The Dog Diary

I can’t really remember how the first night went with Conan. A friend of mine stayed over and we had some fun playing with the dogs until they were exhausted. As a result of that, I think my new puppy slept for most of the night. The peaceful nights were, however, to be short lived!

The following day, I was due to take Dexter to his agility class and I was determined that my boy would not be neglected just because there was a new dog in town! I was a little concerned about leaving Conan alone so soon after bringing him back to his new home, but Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak had told me to be brave, leave him in his dog crate, and come to training class. He assured me that a good way to conquer separation anxiety before it even started was to get the dog used to being alone for short periods of time from day one.

So, I made sure the pup was fed, watered and had been outside to do his business, then I locked him in his crate and left for training class.

A few hours later I returned, fully expecting to see a sleeping puppy, but the sight that greeted me was somewhat different! There he was, my 8 week old pup, asleep on top on my slippers which I had placed on top of the shoe bench by the front door. Have you ever looked at something and done a double-take? I was convinced I’d left him in his steel dog crate, locked and bolted. Was I going mad? On closer inspection, I discovered that the little cannonball had broken out of the crate. How he did this is still a mystery to this day, but yes, he had obviously gotten himself into such a state of separation anxiety, that he had broken right out from behind his metal bars. I knew from that point forward I was going to have trouble with this one. And Dexter had been such a great puppy. What on earth had I let myself in for?

A Picture of Innocence?

I want to talk about how I came to have Dexter, my Miniature Schnauzer, now 4 years old.

Back in September 2004, life and work had changed for me somewhat. I had changed employers and now, instead of working in an office with lots of colleagues, I was largely working from home, which did have it’s advantages, but got lonely now and then. A friend of mine, who had gotten herself a puppy fairly recently, suggested I got myself a dog.

I had always adored dogs and we’d had dogs in the family but for me, being single, career minded, and taking on the responsibility of owning a dog, was huge. I already had 2 cats, but owning a dog was a different ball game altogether! Anyway, I gave it some careful thought, and decided it was a good idea.

Within a week, I had researched costs, equipment required, my working hours and how they would affect a dog, particularly in it’s early puppyhood, and I’d trawled the internet for available puppies, but not before looking at what breeds might be suitable for me first.

This is the mistake people make. Owning a dog may be a good idea, but different dog breeds suit different lifestyles. That said, ALL dogs need TIME from their owners, and I would never in a million years have decided upon dog ownership if I wasn’t working from home a lot of the time.

So, I’d decided I wanted a small dog, but not too tiny. I wanted to own a dog with spirit and character. I wanted a breed that was a little bit different too! A dog that didn’t suffer from separation anxiety was necessary, although I knew the most I’d have to leave it would be 4 or 5 hours at a time.

After doing hours and hours of research, mostly on the internet, trawling the dog adverts, and making many phone calls to reputable breeders to ask about their dogs, their temperaments, their personalities and their needs, I settled on my Miniature Schnauzer, who I discovered when he was 6 weeks old. He was with a breeder in London, one of a litter of 5, all of whom had been sold but his prospective owner had changed their mind about owning a dog at that point in their life.

I drove over 100 miles from Bristol to see him at 6 weeks, fell in love with him (as anyone does when faced with a puppy!)and spent the next 2 weeks preparing for his arrival and making plans and itinerarys for what he would need and when he would need it, such as his innoculations, training classes, sleeping area, food, collar and lead, toys, etc!

It was a dark, rainy Thursday night in October that I made the journey once more to collect him, complete with cat box for him to sleep in while he was in the car. I had my puppy!

We got home after 10pm, exhausted. The poor dog was terrified and obviously very unsure of his new home, so I left him in the box until he was ready to come out. It took a while and some scrambled eggs, but out he came eventually, introduced himself to my cats, and my journey of dog ownership began!

The 8 week old Dexter

Saying Hi to Floyd