Our Dog Hunter
If there had been a simple, affordable, effective obedience course available to me when we first adopted our dog Hunter, puppy training would have been SO much easier!
Back up almost twelve years ago…
I went to Wal-mart to buy some laundry detergent and took my then four-year-old son Jake with me. As we approached the entrance, we passed by the back of a pick-up truck that had a sign, “Free Puppies to Good Homes”. That’s cool, I thought – Jake wanted nothing to do with any dogs since he had been bitten by a small, yappy-type dog almost a year before. (Through no fault of Jake’s, I might add. I was there; the dog didn’t like kids and ran right up and bit Jake. The owner apologized profusely for her dog’s behavior and promised that he was up-to-date on all of his shots. We got Jake calmed down and cleaned up; but, the damage had been done. From that point on, if Jake saw a dog in one direction, he’d immediately go the other. We couldn’t even get him to stop and LOOK at a dog, he was so scared.)
So, back to the Wal-mart. As we got closer to the pick-up, Jake realized the owners were showing off these dogs. He immediately said, “Mom! They have puppies! Let’s go see!” While I was thinking, “Who are you and what have you done with my child?!”, out of my mouth came, “Sure! Let’s go look!”. When I saw that they had the Mama dog there with her pups, in my mind I thought he’d get about 10 feet from the truck, see her, and change his mind. But what the heck – this was one giant leap in the courage department for Jake. Let’s give it a shot!
This is where I have to interject that I am a firm believer in “Divine Appointments”. Not only did Jake NOT stop dead in his tracks 10 feet from the truck, he immediately pulled me over to the woman (sitting right next to Mama Dog) who was holding one of the puppies. “Mom!”, he said, “Let’s BUY one!” [Seriously! Who IS this kid?] I replied to him, “Well, honey, they aren’t selling them. They are free.” Jake’s immediate response was, “I don’t care – let’s BUY one!”
Needless to say, a laundry list (ha! no pun intended with reference to my original quest to buy laundry detergent) of thoughts went through my mind:
- Wow! Jake’s not afraid! (And he HAD been. As recently as a couple days before.) This has to be a God-thing!
- Wow, they ARE cute!
- We rent our home – I have a responsibility to NOT let a dog ruin it.
- What will Pete say? (Note: Pete is my husband and really DID want a dog. However, he was on his way back THAT NIGHT from a military deployment in the Middle East to have emergency knee surgery and would be NO help in taking care of a puppy for at least the next 6 weeks!)
- Gosh, they’re all black with cute little white chests and feet!
- I’ll have to ask our Landlords.
- It is a big commitment to look after a dog. Can we do it? And do we WANT to do it?
My thoughts were interrupted with Jake’s question, “So OK, Mom? Can we?” Of course the owner woman was thrilled (Mama Dog had a litter of 8); and she was sure one of the pups had just found the required “Good Home”. I explained to Jake that I would have to go call our Landlords and ask them if it was ok. But, if they said no, then we wouldn’t be able to take one home with us. He agreed with a nod, and said, “Would you go call them now, please?”
So I called them; and, actually both (husband and wife) answered an extension at the same time. I explained the situation and Mrs. Landlord instructed me to “Let Jake have a dog!”
OK, one step closer. I hung up and told Jake that we had permission from them to take a puppy home BUT that I was going to pick out which one. (They all LOOKED the same but I had kept my eye on one in the corner lying contentedly with a wagging tail while his brothers and sisters were wildly jumping around the back of the truck. I pointed to the quiet pup and said to Mrs. Owner, “If you pick him up and hold him while I go in and buy a collar, leash, bed, bowls, toys, puppy food (and laundry soap!), then we’ll take him home.” Needless to say, she laughed and agreed, and sure enough was still holding him when we came back out with our purchases. #2 of 8 had found a “Good Home” with us!
(Side note: Kids are insightful. Jake was right when he said, “Buy”. Our FREE dog cost me over $200 at Wal-mart that day, and he hadn’t even been to our home yet!)
So a “God-thing” it was and Hunter has been a part of our family for almost 12 years now. And he’s a very good dog, even despite the “napkin napper” thing (explained here if you haven’t read that page yet). We took him home that night (Pete couldn’t believe it, by the way, that 1) not only did JAKE want a dog; but, 2) OCD Mom (that’s me) would even consider it) and began raising our new dog. I considered taken Puppy Training classes but with a 4-year-old and a husband recovering from knee surgery, I just couldn’t find the time.
So, I won’t say I “struggled” during the first few months with our newest addition to the family whom Jake named “Hunter”, but there were indeed challenges, of which I did my best to figure out what worked by trial-and-error.
If you have a new puppy in your home, or are considering one, you don’t have to learn like I did. There is a very tried-and-true system that over 200,000 dog owners have used very successfully in training not only puppies but grown dogs to behave well around people, other dogs, and at home even when you are not there!
Daniel Stevens’
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