are waiting to go in the washing machine!

We decided from the start that I didn’t want her sleeping upstairs in the bedrooms or on our beds. I know this is a personal thing, but in my mind she has a free run of the rest of the house and even allowed on the sofas, but bedrooms are special. I don’t even allow the boys in my own bedroom very often as I see it as my one place of sanctuary! Our house is quite open plan so this means at night she has to sleep in the kitchen/conservatory as it’s the only part you can close off. The first couple of nights she complained a bit but settled down after half an hour or so. She did manage “The great escape” one night and managed to open the door handle by jumping up and pulling down the shopping bags that were hanging on it! Very clever! I have a dog from MENSA! The bags have now been moved. Now she goes to bed happily when I go to bed and when I open the door in the mornings she doesn’t rush out shouting “freedom” so I know she is happy to sleep there.

The boys love her to bits but I knew they would after their longing for a dog to call their own for so long. She even does a trick for them where she stands up straight on her hind legs with her front paws in the air and they think this is hysterical as she looks like the meerkats in the commercials. Now there’s a thought, I’ve had my turn at being a minor celebrity appearing in adverts; maybe it is Pip’s turn now! Must get her an agent…

What has surprised me the most is how much enjoyment I am getting from owning a dog. The first time I left her while I went to work I wasn’t sure what chaos I might come home to but in fact there was no mess, no destruction , just a little dog with a wagging tail, bouncing three feet off the floor because she was so pleased to see me! It really is very nice to have such a warm welcome home. I also love the time in the evenings when, as soon as I sit down she will jump over and sit on my lap. I understand now why people say it is stress-relieving to sit and stroke an animal. I read somewhere that a study found that people who had dogs lived on average 4 to 5 years longer than people who didn’t. I don’t know if that is a true statistic or not but it seems to make sense when you think of the regular exercise and stress relief a dog will bring you.

We still have to keep her on the lead as she has some more immunisations due and the rescue centre also recommend you leave it at least 4 weeks before trying them without a lead in case they run off and don’t come back. She also needs to be sterilised as I think she has probably had enough of puppies so it will be a little while yet until we can take her to run freely in the fields. I am already wondering how she will cope with “The cone of shame” after her operation to stop her licking stitches. (If you have seen the film UP you will understand the reference!)

So in the meantime we are having two walks a day with the lead and I am hoping all this new found exercise will benefit me as well as the dog. It seems a much more reliable way of keeping fit than my normal plan of buying a new work out DVD in January and then ignoring it on the bookshelf by February!

Thanks for reading

Ellie

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