The (nearly) perfect dog

It's been a while, but that's okay. Hogan has turned into a lovely dog. He finally had a couple of accidents (peed in his crate) (pooped on the kitchen floor under the table), but they were both actually my fault. He hated the crate bed. I think he accepted it when first here because he was being very, very good, but I noticed that he was kind of tearing it up. I put a pillowcase on it and that worked for a few days, then he peed all over it. Ugh! I washed the bed and put a different pillowcase on it, and pow! he did it again. The time he pooped was when I was on a chat with a customer service rep. Hogan never lets me know when he has to go outside; I have to guess. But this time he was sitting at my feet looking at me with begging eyes. I knew he had to go, but couldn't stop the chat with the person from India. Next thing I knew, I smelled poop. At least he did it under the table on the linoleum floor making for easy cleanup.

But all of this was over a month ago. I bought a new bed for his crate, one much more comfortable, and there's been nary an accident. And now that he lets me know with his begging eyes that he has to poop, there's not been another accident. Of course I have come to know when he has to even without his begging eyes.

I've stopped crating him at night and let him sleep with me. I swore I would never do this, but he's very comforting and he loves it. Sometimes he gets under the cover and snuggles with me either in front of my stomach or at the back of my knees, other times he is outside of the cover and snuggles up to my chest, sometimes he's either under or over the cover at the foot of the bed, and sometimes he's either under or over the cover curled up to my back. This is a little strange for me, as I've always had cats and they always chose just one place to snuggle. Hogan has quite a variety, or maybe he's just experimenting.

He still loves to go on walks, although for the past few days I haven't been taking him. Got an allergic reaction which involved rashes and seriously puffy eyes, but it's going away now. I really really need to go to sleep now!

The Hogan Song (sang to the tune of Hogan's Heroes)

Okay, I couldn't help it. I tried to keep from doing it but nothing worked.

Hogan, Hogan, you're the very best,
Better than the rest,
In the north, south, east and west.
Hogan, Hogan, you are my dog
You sleep like a log
But other than that
You're the very super best dog!

UPDATE:

(First three lines didn't change)
Hogan, Hogan, I am so lucky
You are my puppy,
It's great to be so very blessed!

Rules and regulations - dogs are VERY expensive!

Just the heart worm and flea/tick pills are nearly $100 for a three-month supply. That's better than my sweetheart having fleas or heart worms, but back in the 50s dogs had fleas and occasionally died of heart worms. My own dog as a child went through that, and I would never want Hogan to suffer that way, so I guess I'll have to pay the price for heart worm and flea medication. Not to mention all the other regular vaccinations they need, such as rabies. So just regular upkeep is going to be about a thousand a year, not to mention extra mileage taking him for walks and doggie day care for when I'm going to be tied up for the better part of the day.

I found the PERFECT doggie day care for Hogan, yes! They are so nice and take the dogs out to pee and poop in the grass yard as opposed to having to be confined to a cement "run" and pee and poo there, which Hogan will NEVER do. He is soooooo house trained! They were crazy about him and only charged $10.00. 

Of course, in order to take him to doggie day care, they have to be up to date on all their shots. And there are probably other scenarios as well. It's not like the old days where you got a dog and all you had to do was feed it the leftovers. Frankly, I am completely surprised (but happily so) by all the rules and regulations. As I mentioned before, my beloved childhood dog died of heart worms and she suffered miserably for several weeks before my mother finally had her put to sleep.

shhhhh . . . another rule and regulation is a small trail that we visit that doesn't allow dogs. I had seen all the signs, which pretty much said the same thing all park signs say - no firearms, no bicycles, etc., - but until a lady in a car stopped and told me, never did I notice that dogs were not allowed. Really? Really. Not just "Dogs must be on a leash" or "You must pick up after your dog's business" or even "Dogs are not allowed on trail", but "Dogs are not allowed on the trail or any of the fields", which pretty much takes care of the whole property. It also happens to be the closest one to my house. We still go, just early in the morning or late in the evening and not when a lot of people are around, but if we ever get caught by anyone other than the lady in the car who was outraged that she was told not to walk her dog there, I guess we'll have to petition City Hall.

Because that's my second amazement. In this part of the world, I almost never see anyone walking a dog on a leash. Once in a blue moon I see someone walking with their unleashed dog in a very rural area, which causes me to have to come to a complete stop while they grab the dog's collar and pull them out of the middle of the two-lane road, but except for a few times while going to the Y, located in the middle of downtown Lexington, do I rarely see someone actually walking a dog on a leash. There is NO WAY Hogan will be anything BUT on a leash outside! Sounds cruel, you say? How about the time he saw a rabbit and shot after it, nearly ripping my arm off? I would have lost him forever if he hadn't have been on a leash.

My original plan was to get an invisible fence, but now that I know Hogan, I won't do it. First, he doesn't like to play, which was my main reason, so that we could go outside and throw/retrieve balls, etc., except he doesn't do that. Second, there isn't a doubt in my mind that if he sees a rabbit or a squirrel, he would suffer right through the electric force to go after them. When we were at the vet, he took his shot with only a small cough and didn't even flinch when the fecal sample was taken. He would buzz right through that electric fence. Good thing I didn't get it!

