Good pooch

Having Cookie (aka Lost Dog) in my house for a couple of hours made me realise how lucky I am to have a mellow dog like Rusty.

Looking at how much effort it takes for Petunia to train a puppy makes me thankful that Rusty turned out this way despite the lack of training.

Rusty was a hyperactive puppy but luckily he grew up into a disciplined adult. During his hyperactive years, he scurried around the farm like a hare. He spent his days romping through mud and bashing through thick undergrowth, sometimes emerging with a dead bird between his jaws. Nobody taught him manners or toilet trained him because he spent all his time outdoors. He wasn't allowed inside the house because he was always filthy, so he slept out in the porch together with Cookie. He was a little farm dog.

When we moved to the apartment, we wondered how an active farm dog could adapt to life in a little flat. I didn't even know where to begin training him. Will it be easy to teach him where to pee and poo? Will he feel lonely without Cookie? Will he miss the farm life? Will he ever get used to life between four walls?

But little Rusty surprised us in so many ways. He proved that he is capable of holding his pee and poop until we bring him out for a walk. He's quiet and well behaved in the apartment, we never have to worry about annoying the neighbours. He doesn't chew up things or make a mess. He waits patiently for us to come home and greets us with such enthusiasm, it makes us love him so. He's never been up to any mischief so far. He makes our guests feel so welcomed and he doesn't get in anyone's way. He doesn't steal our food and eats from his own bowl in the kitchen.

In other words, he's polite and gracious, the kind of dog that every owner is proud to have. Like what my friend says, "He's not the kind that makes you lose face when you take him out."

I'm glad he turned out to be a good pooch.