My dog

[vash]

Hank


My wife ambushed me with Hank. We didn’t get along at all in the beginning. He would stay away from me. When I got home from work we had what we called, “the first rule of Hank”. The rule was. Get home, zero eye contact, no petting, simply quietly move to the door to let him out to pee. Violate the rule resulted in him evacuating his bladder right there and then.

He would stay near my wife and peek at me from behind a corner. I called that move “the one-eyed Jack” because I only ever saw one eye.

Now? We are bff’s. He still protects my wife. Camping he won’t leave her side. Last camping trip, he slept for two days afterwards. He kept guard of her non stop. Me? I was always a potential bear turd.

It’s funny how they work their way into our lives. He is a pretty good dog and I quit busting my wife’s chops for forcing his ass onto our lives.

I still conform to the “ 1st rule” tho it isn’t necessary. 100% mutt.

[masraum]

Hanks a very handsome fella. I'm pretty sure that the look in the photo is "I wasn't sure about you at first, but you're OK by me, buddy."

[KFC911]

LOL...you pissed Hank off when you originally thought about changing his name.

[stevej37]

Is that a pit bull?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Lovely looking dog, think the thread title is wrong though, should read 'My Wife's Dog'

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Lovely looking dog, think the thread title is wrong though, should read 'My Wife's Dog'

Or "Hank's humans"

[vash]

Originally Posted by stevej37

is that a pit bull?

38%.

[stevej37]

^^^ You're chances are good then.

[Jeff Higgins]

Good looking dog. He was probably abused by an adult male in his previous life, an all too common story. Funny, though, those little fuzz-heads are often far better judges of character than we are. Which is why I find it astonishing he warmed up to you...
Just kidding. I'm glad you guys worked it out. Dogs are good people...

[Evans, Marv]

I remember when you got him and saw some threads where you commented about him as time went on. Obviously you would come to love him. That's just the way it goes with dogs and cats - and some weird other pets for some people.

[Bugsinrugs]

Looks more like 39%......I cant imagine my life without my dog.

[KevinTodd]

Sweet boy!

[jhynesrockmtn]

Beautiful dog and great story of how your relationship was built over time. Dogs have amazing memories. Like Jeff said, must have been abused by a male in a prior home. My wife brought a now 19 year old poodle mutt into our relationship 6 years ago. She rescued her as a pup from a family with young boys. To this day she is scared to death of kids on bikes, scooters, big wheels, etc.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by vash

Hank



Last camping trip, he slept for two days afterwards.

cliff my man! nice to see a new addition to the fam. the two day snooze was quite common for McQueen and then bax after a race weekend back in the day. it'd start the minute they loaded up into the truck for the ride home, and the "track lag" would last at least 2 days..

hope you n jen are doing well under the circumstance and stay clear of the covid funk. me on the other hand am up here isolating in the mountains where there has only been one confirmed case in the county from somebody that brought it up here from their bay area home to their vacation place.... there are signs posted on 108 heading up here telling non locals to STFA....

[aigel]

Great dog and the name is awesome - I have read all about him in your previous threads.

On the note that some dogs were abused earlier in life and therefore are weird around certain people ... that may certainly be the case.

BUT - there is also a very big chance that they were just poorly socialized or not socialized at all. I know more than one dog that came to their owner as an 8 week old pup and still ended up hating kids on skateboards, men with mustaches, cops with sunglasses etc. and there was zero chance they were teased by kids or beaten by a cop earlier in their lives.

Last but not least on this subject. There are also dogs that are mentally ill or not quite right. Same story, 8 week old pups can come to the best household and still be a menace with even the best socializing and work. Have friends that have a fear biting super anxious dog they got as a pup. It was already like that at 8 weeks old. Beaten on by the litter mates. Never became normal with the best of care. It is a manageable dog without strangers around but it still is a PITA and there is the risk that someone will get bit.

G

[vash]

Thanks.

Hank is the easiest dog to train. I’m no dog trainer. Neither is my wife.

But he picks up our goofy request very quickly. I had him running a crappy dog obstacle course in about 30 minutes on a visit to El Paso. We couldn’t do the weaving back and forth thing. I didn’t know how to teach him.

Smartest dog I’ve ever encountered.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

...
Smartest dog I’ve ever encountered.

How is Hank doing in Algebra? Moka is struggling with quadratic equations so she's being tutored by the German Sheppard next door .

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by vash

38%.

That's pretty precise. 23 and me?

[Rusty Heap]

dog is god spelled backwards

[vash]

Originally Posted by Noah930

That's pretty precise. 23 and me?

not sure, it cost me $85? it was some dog DNA thing.