“Hi! I’m Andi.”
I sit on the floor, and look down into the doe eyes of Andi. It is a vastly different perspective from my previous world of only cats.
A cat. Now there’s an easy animal to train. A little kitty, bring him home, set up a litter box, bowl of food and water, done. Set for life. The kitty will know to poop in the box, and has free reign of your house. No worries. Except perhaps a pilled chair or a furball now and then.
But a puppy. Hmm, slightly different, I am finding out.
We are crate training Andi, so that has been a challenge. But last night went well. He slept the entire night without having to go outside. A good start. But way too soon to give him free reign. I’ll give you an example.
I made a foolish mistake the other night. Andi woke up at 2:30 in the morning, so I took him out to pee. When I let him in, I told him to go to ‘Andi’s room’, what I call his crate. He usual does. But as I rounded the corner to the living room, there he was, curled up on the couch, staring at me with pleading eyes: “Please! Please let me sleep with you!” those eyes said.
“Oh, please! Can I…?”
How could I resist such magnificent beseeching eyes? So I did.
Well, come the morn’, I woke up and had to use the loo. I looked down at Andi, and he was fast asleep. I thought, ‘I should take him out first.’ But I didn’t.
When I returned, he was in the middle of the room, peeing on the rug. Aargh!
Holding back the urge to admonish him, I gently coaxed him into the cage, and cleaned up the puddle. I learned my lesson.
And our cats are slowly learning about this new creature in their midst, even boldly venturing near the crate. But I believe it will be awhile before they become best of friends. At least the cats are making the effort to introduce themselves. (Or maybe they’re just sizing him up and plotting Andi’s demise…)
‘What is that creature in there?’
Miles plotting.
It has been six days since we adopted Andi and things are going much better. Right now as I type this he is wrapped around my back, pressed close to me and snoring away. I am barely perched on the couch, a mere few inches on the edge. Andi cannot get close enough it seems.
I look down into his eyes once again, and my mind returns to cats. Yeah, sometimes cats do what Andi is doing right now. But for the most part, what I love about felines, is their independence.
Some days, when you want your cats on your lap, you call them over to you: “Hi guys! C’mon, come here! Come sit on my lap!” The cats slowly turn their heads toward you and think, ‘Yeah, right. In your dreams’ and then they turn away, irritated that you bothered their precious nap time.
‘We don’t think so.’
But a dog. After the same command, he couldn’t get there fast enough. Unless, of course, you have a leash in your hand, and you’re going to take him out in the rain again to see if he’ll pee or potty. Then, he’ll hesitate, and suspiciously eye your ulterior motive.
At this juncture, Andi will usually dart into his ‘room’ and curl up, still looking at me with those big, wary, brown eyes. Ah, so much to learn.
to be continued…
Our son and Andi (with pilled chair).
©Paul Grignon, 2013, All Rights Reserved.
Paul Grignon 