subject: All Dogs Are Different [print this page] All Dogs Are Different All Dogs Are Different
Let me first start off by saying that my dog is big. Very big. That is always the first thing people notice about her. The next is her sweet gentle personality. She is a four year old English Mastiff and a loyal friend. When I got her, I was prepared for everything she had to offer. I knew that she needed her space, so I made sure that she had a huge fenced yard to run and play in. I knew that she would like to chew on things as a puppy, so I had bones and toys of every size ready. I knew that she needed attention so I prepared myself and my fianc for giving her all she could take.
The first day she came home she was scared to leave the back porch. She would walk to the edge and hesitantly look back at me before making her way over to my side for some ear and belly rubbing. Her great big backyard sat there unused for the most part. Of course she would use the bathroom out there but absolutely no running around and playing took part in that backyard the whole time we lived there. I would even run out the back door, across the yard and turn around only to see her standing at the edge of the porch wondering what I was doing way over there.
When I brought her home, I instantly brought out our huge box of bones and toys for her to play with. It was a sort of welcome basket for her. She walked over to the nearest bone, sniffed it, and walked away. I was a little confused at first but decided to take another approach. I grabbed the biggest loudest squeaky toy from the box and tried to play with her. Again she sniffed the toy but nothing else. No chewing on it, no playing with it, and absolutely no excitement for any of the toys whatsoever. She turned away from the toy and laid her head on my leg awaiting my scratch. Four years later we still have the box of toys and bones. I guess I kept it around in case one day she decides she will want to play or chew. It has been four years though and not a single bite mark on any of them.
I just figured that I had gotten a broken puppy. She did not want to play and did not want to run around. She wanted nothing but to be close to me and be loved. I remember reading so much about my new English Mastiff and trying to prepare not only myself but my home for her. There was one thing that I had read about my new dog that could not be truer, she needed love and attention. My dog needs more love and attention than any other dog or human for that fact and she wants it all the time.
I know a lot of people that could not handle the amount of affection my dog craves at all hours of the day and night. It does not matter if I am in the middle of writing or trying to sleep, my dog will always be there ready for attention and I would not want it any other way. She may not be the dog I had prepared myself for but she is the dog I needed. We fit together perfectly and I would not trade her for anything.
