March 5, 2006 by s.z.

Meet Yodie, My New Dog

He's a male Pomeranian, white with reddish ears and a reddish patch right below his tail (he's basically the dog equivalent of my flame point Himalayan Andy). He's very sweet, very playful, very smart, very willful, and a lot of work. Although he's not even nine months old yet, this is his third home since he left the breeder's.

His first owners didn't want him after he passed the cute little puppy stage -- especially when they realized that even though he looked like a plush toy, he demanded a lot of time and attention.

He was a Christmas gift for his second owner from her husband -- she wasn't all that thrilled to get a puppy, especially one who wasn't reliably housebroken, who wanted to play fetch all the time, and who tracked in mud on her new carpets. (She apparently had been plotting how to get rid of him since New Year's.) He's spent the last couple of months locked in the bathroom all day, and crated most of the rest of the time.

People are so stupid sometimes.

I got him yesterday evening, and it's been non-stop pet-related activity ever since. What with all the trips outside to allow him to do his dirty, sinful business, and all the refereeing feline/canine disputes -- which usually start with Yodie trying to sniff a cat, and the cat hissing, and then either running (leading to a chase), or swatting at him (leading to barking) -- I didn't get more than two hours sleep last night. I spend the day playing fetch with Yodie, reassuring the cats, and taking Yodie ouside to do his dirty, sinful business.

Yes, I'm trying to work on the housebreaking right now -- I've been outside with Yodie approximately 599 times today (and yet we still had two accidents, which both occurred while Jet was growling at him, so there were mitigating circumstances). Since he's never worn a collar or used a leash before, he isn't too happy about that part of our potty breaks, but he is getting better about letting me snap on the leash. He's an intelligent little guy, and if I can ever convince him that I'm the boss, I think he'll catch on to the basics of polite dog behavior fairly quickly.

Our next project with be "tutoring" (both sets of previous owners apparently thought they could make big money from stud fees, and so didn't get him fixed. Since he spends a lot of time humping various items around the house, I think the tutoring will be a relief to him in the long run.

The cats are not fans of his, of course. Well, the kittens both want to play with him, and are scared of him (their wild upbringing tells them to be scared of every new thing, but their desire for play tells him that although he's a weird kind of cat, he would be a fun playmate). I think they'll come around soon. This morning Yodie was dragging around a piece of cord, and Zigra chased the other end -- it was so cute! . . . Until Yodie playfully jumped at Zigra, and Zigra got frightened, hissed, and ran away. Yodie wants to play with them SO BAD, and he just can't understand why they don't appreciate the games of chase he initiates.

Jet is being very territorial and grumpy about the whole thing. (You can see it from his point of view -- he barely got Zigra and Tibby whipped into shape, and here comes this noisy, bouncy, energetic new creature into the house.) As Jet is about twice Yodie's size, it does make Yodie nervous when Jet growls at him (which he does whenever Yodie gets too close).

Elder Cat Sheena, who is largely blind and deaf and who sleeps most of the time, will ignore him if he stays out of her face (it's the same deal she made with the kittens). Elder Cat Andy has hated Yodie ever since Yodie jumped up on my bed and took Andy's spot (Andy doesn't cope well with change). Andy spend the rest of the day cowering under the bed, only coming out to give me accusing looks. But he finally stalked out from his place of exile, and is back on my bed. Yodie is asleep on a blanket next to the bed. I should crate him for the night, but he looks so peaceful -- like a little doggy angel -- when he sleeps. A little doggy angel who pees on the carpet.

Anyway, I found some informative wingnutty pieces about manliness that we can look at later, but right now I need some sleep -- because the next round of going outside for potty breaks and/or cleaning the carpet will be coming soon.
2:07:12 AM