At the time our family got a dog I didn't know that it would require a lot of time and commitment to keep a good care of an animal. There was a thought in my mind that a dog couldn't be fully a part of the family like another person would, since I had already a hamster that didn't that much time off my schedule. After a while with the dog I realized that you need to take her out for walks and not just any type of ones - you need to actually walk more than just a few minutes out there and let her do her business in peace. There's no need to rush the walks and you really need to go to take her out no matter what the weather looks like. You need to go out even when it would be freezing cold or flaming hot. You can't just decide when your dog has to go. If your dog needs to go out in the early hours of a morning, you're going to let her. No exceptions.
I didn't know that dogs have breaking points when it comes to the issue of anger just like us humans. I also learnt that their anger is tempered, they underreact. Dogs take offence if you pull their tale or unduly interfere when they are having a meal. I remember accidentally stepping on my dog. It let out a loud wail. I expected a painful bite but it only placed its teeth lightly on my leg. What a wonderful restraint!
I practically don't know anything about caring for dogs when we had our first puppy. That's why I always asked my husband on what to do. When the puppy was continually barking because it was tied to the doorway (inside the house), I had to ignore it. But later on when I was enamored to the puppy, I had learned to caress it and that would stop the barking.
My first experience in bathing a dog was when our puppy was with us for 2 months. It was my husband who bathed it but then I had taken over when I began to love our pet. It was really funny because I was in my office attire and was leaving for work when I saw the dirty coat of Jedi, that's her name. I thought it was easy to bathe her so I poured water on her and applied the shampoo. And then rinse. That simple. So easy right? No. Jedi shook her body and the shampoo seemed to have stuck on my dress. That's how I learned how to give a dog a bath.
I already had practice with my aunt's dogs when they had to stay here for awhile so I pretty much know how to feed and bathe them. What I didn't know is that a shihtzu pretty much needs more looking after because no matter how much water she takes (and we thought she's already a heavy drinker), she still needs more. I took her for a check up when I noticed that her urine is turning orange. The vet prescribed medicated dog food and some antibiotics that took care of the problem. He said that crystals were present in the urine and was at the stage when it's almost forming into stones. Good thing I took her just in time too. Now I make her drink water more, even syringe it into her mouth just to be safe.
›
Whаt wаs thе оnе thing yоu didn't knоw whеn yоu gоt yоur first dоg?
