Doing It Better Dog Adventures

I’m excited about this new subsection of my blog.  I’ve found that my enthusiasm for talking about my dogs’ accomplishments rivals that of any young parent so it seemed time to take it here.

A few years ago we were having a rough time with one of our dogs.  Freya was a great yellow Labrador Retriever.  Poor thing.  She came into my life when I was involved in a bad relationship.   My dogs had always been indoor dogs.  I had two young children, another Lab, and a Chihuahua at the time.  While the man I was dating did not live with me he was very domineering and insisted that she was not to be an indoor dog.  I had her in when he was not around but she did not receive the traditional house breaking and indoor education that my other dogs did.

Time moved on and Freya and my other Lab remained predominately outdoor dogs while my Chihuahua and Greyhound had the run of the house.  I had ended the bad relationship but circumstances still did not lend to her being inside.

Freya continued not to get as much attention or training as I would have liked.  I knew she was a great dog though so I volunteered her to star as Sandy in a production of Annie at our community theater. I spent some time on basic commands with her to get her ready.  My daughter and I were in the show and suddenly it became a family event as my older daughter became the dog handler back stage.  Freya stole the show and everyone involved was in love with her.

Fast forward a few more years and I married my wonderful husband.  We combined children and pets.  Unfortunately, shortly after our wedding we had to euthanize two of our dogs.  It was heartbreaking for us but for Freya it was a positive change.  Suddenly we found ourselves not wanting to leave her outside alone so she slowly made her way indoors.  I was concerned because she had never been properly housebroken but for the most part she adapted quickly.  Our biggest issue was that either she did not know how to tell us she needed to go out or we didn’t understand her signals.  When she did have an “accident” in the house she always went to a room away from where we were.

While Freya was inside now and getting more attention she still found herself at the bottom of the pet rankings.  She was so good at allowing that to happen.  She was there to please us and would stay quiet and out of the way not pressing for attention.

During this time period we did start to take Freya hiking.  She could easily be let off leash because she would never get more than a couple of feet ahead of us.  She made the cover of a magazine in an article I wrote about hiking with your dog.  She learned to wear a back pack to help carry her water and treats. We had two as the first one proved a little warm for Texas heat.

Freya was always so easy.  I could take her to work with me and she would stay in my office without a baby gate or being tethered.  How was she so perfect with so little training?  Don’t get me wrong.  She was a horribly destructive puppy.  I think she was the worst puppy I’ve ever had in terms of chewing things but somewhere along the way she grew into a perfect dog. 

When my Greyhound broke my heart and died Freya moved up again.  It seemed we had the perfect “family” of dogs at that time.  Now we had Freya and two little dogs.  She was the dog we took with us when we wanted to go somewhere with a dog and the other two were our lap dogs.  I honestly don’t think she ever enjoyed going places but she knew we wanted her there and in typical Labrador fashion she did whatever would please us. This included wearing costumes that were often too big for her and collars full of bells!

Eventually this sweet dog who never complained developed a mass.  It was malignant and inoperable.  I was heartbroken.  She rapidly declined so we took her to see our daughter so she could say goodbye.  It was Freya’s first and only trip and her first time to stay in a hotel.  We were able to get reservations at Aloft by Marriott.  What a great dog friendly hotel.  I was so sad we hadn’t looked into this sooner.  The concierge offered Freya treats.  She had no interest in food at this point (a sure sign a Lab is near the end).  There were treat dispensers by the door for dogs.  We took her to the bar where she was perfectly behaved and received lots of pets.  I even offered her left over Philly Cheesesteak which she declined.

I genuinely felt Freya was enjoying riding in the elevator.  I mentioned this to my husband.  On our last trip down in the elevator he looked at Freya and said, “don’t worry, we’ll do better with the next one.”   I was horrified that he said this to her.  Of course I was also adamant that there would not be a next one (though no one ever believed that). The next day we had to tell her goodbye.

I was in a deep depression for quite a while after we lost Freya. But time does heal wounds and eventually we brought home a new puppy. We had a lot to learn

 I hope Freya is looking down on us and pleased to see that we have kept our promise. She had a good life. She was loved and knew it. She enjoyed walking in the county fair parade where she always received lots of pets. She loved going with me to school talks where again she received lots of pets and she loved going to work with me. Our current dogs have found us stepping it up to a whole new level though.

I am so excited about this new section of my blog.  It is a place to share all the ways we are in fact doing better with the next one(s).  I’m sure Freya is very happy that we didn’t do all the things with her that we are now doing.  I hope you will enjoy our adventures in Weenie Dog Races, Dock Diving, Barn Hunt, FastCat, and more.  Thank you for giving me a forum to share my dogters (aka dog daughters) achievements and adventures!