Carrie’s Ramblings

Dog Days
Carrie posted in Uncategorized on June 25th, 2007

*WARNING: THE CONTENTS OF THIS ENTRY ARE DISTURBING AND NOT FOR THE FAINT OF STOMACH*

I have a dog. Her name is Maya. She’s a Lab/Weimaraner mix. I think. I’ve never had a dog before. The good thing about having this dog is that if I realise that taking care of a dog is not for me, at the end of the month, I give her back. You see, I’m only dogsitting. Actually, I’m housesitting and the dog was part of the deal.

Maya is a very good dog. She’s been well-trained. Actually, I’ve found that most of the dogs in the Yukon are well-trained. When I’m jogging I often see people actually taking the time to give their dogs instructions and teach them what to do instead of just dragging them around by their leashes and letting them jump up on everyone and everything that happens to come within a 10 metre radius. For example, I walk with Maya 3 times a day up behind the house in a greenbelt full of various nature trails. (These would be the same trails on which I spent many hours not exactly sure where I am or where I want to go. Read: lost.) I see all kinds of people using the trails to walk their dogs and I’ve seen exactly 1 dog on a leash, ever. In fact, I’ve only ever seen one other person CARRYING a leash. I don’t. I don’t even know where one is in the house. But I’ve never had a problem with my dog or other people’s dogs. Usually you just call out and say, “Mine’s good, is yours?” and they’ll say, “Yep!” and the dogs do the little meeting thing. Then I continue on my way and the other person on theirs and the dogs part. Works fine.

Maya is good at fetching and the giving back and loves Frisbees but she doesn’t really do it out of the yard because there are too many distractions. We went to the park once to play because the yard isn’t really big and I kept throwing the Frisbee and then having to go get it myself because she was just not interested. I even told her that everyone was watching from their windows and laughing at me but even her concern for my social standing would not convince her to get that Frisbee.

But Maya will Come, Sit, Heel, Stay, Wait and Halt really well. I can even call out for to halt in the middle of chasing a squirrel or something and she’ll skid to a stop and sit down. It’s impressive! The Wait command is handy for crossing roads so she doesn’t run out into traffic and waits until I catch up and we cross together. She doesn’t bark at other dogs or howl but she does do this whiney thing which is somewhat irritating only because it pulls on my heart strings and makes me stop and pet her.

She’s also made me go jogging everyday which is just about the only thing that can make me go jogging everyday. It’s been good. We’ve got a good relationship. She’s the type of dog that can make you love dogs. She also follows me around EVERYWHERE. Up the stairs, downstairs, into the front yard, to the couch, the kitchen, the bedroom, the car, the bike shed, back upstairs, to the bathroom (yes, bathroom). I drew the line when she poked her head in the shower. She was a pound dog so I guess she’s got some kind of abandonment complex. It makes me feel loved most of the time and then super guilty when I leave her behind. Especially with that whiney thing.

Then last night, she had EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA ALL OVER MY FRONT HALL. It was pretty much the single most digusting thing I have ever come across in my entire existence. I will never complain about cat barf again. Nothing compares. I won’t be able to eat for 2 days.

So while having a dog has been fun and I enjoy it, one month just might cure me of ever wanting anything more than a plant as a pet.