BORIS the Dog
Boris was born in January of 2006.
I had gone to the Main Street Market to get something to make for dinner and outside of the back door was a 1980s conversion van with the doors open and a box that was filled with little puppies and a sign that said “FREE”.
Who can resist cute, little, cuddly puppies?
I was dog-less at the time and had no intention of having a dog given my busy schedule.
I inquired of the Mexican owners of the box of puppies and as I was told, their black Labrador (which for some reason was chained in their backyard 24 hours a day, every day of the year) had been impregnated by a Chow-Chow that lived 8 blocks away.
Both the lab and the chow were pure breds and good examples of their breed.
And so here were the puppies at an early 6 weeks old.
People that were taking the puppies were in my estimation, were lacking the ability to provide proper care and training of a new puppy. It seemed to me that the people that
Were taking the puppies were going to stake them on a chain and put them outside in their back yards. I went through the litter and most of the puppies were badly behaved
And aggressive and frankly, kind of ugly. I found one little puppy that was calm as could be and a little fatso, pure black. His pink tongue looked like he ate an ink pen.
Hmmm.
Like I said, I didn’t need a dog, had just had one die, was busy…but was a sucker for a good dog.
SO – I went at once to my neighbor lady – a dog aficionado and her 12 year old son’s
House just around the corner and took them to the market parking lot and showed them the puppy I found. I told them that if he was there when I took them, that I would get him, fully thinking he would have been long gone. Lo and behold the fat, little, black dog was still there. And so with that I took him in my arms and with the neighbors went out to
Get him dog food, bed, collar, leash and every thing a little new doggie life could possibly need.
And just like that I had a new dog.
I took the dog wherever I went and I was at a dinner party at a friend’s place not long after and I told my friend and his wife that this dog needed a good name,
Not something stupid, but different and somehow funny.
Spectacular dinner was had as little puppy slept in my arms at table and names were bandied about. Finally after much wine, my friend called out the name “BORIS” in
A hilariously exaggerated Russian accent. And that was it. My dog was so named.
As anyone that has ever gotten a newborn puppy knows, it is a lot of work to make sure
It is taken outside to ‘go potty’ at three hour intervals. This is what one does to house train a dog. I have had dogs since I was born and grew up around them so this is what I did.
The mother of a very good friend of mine was a brilliant dog and animal trainer and so I began taking Boris to her house once a week for training sessions with Mary.
Mary was brilliant and a wealth of knowledge in training my dog and it was amazing to
See this little dog respond to her care for him and demand of him a good behavior.
When she started with him, she lied on the floor and was in the dogs face licking
Her lips in an exaggerated manner and lowering her head and then stood up and turned her back to Boris with her hands on her hips.
I thought this was bizarre and when my facial expression was questioning, she was silent and pointed a finger at me to indicate to be silent.
Of course I complied.
She proceeded to kneel down and talk to Boris in a calming voice as she touched his shoulders to pet him. He tolerated this and seemed to like it. She explained why.
We went through the ‘food sharing’ routine, the establishing of ‘pack leader’ routine and more.
And before I knew it, my dog was well behaved, fully housebroken and a delightfully social dog.
I took him to the hardware store, the art gallery, the espresso bar and of course – on a leash on 8th Street to show off this beautifully behaved little dog. He was perfect, right on cue. He even learned to ‘shake’ his cubby little paw and obey on command.
Boris is now three years old and is quite a character. He is a very handsome dog and to quote the film ‘Zoolander’ he is in fact really, really, ridiculously good looking. And when he is told this, he will sit up very straight and turn his head to appreciate this acknowledgement. It is a very funny thing to watch.
He is a very good watch dog and will bark ferociously at a knock on the door and guard the house.
When he senses I am stressed out he becomes surgically attached to me.
Owing to his exceptional training, he is a little alarm clock and adheres to his time to go outside when he wakes up, at five o’clock, at nine o’clock before bed and that is that. If I am busy and the dog walks to me and wags his tail I have to look at the clock.
Eleven p.m is his bed time. He goes out one last time then. If I have not taken him out yet, he is right there with his face on my lap, tail wagging telling me to do my job and take care of him and after we come in, he goes to sleep at the foot of my bed.
As I said, I didn’t go to the market looking for a dog, but I found one and I am happy to have him. He has been a great source of laughter and loyalty to me.
