New Name New Attitude

Let me just start by saying this will not become a dog blog so breathe easy! No Mr. Woofus Poofus Snookums junk here and I certainly will not start in with stories on dog farts or, "You'll never guess what Willy did" (unless it is exceptionally cool) but there is a big new guy in my life (47 lbs. at the vet to be accurate) so you will hear about him.

We are about 3 days into dog ownership and have been hit with a brick. I say "we", but I really should say G :) First of Chief underwent a name change and is now Willy or Willie, lets just say there are a variety of names and spellings out there right now but he is no longer Chief. There is something about not getting to name your dog that is weird, he has a new home and he needed a new name so after some discussion we easily settled on Willy.

Now for the tough stuff. Willy was at a shelter for a reason and I think we've uncovered it, he is an attention seeking dog with a mouthing issue. Ooooffff. In short he wants to be touched at all times and when he isn't getting attention he will use his mouth to get it and when he plays he focuses on using his mouth as well. The vet yesterday suggested some techniques but Willy isn't catching on so we are looking into some immediate action by means of a trainer. So much for skipping that whole puppy stage right?!

The good news is that we both know Willy is a good dog at heart, he isn't aggressive when he mouths, seems to be house broken and just loves to love on you. His eyes are perfect for that puppy dog stare and we both know Willy is in a good home with people that love him, so hopefully with a little training all of our anxieties will fade. Owning a dog is a full time commitment though, and getting a rescue dog probably requires a little more research than what we did. Either way Willy is home and I couldn't be happier!