The dog has been over six months old, and I have been assisting in taking care of it for almost half a year. This is my first time taking care of a dog for such a long time, and they have been with me for so long. I am writing this article to record the past six months of raising a dog.
I often mention these two dogs in weekly, so let me briefly introduce them. The black one is called Invincible (original name Blackie), and the gray one is called Excess (original name Grayie). I will explain the origin of their names later. They are both male siblings and are local dogs.
Background#
I don't have much experience in raising dogs. The last time I raised a dog was in elementary school. I forgot who gave me a puppy, but I only raised it for a few days. My parents didn't agree to continue raising it, so I gave it away. I still remember a few scenes of that little dog: 1. At that time, there was no dog food in the countryside, so I fed it whatever I ate. I only remember feeding it "la tiao zi" (a type of Shaanxi noodle), not knowing that dogs shouldn't eat such heavy seasonings and chili. But the dog seemed to enjoy it and swallowed it in one gulp, leaving me with nothing to eat; 2. My dad didn't allow me to keep the dog, so I temporarily gave it to our neighbor. I didn't dare to resist and said it was okay. Later, my cousin said she wanted me to bring the dog back. When I went to pick it up, it was tied up and lying there obediently. When it saw me, it went crazy and greeted me. After I untied it, I brought it back; 3. After that, the dog stayed at my cousin's house. One time when I went out with my aunt, I saw the dog tied up outside, guarding the house. When it saw me, it barked like crazy. It didn't recognize me anymore. By then, the dog had grown up, but not too much. I saw that one of its legs was lame. My sister said it went to the garbage dump to find food and someone broke its leg. It was quite sad, not because it was injured, but because it had forgotten about me in just a few months. Later, I heard that it had died, but I forgot the reason, it definitely wasn't from old age.
Since then, we haven't had any pets at home, and I didn't want to raise any either. If I really had to, I would prefer to raise a cat 🐱. Cats don't need to be walked or require much companionship. Even in the game "The Sims 4," I only raise cats.
I often dream of being chased and bitten by dogs or seeing dogs in my dreams and being too scared to move. Dream interpretation says that someone around me wants to harm me, which is quite absurd. But after raising dogs, I haven't had these dreams anymore, I only dream about training dogs.
I was born in the Year of the Dog, and I was even given nicknames during school, "Lele Dog" and "Dog Lele." These were okay, not considered bullying, just names given by my friends.
Process#
Adoption#
Last November, we moved into a new house, and a few weeks later, my wife wanted to have a furry baby. I was afraid that she was impulsive and didn't think things through, so I suggested that we go and play with someone else's dog first. But she disagreed, and I couldn't persuade her, so I agreed. Then we considered adoption, buying, or picking up a dog. We followed a dog shelter's official account and looked on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book). Most of the dogs available for adoption were free, but they required a deposit, personal information, monthly videos, and home visits. I couldn't accept this kind of arrangement because it felt like we were just taking care of someone else's dog. I was afraid that we would bring the dog home and not take good care of it or even mistreat it.
Later, I found a free adoption post on Xiaohongshu. There were no requirements, we just needed to pick up the dog in person. So we went to pick up the dog on a weekend. The blogger had posted a video in advance and asked us to make a reservation. There were nine puppies in total, and all the white ones had already been reserved. My wife had reserved a black one in advance (which is Invincible), and the night before, I said we should get another one as a companion. So we reserved a gray one (which is Excess). Excess was the one that ate the most, and it looked a bit dull in the video, not playing with the other puppies.
After picking them up, we went to my mom's place first. As parents, they naturally didn't agree and only wanted grandchildren. They thought that having a dog would have a negative impact, but I didn't care and brought the dogs home. My wife is a meticulous person, so she took care of all the dog's needs.
