I have a hairy family member named Bruiser. He's been with my family for the last 13 years. He was a discount puppy. I'd been shopping for a certain type of dog with a certain kind of hair (I have allergies) and found a breeder. She called to let me know she had 3, 6 month old puppies at half price if I wanted to come take a look at them. They weren't the breed I wanted but had the right hair type so I went to meet them. They were Shi-tzu/Maltese mixes. They were all freshly bathed when we showed up. They didn't look good...they were still dripping wet. My oldest daughter completely fell in love with one right off the bat. I was relieved because at least that one didn't have an overbite like his brothers. I remember thinking that I never thought I'd have a dog like that. A little hairball type. Not exactly my style but I missed having dogs since my allergies developed so had limited options to choose from anymore. We brought the little hairball home.
My wary purchase of this pup changed the rest of my life. I grew up with dogs. Normal dogs. Dogs that like to run in fields. (Maybe I shouldn't say normal...our English Setter, Commander, used to go into perfect points at tricycles.)
Bruiser has health issues. He has overactive sebaceous glands. He can get oozing sores from this and it requires regular bathing to remove excess oils from his skin. I've also discovered that removing corn meal from his diet really helps! So Bruiser needs lots of baths. He also has allergies. He licks his feet all the time. He skips over crab grass in the cracks on the sidewalks because he doesn't like it when grass pokes his feet. His skin is sensitive. He scratches a lot. Sometimes he cries cause he needs to scratch so much. Because of all the bathing, he is prone to ear infections. I found all this out when he was a puppy and was worried about his quality of life. The vet said that it's just part of being Bruiser. I've learned that dogs don't sit around feeling sorry for themselves...they don't compare themselves to the dog next door and feel like they missed out on something. Their nature is to accept their lot in life and make the best of it. She assured me he would have a happy life even with itchy skin. She was right!
One of the first differences between Bruiser and my childhood dogs, was the hair issues. Bruiser requires grooming and haircuts. I never had a dog that needed haircuts before. Bruiser doesn't like haircuts. He REALLY doesn't like haircuts! The first few groomers we took him to told us not to bring him back because of the biting. Biting?? Bruiser doesn't bite! Except if you are a groomer I guess. They tried to muzzle him but since he has a weird shaped jaw, the muzzle wouldn't stay on, so they didn't want him back. In this wee beastie's life there has only been one groomer that Bruiser liked. My daughter's mother-in-law Carol. He truly loves her! But since she's family I didn't want to take advantage so instead decided to learn how to groom him myself. My first try was a miserable experience. One of my kids held him down while I buzzed him. He wasn't cooperative and looked pretty stupid by the time it was done. So I got a DVD to learn how to do it. It showed me some clever tricks! I was excited to try them out. First was to leash him for control. I wanted to be able to do this for myself. It didn't go well. I truly think Bruiser would commit suicide by strangulation on his leash before he'd stand still for a hair buzzer!
There was another cool thing they showed me. If you lifted one leg the dog will be forced to stand on the other while you buzz him. It kind of immobilized him and forced him to cooperate. I decided to do this with Bruiser. I lifted his hind leg, forcing him to stand still on his other hind leg while I buzzed him. It didn't turn out quite like I expected. I lifted his leg and he lifted his other and then was dangling by one leg from my hand and we were no closer to him getting a haircut than before! At this point I realized that the people who made that DVD weren't dealing with a Bruiser! I had a unique (and problematic) pup! So I threw the DVD out and resigned myself to needing 2 people for haircuts...one to hold him down while the other buzzes. We're now pretty good at it but he still looks pretty stupid for about 2 weeks after, until his hair grows out! He has freckles on his pink skin that you can see thru the fuzz we leave on his hide. Not attractive! Luckily he doesn't care at all!
When I was a kid I loved to take my dogs out in the fields and run with them. Taking long walks thru the countryside, enjoying nature together. I decided to take Bruiser to a field and go running around with me. We drove out, I took him out of the car and put him down and he froze. I tried to pull on the leash, convinced that he would love it if he just gave it a chance. Running in fields is what dogs love! I realized I had a dog impostor that day. He absolutely refused to have anything to do with running in fields. He wanted to go back in the car. Short of carrying him or dragging him around by the throat, I had to admit there would be no field running with the Bruise. Ever. So he wasn't a dog-type dog. This has played out in various ways over the years. Most dogs love to be outside. Bruiser has finally, in his old age, started to enjoy sitting in the sun to warm his old bones. It wasn't always like that. I'd be outside working in the yard, with him to keep me company, and he would go to the top of the steps and cry to go in the house. I'd try to shame him by asking him if he was a dog. Real dogs love to be outside! He would ignore me and beg to go in. I'd finally give in, just to shut him up. He is a talker!
He wasn't always a talker. Part of the reason I got a dog was for protection. Not that I think Bruiser would defend any of us, but a barking dog is supposed to be a deterrent to criminals. Shortly after he came home with us, I realized we had a problem. Bruiser wasn't a barker! We had to train him to bark...to announce visitors. He really sucks at it...he usually won't bark at them until you've had them in the house visiting for a bit. (eye roll) But we got him to be more vocal and he hasn't shut up since. Except when visitors arrive. Then it's like standing on a street in an abandoned town with tumbleweeds blowing thru it.
This post is probably long enough. I will write more later. I feel a need to tell people about my pup. He's now 13.5 yrs old and has been showing symptoms of dementia the past couple of years. At least the progress is slow and he still recognizes his people. It's a painful thing to acknowledge that your time with a pet is limited. We're in a long good-bye right now. Life has changed and now I'm in maintenance mode. Managing his various issues as best I can and watching him to make sure he's still enjoying life. It can be hard to tell! He can have a raging ear infection and you won't know unless you dig in his ears regularly. Lucky for him I do. So if he's suffering, it could be difficult to tell. So I pay attention and hope that I make the right calls. So far I think we're ok. I've had a couple of sessions with him where I thought we were heading to the end and he made a comeback. My Mom told me that he'll let me know when it's time. I'll know. So far, it isn't time. I know it's coming tho. He's the best dog I've ever had. I don't plan to have another when he leaves me. He'll be the last.
