My 8-month old pup’s name is Josie. We got her when she was four months old from the animal shelter. According to their story, she started blue rat terrier sitting with a pet store owner who had to move and couldn’t take Josie with them. What do you think about that? You’ll find out why later.
We bought Josie a lot of toys to chew on and took her to the vet for the spay surgery. We were told that if she wasn’t spayed within 60 days, we would have to find her another home. Our son and I took Josie to the animal hospital and she came back happy and with no signs of discomfort.
Baby Teeth
Josie grew up and eventually lost her baby teeth. She chewed more after getting new teeth but eventually, she started napping at a consistent time. She started chewing things that were not allowed but we had purchased toys and a spray to deter her from doing so.
After returning to work full time, Josie took out her anger on the personal areas of the house; this behavior went on for several days. She only messes with certain parts of the house, such as the kitchen.
One option is to tire her out physically or put her in a pen. We started to take walks every day and play with her for 30 minutes every day in the evening. I even began waking up 15 minutes earlier to play with her before work. If it tuckered her out, I couldn’t tell. She loves playing with balls and the water hose so we got an enclosed backyard for her to roam in. We also installed dog doors so that she could come and go as she pleases. I have a pond with 16 big fish that are as big as koi carp and we had to buy fencing to go around it and keep her away when she wanted to play because she thought they were fun like the hose. The fish disagreed. When she wants to play in the water, she just drags it over for us and gets excited when we turn on the water since if that happens, we’ll be in trouble!
Live of Dog
I have problems typing this because she really likes to chase the movable cursor. My 8-month-old daughter is very interested in her surroundings and she has no problems just digging up things that are on my patio or in the dirt. I’ve taken her to the vet several times to make sure she’s passing everything appropriately, but they need an x-ray. When I priced out the x-rays, they were more expensive than I thought! The dog also eats gravel and mud from around my yard and from my carpet. She even eats things like tree branches that come into our house and then bites up all of her toys. My backyard used to have plants in it, but my daughter chewed up all of them with joy until I removed most of them. Hollies are poisonous to animals so when I forgot one was there and I used my own clippers on it, should little monster get a hold of it and chowed down as well–luckily she seems fine.
Jack Russell
Right now Josie is being a challenge and is very hyper. She’s more like a Jack Russell than our old dog. I think we’re winning though because people brought her back to the shelter. I’m 55 years old and never had a dog before, but my son wanted one when he was 18 so he has someone to walk within the evenings because his schedule is really tight and he’ll be going away for boot camp soon. My husband couldn’t take care of a dog so I offered to stay home with Josie while I train her, who will turn 1 year old in November (although she’s been difficult with teething).
These dogs are bred to be hyper, and if you have young kids, you should invest in an obedience course. There are some reasonably priced videos on the internet for people who want to train their own dogs. These dogs need to know that they don’t need to be the protector all of the time, so I’m always there for them.
When working with Josie, be sure to respect her space and have boundaries, but she is a cheerful dog. However, they are still working on the table thing since she can now jump up onto it from the floor. Josie would be happier in the pen, but it’s okay for now, as long as my vet says she is most likely one of the happiest dogs she sees. There was no guarantee that we adopted her; just think of what might have happened if we didn’t.
Local Animal Shelter
There are many ways you can help your local animal shelter. You could donate best dog food or coupons, or even adopt a pet. Scouts and other organizations could volunteer to walk the animals on Saturdays, clean their cages, and play with nice animals. This type of activity will help people who work at the shelter and give children high-quality interactions with animals.
What if I told you that the Dog Whisperer is one of the best shows on TV? People are pretty divided about whether or not it’s entertaining, but I watch it – and it helps me. Never give up, because you’re bound to find your answer eventually.