Happy Birthday DixieLee

November 20, 2011 is DixieLee’s birthday!  Sort of.  Could be.  See, the truth is we don’t know when she was born and she was too young at the time to remember so she can’t tell us.

I know my birthday is May 2, 2010.  I know because I was born in a shelter and the shelter gave me a piece of paper telling me when my birthday is.  DixieLee was a stray so when she got found and adopted by us, the vets had to guess how old she was. 

By the time DixieLee came to live with us she was no longer a puppy and into her adolescence, which is like being a bossy human teenager.  She didn’t seem to have good training like I did so there were lots of bad things she needed to overcome.  It took some time but she has managed to overcome lots of those bad habits like not being scared that I was going to steal her food and no one was going to hit her.

Now we are both grown up dogs and everyone gets along just great.  Sort of.  She still wants to play with the toy I am playing with and still wants to sit in Dad’s chair when he is sitting in it, but she is working at be good.

Just like humans, the different stages of a dog’s life mean different things.  For example, by the time a puppy becomes an adolescent he or she should have learned appropriate social behavior with other dogs, like no biting and should have formed a strong bond with humans.

Some of the most important time in a puppy’s development is around 8 or 10 weeks when they are especially impressionable and negative experiences can permanently harm a dog. Dogs always need to have love from their humans but it is especially important when they are this young.

 Around 10 or 12 weeks old is a good age to take a puppy to training.

By the time a dog is 6 months old, he or she should have confidence and some independence.  Continued training is important so that the independence doesn’t get to the point where they don’t listen at all.  Mom says I am too independent sometimes just because I don’t hear her call until she says my name 3 times.

DixieLee and I are getting close to being seniors like Mom and Dad.  Because we are both medium /big size dogs we can have many, many years ahead of us.  The important things we need to be aware of are eating well, getting enough exercise and having regular vet check-ups.

I’m just happy DixieLee is my sister now and that we are going to be celebrating her special day soon.  I love birthdays because in our house, no matter who is having the birthday, we all get presents!

Join me in wishing DixieLee a very happy birthday!

Zeva

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