Puppy Pleasures

By: Kimberly Salter

        I love puppies! Puppies are the epitome of happy thoughts! Their bouncy, happy nature brings smiles to even the hardest of hearts. Incessantly barking to get your attention, all they want to do is play! All they need is love! As they cuddle with the rest of the litter, it's hard to see where one stops and the other begins. The little noises they make in puppy dream land is endearing. That's where the Puppies are "Kings" and "Queens" and they can stand up to the scary dark shadows in the night! If you get to pick one from a litter, how will you choose? Which one will be just right for you? Which one will eat your couch? There are Dog Psychologist that can help, but ultimately it's a chemistry thing. Just like when you picked your mate. You are attracted to a beautiful puppy for how they feel, their fat little tummies and their cotton like fur. How they look, floppy ears and all, and even how they smell (I'm really weird, I love puppy breath). Most importantly is, how they respond to you and make you feel.

        Many ask, what is their appeal? Why are "dogs" considered to be man's best friends? I think their loyalty is a contributing factor. And maybe, there's a secret desire in all of us to have their carefree bouncy take on life. No matter what your day was like, you come home, there is "Fido" wagging his tail, ready to leap in your arms, tongue ready to wash your face 100 miles an hour. Thank Goodness my master's home! Now we can play catch! All they want is you! It's plain and simple: food, sleep, their favorite ball or bone and YOU! You are the key in the formula. They need you to keep them in the loop of life. You bring them the happiness they need to continue their little doggie life. 

        We have a 6-year-old; 60 lb. Border Collie-mix, who thinks she's, still a puppy. A lap dog you could say. She believes our purpose in life is to throw the ball for her and pet her continuously as she lies across our laps. Maybe we spoiled her, but after all she was the cutest puppy in the litter! Spunky, adorable and she picked us! She was the first one to leave the feeding trough to check us out. All the other pups continued eating and could care less whether we were there or not. There was only one male in the litter. He was huge, at least 2 times bigger than the rest. Guess where he was, yes you got it, his whole body, including all four legs was in the middle of this huge round feeding bowl. While all the little ladies stood outside the bowl and ate, the "King" of piggy-ness, took station in the middle of the food so as to make sure of his portion. He was so fat he could hardly get out of it. The first thing my husband said was: "We would go bankrupt trying to keep him in food"! We also could tell, he was going to be huge and he had markings like a Saint Bernard. So we chose the "Princess" of the group. She had the only curly tail, spotted socks and a patch of white over her eye. We thought she was perfect for us! If the truth were to be told, she is perfect for us! It just took us a little time to figure that out.

        First signs of trouble: As with all things in the circle of life, everything has its place. When you get a puppy just weaned, there is some anxiety and loneliness that follows. This is to be expected. So we accommodated our little girl. We did what every one suggested, we wore old soft tee shirts then put them in her bed with the clock that is supposed to simulate a heart beat. You can imagine how attached she got to us. As time went by, life had to resume and get to some type of normalcy. When she was about 6 months old, we had to be gone for most the day. Not home for lunch or in and out like we usually were, just "Gone All Day"! She's an inside dog and this proved to be a tragic thing. We came home around 5:30. As we came in the door, our little puppy was flat on the ground. No greeting? No happy dance? What was up? We thought she was sick or something. Then, we looked around the room. OH MY!! I can't tell you how I felt when I looked at my new couch (you thought I was kidding earlier didn't you) and yes she had shredded the corner of the center cushion! Stuffing was everywhere. There were chewed up shoes and a few books with nibbles on them lying around here and there. It took everything in me to maintain my composure. I proceeded to pick her up and place her outside. I needed to have a time out. UNBELIEVABLE! As we were cleaning up, trying to figure out why she would do this, the evidence showed me why, her ball! It was wedged between the pillows. She wasn't strong enough to move the center cushion so; she dug and chewed till she had almost reached her goal. We worried that this would be repeated and decided we needed a new routine so we would simply put her outside when we left. After a week of doing this, our Neighbor (who's a day sleeper) came over. Looking ragged and worn out, he explained that our precious puppy howled and cried the whole time we were gone! I felt terrible! We told him we would not allow her to do this anymore but what were we going to do? Searching for an amiable solution we looked in the phone book and contacted a "Dog Psychologist"! Yes we did! And it proved to be the saving of our happy little home. She explained that our puppy was experiencing separation anxiety! We needed to socialize her more with other people and animals and she needed to know her place in the pack! So we did! I am happy to exclaim that it was a one-time event. She must have figured she did it right the first time and didn't need to repeat it again. She made her point. 

        Animals can give us a reason to enjoy the simple things in life. Taking her to the beach to walk has been the best for all of us. The ocean breeze and the general laid-back environment have proved to be very relaxing. Walking with my husband, and our trusted companion, dragging us along at a good clip, people stop and say how pretty she is. We walk away beaming like proud parents and are so thankful that we survived the pitfalls of "Puppy Hood"!

        They say animals increase the quality of life and I have to agree. We feel this truly precious creature has enriched ours. Puppies grow up and become loyal and endearing fixtures in our lives. They love and protect us because they become part of our family. Many people would scoff at that statement but think about it, you get out of life what you put into it. If you allow yourself to frolic with the puppies and run with the dogs, then you are doing something. You are not stuck in the mud of life. And even if you were, your happy pet would be there to dig you out as if searching for the treasure in the back yard. So whatever your animal passion is, enjoy the beauty of life from their standpoint every now and then. You will find that life can be far more rewarding than you had once thought.