Am I a Dog Person?

Now that I’ve had my dog for a month and a half, I get to enjoy being with her, rather than just being nervous that I have no idea about having a dog. She still mystifies me with her appetite at times, but other than that, I really like having her as a dog. 

Before I got Bella, I really wouldn’t have considered myself a dog person. In fact, I am scared of other people’s big, barking dogs. I would have said that I was a cat person, because we have actually had nice cats in my life, while dogs have always seemed like a nuisance.  But dogs are reputed to be great companions and excellent health partners. 

Since getting a dog, I still don’t consider myself a dog-person. I like my dog. I will pet your dog, but I don’t want your dog. I just want mine. I have started to feel a little excited when I come home, because I know the dog will be excited to see me. 

This was a transition from being annoyed at having to calm her down when I get home, to appreciating that she wants to see me while still reminding her to not jump up on me. At this point, she doesn’t go fetch me a toy as a gift when I greet her. Perhaps she will still do this the longer she lives with me, but also, she doesn’t really fetch. She likes to take a ball or stick in her mouth and throw it around the yard or room herself, making quite a game. But when I throw for her, she only plays for a couple of minutes before making her own game again. 

I have a couple favorite times with her. The first is when I go to bed or wake up. She curls at my feet in her little corner or snuggles next to me when I want to cuddle in the morning. She has started following me into the kitchen while I cook, and she patiently sits, watching me until I throw her a bit of whatever I am cooking. She doesn’t care if it’s only a few noodles from the pot; she will wait. 

When she is behaving nicely on a walk, that is not distracted by other people or vehicles, I enjoy watching her sniff around, finding the next interesting scent to sniff. The distraction mostly occurs when someone from my family is tagging along or one of our vehicles leave. Then she is pulling a lot. 

The best thing about her is that she is so very nice and even tempered. She rarely barks—mostly only when I leave her or when a car honks. She is sweet, soft, and I just like being with her. But, still, she doesn’t compare at all to my mom. It’s just hard to have a conversation with a dog, but that’s okay. She’s just a dog.