Bailey's Story
Our New Puppy
We live in a small town, so we have to travel out of town to get our groceries. We decided to go to check out the animal clinic/shelter, not thinking we were actually going to get a dog (though we had been discussing it for a long time). When we went in the building, we were not pleased. The place was very unsanitary.
He brought out the first dog which was a large German Shepard/Lab dog. He was extremely hyper, and had a bad habit of jumping up and almost knocking you over. Next he brought out a 3 month old German Shepard/Husky puppy. He had stuff piled up under his eyes, due to an eye infection, which they didn't seem like they cared much about. He was very scared of people which later believed me that he had been mistreated or even abused. Now I know we shouldn't have adopted a dog from such a poor environment, and I highly recommend that everyone avoid adopting dogs or cats from any poor conditions, breeders, or pet shops. I encourage people to adopt from good shelters.
But, anyways, when the vet asked if we wanted to see the next dog, we said no because when we looked at the pup's fear and depression in his beautiful eyes we realized that we could not leave him there. He was to be with us, his family where he would never be left locked up in a cage with no one to love him, he would never be abused, his life would be filled with the care and everlasting unconditional love the little pup deserves. We adopted him right away. We got the puppy neutered before we even took him home. I HIGHLY recommend any person planning on getting a dog or cat, or has dog(s) or cat(s) that aren't spayed/neutered, to please spay or neuter them!
On the Way Home
Our new puppy was in pain from being neutered. We put him in a cardboard box that had been covered with a towel to make it more confortable. He was very scared, you could see it in his eyes. We talked to him and pet him softly the whole drive home.
His New Home
When we brought the puppy home we brought him outside, and set the box on the grass. And took him out of the box. He took a few minutes before he started to get a little more cheerful and curious. He really enjoyed his first time outside. (I honestly don't think he had ever been outside. The vet said he was taken from his mother at 6 weeks as was brought right to the shelter.) We brought him in his new home and settled in slowly. He was a little nervous of us still as when we bent down to pick him up or tried to go see him he would take off. He would only approach us by himself. But we knew it wouldn't last long before he would know how much we love him.
His First Night
When it was time for sleep we put him in Sandy's crate in our living room (Sandy was our previous dog who died 1 year and a half ago). We put blankets on the bottom for him and I set my alarm clock to wake up every 3 hours to take him outside. I slept on the couch to be in the same room with him. The time in his crate he was very quiet and he slept suprisingly well with barely any crying or wimpering. I slept on the couch near him every night for 2 weeks.
In a month he didn't need to wake up during the night anymore, going outside before going to bed and around 7-8 in the morning. It was so easy to housetrain him. He suprisingly had very few accidents. It seems like so many people have trouble housebreaking their dog. It's sad so many people will give up and abandon their pets or give them away, when all it takes is patience and persistence. It takes ALOT of commitment to take proper care of a dog, and so many don't understand that, and the results are very sad. Alot of the time it ends up where the guardian banishes the poor soul to a life on a chain, which is cruel and should be made illegal.
How Bailey Got His Name
We thought hard for 2 days for a name for our puppy. When the name came up it was final. His name is Bailey. 'Bailey' was what my parents came up with and I liked it so it stuck. (I believe they thought of Bailey because one of their favourite drinks is Bailey's) My dad, making a joke said we should call him Hoover because of how he'd scan all the floors and carpets eating every tiny crumb he can find!
Bailey's First Photo
We took Bailey's first photo on the third day. We noticed then that he was really good at staying still and calm when we take his picture.
This is the first picture we took of Bailey.
Bailey's First Collar
To us, Bailey's first collar was so cute, blue with light blue and white pawprints all the way around it. To Bailey, his first collar was a total nuisance! He was always scratching the collar, trying to knock it off, and dragging his head along the carpet! He eventually got used to it but it was sure funny and sad at the same time, seeing him slide his head along the carpet with his rear end up in the air!
Bailey's First Leash
After awhile it was time to start bringing him outside on a leash. We are very much against letting dogs run on the road and would never allow Bailey to leave the yard like that. We care too much about him to let anything happen to him. Too many dogs get ran over because of the irresponsibility of people letting their dogs go wherever they want. It's not mean to keep your dogs and cats in your yard. Just like it's not mean to keep a three-year-old child from playing on the streets, it's just caring. It didn't take me too long to get Bailey used to the leash. He would try to resist alot but eventually he accepted the leash, and walks became his favourite thing.
Bailey's First Month of Training
When Bailey was four months old the first command we taught him was "Speak". Then we taught him "Sit" and "Down". Many people train their dog "Shake A Paw" but we used the command "Give Me Five".
Bailey's Second Month of Training
When Bailey was five months old we taught him alot! I taught him "Stay", "High Five", "Roll Over", "In the Cage"(Bailey goes into his crate), "Get Your Bowl"(Bailey gets his water dish), "Give", "Drop It", "Leave It", "Okay"(tells Bailey he is finished doing what he was told), "Up"(Bailey walks on his hind legs) and a really cool trick where I put a "Snack" on his nose and tell him to "Stay", then after about 5-10 seconds I say "Okay" and he tosses it in the air and catches it!
Bailey's First Time Seeing Snow
October 5th, 2001
Today, was a really exciting day for Bailey. It snowed. So I took Bailey outside to see it. He was jumping in the air and cathcing all the snowflakes! I was laughing. Then I started throwing snow at Bailey and he was biting it and jumping in it. It was a fun day for Bailey....and me.
Bailey's New Trick
October 7th, 2001
Today I taught Bailey "Sing". His howl is really cute. He also had alot of fun in the snow. It's only a thin layer right now. He eats most of it!
Things Bailey Is Trained To Do
"Sit"
Lay "Down"
"Stay"
"Come"
"Speak"
"Sing"
"Leave It"
"Drop It"
"In the Cage"
Automatically go in the cage and stay in there while we are eating
"Roll Over"
"Give Me Five"
"Wave"
"Heel"
Automatically sit when I stop during walks
Barks at the door when you say "Who's That?"
"Stay" with a treat balance on his nose, and "okay" to toss it in the air and catch it
Stops biting if you yelp "OUCH!" or say "Don't Bite" or "No bite"
Each of these, Bailey took 1/2 hr to 1 day to learn.
Bailey's Icicle Incident
Sometime this winter, Bailey was playing in the snow, (he loves that!) and an icicle broke loose from the edge of the roof and fell on Bailey. Some of the ice got in his eye, and his eye was swollen for a few days. Ever since then I knock all the icicles of the roof with a shovel. I think it would be a good idea for any other people with dogs to make sure there aren't any large icicles above where you dog(s) like to roam.
