The one where I talk about the first (almost) month with Pike.
This morning, I told D00d that I hated everyone and everything inside our house and said that if I could escape and never come back, I absolutely would. I wasn't joking. I'm not writing this in an attempt to gain sympathy. This is a bed I made for myself. Instead, this is a cautionary tale that I'm writing for myself in the unlikely (but still totally possible) event that I will suggest getting another puppy someday. It's my Sarah Connor moment. If that day is today (said to future Kim), DO NOT DO IT. JUST DON'T.
I'm going to come right out and say it: Pike is a bad puppy. He's not just energetic and rambunctious. No, I am convinced he is an actual demon living here inside my house. OK, not really, but I won't be the least bit surprised if he starts projectile vomiting pea soup someday soon.
The hour of 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. is when things really go off the rails. That's when his behavior reaches peak monster level. Whether he's grabbing the dish towel and parading it around like a flag (which could be funny if it was happening to someone else), thrashing his razor-teeth-filled head around like a velociraptor, or tormenting one of the other dogs, it's just so much more than I expected or anticipated. The other day, I described him as the Chris Farley motivational speaker character. He's draining the soul from my body.
And before you ask, let me tell you that he has never been fed after midnight. But he is exposed to sunlight every day and he has been given a bath where water was involved. Is it possible he's a gremlin? I'm not prepared to discount anything at this point.
I think I'd stand a better chance against him if he was an only dog, but he's the third in an already chaotic household. Maybe if I didn't have to deal with three demanding pets mostly by myself, I'd have a better outlook. But I do have to deal with three demanding dogs, along with a demanding job, and I'm in a bad mental place. We're working on crate training him, and to his credit, he's doing fairly well. At bedtime, he goes right in and sleeps through the night. But containing him at other times during the day is proving to be so much more difficult than I'd imagined. With my other two, I was able to use a combination of baby gates and play pens to keep them wrangled and out of trouble. But at not even three months old, he's too large for the play pen. And yesterday, as I was returning from taking Omar outside, I witnessed him jump over the gate across the dining room doorway. Just hopped right over it, like a horse in a show ring. FML. On Tuesday, he ate a rock. Not a tiny pebble. A rock. I'm still waiting for it to come out. And, yes, that requires searching through his poop to see if it's in there. If it doesn't come out on its own, he may require surgery to prevent an intestinal blockage. FML. Prior to bringing him home, I joined a number of Vizsla, Weimaraner, and Weizsla social media groups. I wanted to familiarize myself with the breeds and gain a better understanding of what they require in order to thrive. At least half of the posts I've seen are from both new and veteran owners asking for help because their dogs are so destructive. I've read stories about dogs that have destroyed their metal crates with their jaws and hurt themselves in the process, dogs that have taken to eating window sills as they panic and try to get to wherever their owners are because they suffer from severe separation anxiety, and dogs that are so obnoxious on walks that it's resulted in owners with cracked ribs and other broken bones. FML.
I am living in terror at the thought of Pike growing to become one of those dogs. It's seriously having a negative impact on my ability to enjoy him at all.
I'm hoping that these people never did any kind of training with their dogs. We started our obedience classes last week and have been diligently working on basic commands every day. We have another session tonight where we learn how to keep him from biting. Please send thoughts and prayers that it works because, Lordy, that's a big issue for us.
I'm hoping these people aren't providing daily mental stimulation for their dogs. I'm using a snuffle mat and interactive puzzles every day to engage his mind and develop his nose skills.
I'm hoping that these people don't spend time engaging their dogs in physically exhausting exercises. Because we don't have a yard that can be fenced in and he's still too young to go on lengthy walks, we bought an aerial zipline run for him. We hope to install it and put it to work this weekend.
Will that do the trick? Will our efforts mold him into a good canine citizen? I guess only time will tell. He has moments where I think he's going to be okay. Like right now, when he's sleeping in his bed at my feet and making some crazy old person groaning noises. But those sweet moments are unfortunately overshadowed by the ones where he's insane. And, yes, I realize he's still very, very young and that my expectations are way too high. I'm spoiled by two fairly well-behaved fur kids. This new one has upset the zen of our home. Maybe it's what we need. Things happen for a reason, right?
So that's where things stand for now. Keep checking this space for regular updates on our journey with Omar, Pike, and Beezy. Pretty sure there won't be many dull moments. Take care and peace out until next time.
Comments