What kind of dog is that? We probably get asked that 2-3 times on every hike we take him on. I think of all these quirky responses I could give, but, the truth is weird enough. Dexter’s first family wanted a Rottweiler. They thought they got one for free. At 11 month’s old, they had a DNA test done on him. What kind of Rottweiler has legs only 6″ long? The results came back that he had no Rottweiler genes in him, so they posted an ad on Craigslist. The ad said he was a rescue and that the daughter was going to college and she wanted to keep him but they had too many as it was.
The too many part was probably the only truth coming out of their mouths. They had a mini ranch. Alpacas, Goats, 3 Great Pyrenees dogs, 3 Andalusian Shepherds , chickens….. . We took Dexter home, they charged us $150 saying that helped cover his chip and shots. Records of said expenses were to be emailed to me the next day.
No email the next morning, but I did find a tick on the floor. I turn him over and he is COVERED IN TICKS!!! (I’m scratching just retelling this now). They had a lot more critters at that ranch than they were willing to confess!
Fortunately I found a groomer open on a Sunday morning. When I went to pick him up, she showed me a picture of dozens and dozens of dead ticks they got off of him. (Ugh! Poor little guy. I’m itching again)
A week goes by, former owner, and fake animal rescuer, keeps promising me to send Dexter’s records. In the meantime, we take him to a vet who scans him and says there is no chip. He advises we assume there were no shots either and we should start immunizations from the beginning.
Former owner continues to text me to ask how he is. I say fine except for the part about no chip and no immunizations! Now she turns on me and says I need to bring him back. I can have my money back. I detect a cuckoo out of its nest and decide to cut off all communications with this woman. I probably should have reported her but I thought she might say we stole her dog.
Obviously, Dexter’s first year wasn’t so great. But we planned to change all that. We have usually traveled with our dogs. Even driving back and forth to Florida a couple of times with our dogs. Never an issue before. But, Nope. Not Dexter. HATES being in a moving vehicle! And we want to be full time RVers! He usually cries and whines for at least the first hour of a trip.
By now we realize this little guy had never left that backyard ranch. Never had any vet care, except, he was neutered. And that was probably his only time in a car, which maybe explains his fear of it!
When we hike, he has now started whining about 10 minutes in. He doesn’t seem to have any physical ailments, just anxiety at being away from “home”. At least Rosie, our motor home, has started to feel like home for him when it’s not moving. So that is a win!
When we first brought him home, within an hour he went out our dog door and went around the side of the house to relieve himself. That’s where he went the next time and the time after that. We took him for walks and he always waited until we got home to go to “his bathroom” on the side of the house.
He never went on the lawn. Never had to bring a baggie to pick up after him during walks or even day hiking. Pretty great! Right? Except that he will ONLY go on the side of the house. We travel. Sometimes day trips, often longer. He only wants to go on the side of the house! When we camp, he will wait up to 48 hours to do his “duty” if you get my drift! This can’t be healthy.
Which brings us to where we are now. Dexter, and the both of us have started to work with a dog trainer. We have an adorable, funny, and smart… anxiety ridden pup she tells us. However, he has become the leader of our pack because he doesn’t trust us to lead. He probably would much prefer if one of his humans would step up and take that job.
So now, once a week for the next few weeks, we will be attending “Leadership Academy”. And Dexter will get 1.5 hours in constructive play and exercise every day.
And about that DNA test. Which the former owner gave me a copy of. Dexter is a mix of German Shepherd, Sharpei, and Basset Hound. Try not to think about how that happened.
To keep up with Dexter’s progress – Be sure to subscribe to the Roaming With Rosie YouTube Channel. New episodes every Saturday night. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzNnP-226JZj3gZroV-1JQ