Over a year ago, I was looking for a dog to replace my chocolate lab, whom I had given to my oldest daughter. A friend of a friend emailed they had a German Shepard cross up in Tucson that obviously 'needed some room to run.'
They brought down a Border Collie cross who was, in one simple word, INSANE with energy and personality and energy and wanting more and more fun. Since they'd driven all the way from Tucson, and the dog was obviously WAY too much for an apartment dog, I said, sure, let's see how she does here.
How did she do? She peed on the carpet, she jumped on EVERYthing, she raced, she ran, she chased. When she slept, she slept like a log. But when she was AWAKE, she was, well, like I mentioned before, INSANE.
I don't know why I kept her. It was obvious, and the Tucson couple mentioned, that she had been mistreated - it took almost a full week before I could pet her without her trembling. She was overjoyed with every single aspect of life - but also oblivious to discipline, correction or any normal avenues of dog training.
Her name had been Misty, which I felt was incorrect immediately. But she was spooked by almost everything - noises, sudden movements, other animals - she was definitely a sissy. And I can't spell anything the way it is supposed to be. So Cissy it became.
So I have a theory - or a story.
This dog, one of a fairly large litter puppies, was while not quite the runt, one of the smaller in the bunch. She was separated from her mother a bit too early, and given to a young married couple who thought she would be an adorable sort of lap-dog. And in the process of discovering this little ball of energy was ANYthing but a lap-dog, a lot of punishment was doled under the guise of being training. She was scatter-brained enough to never associate the peeing with the punishment, and ended up in the animal shelter.
But, in this fairy tale, she was then brought to a wondrous land called Palominas, and given eight acres to run and run and run across, and EVENTUALLY learned NOT to pee on the carpet...
Well, the carpet was REMOVED and replaced by hardwood floors, but the peeing still is an occasional difficulty.
And the INSANITY is still there.
How did she do? She peed on the carpet, she jumped on EVERYthing, she raced, she ran, she chased. When she slept, she slept like a log. But when she was AWAKE, she was, well, like I mentioned before, INSANE.
I don't know why I kept her. It was obvious, and the Tucson couple mentioned, that she had been mistreated - it took almost a full week before I could pet her without her trembling. She was overjoyed with every single aspect of life - but also oblivious to discipline, correction or any normal avenues of dog training.
Her name had been Misty, which I felt was incorrect immediately. But she was spooked by almost everything - noises, sudden movements, other animals - she was definitely a sissy. And I can't spell anything the way it is supposed to be. So Cissy it became.
So I have a theory - or a story.
This dog, one of a fairly large litter puppies, was while not quite the runt, one of the smaller in the bunch. She was separated from her mother a bit too early, and given to a young married couple who thought she would be an adorable sort of lap-dog. And in the process of discovering this little ball of energy was ANYthing but a lap-dog, a lot of punishment was doled under the guise of being training. She was scatter-brained enough to never associate the peeing with the punishment, and ended up in the animal shelter.
But, in this fairy tale, she was then brought to a wondrous land called Palominas, and given eight acres to run and run and run across, and EVENTUALLY learned NOT to pee on the carpet...
Well, the carpet was REMOVED and replaced by hardwood floors, but the peeing still is an occasional difficulty.
And the INSANITY is still there.
