Dino

And for this installment of The Pets of Casa de Soliel we shall discuss Dino.

Dino is a Llewellyn Setter, like all of our dogs (and there are many!). While I am not positive about this, I believe that he is 7 years old. DH thinks he is 8. I'm pretty sure I am right, but who knows? And I am way too lazy to go find his papers to find out for sure.

Anyhow, here is Dino's story.

DH and I had lived together for a couple of years when we decided it was time to buy a house. He was working in construction at the time and was out of town during the week most of the time, so the house buying was challenging at best. But we did it, and then began the escrow and planning phase. At some point during this, DH reminded me that his best buddy's dog, Babe, had produced a litter of puppies. Said litter was sired by a Famous Dog by the name of Hank.

Anyhow, DH started to really get pesty about wanting a dog. I am not much of a dog person, so I wasn't terribly on board with the plan but he eventually wore me down. I told him that once we were in the house that he could bring home a puppy.

Never has any man taken an agreement so literally! When escrow closed, it happened right on the opener of dove season, so we went hunting, then drove back to our old place, loaded up the bed in the rain, drove to the new place and slept there for the night. The next morning, DH left for a short time and came home with a puppy.

It is important to note here that at the time I did not find these particular type of dogs to be very appealing looks-wise, since I was raised with labs which are very different. Llewellyn's struck me as too fancy, what with the long fur and all. And the spots really turned me off.

Anyhow, DH walked in the door with the biggest puppy I could imagine and set him on the floor. Said puppy sat there in a perfect pose and stared at me, lightly tapping his tail on the carpet. I asked DH what was wrong with him, and he said he was waiting for me to come tell him hello. He explained that these dogs are somewhat introverted and polite in an odd way. I walked over to the puppy, kneeled down, and wrapped my arms around him. This was how he knew I was him new very best friend ever. And also, the Cutest Dog Ever.

We had discussed names and came upon Dino. See, Dino was DH's grandfather's name, and his grandfather was dying. Also, he did not have anyone to carry on his name and as a fellow hunter and dog lover, we thought he might be okay with this. Dino's full name on his papers is Dino Brownbutt B*****. The Brownbutt part is because he has a giant brown patch on his back end and the B***** is DH's grandfather's last name (I'm just not going to spell it out on the internet).

Soon after bringing Dino home, he was introduced to his namesake. This wonderful old man was so happy to have a prized bird dog named after him that he had a tear in his eye. We definitely made the right choice.

Dino's first week home was somewhat challenging. I had taken the week off to unpack and try to get to know my puppy, all while DH was out of town working. What I learned very quickly was that Dino missed his litter mates and Babe. I went for days with no sleep because this puppy would cry and cry when it was time for bed. I was like a new mother. Fortunately, my MIL came over one day to help me set up my kitchen and she saw what a state I was in. She ordered me to bed and took care of my whiny puppy for several hours. I slept like the dead.

A few days after this I was taking a nap with Dino (he finally figured out that sleeping was okay). Evidently he had eaten a little too much or something because while I was sleeping he barfed all over me. This was the first time I had ever run into the shower fully clothed and with no regard for water temperature. Yuck.

Somehow, though, Dino and I made it through that first week. At the end of that first week, my mom came to live with us for a while. She and Dino because best buddies immediately.

One of the most interesting things about Dino as a puppy was that he was almost immediately potty trained. He only had two accidents in the house as a puppy. The first was when he met my mom...he was so excited that he kind of piddled while running in a circle. The second time was when he had been barking and whining to go out and I wasn't fast enough (I was sleeping, in fact). He went right by the door and was very upset about it.

While mom was living with us, she made an interesting discovery. Dino was a very mellow dog and never startled, but I just thought he was lazy (which he is, but that wasn't the issue). One day, mom did something very noisy near him while he was sleeping and she noticed that he never stirred. She called me over, so we started making all sorts of racket and Dino never moved a muscle. This is when we realized that something was terribly wrong with my puppy.

After well over a thousand dollars in vet bills and tests, it was proven beyond all doubt that Dino was stone deaf and probably had been born that way. DH was devastated and in denial. In fact, he still, to this day, tries to convince me that Dino can hear. I was fine with a deaf dog...he never barked at random noises and he never startled. In fact, when he went to a doggie neurologist for some of the tests, I was really worried because he said there was a chance his hearing could be restored (but that chance did not pan out). I was fine with having a deaf dog and was worried that he might change if his hearing were fixed. Fortunately, there was nothing that could be done.

Before getting Dino, DH and I made a list of rules we planned to follow as dog owners. For example, we agreed that there would be no table scraps and no begging allowed, and that there were certain ways to train and so forth. Obviously some of the training had to be changed. Dino was a hunting dog and had to be trained using hand commands only. And we had to do the same for his household commands as well. This was a little challenging, but DH is an awesome dog trainer. The most creative command though, in my opinion, is how I call him in to the house at night. Instead of tromping through the grass in the dark, I just flick the light switch a few times. This gets his attention and he comes right in. DH is always impressed with this.

