Trigger the Digger

Andy's once-lovely lawn...

and the culprit...

or view here: Trigger Digging

Spider Torture, Ambulophobia and Travel Sickness

Trigger tortured a spider the other day before killing and eating it. It was both amusing and horrifying to watch. 

It turns out Trigger really, really doesn’t like walking. I thought it was in all dogs’ DNA to love going for walkies. I’ve explained this to Trigger, yet every time I open the door, he plants his bum on the hall floor, looks up and away from me as if to say “I don’t do walks.” I’ve taken to bribing him with toys to cross the threshold. Once he’s out, he thinks it’s his job to take me for a walk, so we spend the next twenty minutes battling it out. He’s getting it, gradually. 

Today Trigger was sick in the car. It was the first time I had taken him out in it using a safety harness instead of his crate, so he was next to me on the passenger seat. Before I could park safely to clean up the regurgitated mess, I had a good view of him eating it. That was only horrifying to watch.

Trigger's Bigger

Since my last post, Trigger has grown. Quite a lot. Here he is now:

He's still biting and chewing his way through various items of furniture, limbs of family members, and the lawn.

After waiting for a week after his second jab at the vets, we could finally venture out of our own backyard with Trigger on a lead instead of in my arms. I have to say he is not yet what you could call a keen walker, probably because of the road we live on. It's extremely busy with lots of scary big vehicles pounding past us all the time. So it's a battle getting along that bit. Once past it and in the field, he relaxes enough to enjoy it. Apparently walks should be kept quite short to start with. We've been out for half an hour and even that's a bit too long for his age really. He's got enough energy to keep going for hours, I'm sure, but it's not good for his bones, apparently.

We've been to two puppy-training classes so far. Trigger was very aloof the first time we went. He didn't want to know the other dogs there at all. The second time he was a lot more confident. He even went up to one dog voluntarily (it was one of those Dulux dogs - cute and enormous).

I'm trying to introduce him to new experiences as much as I can, like it says in the books. We've seen other dogs - though always at a distance, so not much use. I'm constantly on the look out for horses and other bigger animals so he can get experience of them, but even though it's been unseasonably warm, we've not met a single one. Perhaps horsey types are up and about a lot earlier than us! Will try the woods again tomorrow.

Trigger in the Snow

Trigger is now ten weeks old. He has had his first injection which went surprisingly well (he bit the vet, not me) and will have his second this Friday. A week after that, we’ll be free to roam and formal training will start. 

Trigger has already learnt to toilet outside and to let us know when he needs to go: the only accidents we’ve had in the last week have been because we weren’t listening! I think that’s pretty fast learning for such a young pup. 

He’s sleeping slightly less in the day now and eating more. He has grown: it’s not so easy to pick him up and carry him these days. 

We are still struggling with the razor sharp teeth he likes to use when ‘playing’ with us and the fact he never, ever listens when we tell him to stop doing something he’s not allowed to.

According to the dog training books I've read, you should NEVER, EVER, ignore bad behaviour. But they also say shouting, yelling, smacking and anything else all lead to out-of-control dogs. There is no advice as to what to actually do to stop them chewing your leg or your furniture. Standing completely still and silent seems towork, though, as Trigger soon gets the message you're not playing and wanders off (this doesn't work if his teeth are actually sunk into your flesh since the odd yelp is bound to come out). But isn't that the same as 'ignoring' the bad behaviour? The only other methods are physically stopping him by either grabbing, or pushing him off or away. This works for five nano seconds, so you have to be patient and keep doing that for hours on end while he alternates between ignoring you and trying to gnaw your hand off. Distraction with toys also helps - again for a nano second each time.

I’m told by other dog owners that they do grow out of it eventually. I’m glad because he’s shredded three pairs of trousers already. 

Seven Days Later

After one week of having Trigger the puppy, I declare myself officially exhausted. 

I have learnt a tremendous amount, such as; watching dozens of episodes of The Dog Whisperer and It’s the Dog or Me cannot prepare you for real life with a puppy. Reading all the books there are on dog behaviour and training is similarly great in theory but tends to all go out the window when you feel your puppy’s sharp teeth digging into your trouser leg and he hangs there determinedly. The more you move and shake to get him off, the tighter his hold and the more fun he seems to be having. Standing still is hard to do and feels counter intuitive, but it works because he then he gets bored of that game pretty quickly. 

