Trigger the dog

In honor of the first anneversary of his joining our family, I would like to make a post about my dog.
For those of you now scratching your heads in puzzlement, no, that isn't my dog. That is the dog that started it. But to be fair, I shouldn't give that puppy all the credit...

I have wanted a dog for a LONG time. I knew better than to ask for one as a child. My mother would allow (outdoor) cats, but no dogs. They poop on the lawn. (Of course, that meant a quick goodbye to the cat who decided the lawn was her litterbox.) But I dreamed of the day I could have a big dog to curl up by my feet in the evenings and put his big head in my lap. And since Beorn grew up with dogs, he was Ok with my dream. We would talk about adopting some big lab or retriever when we had a house. Then when the kids came along, we heard the typical child cries of "can we get a dog?" "When we have our own house," was always our answer. But as the years went by, the whole house (and dog) thing seemed less and less likely. It didn't help that our oldest kitty, Padme, truly HATED all canines and with her advanced age, we feared bringing a dog into the family would literally kill her. But... once we closed on the house we started to hear cries of "now we can get a dog!" We tried to postpone things with vague comments about getting the house finished and "what about Padme?"

Then one morning there was a dog in my backyard.

Yup, we woke up to a dog - without a collar - running around our fully fenced backyard. I ran out and closed the gate, so he couldn't run off and out into the big road. Then I went to the few neighbors I knew, and some I didn't, asking if they knew the dog. No luck. So the dog stayed back there. The kids were ecstatic, thinking this would be our dog. They were having a great time playing with him. I had to explain that obviously this fat little dog was somebody's baby and we would find its family. We finally did find the owners, late that night, after I called the county shelter to see if anyone was looking for a puggle.

And after that puppy went home, it really did seem like something was missing. I would look out the kitchen window and the backyard seemed strangely empty without kids and dog back there playing. So, Beorn and I started discussing really getting a dog. I started looking online, checking out breed profiles and various shelters. I started emailing people, letting them know what kind of dog we were looking for. After sending out a few of those "laundry list" emails, I realized we were never going to find such an animal. We wanted a small/medium sized dog (we decided the big dog of my dreams wouldn't work well in our small house and yard), one who was good with kids and good with cats, who was housebroken and well behaved and would be a good walking companion for me. Not too much to ask for, right? But, if such a dog existed, he wouldn't be homeless at a shelter or rescue, he'd be in someone's home. People don't get rid of those kinds of dogs. But we kept looking. I even made our quest an issue of prayer. Finally, I thought to email the rescue we got Arwen (the world's best kitty) through. I got a prompt response, with a couple suggestions, and an invitation to their next adoption event to meet those dogs.

So, we went. With the clear explanation to the kids that we were just interviewing dogs. This was no guarentee that we would come home with a dog. We interviewed several small dogs. Some passed the kitty test. Some didn't. Some were cute with the kids. Some ignored them. None were "just right." I was ready to try one more of the small ones, when Beorn said "what about that one?" pointing to this huge (relatively speaking, of course), skinny, mean looking dog. "I've been watching him and I've been really impressed." Where all the little dogs had been barking away in their crates, he had just been standing there looking around. I was not attracted to that dog, but I said Ok. We got him out. He passed the kitty test. He passed the kid test. He seemed very eager to please. We put him back and interviewed another dog. We talked. Beorn kept insisting he felt really good about that bigger dog. Me, I wasn't so sure. I had invisioned coming home with an older Shitzu, not some huge beast that at one year old would be a great big puppy. But finally I caved and we started on the paperwork to adopt Trigger. Turns out the lady in charge of the adoptions that day was the one who had pulled Trigger out of the shelter. The way she put it was "you can't save every dog, but when you can't sleep at night, thinkig about one dog, you know you have to go get them." She had fostered him in her home for awhile, so she could tell us about his behavior and that he was housebroken. She said she hadn't been planning on bringing him to the adoption event that day, but had decided last minute to bring him. She said the reason his former owners gave for leaving him at the shelter was "he chewed up the hot-tub lid." Since he already knew several commands, I figure someone put him through some training and when he still misbehaved when he was left all alone, they dumped him. Their loss... our gain.

I figured with any dog it would take a year to get him trained and fully integrated into the family and Trigger did have some behavior problems at the beginning. He was very scared of any dogs his size or larger. I couldn't leave him alone in the house, but then he managed to find a way out of our fully fenced back yard one day while we were at church. He broke into the temporary chicken coop and we lost two of our three chickens. He would steal food off the counters if alone in the kitchen. Then I found Wasatch Canine Camp. The free Pack-to-Basics classes help build his confidence and strengthened his social skills. It really helped him become a more balanced dog. We still go every Saturday we can. He loves running around with the dogs. Last weekend there were over 40 dogs in class. So many dogs and all of them getting along. It is fun to watch. We also did private training with Bethany, the owner of Wasatch Canine Camp. It was totally worth every penny. She helped us see what Trigger needed from us and how to improve as owners so we would have the behavior we wanted from our dog. She helped us take our "good" dog and make him an "excellent" dog.

So, a year after the fact, I can honestly say that somehow we managed to find the perfect dog. He's housebroken. He's quiet. I love that he's not a barker! When he does bark, we pay attention.
He's good with the kids. He's good with the cats. And the cats are Ok with him - even Padme. She hates him, of course, but no more than she hates the other cats... He's a great walking companion. Whether we go 15 minutes, four miles or an all day hike - he's right there with me. He's excellent on leash and says right by your side. He's a good size for our house. We can play fetch in the living room on bad weather days.
He's crate trained. When we're not home, or we're otherwise busy, he stays happy and safe in his "den". He knows a multitude of commands and does great tricks - like not touching a treat until given permission. He is now such a good dog that he get complements on his behavior all the time.Love my puppy!