So let’s try to acknowledge the drive our dogs have for a little taste of freedom—whether they are world dogs of mixed heritage or pure breeds. We have a responsibility to let our pets make their own choices when we can. Let’s let them decide whether to come in or go out, to go over or under, to get on or get off, to come now or come later, to approach or to leave, to be touched or not, to play or to sleep. They are indeed captive animals as our pets, even if they are spoiled rotten; but they don’t have to be prisoners.

World Dog Relationship Survival Key:

1. Recognize that she’s going to LEARN what things mean for her, what works for her, and act accordingly.
2. Enjoy her adaptability to different ENVIRONMENTS and socialize her to their elements.
3. Remember that she is a GENETIC freeloader and embrace her innocently selfish ways.
4. Know that she is one in a million, and your relationship with her is completely unique.

CHAPTER FIVE

Self

He is one in a million. There is no other dog on the planet exactly like him. He is an individual with his own story and his own personality, living in a body only he can inhabit. He is Bob.

You brought Bob home from the shelter a year ago, eight years old and mostly deaf. He has a limp in his rear left leg from a break that never quite healed right, and the arthritis to go along with it. You were not looking for an older dog. But he met all of your requirements for a companion, and you and Bob just hit it off.

Bob’s environment, his learning habits, and his genetics all play a huge role in his behavior, as you now know. But there’s one last piece of the puzzle: the self. The self is the umbrella that contains all the aspects of your dog that are unique to him. A dog’s sex, particular hormonal makeup, his age, his health, and his life experiences are all part of what makes him one of a kind. These factors can have profound effects on how he behaves throughout the course of his lifetime. Disabilities, his diet, or illness may change his perceptions, his moods, and his habits. Whether he is feeling the blinding thrill of testosterone hitting his system for the first time as an adolescent male or the edgy defensiveness of a vulnerable elder dog compromised by his declining functions, your dog is subject to these influences.