Jun
24
2009
Again, Everything Is By Grace
Author: siggyEverything is by grace. The first dog I ever raised from a pup, “Daisy”, who died over two years ago, I missed terribly. She was one stubborn dog and the first one that I trained. And I trained her when she was an adult.
Her training started when I got tired of replacing broken windows in our front door. “Daisy” would go crazy every time I left my house. She would jump at me repeatedly and bark uncontrollably. When she startled me once and I slammed my front door a little too hard cracking the window again, I decided despite her age it was time to do something about it.
Every time she barked at me when I was leaving the house, I would put my hands around her snout and keep them there for a short time. When I released my hands, if she then barked I did nothing but if she did not bark I praised her. I repeated this technique countless times. Finally at some point I realized I broke her of the habit of barking at me frantically every time I left the house. All I had to do was “Shush” her and she would immediately quiet down.
My wife was amazed that when she slept on our bed she would go to the furthest most corner and curl up. She had no idea how many countless times I had pushed her away from me.
Daisy would never take her eyes off of me when I was in the same room. She was my dog and when she died I missed her terribly. I never thought another dog would come along like her.
Well, one did, finally to my surprise: “Atilla The Hun” or “Tilla” for short. Unlike “Daisy” he was very eager to please. He was just very undisciplined. I never had a dog that would want so many belly rubs. I, almost, never denied him. It was hilarious. He would turn over every time I went to bring him in the house. The turning point with him was when I started giving him walks.
I knew he had become my “Dog” when just about every night he would join me in the bedroom and usually curl up at the base of my bed. He is not “Daisy” by any means but I realized God had sent me another dog. Everything is by grace.
Tags: bark, belly-rub, Daisy, dog sleeps on bed, dog training, dog walking, dogs, eager to please, everything-is-by-grace, God, grace, my dog, my wife, pets, puppy, Tilla, undisciplined
