Champ and I

People have been writing to ask how Champ, my rescued puppy is doing. Rather than write a bunch of e-mails to answer their queries, I thought I would just post an update.

Champ is doing well. He is eating very well, and we are developing a schedule that is more amenable to my own life and duties. Rather than getting up 4 times a night to walk him as I did the first week, he is now waking only once, or sometimes twice, a night. This has helped my own sleep immensely.

I can really see him growing by leaps and bounds. He loves to pay fetch with a tennis ball in my bus. I roll it down the hallway and he will bound after it, sometimes barking at it. When he picks it up he comes bouncing back to me with it in his mouth, always putting it right back in my hand so I will do it again.

I am reading a couple of books on raising puppies, and I am getting an education by doing so. I have already learned that there are some things I was doing that I need to change if I want a well behaved dog. I have found that just like raising children, it is good to keep in mind what the end result of our rearing is to be. If we treat a dog like a baby, it will continue to act like one. However, if we keep in mind the vision of the well trained, obedient adult dog that we wish it to be, then we will act consistently to train it in this direction.

I anticipate many lessons and parables to come out of this puppy raising experience. I am already learning much by the experience. Champ seems to be a healthy, well balanced, dog with a medium energy level. i try to walk him often, and when he is grown to adult size I plan on getting an attachment for my bike so I can give him the work-out he needs to keep him healthy and happy. Many companies offer bicycle accessories for walking the dogs while on a bike. My legs are not up to taking the dog on a run without using my bike, so this seems like a good solution.

As Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, states, dogs need exercise, discipline, and affection – in that order, if they are to be well balanced and content.

Kristin and Champ

My daughter Kristin has always loved dogs. What is there not to love about a puppy? Cesar Millan mentions in his book How to Raise the Perfect Dog that baby animals of many kinds put put pheromones that give them their distinct baby smell. He stated that this tends to cause other adult animals to turn off the hostility toward them. It also explains why at times you will read about an animal of a completely different kind raising a baby animal that is not its own, such as a lion adopting a baby deer, or a dog raising baby tigers.

One of my neighbors at the RV park has a large purebred golden retriever. Champ goes crazy when he sees Buster come out. He runs over to him, runs between his feet, chews on him, and acts like the hyperactive and inquisitive pack animal that he is. Buster patiently bears with it, never getting upset with the antics of the little one who seems like a bundle of uncontrolled energy. There is something to be said about the patience of a well behaved adult dog. If Buster can bear patiently with Champ, then surely a man in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells can do the same! Right? Lord help me to keep this in mind.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws  

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com  

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063