Wierd-ish week indeed

I've had a week that's been even crazier than most. First if all, the yorkie from across the street was almost abandoned by his owner until the owner found out he (the yorkie) has been getting out of the house and yard and parking on our front porch every day. That set off three different visits to plead with us to please take him because she couldn't keep him. So, either we take him in or risk him getting hit by a car while running all over the neighborhood looking for food and shelter. So, for the sake of Animal Control (who would have to clean up the mess) we took him in. The stipulation is that we will keep him until we find a Yorkie rescue that can take him.

The girls call him Benji. I call him Benjamin (because I really can't stand the name Benji and he really doesn't come when you call him, anyway.) We have all decided his official name will be Benjamin Yorkshire Pudding III (the third, because it turns out we are at least his third home) or Pudding Paws when we are feeling affectionate. I'll refer to him as PP (because he also does that...a lot... on the floor.)


I have never really liked little dogs because 1) they tend to bark at anything and everything and they just don't stop, 2) they tend to be a bit neurotic (biting, being territorial, chewing, hoarding toys,) and 3) they tend to pee on the floor wherever they feel like it no matter the training they have. I will say that PP doesn't bark a lot... but the other two, yeah, he does those a lot. The neurotic part is more a training issue and the fact that he is not neutered. It also has to do with him being a Yorkie with the Little Dog Syndrome. He tries to compensate for being small by being especially fierce. He's not really aggressive, just pushy.

BBD (our Big Black Dog) is not too pleased with the little guy at all. We actually came home the other evening to find BBD cowering and yelping and shaking every time we reached for him. We assumed there had been a tussle while we were gone so we got BBD to the vet first thing in the morning. The problem? BBD is a wimp. There was nothing physically wrong with him. He was apparently just freaked out too much by PP jumping up on him to play (or maybe to "dominate", we're not really sure.) For a dog that is between the size of a Labrador and a Golden Retriever, he is reduced to a cowering wimp by a dog that he could eat as a snack and still have room left over.

The girls really liked PP at first, but that was quickly extinguished when they found out that he might have hurt BBD. Now, they are kind to him and tolerate him, but I no longer have fears of a huge melt down when we DO find a new home for him. LH seemed to become very attached to him at first, but even she is getting tired of cleaning up after him. Plus, he apparently has chosen her shins as his new mate because she has to stop him from humping her legs every time she sits down anywhere. (Kind of gross, kind of funny, but not acceptable.) TD and EG were not too sure of him to begin with because they both have issues with small dogs (because they jump and bark and appear that they will bite.) Once PP learned not to jump up, they felt a lot more comfortable, but I don't think they will be extremely sorry to see him go.

DH made it very clear that this is a temporary situation. He prefers to have a choice in the animals we bring into our family and and he would not have chosen PP for himself. Besides the reasons mentioned above (messes, jumping) PP has a limp. At first it looked to be Hip Dysplasia from the way he held it and that set of all sorts of warning bells for DH. After talking with the owner, we found out that PP got into a fight (or fights) with the other dogs he lived with BEFORE she adopted him and he has had the limp ever since.  That made me feel better (because it wasn't a genetic deformity that might have other defects along with it) and worse (because it shows a pattern of misbehavior or at least fighting with other dogs.) If he was chomped by another dog severely enough to cause a permanent limp he was either a runt and not healthy or too aggressive and a bigger dog tried to put him in his place. Considering the way he acts around BBD, I am guessing the latter.

So, this week, we have been trying to referee the battle for the pecking order between the dogs, help the girls understand how to act around him (to prevent him from becoming spoiled), and try and get used to a little dog who apparently doesn't ask to be let out when he needs to be and is too small (or stubborn) to use the doggie door that BBD uses. The girls are trying to learn how to show both dogs equal affection so one doesn't get depressed and the other get territorial. The treat bag is getting used more and more to try and make things equal. DH is trying to come to term with agreeing to the whole thing because he was totally against it and was more than happy to run the dog off every evening with a water gun.(Maybe it was just an excuse to use the Super Soaker, who knows?)

Truthfully, if he was a puppy that had never been trained (or especially sweet), I might be more willing to handle all of this without frustration. Unfortunately there are a whole host of other issues that this brings. To keep him healthy, we would need to add him to the pet care place that BBD is on, and that will be an extra $30 a month (that's not a lot, but we are almost finished paying off the ear surgery the BBD had last year so I was looking forward to our payment going down from $80 per month.) Because he appears to be over a year old, it means that neutering is not covered under a pet care plan so we would have to pay $250 out of pocket just for that (that is on top of the EXTRA $30 per month for the pet care plan.)

The money really isn't the big issue, though. I have a hurt back right now. I can't bend over to tie my shoes, let alone pick up the mess that PP makes so I have to holler at the girls all day an night to "bring the spray and the paper towels. My Awesome Assignment has been extended for another week (more on that in a bit) so we all have to leave the dogs at home alone during the day, at least from the time DH leaves for work until the girls get home from school. We might have to deal with our landlord about the second animal and I really don't want to have to pay for another pet deposit and pay for the to be carpet changed when we leave because of the damage PP is causing  with accidents. (Ok, so maybe money IS a big issue.)


Besides that I really, really, hate dogs that pee everywhere. It makes me mad, it grosses me out, and I have a really hard time feeling affection for any dog that does it. If BBD has an accident, it means he is really, really, sick. When little dogs pee on the floor, it is rarely an accident. It is either a training issue, or a vindication for some slight against them (that you usually have no idea about.) There is a reason we didn't get a puppy 8 years ago when we found BBD, and why we weren't looking for a puppy to begin with. I don't want to have to house train a dog and I don't want to have to clean up the mess while we are trying to train him.

If we can get PP to the point where we don't have to clean up messes every afternoon and morning, then I might start to like him more. If we can get BBD and PP to get along so we aren't worried about them tussling when we are gone, I might consider keeping him around. If we could get him neutered without paying a week's worth of groceries for it, I might not resent his very presence. Otherwise, I am looking for somewhere to send him where he will be happier and so will we (at least me and DH.)

Debbie "One Dog" Lollar