My Adopted Brother Bert

Now that you're beginning to know a bit about me, I'd like you to meet another member of my family. Bert! Bert's a late addition to our family. My human mum found him adandoned in a cardboard box at our local shopping centre carpark in summer, 2007. He was maybe a month old. I didn't like him at first. He smelled bad, and he was very pesty. He was also very nearly dead. The vet thought he wouldn't live because of neglect, starvation and dehydration. But with a bit of food and water, and a few hugs he seemed to just magically come to life. He wanted to follow me everywhere, and I went from being a dog with lots of personal space to having to share my living space with a juvenile delinquent.

Bert was the dog equivalent of trailer trash. He'd had no parenting, no routine, and no manners. He was a brat! At least he smelt better after they washed the encrustation of filth off him, but he just had no idea how to behave. And he clung to me like moss to a rock.

Now I understand that sometimes annoying people or dogs cling to you and follow you around because they are insecure, and you are the one who looks like they know the rules. It's a survival thing. So I've been slowly teaching Bert dog etiquette, and Bert's teaching me how to be young again. It's a good trade! Bert feels safe and loved, and he knows his place in the family now, so he's happy, and behaving so much better.



Learning: Sometimes people or dogs behave badly because they haven't been shown anything better. Sometimes people or dogs follow us around and annoy us because they are desparate for recognition, they are insecure and afraid and just want to hang out so they can LEARN from us. Learning is always a two way street. You teach something - you'll always learn something in return. Cool stuff huh?