Our dog, Will, is not a completely blank slate.
We know he is four or five years old. He was brought in as a stray to a shelter in Ada, Okla., where he spent a few months. Then he was brought to Maine by the Miles to Freedom rescue in Oxford. The shelter had given him the name “Branson.”
My husband, Paul, and I also submitted Will’s DNA for testing. He is mostly American Shepherd and Bernese Mountain Dog, with some poodle thrown in.
Still, I find myself asking on a daily basis, “Who is Will?”
Who is this dog who, on his very first night, headed for the dog bed in the bedroom and spent the entire night there? This behavior indicates Will lived indoors, was allowed to sleep in a bedroom and was trained to use a dog bed. So how did he end up stray and languishing in a shelter for several months?
Will is well-behaved, almost gentlemanly in the house. One of our criteria for adopting a dog was that he or she would not be aggressive toward our senior cats. Will basically ignores them, and even waits for his share of cat treats while I feed the felines first.
He’s very patient if Teddy decides he wants to rub up against him.
Will quickly staked his place on the living room love seat and just as quickly understood what I meant when I said, “Go to your place.”
He arrived completely house-trained.
Will is an excellent traveler. He loves to get into the car, and behaves perfectly on our drives. So far, he hasn’t even shown an inclination to bark at people who pass by while we are parked somewhere. We wonder if he had belonged to someone who did outdoor work and brought him along every day.
That might explain Will’s two issues. He has separation anxiety, especially if Paul leaves the house, and he’s a challenge on the leash.
Will is definitely more attached to Paul than to me. All Paul has to do is make a move toward his jacket and Will is up and wiggling. To his credit, Will has not, as of this writing, done one iota of damage while we were out of the house. He has even calmed down a bit about us leaving. But he is very, very excited when we get back.
He is doing better if Paul leaves the house alone, too. But before he settles down (with one eye open), he jumps up on a chair or window seat to see if he can spot “Papa” in the driveway.
This intense attachment could damage my heart and ego, but I tell myself that Will’s original owner must have been a man. I picture some guy in a flannel shirt driving a Ford F-150 over the plains, Will riding shotgun.
Paul is a worthy substitute in his plaid chamois shirts and RAV4.
I am just the “Food Lady,” but I still get a lot of love, so I’m good with it.
Presumably, Will just ran wild and free out west while doing his business. Alas, he now lives in town and has to go on walks around the block. Will doesn’t seem to mind being on a leash; he just doesn’t understand the concept of walking nicely. Also, he refuses to do his business in the yard, which can present problems when it’s -4 degrees and icy.
Will actually has gone 28 hours without a Number 2. What’s with that? We can’t figure it out.
So, between the extra walks to try to get him to go, and Will’s C-plus behavior on the leash, Paul (to whom this chore falls) can get frustrated. I don’t think there’s a lot we can do about his bathroom habits and am just happy he has not gone in the house.
As for the leash behavior, I am desperately awaiting the real arrival of spring so I can get out there and train him. Winter is really not the best time to adopt a dog. It’s hard to enforce heeling rules when you’re trying to avoid ice.
But Will came to Maine in January, and we had a chance to bring him into our lives. It was a chance I was not going to pass up.
Although I wonder about Will’s previous life, it does make me sad to think about how he ended up alone. I can’t let myself think about what he went through during that scary and uncertain time.
So though I theorize about where he came from in order to better understand him, I am trying to focus on who he is now. Who is that dog? Why, it’s “Our Will.”
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I welcome email at lizzie621@icloud.com
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