Once I grew up it was just a matter of time before I had a dog. College, roommates and non-pet-friendly apartment buildings are not conducive to having a dog, so once my husband and I moved out of the city, we decided it was time to add to our family. That's when the most adorable Cairn terrier came into our life. Duncan is just the sweetest, most easy-going dog ever. It was so much fun having a puppy around, playing with him, taking him to puppy kindergarten, watching him figure things out. He fits so well into our lives and is such a joy to have around that we thought it might be good if he had a sister. That's when Ruby joined our family and let me tell you, there have never been two more different dogs.
Either I completely forgot what having a puppy was like or Ruby is actually the devil. This dog is exhausting and has been a complete nightmare to train. Don't get me wrong, she's adorable. And really, what's better than a puppy who is always happy to see you when you get home? She's so wiggly and kissy that sometimes I think she's going to burst right out of her skin. She is just the complete opposite of Duncan with regard to personality and training. Maybe we thought she'd be easier to train since she has Duncan's lead to follow. Maybe we are just too old to deal with this much puppy energy. Maybe we forgot how long it actually took to fully train Duncan, which I suspect was really closer to a year than what we remember. Whatever the reason, Ruby will definitely be the last puppy we ever get. Even our vet thought we were crazy for getting a puppy, they are so much work. Thanks for mentioning that after the fact, Dr. Rich!
And now, in addition to all of the things puppies do, such as chewing on furniture, getting into the bathroom trash, eating house plants, we are dealing with an issue that is so disgusting I am loathe to even write the words. Ruby. Eats. Poop. Hers, Duncan's, poop from other dogs at the dog park, doesn't matter. We, on the other hand are completely revolted by this (as is Duncan) and are now on our third remedy which we hope will finally break her of this foul habit. We first tried a powder from the vet, For-bid, which when sprinkled on her food was supposed to make her poop taste bitter (because it's not gross enough already). Nothing. Next we tried sprinkling cayenne pepper on her poop to dissuade her from eating it. Not only did that not phase her, but when she was done, she actually licked up the excess pepper that was on the ground. Lovely. Now we are adding canned pineapple and pineapple juice to her food which is supposed to work like the For-bid, but in a slightly more tasty way. Oh, and not scolding her when she does this since scolding her makes her think she's not supposed to go to the bathroom at all. Any idea how hard it is not to yell at her for this? If the pineapple doesn't work, we will move on to canned pumpkin, broccoli and spinach, all of which are suppose to do the same thing. One of them has to work, right? If not, we may have to call in the Dog Whisperer and I would guess Cesar Millan does not come cheap!
I've heard of people who deal with pet issues and are finally just so exasperated they end up giving the animal back to where they got it. I don't understand this because as trying as all of this has been, Ruby is part of our family and we are already hopelessly in love with her. Giving her back is not an option. So we deal. And really, how can you not love such cute faces as these...
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