Boris was born in January of 2006.
I had gone to the Main Street Market to get something to make for dinner and outside of the back door was a 1980s conversion van with the doors open and a box that was filled with little puppies and a sign that said “FREE”.
Who can resist cute, little, cuddly puppies?
I was dog-less at the time and had no intention of having a dog given my busy schedule.
I inquired of the Mexican owners of the box of puppies and as I was told, their black Labrador (which for some reason was chained in their backyard 24 hours a day, every day of the year) had been impregnated by a Chow-Chow that lived 8 blocks away.
Both the lab and the chow were pure breds and good examples of their breed.
And so here were the puppies at an early 6 weeks old.
People that were taking the puppies were in my estimation, were lacking the ability to provide proper care and training of a new puppy. It seemed to me that the people that
Were taking the puppies were going to stake them on a chain and put them outside in their back yards. I went through the litter and most of the puppies were badly behaved
And aggressive and frankly, kind of ugly. I found one little puppy that was calm as could be and a little fatso, pure black. His pink tongue looked like he ate an ink pen.
Hmmm.
Like I said, I didn’t need a dog, had just had one die, was busy…but was a sucker for a good dog.
SO – I went at once to my neighbor lady – a dog aficionado and her 12 year old son’s
House just around the corner and took them to the market parking lot and showed them the puppy I found. I told them that if he was there when I took them, that I would get him, fully thinking he would have been long gone. Lo and behold the fat, little, black dog was still there. And so with that I took him in my arms and with the neighbors went out to
Get him dog food, bed, collar, leash and every thing a little new doggie life could possibly need.
And just like that I had a new dog.
I took the dog wherever I went and I was at a dinner party at a friend’s place not long after and I told my friend and his wife that this dog needed a good name,
Not something stupid, but different and somehow funny.
Spectacular dinner was had as little puppy slept in my arms at table and names were bandied about. Finally after much wine, my friend called out the name “BORIS” in
A hilariously exaggerated Russian accent. And that was it. My dog was so named.
As anyone that has ever gotten a newborn puppy knows, it is a lot of work to make sure
It is taken outside to ‘go potty’ at three hour intervals. This is what one does to house train a dog. I have had dogs since I was born and grew up around them so this is what I did.
The mother of a very good friend of mine was a brilliant dog and animal trainer and so I began taking Boris to her house once a week for training sessions with Mary.
Mary was brilliant and a wealth of knowledge in training my dog and it was amazing to
See this little dog respond to her care for him and demand of him a good behavior.
When she started with him, she lied on the floor and was in the dogs face licking
Her lips in an exaggerated manner and lowering her head and then stood up and turned her back to Boris with her hands on her hips.
I thought this was bizarre and when my facial expression was questioning, she was silent and pointed a finger at me to indicate to be silent.
Of course I complied.
She proceeded to kneel down and talk to Boris in a calming voice as she touched his shoulders to pet him. He tolerated this and seemed to like it. She explained why.
We went through the ‘food sharing’ routine, the establishing of ‘pack leader’ routine and more.
And before I knew it, my dog was well behaved, fully housebroken and a delightfully social dog.
I took him to the hardware store, the art gallery, the espresso bar and of course – on a leash on 8th Street to show off this beautifully behaved little dog. He was perfect, right on cue. He even learned to ‘shake’ his cubby little paw and obey on command.
Boris is now three years old and is quite a character. He is a very handsome dog and to quote the film ‘Zoolander’ he is in fact really, really, ridiculously good looking. And when he is told this, he will sit up very straight and turn his head to appreciate this acknowledgement. It is a very funny thing to watch.
He is a very good watch dog and will bark ferociously at a knock on the door and guard the house.
When he senses I am stressed out he becomes surgically attached to me.
Owing to his exceptional training, he is a little alarm clock and adheres to his time to go outside when he wakes up, at five o’clock, at nine o’clock before bed and that is that. If I am busy and the dog walks to me and wags his tail I have to look at the clock.
Eleven p.m is his bed time. He goes out one last time then. If I have not taken him out yet, he is right there with his face on my lap, tail wagging telling me to do my job and take care of him and after we come in, he goes to sleep at the foot of my bed.
As I said, I didn’t go to the market looking for a dog, but I found one and I am happy to have him. He has been a great source of laughter and loyalty to me.