Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Jesse The German Shepherd: An Update

A while back I wrote about adding a four legged family member named Jesse. I just thought I'd update you on how she's faring. As any dog owner knows there's an adjustment period when you bring a new dog home. They're trying to get used to new people, a new place, new rules and new potty locations. You're trying to decipher their personality and potty cues. I must say this went pretty well with Jesse. Our only issue, aside from the usual puppy lessons, was a delay in potty training due to some intestinal issues she had. Once she recovered from that, she did very well learning where to go.

Jesse is a smart dog and picks up commands pretty easily. Funny story, my 15 month old daughter decided that she was going to tell Jesse what to do. So, she balled up her little fist, pointed her little finger at Jesse and in the sweetest little voice commanded "Seet! Seet Jesse!" That's sit, in case you don't speak toddler. Once Jesse sat, my daughter decided to take her own advice and sat on Jesse. Our good girl didn't even bat an eye at being used for a chair. Jesse loves the kids and considers herself one of them. And of course the kids love her, especially my daughter who is convinced Jesse is HER dog and she merely allows everyone else to play with her. She has to be the one to feed Jesse and has a fit when anyone else tries. She's also very generous about sharing her own meals with Jesse and will smile innocently at us as she drops food from her highchair. My boys love having a dog that they can race with and who won't break if they wrestle a bit. Oh and she makes the perfect Perry when they're pretending to be Phineas and Ferb and a great Koopa when it's pretend to be the Mario Brothers time.

Jesse has a couple of problems though. I suspect she may eventually need rehab for her ice addiction. Ok, I'm kidding about doggie rehab. Mostly. But seriously, she can hear a glass click against the ice maker from a mile away and is right there before the first cube falls. She loves to chase the cubes as they skid across the hardwood floor. And when she's decided its term as a hockey puck is up, she gobbles it down as if it's the best tasting thing in her world. Hey, cheap toy and treat all in one right? In addition to her ice habit, she also has developed an obsession with balls. Or anything that resembles a ball. Or anything slightly spherical that can be used like a ball. My husband once expressed a desire for a dog who would fetch. He most definitely got his wish as the only thing Jesse likes more than her balls is ice. And before I get any shocked and angry comments, no, I don't actually consider these things problems.

We recently traveled out of town to visit family and of course Jesse went along. Despite being in strange places with new people, she did really well. She was a bit excited but that's to be expected. Jesse is the kind of dog who likes everyone and fully expects everyone to like her so she had no problem making friends with everyone. My uncle quickly became one of her favorite people when he snuck her pizza crust and chips then topped it off by rubbing her belly. She also encountered her first cat. It was kind of comical to watch my big German Shepherd cautiously creeping closer to this cat who was about 1/6 of her size. The cat, by the way, was unimpressed.

All in all things are going great. Jesse is sweet, smart, energetic and sometimes goofy and she fits into our family perfectly.


No comments:

Post a Comment