Living with Hero

A Heroic Update

Haven’t updated in a few weeks because post-Tibet fracas Chinese Internet censorship is making it harder to use Tumblr.  Such is life.

Took Hero in for his shave last week and the shop says his fur is suffering from a post-mite infestation mineral deficiency.  In short, the pigmentation is missing from patches of fur.  This isn’t a serious problem, it just makes his fur look a little strange.  Anyway, they gave me a bottle of horse pills vitamins to feed Hero, and at first he struggled mightily against eating them but now he gobbles them up.

Since he’s approaching the six-month mark, Hero’s beginning to go through dog puberty.  He doesn’t lift his leg yet but he does go pee in small batches around the neighborhood, as opposed to making one big lake of pee.  Also, he’s less intimidated by the female chihuahua who lives in the building — though she’s much smaller than Hero, she used to scare the bejeezus out of him.

Our next big task regarding Hero is to get him licensed.  The girlfriend and I have been talking about whether we want to buy a “city license” or a “countryside license,” both of which can be obtained in Tianjin, and the latter of which is naturally cheaper.  Note that in China (Tianjin at least) a dog license is actually called a “dog residence permit,” and the terms and requirements are the same as if a person wanted to get a residence permit — provide three photos, an address, and pay the fee.

Death, Destroyer of Pillows

I’m not exactly sure when or why it started, but Hero seems intent on waging a campaign of pillowcide whenever I’m not in the living room.  Tonight, after being caught in the act, he carried off a tassel to his bed, a token of mortal struggle between a puppy and cushion.

He is now five months old.

The Great Housebreaking Debate

If having a dog is like raising a child, then my girlfriend and I have run into the classical “strict father”/”lenient mother” conflict when trying to get Hero housebroken.

Hero is a little more than four months old now, which means his bladder has some control.  My schedule is bad for taking him out.  I can usually take him out three times a day:  in the morning before I go to work, in the late afternoon/evening after I get home, and in the evening before I go to bed.  If I miss one of these times or don’t give him enough time to do his business outside, he usually goes to the bathroom inside the house.

I don’t want to punish Hero physically to get him housebroken, but I do place him in his cage for a short time and shout a stern “NO” when he “goes” inside.  (I also cage him if I’m doing something where I can’t watch after him, such as cooking or doing laundry.)

The girlfriend, conversely, does nothing to punish or correct this behavior, just puts out some newspaper.   She claims she doesn’t want to take away his “freedom” by caging him, but if there’s no punishment, it’ll be almost impossible to housebreak him.

I’m hoping things will be easier in the future as he learns to hold it longer.