Hannah Raby on the trials and tribulations of sharing your life with a ‘devil-dog’, even if it is just a four month old puppy.
Roxy or ‘Devil dog’ as I so often call her is a 4 month old German shepherd. She may be a puppy, but she is more like the size of an Elephant. I thought she was cute at first, all quiet sleeping in the corner. I soon learnt that was not the case, I should have seen it coming. When we went to get her she jumped all over her mum, chewed my Uggs, pulled the table cloth like a rag and ran head first into the door as she didn’t realise it was closed. But she was so cute, I took no notice. Also the house was very dusty and I was choking so I couldn’t wait to leave. (I’m allergic see).
It didn’t take her long to settle in, and wow did she settle in alright. She had only slept in the day because she was tired after crying all night, and I mean ALL night.
It started with paper training, something she didn’t believe in. Of all the places to pee in the house, she chose the carpet, the only carpet in the house. Now, she’s trained to go outside, if it isn’t dark or raining. Otherwise she will come and find you in the house and pee in front of you.
Her fear is the Hoover. She barks at it, jumps on it, and then runs away. This is before you have switched it on.
Roxy’s favourite toys are shoes. Your shoes; whether they are on your feet or off them. When she gets them it usually ends with a game of cat and mouse. Now it’s bribery. She has my shoe, I have her bone. Sometimes she does prefer the shoe. This becomes a problem when she has your college work. Your coursework actually, that had to be in that morning and the only excuse you have is one that they are in no way going to believe.
Let’s get to the things she wants to do, that you really don’t want her to do. She likes to chew my laptop lead, and chewed straight through my mobile phone charger. I don’t know about you but my mobile is my life. She ripped my mother’s new cushion, I have turned it over in hope she won’t notice. She chewed a hole in the carpet; I moved the sofa thinking she wouldn’t notice. But the first thing she said when she came in was, why has the sofa been moved? Last but not least, because I’ll be here all day is the garden. She likes to dig and launch herself into the pond. She only digs up my mother’s favourite plants. I left her for two minutes and then she decided to do the gardening. (above)
Don’t get me wrong I love Roxy, But she’s hard work. Whilst I have been writing the last few sentences she had her head in the box of chocolates which I wrestled her for and now she is running off with the remote.