Puppy Problems#
When the puppies first came home, we needed to teach them to use the toilet. It was indeed a challenging task. Invincible learned relatively quickly, and both the small and big dogs would go to the toilet. Excess, on the other hand, couldn't learn for half a day and would pee and poop everywhere. We even considered if one toilet wasn't enough for the dogs. Don't dogs use the same toilet? So we bought another one and kept them separate. But they didn't want to be separated and kept barking, wanting to sleep together. Excess still couldn't use the toilet properly even after three or four months. It would pee anywhere and eat a lot. It was quite a headache. That's why I named it Excess because I thought it was slow to learn. Coincidentally, my wife's last name is Wang, and in the movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire," there is a character named "Wang Duoyu" (Excess Wang). I thought this name was suitable, and it corresponded to Invincible. Invincible was good at everything and learned quickly.
Initially, we didn't use a cage and used a playpen for children. But when the dogs grew up, they could jump out of it. We thought it would be better to let them roam on the balcony, but Excess still couldn't use the toilet properly and would poop and pee on the balcony. One day, I got really fed up with it. When I came home from work, I had to clean up the mess on the balcony first. I thought about giving the dogs away and posted an adoption notice on Xiaohongshu and Xianyu (a second-hand trading platform). I sat in a chair and looked at the dogs. They were actually quite well-behaved, and I felt a bit reluctant. I told my wife that it was just me venting my frustration, and we should continue to raise them. So we bought a cage, and the problem of them pooping and peeing everywhere was solved.
Walking the Dogs#
The first time we walked the dogs was in winter last year. After a heavy snowfall, there was a thick layer of snow outside. We wanted them to go out and play, but they were too scared to leave the house. We told them that if they didn't want to go out now, they would be eager to go out every day in the future. I don't know when it started, but they stopped using the toilet inside the house and would hold it until we took them outside. We would take them out once in the morning and once in the evening.
Issues#
It has been six months, and the two dogs have been behaving well, except for the initial problem of pooping and peeing everywhere. Invincible has a tendency to destroy things. One time, it chewed up a pillow. Excess likes to roll in its own poop. My wife has taken them for walks several times, and every time she lets them off the leash, Excess finds its poop and rolls in it. Dogs seem to enjoy that smell, and it's quite fragrant.
Maybe I'm a bit twisted, but I'm stricter with them, and they are both afraid of me. Whenever I get angry, they will roll over on their backs.
Expenses#
We are on a tight budget, so when they were two months old, we soaked their dog food in milk. We bought lactose-free dog food because we were afraid they would have diarrhea. We bought the large bags of dog food, around 40-50 pounds, and we have tried several different brands. The local dogs aren't picky eaters. Now we also feed them chicken legs and bones 🦴, eggs, and vegetables. In total, we spend around three hundred dollars a month, which isn't much. Both of them are in good health and haven't been sick. Taking them to the vet is too expensive.
Thoughts#
Spending these five to six months with the dogs feels similar to raising a child. They say that one dog month is equivalent to seven human months, so it's like experiencing the feeling of raising a child in fast forward. From taking care of their eating, drinking, and toileting needs since they were young, to watching them grow up and playing with them (because I am a complete introvert and don't need much companionship, nor do I feel lonely).
I don't talk much, but when I train the dogs, I can keep talking. I feel like a parent, and they rely on me. I can exercise my parental authority and scold them freely, even if it's not the dog's fault. I sometimes use the dogs as a punching bag. I have been reflecting and examining myself, hoping to avoid these behaviors, whether it's towards the dogs, people, or future children. I want to focus on the issue at hand, not attack the person, and control my emotions. One good thing I do is that when I train the dogs, for example, when Excess pees everywhere, I won't compare it to Invincible and say how much better Invincible is. I just think that Excess might be slower to learn and develop.
After doing a bunch of good things, as soon as I do something bad, everything good I did before is negated. It's a human flaw. I always tell Invincible that it's pretending to be good, acting like a person before, but now it's all exposed. Not good, not good.
Conclusion#
I have written this piece intermittently, writing whatever comes to mind. There is still a lot I haven't written. Although raising dogs comes with many challenges, if someone asked me to send the dogs away, I might not be able to do it. I want to take good care of them, and my only hope is to raise them for more than ten years and then "truly send them away."
After finishing writing, I needed to include pictures from when they were young until now, witnessing every moment of their growth. It feels really good to have them 🐶.
Originally posted on My Blog