When we brought Sadie into the house she seemed to adjust quite well. We were expecting at least a little culture shock, but Sadie handled the transition like a champ. We did not observe any negative behavior whatsoever, just a little dog trying to find her way around, peering at us with those big eyes in wonder. We were in no way thinking of our home as a permanent solution; just a good place to stay for a few days while we found her the perfect family.
We had already decided that we would not allow her to beg for food nor jump on the bed. You see, Misty was actually trained to beg by my older sister; whelping, whining and carrying on quite the show with each and every meal. Misty also had her own way of playing on the bed, digging feverishly, throwing off the pillows, until she reached the sheets. She had quite the predictable nightly routine. While irresistibly cute, we didn’t think we’d be able to handle similar behavior coming from another animal.
Sadie smelled the house out, and we put her little mat and bowls in the kitchen. I prepared dinner and without even waiting for the prayer to be finished . . . Sadie was already begging! Rather than whine and howl like Misty, Sadie’s begging consisted of jumping up on her hind legs and waving at us! I had never seen a dog do that and immediately my husband and I burst into laughter! “What is this?” we thought, “she’s already so comfortable with us!” Sadie persisted asking for food throughout the meal by waving and also tapping us on the thighs. She was capturing our hearts by the minute. (I know we weren’t exactly strict, but hey…it’s our house!).
Later in the evening Sadie made her way to our room and jumped right up on the bed! We had been warned to move very slowly around her, so as not to startle her. When I approached her, rather than fear me, she rolled over so that I could rub her belly! Once more, my husband & I just looked at one another. He remarked how unusual it was that she already trusted us. It was as if she was unfazed by being uprooted from her former home mere hours before. Now she was asking for more attention. Later on . . . wouldn’t you know it? The playful routine Misty used to enjoy, Sadie repeated. It was uncanny that 2 dogs could behave so similarly.
The two things we vowed we wouldn’t allow were nixed within a few short hours! We were so relieved that Sadie felt safe, we really didn’t care.
We had already decided that we would not allow her to beg for food nor jump on the bed. You see, Misty was actually trained to beg by my older sister; whelping, whining and carrying on quite the show with each and every meal. Misty also had her own way of playing on the bed, digging feverishly, throwing off the pillows, until she reached the sheets. She had quite the predictable nightly routine. While irresistibly cute, we didn’t think we’d be able to handle similar behavior coming from another animal.
Sadie smelled the house out, and we put her little mat and bowls in the kitchen. I prepared dinner and without even waiting for the prayer to be finished . . . Sadie was already begging! Rather than whine and howl like Misty, Sadie’s begging consisted of jumping up on her hind legs and waving at us! I had never seen a dog do that and immediately my husband and I burst into laughter! “What is this?” we thought, “she’s already so comfortable with us!” Sadie persisted asking for food throughout the meal by waving and also tapping us on the thighs. She was capturing our hearts by the minute. (I know we weren’t exactly strict, but hey…it’s our house!).
Later in the evening Sadie made her way to our room and jumped right up on the bed! We had been warned to move very slowly around her, so as not to startle her. When I approached her, rather than fear me, she rolled over so that I could rub her belly! Once more, my husband & I just looked at one another. He remarked how unusual it was that she already trusted us. It was as if she was unfazed by being uprooted from her former home mere hours before. Now she was asking for more attention. Later on . . . wouldn’t you know it? The playful routine Misty used to enjoy, Sadie repeated. It was uncanny that 2 dogs could behave so similarly.
The two things we vowed we wouldn’t allow were nixed within a few short hours! We were so relieved that Sadie felt safe, we really didn’t care.
