Hello and welcome to the 3rd installment of the "Turning 20 Extravanganza!" There's just one week left until I erase the word "teen" forever from my life and in celebration of that, I will tell you about 20 things that my dog, Bruno, has taught me over the 1 year and 7 months we spent together. (Oh and in case you're wondering, my marketing final went well, thank God) Enjoy!
1. PATIENCE. This teaching is essential when having a dog. They will not always understand what you want from them. Sometimes they will show you that with a head tilt (very cutely) and sometimes they will just completely ignore you. Those are the times your patience will be sorely tested. But its worth it in the end since you form a closer bond when you train your dog.
2. DON'T WALK BAREFOOT. If you have a puppy who is in the middle of potty training, then expect some "accidents." You never want to forget to wear slippers in the house when there's a puppy. Otherwise, you receive a little present from your puppy via your foot.
3. CHEW TOYS. You can never have enough chew toys when you have a teething puppy or even an easily bored dog. Trust me when I say you'll save more money on buying chew toys than on replacing half eaten shoes and other miscellaneous items.
4. SELFIES. If your dog is hyperactive, don't expect a good selfie with them. You will either get a furry blur, a quick attempt at a lick to your face, or a nose shoved into the lens. Also, when I managed to get Bruno still enough for a selfie, I would look like I wrestled him into doing it since I had to run around and play with him to get him tired enough.
5. BE CALM. If there's one thing I have learned from raising Bruno, its that blowing a fuse on your dog will get you absolutely no where. Dogs literally do not understand human yelling. They can read your frustrated energy, though. And that, my friends, gives them reason not to listen to you. Dogs' pack leaders are always calm and assertive. Being the opposite of that puts you in no position to give them commands.
6. TUG OF WAR. Now this is quite a popular game with dogs. But some dogs shouldn't play it. What I took out of this game when it came to Bruno is to never hold the tug toy in the air. Why? Because German shepherds are police dogs and when they tackle someone they push them down...HARD. I experienced a simulation of this first hand. Bruno literally punched me in the gut because he was trying to get the tug toy I had in the air and he decided to "lean" on me. 'Course he forgets he weighs a whopping 50 kilograms with a lot of brute strength. Basically, I couldn't breath for maybe 5 minutes.
7. OFFLEASH. One time, Bruno wasn't fully trained back then, I had my buddy off leash in the yard of my house and he was loose with the gates shut so there was no way he could get out. Bruno hates cats. He saw one and chased it out of the yard through the gate. I couldn't see him from where I was sitting, but I could hear him whining wanting to get the cat. In my mind, there was no way a dog his size could get through the gate. Next thing I know, the gate is rattling and there was the sound of galloping feet. I go over to find Bruno loose on the streets and running straight for a horse carriage. I grab the leash and run after him, arriving to find him saying hello to a woman who was terrified of dogs. I get there and she runs to my back screaming "HELP ME HELP ME!" After I manage to get him on leash again, she yells at me for raising an animal I wasn't capable of handling. So what to learn here, boys and girls, is if you are not 100% sure that the area is secure and your dog is not off-leash trained, keep the leash on and a close eye to boot.
8. JEALOUSY. Since Bruno was my dog, I loved him to bits. He would give me my share of attention of course when we had our times together. However, that was a whole other story when we had visitors. If anyone came to see Bruno with me, they would get his undivided attention. I would be basically ignored. And that sparked a little jealousy in me (don't judge me this dog was my life at some point). It was silly, but I learned that a little jealousy can be bared when your dog is happy to have visitors and when he is making said visitors happy.
9. SLIPPERS. Again, if you have a hyperactive dog, don't let your foot slip out of your slipper. Your dog is likely to grab it and challenge you to take it back from him. In my case, this happened a little too often due to my clumsiness. What I learned is to always wear sneakers around Bruno. That way I can chase him around more comfortably.
10. BE HAPPY. Sometimes, when life got a little too heavy for me, I would be alone with Bruno and start crying. We all have moments where we just need a good cry. Bruno would always try to cheer me up. He'd lick my tears, grab a toy, and invite me to play. If that didn't work (which was rare because his cuteness could lift me out of the deepest of dumps), then he would sit beside me until I calmed down. I'd also pet him and put my head on his back and he would let me, which only happened when he either knows I really need it or when he's watching something from that spot and was really focused. I learned that if I ever had a problem or felt sad, I should do something that makes me happy.
11. BATH TIME. If your dog weighs from 45-50 kilograms and is quite tall, don't try and get him in a bath tub when he doesn't want to. Its not gonna work. Bruno has always hated the sound of the shower head, hair dryer, and getting wet when he doesn't want to. He would go into a state of "GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE" when I would try to use either the shower head or the hair dryer in bath time. I couldn't do anything to help the "getting wet" issue so I solved the other two. I used one of our bathrooms. I would clear away anything breakable or damageable in any way from the bathroom and get 3 things: His shampoo, towel, and a small bucket. Opened the drain, filled the bathtub with water, and scooped water on to him to get him wet with the bucket. We made the word "bathroom" as literal as possible. Then I would let him out on the rooftop to airdry and have some fun in the sun. Lesson learned: If you want you dog clean, you're gonna sacrifice your own cleanliness, plus a lot of energy.
