The special dog

[lorihart]

As most of you know, we got a puppy last spring and we also have a full grown dog as well..all 135 lbs of him
Anyway, I went home the other day and DH says.."I think Charlie is special" I said, " Do you mean you think he mental delayed"? He said," No, he is a special dog". But he did mean that.I know he was mostly joking but I think there is a part of him that thinks there is a possiblity.
We had the first dog when he was 8 monthes and almost fully grown and he was never hyper or did anything weird.So I think Charlie is just acting like I puppy and DH is not use to it.
He said he watched him outside the other day and he was bouncing along, bounced all the way over to Chico and chomped on his tail and ran away.When Chico had went about his business again...Charlie bounces all the way over again and does the same thing.
DH says that when you tell him something he looks at you with a blank look on his face.ME....I think that he is a puppy and doesn't give a rats a$$ what you are saying to him b/c he is going to do what he wants.
But this did get me thinking.I don't think our dog is "special" but there must be some out there somewhere and how would you know? As anyone had a dog and thought that there was maybe something wrong? I think when animals do silly things we think that they are just being silly...but when they bark out of know where...did they really hear something?
Just a thought,
Lori

 

[merrybaker]

All my pets are" Special " to me LOL maybe not to my neighbors LOL .I have a Puppy ,(1yr)SaintBarnard His name is Moose ,Hes at least 140 if not 160. I wonder how much bigger he will get LOL .

 

[sparrow]

My family owned half a dog once (we had him a few months of the year) and boy was he odd. He was a hotdog named Elton; we used to find him standing in the tub, staring at his reflection in the faucet with a really depressed look on his face.

Sparrow


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[wutherhi]

I had a sweet little poodle once who was actually diagnosed by the veterinarian as being "special," but then I already knew that. She was my favorite dog of all time, and I miss her still, even fifteen years later.

My Reenie had her limitations -- she did circles when she got excited, for example, but she could only spin in one direction. When she needed to stop spinning, the poor thing had to find an open doorway to sort of fall through. And she couldn't wag her tail right. I had almost forgotten that. She had no rhythm whatsoever. One wag to the left, three to the right, a little hesitation in the middle, up a little, down a little. No one, least of all her, knew where that tail would fly off to. Sometimes it would just sort of vibrate and not wag at all. She was funny and endearing. A real charmer. I adored her.

At the vet's office once, when we were discussing her, the veterinarian also mentioned a boxer he'd once treated whose tongue protruded from his mouth all the time, almost like it was too big for his mouth, which I've heard is a symptom of Down's Syndrome in humans. I don't know if dogs can be born with Down's Syndrome, but the vet said this boxer was also special, and also exceptionally sweet-natured.

You know, I've always wondered if that little sweetie pie Mr. Winkle is a special pet, too. And it's his tongue that makes him so adorable, I think. I just love him!

Shari

 

[andtckrtoo]

Lori - I would say he's just being a puppy. I have an incredibly smart dog (he's an Aussie and a Search Dog, and smarter than a lot of people I know) and he gives me that "DUH! I'm a dog" look all the time. Puppies play, and the chomping on Chico's tail is simply seeing what he can get away with. In fact his playful nature could actually mean he's smarter because he's testing boundries, learning what amuses you and learning what he has to do to get what he wants (if he makes you laugh, you might reward him with a pat or a treat, so he wants to make you laugh by doing silly things so you reward him). If you're training him and he gives you that look, he either does not get it, or he wants to know how serious you are. If you repeat the command, he figures he can wait 'til the third or fourth time to obey you. Try clicker training him and only rewarding with a treat when the command is obeyed on the first request.

 

[gidget1978]

Thanks for your stories everyone.

He is very funny and I don't think for a minute that he is special...or that kind of special anyway, DH is just not use to a puppy.He does alot of things that he tries to get away with.The last few monthes of Chico's life have been very stressful for him.
I love him soooooo much b/c he as such a wonderful attitude.You can tell he is so happy go lucky and he doesn't have a bad day.Now, Chico is older and there are days that you can tell he is in a crusty mood or if he mad at you, you could go sit my him and he will move
I trained him with treats for the using the washroom outside. And as soon as he comes in the house now he runs to the cupboard.When I ask him if he wants a treat he will run to the kitchen and if I say, do you need to go outside he runs to the door.
He is so funny and I can see how animals can cheer up elderly people or people who are down and out.
Lori