a doggy story
so...I got another dog...
Shylah and her new sister Shota
it's not a perfect story...but it's a work in progress...
some of these are old pics of Shylah...and some are newer with the two of them
I REALLY wanted another dutch shepherd.
I had/have a pre-standing adoption application with the North American Dutch Shepherd Rescue. I had been open but cautious about getting another dog. Shylah was always SO excited when my cousin came over and wanted to play with her dogs so bad. But they're smaller (jack russell mix and a pekingese) so they never really played with her.
But on the other hand, every time I had taken her to the park, or to a friend's house, and she saw/was around dogs her size...she got defensive. Not aggressive, she never acted out. But she'd growl and raise her hackles and bark and stand behind me. She didn't want them near her. I think she was a bait dog before I got her, because of how submissive and clearly abused she had been based on her behavior. She's a perfect dog now. But she had some issues when I first found her.
So, I filled out the adoption application and just kinda left it. If they had a dog available in Florida, I'd deal with the choice then. Every once in a while I'd look at the local shelters' websites, but nothing ever caught my eye enough for me to physically go to the shelter and/or decide to deal with the process of introducing Shylah to another dog.
(Not to mention the shelters in my area are almost always 95% pits and pit mixes, I don't have an issue with pits, they're just not my choice of dogs)
Which was another thing I kept in mind. Because if you go to a shelter, they expect you to adopt the dog. End of story. And I really wanted the option of introducing them first, maybe over the course of a few visits, make sure Shylah would be able to adjust.
Alas, that's not what happened.
This is Shota. (show ta)
I had been perusing a local county shelter's website. They had border collie puppies listed. So one Monday morning (12/8/14) I drove out to my sister's house (the shelter was close to her) and we drove out to look at some dogs.
There were no puppies there. Border collie or otherwise, they must had been adopted super quick. But we walked around and looked at the dogs.
There were many more pits than were shown on the website. I was a bit bummed, the reason I even drove out to this particular county was because it's more rural, and as such, had more herding/working dogs and less pits (so I thought) than my local counties that have rather...unsavory pockets of population who breed pits non-stop.
There was a cute aussie cattle dog, but she was older and the whole point of getting a second dog was to have someone for Shylah to play with. Not that age means she can't but it wasn't what I was looking for. There was another mix that I took outside for some one on one time but the poor thing was SO scared. Terrified. Straight up. She plastered herself to the fence and did not move unless forced. She peed in fright. She shit in fright. I felt really bad. And had I been adopting a dog for the sake of having a dog, I would have taken her. Because unfortunately it's that kind of dog that doesn't get adopted. And I have no issue working with a dog. Hell, I rehabilitated Shylah.
BUT...I already had Shylah. And I was worried about how she was going to react to my bringing home another dog as it was. Hell, if I had known Shylah was perfectly okay with another dog, I still might have gotten that mix, but knowing Shylah had her own issues with dogs, I didn't think it would be a good idea to try to deal with TWO dogs that needed work.
So we took Shota (at the time Riley) out to play with. She was ALL PUPPY. I don't think she stopped running once while we had her out. She grabbed balls, she used me as a physical object to stop herself at full tilt running. She was sweet.
And I impulse adopted her.
Even though she was nowhere near the type of dog I had been looking for. Even though she had a pretty disgusting ear infection (which I'm hoping I'm finally beating.) Even though the reason she had been turned into the shelter was because the owner stated that she tore up everything in sight.
Shylah whined up a storm when I walked in. She was legit crying. Like I was replacing her.
I let the pup run the yard, since she wanted to explore anyways, and cuddled Shylah while she whimpered.
She surprisingly didn't show any issues though. She didn't growl much, didn't try to fight, just whined and barked/yelped, and was unsure of what was going on. And within maybe 20mins they were chasing each other back and forth across the yard and then lying down in the dirt when they were pooped.
Shylah did pout for a while though. So much so I had to think about whether I should start the process of finding Shota a new home.