12. TOUGH LOVE. As dog lovers, its hard for us to scold our dogs or be firm when setting rules. But this is a necessary part of raising a dog. Sometimes, Bruno could sense that when I scold him I didn't really want to so he would just tease me and keep doing the bad act. The lesson learned here is that when you say something, harsh or not, mean it. Otherwise you have no grounds to call yourself a leader.
13. PUPPIES ARE BABIES. I mean they are just like having a human baby. Of course the baby period only lasts a few months not a few years. When they are still puppies, expect to get little sleep and a lot of crying. Especially when you're crate training them. When Bruno first came home, I had this fantasy in mind that he and I would sleep in my bed together every night. I was wrong. That first night started off very nice. Bruno and I got under the covers and fell asleep. One hour later, he decides to lick my face. Then he goes to sleep at my feet. Then he wakes up to chew my toes. Then he wants to sleep on the floor so I let him down. Then he wants back on the bed so I let him up. And so on for that first week. After that came the crate training (which didn't work) and he just plain hated it. He would cry for 3 hours straight before finally sleeping. So, what you should take out of this one is that if you get a puppy, expect to not get much sleep for a few weeks or so.
14. WALK THE DOG. I cannot even stress how important walking your dog is. Especially if your dog is the hyperactive kind. They need it physically and mentally. It serves as exercise and a way to establish your role as pack leader in their minds because they learn to follow you. So plain and simple, walk your dog every day for as long as they need it to last.
15. NEEDINESS. Sometimes your dog will want some extra attention from you. Bruno did that when it came to meal time. Sometimes he wouldn't eat unless he ate from my hands. He ate wet food so that was particularly quite a mess. But for the sake of him eating, I complied. I learned here that dogs are people too. Sometimes they just miss you so they do some annoying or inconvenient things to get more attention from you.
16. CRAZY LAPS. This refers to the hyperactive sort of dogs. Sometimes (or in my case almost every day for a few good months), your hyperactive dog starts acting a little bit nutty and starts getting the urge to really enthusiastically want to play with you. This in turn leads to a game of chase which eventually just leads to a little thing I like to call "crazy laps." Your hyper dog would just run laps around the house at grey hound speed. What I learned here is there is no point in trying to stop your dog or slow him down. Just let him get it out of his system.
17. WALK PROUD. I'm not saying be a stuck up rooster. Just walk with confidence. I learned I should always walk confidently from learning how to walk Bruno. Because, as per Cesar Milan's teachings, when you're confident, your dog doesn't have to feel like he needs to protect you. He can be more calm and relaxed knowing you have things under control. Plus, a dog follows a confident leader, not an insecure one. That goes with people too. Leadership requires confidence.
18. BANANAS. In case you didn't know, dogs love bananas. I used them as treats but I would mostly feed them to Bruno when his pottasium levels are down. Dogs actually have a bit of a sweet tooth. All you need to know here is that if you want a healthy treat for your dog, go bananas.
19. SOCIALISING. I'm sure we all realise how important having a social life is in the human world. But in the dog world, socialising is crucial to healthy state of mind. I introduced Bruno to as many members of the family as possible from day one, including the kids. Thankfully it payed off and he adores children. Plus dogs of his big build tend to be a bit rough if not properly socialised so I made sure that did not happen. So, one of to having a happy and healthy life, for you humans or for your pets, is socialising. Be sure to make new friends.
20. LEARN TO LET GO. This applies with many things. First of all, I learned to let go of the past. Dogs always live in the now so they are almost always calm. When you live in the past you can never move forward. Since dogs have a "move forward" mentality, naturally they are only concerned with the present. Second, and most hard learned lesson, is to let go of the things you're afraid to lose. Being super attached to something or someone is nice. But what happens when that person or thing is gone? You'll be miserable. So the best thing to do is accept that what is so special to you will not last forever and when the time comes to let go, do it. I learned this when I gave Bruno up for adoption. It was a necessary lesson, but that didn't make it any less painful. But, thank God, I have accepted it and am moving on with my life, never leaving Bruno out of my heart.
Well, I hope you guys learned a thing or two about raising a dog. I am forever grateful I got to experience the joy of being a dog owner. And one day, when you're absolutely ready, I hope you all get to experience this joy too.
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a comment telling me so or if you have any suggestions for upcoming posts or some general critiques. You can also leave them on my social media platforms on the right. Also don't forget to like Ask Hue Mann's facebook page and communicate amongst yourselves and with me over there. Also share the website if you think anyone you know would like it, and lets expand our Reader family.
I'll see you next week when I'm 20 years old and with another blog post!
Hue Mann, over and out!! ;)
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