Every once in a while, when I talk about adding another dog to our family, I am gently reminded about how difficult a time we had with Sprite when she first joined us. To say that she was (IS!) obstinate would be pretty on-target!
I think that a big problem for us was that Sprite was three months old when she came to live with us. Since we got her at a pet store, we believe that she had lived in the little crate/pen that they kept the puppies in for all three of those months. Because she was an adorable fluff of white Bichon fur/hair, I am pretty sure that many people requested that she be taken out of the pen... but, let's face it, that wouldn't be enough play time for any puppy.
Anyway, we found that Sprite developed habits when we brought her home which were so awful that at one time, for a brief half hour, I considered giving her away to a good home. The big draw-back to that idea was that when we would have to tell the truth about why we were getting rid of her, believe me.... we would never have been able to find people who would adopt her!
BUT.... I can truthfully say that we are all SO happy that we persevered... When I think back to that half hour when I considered letting her go to another family, I simply cannot believe that I ever had those crazy thoughts. Some of her habits were difficult to break but, with love and consistency on our parts, when Sprite turned one year old, she finally started to do things "our way," and she has been a great member of our family.
More on some of those habits in a future entry....
$32.11
