Tam had it in his head the moment we started talking about names was to call him “Jackie.” I guess some Jackie Chan commercial caught his interest that day. The name sounded good to me. There’s something wholesome about a name like Jack. So while he’s a puppy we decided to call him Jack Jack like the baby in the Incredibles. He’s not really answering to the name yet, but he’s still pretty wobbly on his feet and follows anything that moves.
Today we were kept pretty busy caring for Jack Jack. I forgot how much work it is to raise a puppy. He woke up early and got fed at 6:15 which is close to the time he’ll be fed when I go to work. The breeder told me to give him some sweet milk after his meal, but he didn’t even eat all his puppy food. So I saved the milk for his midday meal and he was so vicious that he spilt half the bowl. Tam was still eager to care for him and spent most of the day playing with him. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Tonight I’m going to let Jack Jack sleep in my bedroom so I can “keep him company.” So far he’s hasn’t been crying since he can see me. Earlier in the evening he played on the balcony by himself for a good fifteen minutes without crying. Gradually, I want him to get used to being by himself. If not, I’m afraid my poor father will have to endure the wails while I’m at work.
Right now Jack Jack is fast asleep in his crate. He likes to sleep close to the edge and even though I put a towel in there for him, he sleeps on the bare part. He’s a quirky little guy. I hope he doesn’t wake me up that often tonight and I promise he won’t go on the bed.
We reserved this pup after seeing it when it was a week old. There were only two puppies in the litter, a male and a female. Initially I wanted to pick a female since the last three dogs that I have owned have been females. At the last minute we went for the male seeing as his coloring was nicer and having a male might be easier for us to raise. We put a deposit on him that day and then set for a pickup when he was around 45 days old.
We got the puppy Friday afternoon after the breeder got the pedigree papers for us. He had his first vaccination shots and a fresh wound on his head from fighting with his sister. The parents were on the premise so I took some photos of them. The breeder gave us some food to mix with the new food we’ll be giving him and some medicine for the bump on his head. I asked the breeder’s wife if he was sone “naughty” and she said yes.
He slept most of the way in the car and only woke up periodically to bite me with his sharp puppy teeth. We picked up Tam at school and he was surprised to see the pup as we had planned to pick him up on Saturday morning. Tam was eager to play with the puppy and take it out to potty when we got home.
The little guy got his old food mixed with the Eukanuba puppy food we bought last weekend for dinner. He was pretty hungry and kept putting his paws into the food bowl. Afterwards his tummy was nice and big. I had to wash off his face and paws because the puppy food was all over. He had a few more outings on the balcony to go potty before his bedtime.
Not wanting to spoil him right away, the puppy spent his first night in the family room in Tiger’s old crate. He did cry a bit before he fell asleep. A little past midnight I heard him crying so I took him out on the balcony to go potty again. Hopefully he didn’t get the wrong idea when I let him sleep on my bed for almost half and hour. I finally put him back in his crate and he did make a ruckus for at least 15 minutes. Oh well, tomorrow I’ll be tougher!
Normally, Tiger spends her evenings outside barking at cats and people walking by before coming in and sleeping in my bedroom. Some recent burgluries in the neighborhood has changed all that. Tiger now spends her whole night outside and that leaves my bedroom awfully quiet.
Tiger has a fearsome bark and is quite vigilant. Most of the people around here are scared that she will bite them. She has never bitten or attacked anyway, but she can put up a good show. If provoked, I’m not sure what she will do. All in all, that makes her a good watchdog. Burglurs will think long and hard before stepping into her territory.
I thought that she would bark to be let in once it got late, but she seems to like being outside. Her barking hasn’t been excessive. She doesn’t bark at everyone passing by. Mostly, she likes to bark at the cats that walk up and down the fences.
Right now all I can hear all the toads outside that are calling now that it’s the rainy season. Outside Tiger is probably curled up on our porch. I miss her company at night though. Maybe I can bring her in some nights, just so that she won’t think that she’s being punished.
Tiger was born the week before Songkran 2006. Her mother lived behind the school where I worked and I noticed she was pregnant when I first arrived. The mother dog had five puppies, four brindles and one tan with a black mouth. The puppies were cared for by the school staff and they lived there early days romping around the school parking lot. I put an ad on Craigslist Bangkok hoping that someone might be interested in taking home a Thai dog with pretty brindle markings. I didn’t have any takers.
When school started, a nice parent at the school took all the pups and the mother dog to the vet. They all got vaccinations and the mother dog was spayed. One male pup was adopted, but the rest and the mother dog came back to the school after a few days. The next week, the tan and black masked pup got hit by a car. This female pup, Moo yong, had been claimed by the daughter of one of the kitchen staff, so they took her to the vet and got her treated for minor injuries.
As the pups grew, they started showing their personalities. One large brindle male was named Lion because he was the most dominant of all the pups. Sadly, he got sick when he was about 3 months old and died. Another all brindle pup, we named her Tiger, was the most hyper and friendly of the bunch. She ended coming to live at my house in June. The last pup was a brindle and white female, she was named Hippo. This pup was not around very long and we think that she might have been hit by a car.
The mother dog and Moo yong still live in the school parking lot and are cared for by the school staff. Tiger is spending her turbulent adolescence digging in my father’s garden and causing a general ruckus for our Muslim neighbors. When she sleeps in the chair, she is deceivingly cute. She is the most exasperating dog that I have ever known. I hope she goes through her teenage phase quickly.
Filed under: misc
Anyone who knows me can tell you that iluvdogs. I’ve started reading about dogs incessantly before I even owned any. I enjoy reading about the different breeds, training, individual dogs and their owners. I’ve surprised people at the dog park by identifying lesser known dog breeds like Border Terriers. If they ask, “How did you know that?” I reply, “I love dogs.” I’ve had several differents dogs and love each of them for their personality. I’m never bored if there’s a dog in the house to keep me company. Dogs are simply the best friends you could have. (No offense to my human friends!)
