Dexter – born on February 12, 2008 and arrived with us in May of that year. He was 13 weeks old and cute as a button. Charlie a
nd I not being a dog owner for many years weren’t really prepared for our new arrival. One day we were talking about getting a puppy and the next thing we knew we were going to pick up the little guy. So once we got him home we talked about what and where we were going to put Dexter at night. We had a pet carrier we had bought for Wezzie, our cat, when we made our move to Florida and decided that since Dexter was so small that would be just fine for him for the first few nights. Nighttime came and we got ready for bed and placed our beloved puppy into the carrier. Both of us were waiting for the whining to begin. As the night progressed we heard nothing from Dexter. I awoke several times throughout the night listening for any signs of life. Early the next morning both Charlie and I awoke and we both looked at each other and wondered why we hadn’t heard a thing from the little guy. After all it was his first night away from his other family. We got up and opened the carrier. There he was all scrunched up in the back of the carrier scared to death. We had a heck of a time getting him out of the carrier. Boy, did I feel bad for the little guy.
We finally got him out and then out for a bathroom break as he hadn’t gone since evening. Then our second day began with our beloved Dexter. He had to be right near us at all times, if we left him, he would sit there a whine. My first clue that this night would be different than our first night together. We played and cuddled with our new found puppy and just plain enjoyed him. Wondering how he would do the next day when we had to leave him to go to work. Nighttime came and again we put Dexter in the pet carrier. Well, the door wasn’t even fully shut and the whining began. Now please keep in mind that Charlie had made it VERY clear that NO DOG was going to sleep in our bed. We got into bed and listened for let’s see, 1 minute maybe, and you guessed it, Dexter joined us in bed. Now a much happier puppy, we all settled in for a good night’s sleep. And of course Dexter still to this day sleeps in the bed with us.
Our first day of work with our new puppy – we borrowed a crate from our neighbors to use till we could get out and get one. Getting Dexter into the crate was no problem, just threw in a treat, blanket and a few toys and closed to door. Out the door I went, didn’t even get into the car and I could hear him inside whining and barking. I was brave and continue on thinking it won’t last long. According to our wonderful neighbors, dogs lovers also, he didn’t carry on too long. So we figured we had the problem of what to do with Dexter when we left for work solved. Boy did we have a lot to learn about Doxies!! Dexter was a very determined puppy, stubborn could be a better way to describe him. He learned quickly the pattern in the morning when I was getting ready for work. Once I took my shower he would head under the bed. Nothing you did could coax him out, not even a treat!! So now I was trying to figure out how to outsmart this little guy. I would get everything together early so that after my shower I could spend time with him before I had to leave. Well this worked for about a day, again he figured out my plan. Putting him in the cage just got harder and harder, he would cry and bark and carry on like we were killing him.
One day when Charlie was out of town and I had to work longer than we thought he could handle, we asked our wonderful neighbors, Mike and Anna, to come over and let him out for a bathroom break. They gladly accepted. Anna came over to get him around noon and get him out for a bathroom break, then took him over to their home to play with their shelties, Jessi and Jemi. When I arrived home from work and went to get Dexter, Mike told me that the blanket was wet and they assumed he had had an accident in the crate. I checked it out and the blanket was definitely wet, so I washed out the crate and blanket for the next day. Again they were there to help out the next day with him till I got home and again the blanket was all wet. I started to think, why he is now wetting in his crate. The week went on pretty much the same and finally the weekend arrived and I was home with Dexter, which he loved. He really didn’t like being alone. I had to run up to the local store, just a mile away for a few things, so of course I put Dexter into the crate and assured him I wouldn’t be long. 20 minutes later I arrived only to find Dexter soaking wet!! The crate was soaked also. I was dumfounded. I had to get a towel to dry off Dexter. After many attempts to figure out what or how he was getting so wet, we came to the conclusion he just got himself so worked up that he drooled why too much and soaked himself and the crate. So now our mission was to find a gate to block off the kitchen area for the puppy to confine him in while we were gone, giving him more room to move about. So off to the pet store again to see what we could find. Pet store visits were getting to be a regular thing each weekend. Our mission was to find a gate and a bed that Dexter would use as the one I originally purchased for him he refused to use. We were finding this next to impossible as we of course had an odd size opening. The crate however, we learned would fit with the door opened just right to block the kitchen off. So now every day we would move the crate over to the opening and then I would leave via the front door as Dexter watched, giving me the saddest looks ever. But in the long run this worked out much better, he adapted to this much better than the crate and we felt much better about leaving him. And guess what, now it seemed okay to curl up on the blanket in the crate and sleep while we were gone. Still though I had to outsmart him or he would hide under the bed. I guess he figured if he hid under the bed and didn’t come out that I wouldn’t leave him. A couple of times I had to leave, so I just closed all the bedrooms doors, picked up the area rug and hoped for the best. This of course he loved, having the free run of the place.
