He was a cute pup when I brought him home, spots all over his body, white of face, adorable, quiet, soft and dependent. I went straight to my elderly father who was watching TV in his room. "A Dalmatian, pa," I said, showing him the creature in my arms.
My dad, a lover of animals, gave an amused smile and looked intently at the pup. "Who will take care of it?" he asked.
"I will," I replied simply. That night I plunged into research at the internet, downloading "Dalmatian" websites one after the other.
This was in 2002 and the world's perception of pet dogs was changing. No longer were dogs the type you leave in your backyard outdoors to live among themselves, feed and bathe occasionally. Dogs nowadays were trained; they were vaccinated regularly. And they slept indoors with their owners.
When we were children, we grew up hearing newly arrived puppies crying for their mother or littermates. Since they were noisy and their cries pierced the night, they were isolated in the back of the garage or far from the main house. We were young then and we pitied them terribly, worse when the pup was alone by himself. But we didn't know what to do.
Now I had a cute pup in my arms, and for the first time in my life this would be my dog. I was in control of its life and comforts. I remembered my childhood memories and didn't agree with my dad's practice of confining helpless pups alone in the night in the back of the garage. I was going to take care of this pup my way.
Our previous dogs were Boxers and we still had two left in the house. My dad had Boxer books so I looked them up too. I needed advice on how to make a pup sleep through the night without crying for fear or isolation.
Pick the Best Advice
It's true; reading books on dogs can be confusing. There's such a barrage of training advice and information. One book will say this while another book will say that. Some authors will even contradict each other -- adding to the reader's confusion.
Know what? Pick what applies to you. Pick what applies to your particular situation. Then scratch out the rest.
I picked out one which suggested you "crate train" your pup right in your bedroom. I didn't have a crate then so I got a small carton box. I covered it with cloth, put the Dalmatian pup in, closed the lid loosely, and positioned the box beside my bed that first night of his arrival.
My nights have never been the same since.
I'm used to a pitch black room when I go to sleep at night, so dark I can barely see my hand in front of my face. But now, I had to keep a lamp open in a distant corner.
The system worked because since I'd sleep lightly (not used to an open light burning even dimly), I'd awake every time the pup stirred. Then during the night, I saw how ideal the arrangement was. I heard Spotty rise from his sleep and saw him push his round white head through the carton lids to peep out, missing his mother and littermates. Our eyes met. I saw his little round puppy eyes look at me intently then, realizing he was with company, slid back into the box to return to his sleep.
Our house never heard a crying pup looking for his mother in the night ever since. He was with family even while he slept.
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