We've got a real special post today, just in time for the holidays. Woof, Woof! Dachshund Lover Steve Kissinger writes of his newest love, handsome wirehair piebald 'Rocky,' with some awesome photos, and a fun desktop theme to save as your background! Thanks so much, Steve. Needless to say, looks like Rocky has found his perfect forever home. Without any further adieu, Meet Rocky! (click any image to enlarge)
About 6 months ago I adopted a wirehair dachshund named Rocky. He was rescued from a breeder in South Carolina. When I met him, he was only 12 lbs, which was very thin for a 17" long doxie. We could tell right away that he was very grateful to be taken in by loving humans. He is now almost 16 lbs. He loves to eat, sleep, and play. He also loves his new brother Baxter and likes to take naps while I play guitar. He does have some issues such as: being very scared of most people besides those in our household, and barking and intimidating anyone who comes in the house. We are working on those though (any tips?). I also found out that his mother died when she was giving birth to him. Only Rocky and one sister survived. But don't think for a second that I would trade this little guy for anything in the world! We have a very special bond that I don't expect to find ever again. I very highly recommend adopting a rescue dachshund. You might want to have some extra time and money to spend though. You never know what unexpected woah's from the dog's past will have you taking a trip to the vet (Worms and allergies in our case). Rocky is a very special doxie and likes to have staring contests with humans. His eyes alone will make anyone fall in love with him. Rocky and I along with Baxter and his human Brittany, are both very excited to celebrate what I bet will be his first Christmas. And there are lots of presents under the tree for him and his brother! Rocky has had a pretty tough life, but he is a poster pup for rescue dogs. It just goes to show how far a little compassion and a lot of love can go.
Happy Holidays!
Dog Days, indeed.
A Rocky Collage (click image to enlarge)
To save this image as your desktop background, click on image to enlarge. Then right click, and select 'Set as Desktop Background.' Works best with a screen resolution of 1280 X 800.
5 comments:
Wow, Rocky is beautiful! Thanks for sharing his story and such nice pictures. :) I've got the background on my laptop!
Hey Steve,
Fear around people and barking are very common dachshund issues. So a little bit of it will be you getting used to it and working around it, but there are definitely things you can do.
First, take yourself and your dog to a positive training class immediately where they use methods such as "luring". This is important because the leading cause of dogs being un-rescued is that the owner doesn't ever learn how to work with them.
You will learn fun ways to train your dog to sit and wait. Training will be a game for you and your dog. Then start training your dog that the front door only opens when he sits and waits, so it becomes a game. This will be a challenge and using a friend to knock on the door and come in over and over will help you practice. Visitors will become fun.
As far as general fear of people goes, you have to let your dog be the decider on when someone's OK. This means telling your friends to ignore your dog for 30 minutes including no eye contact and no reaching for the dog when they come over. Either you or more likely your dog will let them know if that can be ended earlier. Sniffing is not a sign that your dog is OK with them, he's just checking them out. It should be ignored even if your dog is sniffing their hand. He'll make it obvious when he's ready.
Just in general, start small and go for successes. Don't take you dog around lots of people right away or on long walks where he'll be around lots of people and other dogs.
And most importantly, when dealing with fear NEVER NEVER NEVER punish your dog. Then not only will he have the thing to fear, but you as well. When he's pushed into a corner like that where nobody's on his side, he will start biting. Everytime he's around something he's afraid of make that a good situation, first by trying to make him happy, and by exiting the situation if it's not getting better. Let him know you will protect him, not yell at him.
Again, the training class will prepare you to accomplish all of this.
Good Luck!
Matt
doxienews.com
Rocky is gorgeous & very lucky boy to have found such a wonderful new home! Thank you for sharing his story!
Wishing you & yours a very Merry Chritmas!
Pee S - have the adorable wallpaper on my desktop!
((hugs))
Oskar, Schatzi & Xena
Matt, thanks for the advice. I'll be looking for a class like that. And I'm glad everyone else likes the wallpaper. Thanks for the kind words.
Steve
Ah, that story could not be sweeter. Congratulations on finding and rescuing a new long doggie to love and be loved by! Merry Christmas!
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