Cocoa

It's a twofer day, since I have been lax in writing in here the last couple of days, I decided to make up for some lost time.



During my lifetime I have owned several pets. A few dogs, a few cats, a couple of fish and one bird. No rodents, no reptiles...although my son did own 4 small frogs for a few days till they all died of ick....but that doesn't count.

What I have discovered, by and large is that I like dogs. I like cats too, but not to the extent I like dogs. I especially like smaller dogs. Big dogs are nice, playful and can be great...friends of ours have three. But they also require a lot of your time, patience not to mention strength and money. A smaller dog travels well, eats small amounts and cannot reach your counter top. Unlike our friends whose dog, Goose, can snag a sandwich quicker than you can say "Subway, Eat Fresh" and will be completely unremorseful about it. His attitude is, "Hey, you left it unattended, I am just doin' what comes naturally to a dog."

So, it turns out that I like smaller dogs. Not frou-frou lap dogs that shiver and bark to piercing decibles that can cause your ears to pop. But nice, smaller dogs that are fun to play with, but cannot chew off a neighbor's limb.

That being said, I think I may have now what is definitively the best dog in the world. I have a mini-pin/chihuahua mix. Yeah...he is a mutt, for all intents and purposes. But he came from two parents that were both purebred. So not that much mutt. He is a lovely chocolate brown with golden fawn color tippings and beautiful golden eyes. He has a small head, a trim body and long graceful legs. He literally looks like a shrunken grayhound...or a small fawn without spots. We call him Cocoa.

I love this little dog. For lots of reason. But the very most, is that he is the first dog that I have put the effort into training...and he gets it. I train him in something and it isn't like two minutes later he forgets it.

My favorite thing that Cocoa does? He knows that he is not allowed in the kitchen while I am cooking. So he inches his butt just over the line to where the carpeting is and sits waiting for any little tidbit to fall...but that does not cause him to bolt into the kitchen...no he is far too well trained to do that. No, he waits until I tell him it is ok for him to come in and to eat whatever delictible morsel is tantilizing him. Now that is a good dog. He does tricks and is obedience trained. (although we do have a bit of a problem with coming back once released from me to run free...it is hard to be a dog and given our heart's desire)

In the long run, I don't think I have had bad dogs. I think I have been a bad owner. It has taken all this time for me to figure out how to talk to a dog, what works and what doesn't. So I think I have been the one to change..not that I have a better dog, but rather I have become a better person....for my dog.


My next step with Cocoa? I want to begin Agility Training. It is a goal. Since I have become better at understanding 'dog' I want to give him more activities to do with me so that he will get more exercise. I think that will make him an even better dog...and make me an even better person.


As the saying goes, I hope to aspire to be the person my dog thinks I am.