Dakota is the (Almost) Perfect House Dog

As you know, a couple weeks ago, my old 13-year-old dog came to live with us.  Before she came, I was worried about a number of different things.  As much as I've always wanted an indoor dog, this was going to be my first experience.  Also, Dakota had been an outdoor dog her whole life, so I didn't know how she would do for sure. 

I was most concerned about the following things:

Accidents in the house

Damage to the apartment

Getting in the garbage

Sneaking food off the table

Barking a lot

Getting dog hair everywhere

Leaving her in her kennel when we were gone

To my joy and surprise, Dakota has done amazingly well.  She's had one accident, but I'm pretty sure that was my fault because I didn't get her out fast enough in the morning.  That was the fourth day, and since then, there have been no more accidents. 

She hasn't done any damage at all to the apartment.  One of the advantages of bringing in an adult dog is that she doesn't have the need to chew on everything, unlike a puppy. (In fact, she barely has any teeth left to chew on things.  She also has been a super-low energy dog.  A couple of walks around the apartment compound a day and she's just fine.  (Kevin chases her around the house a lot too.)  She sleeps quite a bit, and helps me feel like I have companionship during the day.  She's like a little shadow who listens to me.

She's only tried to get in the garbage once, but she's learned pretty quickly that it is off limits.  She only tried to sneak into it once while I was in the bathroom, and she hasn't tried again.

On the first day she was here, she lifted herself on her hind-legs to see what was on the table.  We corrected her immediately, and she hasn't bothered the table again.  She usually goes and sits down on the other side of the room during dinner and doesn't bother us while we eat.  Unless it's pizza, and then she has to go in her dog kennel because it is too tempting. 

She hasn't barked once since we've been here.  She'd didn't really bark back at my parent's home either, unless something was wrong, but she did whine a lot when she was scared or needed something.  She doesn't react when someone rings the doorbell, and she doesn't jump on company. 

She did get dog hair everywhere for the first week.  Even after we shaved her, she was still shedding a bit at the change in temperature.  However, we are now in the third week, and there is barely any hair coming off her anymore.  I brush her daily, and except for the fur that Kevin yanks out, I don't have hardly any dog fur on my clothing.

She also does great in the kennel when we're gone.  She's excited to get out, but usually she just sleeps when we're away. 

Basically, we have the (almost) perfect indoor dog.  She's great with Kevin and very tolerant of his antics.  The last couple of days, he's started snuggling up to her, and it's adorable. 

Sometimes though, he gets a little carried away.

Having a dog indoors is a little more cleaning, but I don't feel as lonely for adult company while Grig is gone anymore.  It isn't that Dakota talks to me, but it's more of a sense of adult companionship that I can just feel when she is around. 

Kevin is top dog, and she knows it.  We feed her together and he sometimes helps walk her.  She knows that when he wants to get past her, she needs to get out of his way.  Kevin will always come first, but I'm really glad we have a dog too.  It's a life-long dream come true.