Shylah had always been attached to my dad and I. If I was on the computer, she was on her bed next to me. If I was in my room, she was on her spot on the floor by my bed. If dad was watching tv, she was on the couch next to him.
But for almost a week after I brought Shota home...Shylah was outside. In the corner of the house and the fence. We pretty much had to force her to come inside. And the pup was so full of energy (and they're both so jealous of each other) that the pup would come barreling up wanting the attention she thought Shylah was getting and Shylah would give up and go back outside.
I was conflicted. Shota was an impulse adopt. Not that she's not sweet, not that she's not a good dog. But, she hadn't been what I had been looking for. And then I was faced with my dog, my baby, who had had issues when I rescued her and turned around into an amazing dog, was having some serious older sibling issues.
But on the other hand they did play together. They'd run back and forth outside until they were both pooped. They'd play tug of war. They'd play tussle (so much so half my yard is churned up dirt now).
I decided to wait until at least after the new year (therefore taking Xmas puppy adopters out of the equation) before I made a decision.
But things have gotten better. Shylah comes inside more. And the pup, who I haven't decided whether she's stubborn or just stupid, is learning every day. Shylah gets plenty of loving. Although she still needs to stop being so nice about it and just shove the puppy out of her space. But I've seen them tussling outside and Shylah will run Shota into the fence or a corner and hold her there. And Shota doesn't like eating while Shylah does. (Even though they have separate bowls and neither has food aggression). So I'm hoping Shylah continues to assert herself as alpha and gains some confidence in forcing her point/space.
this is what spoiled rotten looks like
Shota is not without her issues. She still has that ear infection, although I ordered some medication online that seems to be helping. I'm just hoping that once the dosage stops it doesn't come back, that will be the true test.
She also seems to be allergic to something outside, or is lying in an ant pile or something, since her belly is covered in little red spots.
And she doesn't tear up everything in sight like the shelter told me was on her file. But she does like to tear shit up. >.>
They have an entire backyard full of toys, but if bored and left unsupervised she's taken out trash, laundry, sheets, tore up the tablecloth on the table on the porch. She's doing it less though, so I think the spankings are finally getting thru to her. I can't complain a whole hell of a lot thou, because Shylah had the exact same issues when I rescued her. She had SERIOUS separation anxiety issues. You could still be in the house, just in a different room and she'd freak out. Just hope the pup keeps learning.
She's a total mutt. I have no idea what she is, and being a dog breed nerd, it kinda annoys me lol. She looks like a mini great dane the way she's built. Blocky head, lanky body.
The only thing I can think of that she looks like is a blue lacy. Except she has a more squared off head.
I posted on a lacy Facebook group asking what they thought. And my god, the prejudice. Pure breed dog people seem to be such holier than thou pricks. They all pretty much told me she was a pit mix. That there was no way there was a lacy in Florida. Let alone coming from a shelter. Pit mix. End of story.
I'm sorry, I'm not saying she doesn't have pit in her, I'm sure she does. But she is. not. built. like. a. pit. She is way too skinny and lightly built. (I have yet to get a good picture showing off how thinly built she is.) She is not the short, squat, wide build of a pit. she does not have the huge chest. And she does not have the bowling ball brick of a head that pits do.
She literally looks like a great dane, except on a smaller scale. And she LOOKS like blue lacy pictures, with the exception of a blockier head and more white than is acceptable with lacys. But my god, the hate I got from that group of 'enthusiasts'. They've even since deleted my post.
In any case...Shylah has a new sister, and I have a new dog. Not what I was looking for, and I still have my moments where I wonder if I made a mistake. I've always been partial to herding dogs before because they're so damn smart, and while Shota is a good dog, shepherds are still my choice.
I still worry a bit about Shylah. She was a spoiled only dog. She was my baby. There's things I did with her that I won't be able to do now that I have two of them (Lazy walks at the park, free run at a friend's property, visiting the local produce shop, she was the mascot at my last job and spent Saturday's with me there.) but, it's done now. I can only hope Shota continues to mature and learn and turns into a calmer, better behaved child.