nd I not being a dog owner for many years weren’t really prepared for our new arrival. One day we were talking about getting a puppy and the next thing we knew we were going to pick up the little guy. So once we got him home we talked about what and where we were going to put Dexter at night. We had a pet carrier we had bought for Wezzie, our cat, when we made our move to Florida and decided that since Dexter was so small that would be just fine for him for the first few nights. Nighttime came and we got ready for bed and placed our beloved puppy into the carrier. Both of us were waiting for the whining to begin. As the night progressed we heard nothing from Dexter. I awoke several times throughout the night listening for any signs of life. Early the next morning both Charlie and I awoke and we both looked at each other and wondered why we hadn’t heard a thing from the little guy. After all it was his first night away from his other family. We got up and opened the carrier. There he was all scrunched up in the back of the carrier scared to death. We had a heck of a time getting him out of the carrier. Boy, did I feel bad for the little guy.We finally got him out and then out for a bathroom break as he hadn’t gone since evening. Then our second day began with our beloved Dexter. He had to be right near us at all times, if we left him, he would sit there a whine. My first clue that this night would be different than our first night together. We played and cuddled with our new found puppy and just plain enjoyed him. Wondering how he would do the next day when we had to leave him to go to work. Nighttime came and again we put Dexter in the pet carrier. Well, the door wasn’t even fully shut and the whining began. Now please keep in mind that Charlie had made it VERY clear that NO DOG was going to sleep in our bed. We got into bed and listened for let’s see, 1 minute maybe, and you guessed it, Dexter joined us in bed. Now a much happier puppy, we all settled in for a good night’s sleep. And of course Dexter still to this day sleeps in the bed with us.
Our first day of work with our new puppy – we borrowed a crate from our neighbors to use till we could get out and get one. Getting Dexter into the crate was no problem, just threw in a treat, blanket and a few toys and closed to door. Out the door I went, didn’t even get into the car and I could hear him inside whining and barking. I was brave and continue on thinking it won’t last long. According to our wonderful neighbors, dogs lovers also, he didn’t carry on too long. So we figured we had the problem of what to do with Dexter when we left for work solved. Boy did we have a lot to learn about Doxies!! Dexter was a very determined puppy, stubborn could be a better way to describe him. He learned quickly the pattern in the morning when I was getting ready for work. Once I took my shower he would head under the bed. Nothing you did could coax him out, not even a treat!! So now I was trying to figure out how to outsmart this little guy. I would get everything together early so that after my shower I could spend time with him before I had to leave. Well this worked for about a day, again he figured out my plan. Putting him in the cage just got harder and harder, he would cry and bark and carry on like we were killing him.
One day when Charlie was out of town and I had to work longer than we thought he could handle, we asked our wonderful neighbors, Mike and Anna, to come over and let him out for a bathroom break. They gladly accepted. Anna came over to get him around noon and get him out for a bathroom break, then took him over to their home to play with their shelties, Jessi and Jemi. When I arrived home from work and went to get Dexter, Mike told me that the blanket was wet and they assumed he had had an accident in the crate. I checked it out and the blanket was definitely wet, so I washed out the crate and blanket for the next day. Again they were there to help out the next day with him till I got home and again the blanket was all wet. I started to think, why he is now wetting in his crate. The week went on pretty much the same and finally the weekend arrived and I was home with Dexter, which he loved. He really didn’t like being alone. I had to run up to the local store, just a mile away for a few things, so of course I put Dexter into the crate and assured him I wouldn’t be long. 20 minutes later I arrived only to find Dexter soaking wet!! The crate was soaked also. I was dumfounded. I had to get a towel to dry off Dexter. After many attempts to figure out what or how he was getting so wet, we came to the conclusion he just got himself so worked up that he drooled why too much and soaked himself and the crate. So now our mission was to find a gate to block off the kitchen area for the puppy to confine him in while we were gone, giving him more room to move about. So off to the pet store again to see what we could find. Pet store visits were getting to be a regular thing each weekend. Our mission was to find a gate and a bed that Dexter would use as the one I originally purchased for him he refused to use. We were finding this next to impossible as we of course had an odd size opening. The crate however, we learned would fit with the door opened just right to block the kitchen off. So now every day we would move the crate over to the opening and then I would leave via the front door as Dexter watched, giving me the saddest looks ever. But in the long run this worked out much better, he adapted to this much better than the crate and we felt much better about leaving him. And guess what, now it seemed okay to curl up on the blanket in the crate and sleep while we were gone. Still though I had to outsmart him or he would hide under the bed. I guess he figured if he hid under the bed and didn’t come out that I wouldn’t leave him. A couple of times I had to leave, so I just closed all the bedrooms doors, picked up the area rug and hoped for the best. This of course he loved, having the free run of the place.
