It’s been six months since Rex came to live with us, and apart from a few seconds of madness he hasn’t put a fang wrong! He’s really become part of the family now, and we loves him. It’s like he’s found his place, and he’s happy and relaxed in it. He’s such a good dog, and a pleasure to have around.
So, can you teach an old dog new tricks? Well before I answer with an emphatic yes I have to tell you that Rex is not an old dog. He might be 11, but he looks and acts much younger. I think he thinks he’s about 5!
Right, old dog new tricks, we’ve worked hard, and Rex has learned lots of new stuff, he’s still learning, and still improving. Rex is very bright and catches on quick, if he knows what you want he’ll do it.
Like many French dogs, especially big ones, they have the run of the garden, but never leave home unless it’s to the vets. For us though part of the pleasure of a dog is going for walks with it. When Rex came he didn’t have a lead. I started taking him for a walk every morning always at the same time, and always the same circuit. I’d do some training with him then after the walk I’d brush him. Brushing him was a good way for us to bond, and a good way for me to impose my will on him in a kind way.
Rex could already do sit, lie down, and give a paw, but that was about it. Now he walks well on the lead, is reliable off the lead, comes when called, and does a great sit and stay routine. All these are very important as you never know what you might meet, cattle, horses, runners, cyclists, other dogs.
Rex has come a long long way since those early days. He still has a way to go, but…. when we lost Big Jess, the best dog that ever walked the face of the earth, I kept her lead and chain as a sort of keepsake. I decided that I would use it with Rex, but only when he was good enough. I’ve been using it with him for well over a month now. That’s how good he is.
There’s more photos and a vid of Rex in action here.
Backing up a bit – This is Big Jess the last dog we owned. We had her from 18 months old. We’d always had dogs, but Big Jess was a special dog, in my mind, the best dog that ever walked the face of the earth. You could take her anywhere she was so well behaved. You could leave her sat somewhere while you went in a shop, come back 20 minutes later, she’d still be there waiting patiently. Only difference being that she’d have gathered a bunch of admirers who’d insisit on telling you how fabulous she was, as if you didn’t already know. She was 13 when we lost her. I didn’t think I’d ever have a dog again. That was well over 10 years ago. I still think of her sometimes.
On 13th April we travelled to a village near Melle in the Poitou Charente to meet Rex. We were just going to meet him, that’s all, but as soon as I met him I knew he was the one. We met the owner’s sister, Madame Morin, who’d put him up for adoption. I asked her if she was happy for us to take Rex, I reassured her that we would take good care of him, and that she would be welcome to come and visit him. Madame Morin thought we were suitable, and a short while later Rex left the garden where he had lived for 10 years to start a new life in the Haute Vienne. There were tears all round.
I can hardly believe it. I’m fifty five years old. Fifty bleedin five! How did that happen? Bear with me while I go off on one for a second will ya? I remember sitting at my desk at school, I’d just become a teenager. I was working out what year I would be twenty one, and how old I would be in the year two thousand. I remember thinking how “old” twenty one would be, and couldn’t begin to imagine how elderley a Y2K forty five year old would be……and now I’m fifty bleedin’ five!