When Dino was about 10 months old, everything changed. DH was in a serious auto accident and everything went to hell in a hand basket. He ended up being home on disability for over a year. This included physical therapy and a lot of pain pills, and most importantly, a lot of time with Dino.

Dino became the most well-socialized dog in all of history. DH took him absolutely everywhere unless it was too hot. He also got a bath and was fully groomed a least once a week. Since he is deaf, the hairdryer was not a scary thing. Nope, he considered it a treat. And he always looked beautiful and smelled nice. Can you tell that he had grown on me? I think I neglected to mention earlier that I was crazy about Dino from that first hug.

Anyhow, in short, Dino was spoiled rotten. He was also a typical puppy. When he didn't get to go somewhere he would tear up the house. He had a dog door, so he had free roam at all times. One time he ate a pepper shaker, a watch, and a wallet all in one sitting. Another time, I had my best friend check in on him when we went out of town and he tore out the hall carpet. He was a very bad dog. Very bad. But so cute and lovable.

Dino grew to be an amazing hunter. Since sounds provided no distraction at all, he was completely focused. He does wear a shock collar, but we use the vibrate mode more than anything. It's like a pager...you buzz him and he knows to look to us for a command. Very cool. DH loves that he can take him into a field that has been combed by other dogs and declared empty, and Dino can find birds. DH also likes to leave him on point for extended periods of time to impress guys at the hunt club with his focus.

When Dino was 3 and DH had long since been back at work, we thought that maybe he was getting lonely. So, we thought he should have a pet. Enter Miss Daisy. Daisy's story will be told next, so I won't go into a ton of detail here other than to say that Dino clearly did not want a pet. He had the cat to keep him company, and he had no interest in a dog horning in on his territory. Granted, his relationship with Cassidy was somewhat strained. She filleted his ear and sliced his eye, but they eventually got past this. But the introduction of Daisy was when Dino decided it was time to become a Grumpy Old Dog.

Dino has turned into an absolutely marvelous Grumpy Old Man. If you wake him up he groans. He glares at you if given a command he would prefer to ignore. Better yet though, if he really doesn't want to obey a command, he closes his eyes. This is the funniest thing ever. It is his equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears and saying "LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Hysterical. Even better? Sometimes he will open one eye ever so slightly to see if you are gone yet. And shuts it REALLY FAST when he sees you are not.

Dino has some serious quirks that also crack me up. First, he likes to sleep on his back sometimes. All the pets do; it's because I hold them like babies when they are little (and sometimes now too!). Given the option, Dino puts his head on a pillow or other elevated surface when he is laying down. He's fairly insistent about it. Also, he is an incredibly polite dog. If he has decided that he will sit in your lap, he does it gently. Thank goodness, since he weighs 60+ lbs. and has no business being a lap dog. But try telling him that...

He is also polite when he is given a treat. He's not one of those dogs that will snap your fingers off (I'm looking at you, Miss Daisy!); instead he takes whatever is offered in a very polite manner.

On this treat subject...when we were in the process of selling our last house, Dino gave us a scare. One morning I was making a sandwich and offered him a piece of salami (so much for the no treat rule, huh?). He was a HUGE salami fan, so when he didn't eat it, I panicked. And when he sneezed, that sealed my fate for the day. I called in sick and rushed him to the vet (he loves the vet). After 2 days and over $1,000 in vet bills, it was determined that Dino didn't like salami anymore and just had to sneeze. No, really. Evidently DH had been using salami to give him pills recently and he was sick of pill-flavored salami. *sigh* To this day, he is a little suspicious of salami.

Dino has had a few other health crisis's in his life. About a year and a half ago, DH discovered a growth on one of his paws. Of course this turned out to be a cancer and a pretty deep cut was made. The cancer had some "fingers", so it wasn't simple by any means. Since we were planning to go to Reno that weekend, guess who got to join us? He needed to be kept calm and watched, so we couldn't just leave him home. My parents joined us in the motorhome and Dino got to spend his time lounging in his grandpa's recliner for the weekend. That dog is so spoiled.

Oh, here's a funny story about Dino... Even though he will happily tromp through the mud and muck to hunt, he gets really pissed when it rains and he has to walk in the wet grass to pee. Last year there was a time when the rain seemed never ending. Dino clearly blamed me for this and would "hold it" for an amazing amount of time. One day while my mom was visiting, Dino had enough. He was so angry at me about the rain that he walked over to the stove, looked right at me, and peed on the stove. Needless to say, I was thoroughly shocked. And the next day he did the same exact thing on his dog bed. He was REALLY MAD. He was also in really big trouble and spent a lot of time in his crate over the next few days. It was so deliberate though, that I couldn't help but laugh.

Well, I think I've written quite the essay about my Dino so I will stop now. Overall, you couldn't ask for a better dog. He is truly amazing and I adore him. Everyone who meets him adores him. He is so handsome and polite and soft. I will add more Dino stories as I think of them...