2008 has been a bit of a rough year for Mulder. My husband says that no dog that sleeps on a high-end memory foam bed and is indulged and loved every moment of his life can have a "rough" year. But if I really sit back and think about it, 2008 has not been as charmed a year as Mulder is used to. In January, he got a little sister — Gracie, our (now) one-year-old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. The day we brought her home in early January, Mulder was initially not very pleased. He sniffed this 12-pound bundle of fur, he backed up warily, he barked, he ran. Then he tried to ignore. He was appalled that this loud, smelly creature was in his house. Then, in his excitement (or truthfully, his distress), he started sneezing and somehow managed to slam his muzzle directly into our hardwood floors. He stumbled around for a second, and I thought he was just stunned. Then he started panting loudly and drooling profusely. My husband rushed him to the emergency vet (at about 9:00 on a Sunday night), while I stayed home with our brand-new family member.
Embarrassingly, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Mulder. No "broken nose" — just a little doggie panic attack. Suffice it to say, Gracie’s first night with her new family was filled with drama.
Since that time, Mulder has grown much closer to Gracie. But it was tough going for a while. She jumped on his head while he was napping, ripped the head off his favorite stuffed toy, sullied his water bowl with dirt and grass, and followed him around 24/7. He could get no peace except when she was in her crate.
Then there was the 10-day house arrest over the summer. In a nutshell, Mulder accidentally bit my finger while I was brushing his teeth. He was chewing on the brush, as he always does, savoring the last traces of gooey, green toothpaste on the bristles. My finger got in the way. Anyway, I went to the doctor, they reported it, and Mulder had to go into a 10-day quarantine. Consequently, he was stuck inside for almost two weeks — no trips to the dog park, no doggie daycare. He was also not allowed to be in the yard, except on a leash (hence, no chasing tennis balls, which Mulder lives for).
Then in October, Gracie went into heat. This was not an easy decision on our part, but we were strongly encouraged by her breeder to allow her to complete one heat cycle. With her breed, there is a high incidence of bladder control problems if the dogs are spayed without being allowed to complete one heat cycle. So, poor Mulder had to endure about three weeks confined in the garage during the day — with Gracie. I drove home daily at lunch to let them out for a few minutes, but since the doggie door to the backyard had to remain closed, both were essentially confined. Mulder, who didn’t even like Gracie to be too close under the best of circumstances, seemed to walk around with a grimace of disgust on his face for the entire three weeks.
And now, the poor boy will be ringing in the New Year on a diet. At his yearly physical last month, he hopped up onto the scale and we watched the digits ramp up to a whopping 100 pounds! Mulder has always been a big Lab — barrel chested, muscular. But he is healthiest at around 85 pounds. Somehow I’d allowed him to gain 15 pounds. So, we went home and threw out the treats and the bones that, looking back, I realize I’d been giving out a bit too generously. There were just too many days when one of them had to be indoors, with no exercise. From the house arrest, to Gracie’s heat cycle, I took the easy way out and gave them a bone to stop the literal bouncing off the walls.
Now Mulder gets a piece of ice as a treat (luckily he’s a fan of it), and we’re strictly monitoring his food intake and exercise. With a little luck, Mulder will enjoy a healthy — and much more enjoyable — 2009.
Shannon Gallo is a freelance writer. She can be contacted at Shannongallo1@yahoo.com