Zelda is my “no time” dog. She entered the house as second dog to a fairly well trained older dog. That older dog had come into the family as second dog to a professionally well trained dog. I’ve figured out, that just like birth order of children, the timing of a dog’s arrival in your life directly affects its eventual behavior.
Dog #1, Gypsy, came into my life when I was single and living in an apartment. She became the center of attention for me and my then-boyfriend (soon to be husband). She had a gentle loving nature to begin with and took readily to the private obedience classes I took her to. After we married and had children, she was a gentle and trustworthy companion.
Dog #2 arrived as my youngest child turned 9, with dog #1 still holding her own as a noble senior citizen. Dog #2 was a stray and because he so resembled our older dog, the kids begged to keep him as her baby. In fact, Baby became his name. His first months with us were tumultuous. He was a runner, and I spent a lot of time chasing him all over the neighborhood. He tried to be feisty, once growling and baring his teeth in such a frightening way that I locked him in the bathroom out of fear. But, as he got older he calmed down a bit, and when Gypsy passed away, he enjoyed years as First Dog. However, he could never be trusted off leash or alone with garbage.
During his time as First Dog, I got divorced and the kids and I moved into a different place. For a while, Baby reverted to puppy behavior, and chewed some furniture and soiled some carpets. He was, however, a devoted companion to the parrot I had acquired, and sometimes the two of them would greet guests at the door together. A few years later, the parrot left us and Baby became diabetic and fragile. It was at this time the my high school aged-middle daughter began campaigning for a “puppy of her own.” I resisted as long as I could, but eventually, a sad story of strays on a junkyard ushered in the arrival of dog #3 – Zelda.
At this point, all three of my children were in high school, and I was working full time. Zelda became our first “crate-trained” dog – a technique necessitated by the fact that she and Baby would be alone in the house most of the day. And Zelda proved to be the most challenging and least trainable of all –destroying anything she could pull into her crate, including cable wires, and basket of laundry. Eventually, she too calmed down a bit, and was given the run of the house with Baby. However, she was a worse runner than he ever was, and the entire family spent many hours chasing her around the neighborhood. Rain, sleet and foot deep snow didn’t stop her.
Eventually, Baby succumbed to the diabetes, leaving Zelda to reign as Top Dog. I had also gotten another bird, however, no companionship developed. To this day, Zelda still throws herself madly at the bird cage anytime the bird makes any big noise or movements. We now keep a chair in front of the bird cage. We also keep extra furniture on the couch, to keep her from jumping up on it and using it as a launching ramp to crash through the picture window because a squirrel or a cat or a rabbit has the nerve to be anywhere within sight. She has forgotten all her social manners as far as other dogs go, and cannot go to the dog park.
All three of my children are now in college, and many evenings and weekends, it is me, Zelda and the bird, circling around each other in the house. Zelda, at 5, continues to be like a puppy, following me with toys all the time. Well, except if there is an animal or person passing the house, or there is a thunderstorm or loud noise. That’s when the completely insane barking and jumping and running ensues. Some people might think that this is just her personality – a high strung escape artist with tons of phobia and a love of garbage. But I know better. As I said at the beginning, she is the “no time” dog. My kids hardly spent time with her, and I ended up being the feeder, walker, brusher, and poop patrol. All those nice professional training skills I used with Gypsy, and sort of used with Baby, have been forgotten with Zelda. And she is a young, healthy, good-natured dog. She is going to be with me a long time. We both have time on our paws.
So, last Sunday, Zelda had a private obedience evaluation. I met the trainer at an agility training facility, and knew that Zelda would just love to jump those hurdles and climb those ladders, if she could just learn about it. As expected, her problems right now are anxiety in new places, and an inability to pay attention. But I’m told there is hope. With some work, attention and patience, I can teach this old dog new tricks. And maybe even Zelda too. Stay tuned.
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