Expect the Unexpected

One thing any potential dog owner should know is that, no matter how well prepared you are for adopting a new pet, there is no way you will think of every possible twist in the story.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of things I love about Jin, and I could write a whole other blog post about that. But he's also thrown me some definite curveballs.

First there's the walking issue. We have not yet mastered the walk, and in fact I feel like Jin is getting worse, partly because he's getting more comfortable - he's actually easier to take on a run than a walk. I signed him up for a whole class on walking because I only know so many strategies to help him out.

The first week was owners-only, and the instructor told us that the following week, with all the dogs there, would be the hardest. "All of you registered for the class because your dog has some sort of issue," she said. "So imagine being in this room with six dogs, all with issues." The funny thing is that at the time I remember thinking, Huh, maybe I'm in the wrong class. Jin doesn't have issues, I just want to be able to enjoy our walks. Jin doesn't have issues? Funny. The next week I realized how very wrong I was. In fact, Jin has more issues than all but one other dog in the class. I spent the full hour and a half holding onto his leash for dear life and trying to calm him down, and by the end of the evening was exhausted and bit upset. No parent wants to have the problem child. I console myself a little when we go out on walks by noticing that when we pass other dogs, they too are lunging to the ends of their leashes and giving their owners just as much grief as Jin gives me, and sometimes more. I tell myself that almost all dogs in Ann Arbor have issues, that Jin just happens to be stronger than many (but not all) of those dogs, and that at least I am doing something about my dog's issues.

Next there are the medical problems. Shortly after I got him, Jin began driving me crazy by licking one of his paws obsessively. Sometimes he would even chew it. I finally took him to the vet who told me that some dogs are just obsessive lickers, but it was a good idea to check it out. And I'm glad we did because when she pried open his toes, the skin inside was red and raw and infected. He had some sort of skin wound that he had tried to lick better, and in the process had instead given himself an infection, which of course itched and caused him to lick even more. We got antibiotics and a sort of foot powder, so for ten days Jin got pill-stuffed hot dogs twice a day, and then got his foot powdered and wrapped in an old sock and taped up for a couple hours so that he couldn't lick the powder off. Fortunately it now seems to have cleared up - he still licks sometimes, but not as often as he used to. Thankfully. Because I thought that if he kept it up I just might go insane.


And as of yesterday, I have another story to add to the repertoire. A few days ago we got a notice that maintenance was going to be repainting the doors on Monday and we would need to secure our animals, since the doors would be open for several hours for painting and drying. Ashley and I couldn't be home because of school and work obligations, so Ashley spent as much time with him as possible before she had to leave, and then put him in my room and closed the door. About three or four hours later I came home in my brief break between classes like I always do, to feed him and let him out, and when I opened my bedroom I discovered that Jin had not liked being left alone in closed quarters.


This picture doesn't do the scene justice. In case you can't tell, that's the carpet by my bedroom door, or what was left of it. In fact, it looked about five times worse when I first came home because there were bits and pieces of carpet and padding everywhere, which I cleaned up before I thought to snap a picture of the damage. I guess Jin, being left inside a room with no way out, and hearing and sensing unfamiliar people in the apartment, panicked and decided to dig his way out of the room, and he got quite a good start. I say sometimes that Jin reminds of Babe, maybe because Babe also had some German Shepherd in her, and to me (to those in the know) this incident is reminiscent of Babe's Great Escape from Starcrest Kennels. I imagine that given enough time Jin may have been able to pull off a similar feat. Good to know for future reference.


Luckily there was someone laying carpet in another apartment in the complex this evening and so the head of maintenance had him come over and do my carpet. And the best part was that I didn't even have to pay. Still, I wasn't very happy with Jin yesterday.

Again, don't get me wrong. Jin's a great dog, and we are working on the problems. It takes time and it takes patience, and it is a bit stressful. But it's like having a child - once you have a child, you can't give it back, and you do what you need to. It's the same with the dog - I made the decision and so now I do what I need to do, and I kind of like him. There are definite rewards to being a dog owner. There are times when I worry that I can't give him what he needs to be happy, that my apartment is too small, that he doesn't have enough opportunity to just run around outdoors, that I don't have enough time to spend with him. But I think it's a good sign that my worries are not about the stress Jin is causing me and how much easier life would be without him, but rather about what he needs in order to be happy and whether I can give that to him.

I really hope that I can.