Hogan's first vet visit

Well, with me, anyway. We went to Village Vet on Highway 150. The only time I had ever been there was to euthanize my 16-year-old cat who was very sick. But they were so nice and they have a great location.

For the first time in ages, my niece and nephew were spending the weekend with me. So I picked them up from daycare first, then off to the vet we all went. Hogan was very good in the waiting room and the staff fell in love with him. Then came time to go to the doctor's office and again, he was very good, not nervous or wary or anything. The doctor came in, put him on the table; again, not even a twitch. He looked him over for a couple of minutes, then had to give him a kennel cough shot (whatever that is). All Hogan did was give a small cough in response. Then the doctor needed a fecal sample (ewwww) and Hogan was perfectly still. They were amazed at how good he was.

Then came time for checkout. While writing the check, a lady brought in a very large dog with a cone on his neck covering his head. No telling what set off Hogan, but oh boy, he started barking quite ferociously at the dog at least ten times larger than him. The other dog cowered and ran, the staff took him down the hall, but Hogan was still growling and barking and trying to chase him down the hall. Finally they took the poor large dog into a room and shut the door, and Hogan jaunted back to the waiting room as though nothing had happened.

Oh, well, he is completely up to date on all shots now and doesn't have to go back until November 2015. However, heart and flea pills cost a small fortune. I'll have to wait until next week to buy them.

Hogan the bedmate

I started letting Hogan sleep with me. Yes, that is against all my better intuition! I'm going to smell like a dog, he's going to make me change my sheets every other day, yada yada yada. Well, last night I woke up at 3:00 to use the bathroom, and Hogan was lying comfortably on the sofa. What? He didn't even look up at me. I guess not; he didn't want me to see the guilt in his eyes. So I put him back in the crate; not to punish him, although I'm sure he felt that's what it was, but to keep him from having run of the house while I'm sleeping. He whined and barked and kept me awake. I fed him at seven and took him out at eight, then back into the crate he went. This time he didn't protest and I fell into a deep sleep until nearly 11:00. I called the machine shop and said I would be there early tomorrow morning. Sheesh!

A break for Hogan (and me)

I ate some bad food last weekend, and while I felt okay yesterday, today it tore into me again. Hogan now only likes to poop only when we go on long (1-mile) walks instead of in the back yard. This morning I woke up not feeling good at all. I set my alarm so that I could take him outside, then feed him, then wait an hour to take him outside again for No. 2 before going back to sleep. We went outside a little over an hour after he ate and he had no inclination of pooping. I was so sleepy as I hadn't slept well the night before, so I put him in his crate when I laid down, not wanting to test him to make sure he wouldn't poop indoors. Just as I was falling asleep about 20 minutes later, he started whining.It's the first time he's ever whined since he arrived here permanent on August 2.  I couldn't decide what to do. I didn't want him to think that if he starts whining while in the crate, he'll get released, but on the other hand, I knew it was way past time to poop. After waiting a few more minutes, he kept whining, so I got his leash and brought him straight outside from the crate and he pooped away. He then laid down with me in bed and we took a short nap.

One thing I wish he would do is let me know when he wants to go outside to do his business. I don't, and won't, have a doggie door. When I was a kid, my dog scratched on the door to let us know she wanted out, but I don't want him scratching on my door either. I guess I'll just keep taking him outside when it's been a few hours since the last time.

Meanwhile, it's been a looooong time since I've felt so complete! My daughter visits, my niece and nephew visit, friends visit, but this is the first time since my cat died in 2010 that I've had an animal friend living with me. Not that my cat was much of a friend. He and I basically went our separate ways. I fed and watered him and changed his cat litter; he hung out on window ledges. He was very good - didn't scratch furniture or climb on tables or countertops, but he rarely acknowledged me and only cuddled with me in bed when it was very cold and he wanted body heat. He was beautiful, though, in a way a dog can never be. Dogs are cute; cats are beautiful.

Thinking maybe Hogan needs a cat to chase around the house . . . NOT!

Bring your dog to work days

Yesterday I went to the office of a man who occasionally brings his dogs to work and didn't mind if I brought mine. Hogan at first just wandered around, sniffing at all the different dog smells, but didn't want to lay down in one of their beds, as he did at my friend's house. So I got his bed out of my car and put it by me as I was working and he was just fine. He did, however, do something he never does at home. Each time I got up to either ask a question to the owner or his assistant, Hogan followed me, and as soon as I got back to the desk where I was working, would follow me back and return to his bed.

I had told them that he never barked unless someone knocked on the door. Well, the owner left to go to lunch and run a few errands, and when he returned, Hogan started barking furiously, which sent the assistant and me into peals of laughter. The owner was amused and said to Hogan, "You forgot me already? You can't bark at me, I own this place!" and to me, "I thought you said he never barks!" His assistant remarked that he barked louder than one of the large dogs that belongs to the owner.

We were there for several hours, so Hogan didn't get his usual daytime naps. When we got home he crawled into his bed and snored for an hour.

Tuesday, I'm going to do an all-day training session in Salisbury for someone I had in a training class a couple of years ago who has hired a new bookkeeper. He asked me what day would work for me, and I said that I had a new dog and would have to coordinate finding someone to watch him before I could give him a day. He said bring him with you! Wow. This is great!