365 Days with Choya

When the reminder came in to renew the dog's annual medical insurance, we grinned. It has been a year since Choya came home with us. This means that these humans have survived a year of Choya's antics, and thankfully, she hasn't deteriorated in our care. Also, she’s damn lucky that she hasn’t chewed up my teddy bears. If she tried, she would be in for such a spanking.

I don't know if she has flourished in our care, but judging from her sleeping postures and little quirks, she seems to be generally a happy dog. She's no longer a 'pet-shop dog'. Her world has expanded. Her horizons have broadened, and her sense of security has deepened. From being unsure about us and this new life and all the different rhythms of the seasons (figuratively), she has learnt loads. After all, she's turning three in October, and these few years would be the prime of her life.

The grandpawrents have also taken a shine to Choya, which is gratifying, considering how much they don’t understand dogs and don’t have a benchmark of well-trained dogs to compare her to. Before Choya, I have heard their stories about dogs and I remember thinking to myself that ‘there’re no bad dogs, only bad humans. If a dog is ill-behaved, that’s because his humans didn’t put in the effort to seek appropriate help, and simply gave up.’ The grandpawrents will have to accept the fact that we differ greatly on matters of discipline and training when it comes to raising children or dogs. So I'm fucking glad that they have stopped offering me useless advice and unhelpful comments.

I've enjoyed training this dog textbook, adapting methodology according to her needs and emotional levels, and keeping up with the constant training. This Shiba-ken is intelligent and stubborn, but not as obstinate and unreasonable as I thought she might be. It's a challenge to go around her little brain and reason with her, getting her to do the things I need her to do. The man spoils her a lot more than I do. He is completely unhelpful to her training, except to try to teach her tricks. Even then, he isn't very consistent, so the dog doesn't react the same way all the time. She has long decided that Momma is the disciplinarian; if she wants any treats, she'd stand a better chance with Daddy. Hahahah.

In many ways, she has prepared us for life in a COVID-19 lockdown, and for life after, as we step into a global new-normal. We've completely shifted our timetables and daily routines for her. We even cut down on drinking, FFS. Even before the lockdown began on April 7, our lifestyles have been pretty much similar to what we're privileged to be able to do daily for a few months now. With international traveling out of the picture for a long time, she's going to be even more spoilt methinks. Oh what a year it has been!