A Blog About A Dog

Let me let you in on a little secret. I like dogs. Truth be told, I may actually like dogs more than I like people. They don’t back talk, they never share your secrets, they don’t even judge you for having a lions mane for hair when you wake up in the morning. In fact, they seem to love you more
because you are clearly embracing the animal kingdom on a new level. Seriously- how can you not love them?!?

And I had a dog I loved very much. Her name was Izzy. When we thought we were moving out of the country we gave her to a family that was looking for a dog. They grew very attached to her and so did their kids so we knew we could never ask for her back. My daughter would cry for her almost every day and finally at thanksgiving, my husband gave in and gave us both what we wanted- another dog.

This is Nala the week we got her.

 

I know- she is so adorable. Our last dog was a boxer so when we got Nala we thought we knew exactly what we were in for. And oh my freakin goodness were we wrong. When I say this dog is terrible, I am not even scratching the surface.

One week into having her we were painting our bedroom. She decided at the very moment we filled

the pan with paint she needed to dart through it and then circle full speed through our room so she could track the paint all over our carpet. I know- sweet isn’t she?

On Christmas she “helped” the kids open all of their presents. See exhibit A

Exhibit A

One day my sister in law had to put her outside and she was very reluctant. Finally Nala followed her out, waited until she stopped and then stood above her foot and peed on her. I didn’t even know this was a thing dogs did. I guess ours is special.

We have a fence with slats in it and she figured out how to squeeze herself through and eventually broke free one day. She ran full speed 4 doors down, went into our neighbors yard, through their doggy door and was running through their house. No we didn’t know them- but we do now.  I’m sure she was just trying to help us meet new people.

So yea- she is seriously the worst.

In an effort to gain some control over the madness in this house (because in case anyone forgot I also have an almost 4 year old and almost 2 year old who bring all kinds of other crazyness to the table) I figured Nala and I would learn to walk together. She is terrible on a leash. SHOCKER. But somewhere deep down in my pre kids brain I remember a very wise man saying you needed to be the pack leader for a dog to respect you. (thank you Cesar Milan) So I did something I never thought I would do- I bought a gentle lead collar. This is the one that looks terribly cruel because it goes around their mouth. It forces her to keep her eyes on me so she can see which way I am going, and she can never get too far ahead of me without being jerked back.

This is Nala on our walk tonight. 

She looks thrilled doesn’t she? It has been a week of us working on this. At first she wouldn’t even walk because she was too busy trying to rip it off her face. After 3 days I found it in the backyard where she had tried to bury it. But I pushed through and kept working with her. She is now finally starting to listen. I can give her commands while on our walk and she actually does them. And she is rewarded greatly for listening.

Tonight as we were able to make it a whole mile in the neighborhood without her even pulling me, I let her do what she loves most- run free. She barreled through the open field by our house without a care in the world. And when I called her- she came. WOHOO.

I was instantly reminded of the scripture that says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27. And I realized that Nala in her gentle lead collar is me with Jesus. Learning to keep my eyes on him, not getting ahead, and learning to listen for his voice. Slowly it is getting easier. I am finally starting to understand that it will hurt if I rush ahead. I will get lost if I don’t know his voice. And how greatly I am rewarded when I follow His commands.

Thankful tonight that God can and will use anything to speak to me. Even this dog. Who may be up for adoption soon if anyone is looking for a great gift for your Easter Basket.