If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Guest writer: Chitra Sherman

I want to tell you about Sasha’s friendly behavior and attitudes now.

Good manners: Sasha has some exceptional qualities! She will walk on the mat as instructed on a raining day so that she leaves no wet paw marks on the floor. She is a general when it comes to being punctual. You can set your watch to Sasha’s routine!!

It is ten in the morning she is waiting at the door for her morning meal, exactly at four in the evening she is near the fridge looking up..You may wonder why. Well that’s where her dog biscuits are kept. If am not around that place she follows me all round the house.

The Bottle Scare: Guess what Sasha is very scared of ….bottles.  I found this out by chance.  Once I was drinking out of a bottle of water and told her sit.  She obeyed like soldier, and sat, ramrod straight… waiting for my next command.  I told her to do a couple of other things like “fetch”, “Stay” and Madame obeyed like a seasoned dog show winner!  

Eureka!  I could now make her obey me without reprimanding her.  She did it for the bottle!!  However, there is hardly any need for all that as our Dalmatian can be as good as gold most of the time! 

The social barker: Her barking logic, is however, strange.  When someone comes home she announces their arrival with a bark but when they leave she is really unhappy and barks on and on… letting us know of her disapproval… Why do people leave… Shouldn’t they stay on, pet her, give her treats and talk to her lovingly…. Well!!! She goes to the gate whines, barks and paws at the grills as if to coax them back into the house! 

Sasha the brave! Once, for a problem in her uterus our Sasha had to undergo surgery.  I was amazed at her tolerance of pain and moved to tears! She also stoically bore the post surgery trauma and healing pains without snapping or becoming belligerent.  She was calm, composed, quiet… our brave heroine! 

Sasha is also allergic to pollen dust that gives her skin rashes. We take every precaution, after consulting the vet, to keep her in comfort, yet at times, she tends to scratch, Insistent scratching drew blood, but when I say “No” Sasha, stops immediately!

Depression! Have you seen dogs go into depression!! Well Sasha does!! She hates it when my music school has vacation. She really misses the sound of children singing, and  the patter of their feet, when they play after class.

Guess how she shows it? She sits, facing the wall, with her back to us!! She does not budge until it is mealtime! Talking of food, like all dogs she loves ice and as you already know, she loves what we eat.  But I give her meals that are specally nutritious for her. 

Sasha completes nine years in our home now and she continues to keep us captivated with her love, antics and adorable behavior!

(This is the third and final part of “The Story of Sasha.  We hope you enjoyed it.  Do send in similar stories of dog care and dog behavior.  We would be happy to present it on this site.)

About Chitra Sherman

Chitra Sherman formerly had a successful marketing career.  She gave it up for music. Right now she runs a music school and loves to nurture young talent.  She is also a freelance writer.  She has written several e-books on dogs and has edited children’s books too.  The present writeup is on her pet Dalmatian, a dog that she and her family adore.

Guest writer:Chitra Sherman

I was jittery. Sasha was coming home today….

One more item on my busy schedule… feeding, training this new member of the family…. I had to juggle my schedules again… Would I be able to do it efficiently?.

Not that the others would not contribute. However, housebreaking is something only I had shown success in the past!! (I have been labeled a tyrant because I am quite strict about dog behavior/training)

Our Dalmatian arrived pre christened in her erstwhile home as Sasha wrapped in the blanket. We live on a quiet road.  However, just as Sasha arrived, a bike roared past, and little Sasha literally jumped out of her skin and was shivering!

 We later came to know that the noise gave her a jolt because she had spent the first 75 days of her life in a farm tucked away in the quiet suburbs of the city.  The outcome of this incident?  She never let us take her for a walk! Toilet training was confined to my garden which had just begun to look lovely!  For Sasha, I shelved my gardening projects temporarily.

Slowly we realized that Sasha had an identity crisis!!

We thought she was a dog and she thought she was human!! You may ask how?? You should observe how she sits…she is the only dog that I have seen who sits on her backside as humans do. She loves bananas, ice creams, cakes, chocolates you name the junk food and she loves it.

She can be quite cunning too!! When I am around alone she rarely begs at the table.  However, when guests arrive, she changes her attitude…She is, in fact, in her worst behavior. She is all around the place looking for scraps.

To reach the tasty tidbits she will do anything …push her self between chairs tables, sprawl at my husband’s feet… or sit in a classic begging posture and make eye contact with the guests. Naturally they fall for her charm and feed her generously and our Sasha sits back later happy and satisfied about a job well done!

(To be continued)

About the writer:   

Chitra Sherman had a successful marketing career.  Right now she runs a music school and loves to nurture young talent.  She is also a freelance writer.  She has written several e-books on dogs and has edited children’s books too.  The present writeup is on her pet Dalmatian, a dog that she and her family adore.