Thankfully, as he is still so young, he sleeps a lot. And when he is asleep, I have to get as many of my jobs done as possible. Already in a week the house has gone to pot and so have I. I look even more like a scarecrow than usual!

Trigger on the Ball

Our lives have changed! Trigger is lovely and so funny. He didn't whine on his first night with us and so far he hasn't woken us for a night-time wee break. In fact, each morning, I have woken up before him!

His energy is unbelievable. My hands are covered with the 'reminders' of his play-biting, and the carpet is covered with - well the inevitable. But he does sometimes make it outside as long as we are observant and quick enough.

He already knows 'sit,' but pays no attention when he's in one of his fugues. He has several of those every day.

Home

Here's Alice with Trigger in the first few hours of arriving in his new home.

Japanese Spitz versus Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Before settling on a Japanese Spitz, I did plenty of research to find a dog that would suit our family and lifestyle. A few folk were rather disparaging about the fact that I had decided on a pedigree dog. I explained that my first port of call had been to the local dog rescue homes. There are a few in this area. Interestingly, and sadly, the vast majority of dogs they were trying to re-home were Staffies. Now, I am not prejudiced against any breed. Any dog can become aggressive and dangerous but it is a reflection of the owner, not the breed. While the consequences of letting a small- or medium-sized dog get out of control can be awful, with a strong, powerful beast they can be tragic. A Staffie that has been left at a rescue home is never going to be a viable option for a home with two children under eleven, and a rescue organisation would never allow it in any case. There was no one locally who happened to have a mongrel litter. In short, mutt pups are not as easy to come by as you might think.

Exciting Times

Breeder called: we're going to pick Trigger up this weekend!

Why a Dog and Why Now?

We had no pets after Poppy's demise. When I set up my home on my own, I just about managed to look after myself so did not consider getting a pet except for goldfish. Anyone can look after them, surely. Well, even that did not go so well. One bullied the other until it died and I was stuck with one greedy, fat fish until he died a natural death.

When my son was little, I thought it would be fun to share looking after a pet with him. I had discovered after looking after a neighbour's cat for a week that I was allergic to them, so that was out. I decided a budgerigar might be a good option. They're quite intelligent and can even learn to 'talk'. However, I found out the mess from one small creature can be unbelievable, and Georgie never did learn to talk or do anything all that interesting except freak out my husband, Andy, by swooping down and missing his bald head by a centimetre. When we were trying to sell our house, it was hard to keep it pristine for viewings, so I took Georgie to live with my mother's budgie. It was supposed to be temporary but he was so happy there with a friend to talk to, he stayed until the end of his life.

That was the end of life with pets until Alice came along. From as soon as she was able to, she showed us how much she was fascinated by, and loved, animals. All animals. Any animal. She would spend hours stalking neighbourhood cats to give them a stroke. She would (still does) beg me to ask anyone passing with their dog to ask if she can pet it for a bit. She loves to visit friends with pets and spends a large part of our time visiting with the animal(s). Alice would even get ladybirds to crawl on her hand and ask me if she could have that as a pet.

I've 'borrowed' guinea pigs so she can experience looking after something cute and furry. The kids loved them, although for me they were just a bit, well, stinky and boring. I was glad to give them back.

So, a pet would have to be found and I began to think: who's going to be doing all the donkey work when the novelty wears off? It would be me of course. I looked at rabbits when a friend wanted to rehome theirs, but remembered that they're cute, but a bit smelly and, well, boring. Gradually I began to tempt myself with thoughts of owning a dog. Now I don't go out to work, children are grown enough, so if not now, it will be never again.

Trigger at Four Weeks Old.

Back to Poppy for a Minute

Of course I could not kill the rabbit. Instead I managed to bundle her into a box and the bedraggled, sobbing lot of us raced up to the vet’s. 

He explained how small a rabbit’s leg bone was and how difficult it would be put it in a cast to mend. Usually such small creatures with devastating injuries were put to sleep. My sister whose pet it was presented a picture of heartbreak and despair on hearing this news. Perhaps it was because of her that the vet said he would try to save her. 

Poppy looked pretty weird thumping about in a cast. We had returned her to hutch life to keep her safe and she survived into old age, even though her leg never did mend quite perfectly. 

A First Look

This is Trigger at ten days old.