Duke, aka "Flaps" has no control over his ears as shown in the picture on the left. My Dad calls him Flaps 'cause his ears fly around like JarJar Binks' ears in Star Wars. On the right he is asleep in my lap with "toy".
We found Duke in a shopping center parking lot. The owner was selling him and his sister. We wanted a boy so we bought Duke. (Don't recommend this. Better to go to a shelter.) Clay wanted a Dachshund and I wanted a Chihuahua so we thought this mix was perfect! Not. The first thing Duke did was throw up on my shoulder (Ewwwww). He was sweet for a very short time, as he was only 6 weeks old. The sweetness went away rapidly as he aged. He became very agressive to other dogs and to humans. Clay and Jessica would jump everytime he showed his teeth. We owned Raphael, a border collie mix and Daisy. Duke got too excited down by the lake and started yet another fight with Raphael. Raphi weighed about 50 lbs and Duke around 10lbs. Raphi had enough of Dukes bullying and he turned on Duke. I tried to break it up. Duke + Raphi + fight + me = bite marks on my arm from Duke and Duke has a punctured eye. His eye is fine now.
I then enrolled Duke in obedience classes and he started taking Prozac. Both really helped him start to trust me more and also put him in his place in our pack. We discovered he loves soft toys that squeak. He carries one in his mouth 80% of the time. No need to put the toy down when he barks, he can bark and hold a toy in his mouth! When he hears the squeaky sound he becomes frantic!
Duke is now 7 years old. He is no longer on prozac and is the sweetest dog ever. He is a dream on a leash (except for the barking; never could break that) and is a wonderful friend. He loves to cuddle. Duke can usually be found sitting near me wherever I am! He is very gentle with our 4lb. Chihuahua, Rambo. He no longer snaps at the vet or her employees. He is shy and needs encouragement around strangers.
Dukes' motto: Bark at it until it goes away.
No comments:
Post a Comment