Still Amazed

I don’t hate dogs. Really I don’t. As an overall ideal I love dogs. In my family we’ve had great dogs that were fun and terrific companions. And now we don’t.

Currently we have two dogs: a chihuahua and a Cocker Spaniel. We got the cocker first and he was a terrific pet; smart, played well with everyone and didn’t bark at shadows. In other words, a great member of the family.

But then.

But then we got a chihuahua. The cocker was mostly our son’s dog. They bonded immediately and were friends from the start. Eventually my daughter wanted a dog that would be more hers. I wasn’t exactly warm to the idea of two dogs but hey, I’m just the dad. One day daughter and her mom went “just looking” and, what a surprise, found a cute little chihuahua at the Humane Society. Well my daughter fell in love and that was that.

It was like bringing a miniature Tasmanian Devil into the house. That chihuahua doesn’t listen, she barks at EVERYTHING, tortures the older dog, and doesn’t like much of anything except food and my daughter.

And did I mention that she barks? We bought every humane bark collar Amazon sells, we read and tried everything we could on bark training and more. Did it help? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a chihuahua laugh in your face and then run off barking at an ant she might have seen across the patio.

It gets worse. Her barking has unfortunately taught the cocker to bark. He realized that he too could bark – a lot – and now does it right along with her. Now we have two dogs barking at shadows, bugs, neighbors walking across the street, cars on a freeway five miles away, clouds, and so much more.

Oh yeah, it’s fun at my house now. Like I said, I don’t hate dogs. But I’m learning.