On adopting a dog

[emiliana2010]

Hiya,

since quite a while I'm thinking about getting a dog. Today I went to the local kennel – on Sundays they let people take dogs out for a walk. When I reach there all the dogs where out already but for a few. One of them was Tequila, a dog with a malformation in the front legs who cannot walk properly and therefore goes out only with trained people.

He's up for adoption since many years and his physical handicap prevents him from finding a family.

I thought about adopting him but since my professional life is at a standstill at the moment, I am afraid not to be able to provide the care he needs. I asked the Yi: "Is it timely, appropriate and beneficial to adopt Tequila?"

48.4.6 > 44

Beats me if I get what it means! It could be a yes as well as no. I am afraid to act and make a mess.

Can anybody with some clarity on 48.4.6 > 44 advise me?

 

[AnitaS]

Hi! I'd say go ahead. The moving lines in 48 are so positive. Give him the well of your love and care. 44 could just simply refer to your encountering this dog. The focus is really on 48, especially on line 6. According to Emperor Fu Hsi who invented the trigrams, when you have 2 lines, look especially at the top line.

 

[sooo]

First, I have to ask, is Tequila a bitch? If so, that may account for 44, as if Yi were to say: Now about this bitch, she may not be in perfect condition, but she's getting better at getting around (line 4), and she'd be a dependable friend and a source of nourishment in return.

I recall having such doubts before adopting my dog from the pound. He was disappointed that another guy chose him (he loves women, even after he was fixed), but he tolerated me, and it was clear to everyone there, we were supposed to be together. We're like the odd couple. He's a big joy in my life. Don't think a day goes by when he doesn't make me laugh.

I say, if you have the commitment to properly care for her, go for it, if your heart says yes.

If Tequila is a guy, I'd have to rethink 44.

 

[steve]

Hi there
yes i can see how you could get confused i think 44 is the general situation but inside a bad situation there seems some positive activity,
yes I agree that line 6 is a positive line, I was looking at line 4 talking about getting things in order.
I think if you get yourself together like clear your head or getting your house in order or maybe just building something for YOUR future as you could get alot out of this if you make an effort.
you get nothing for nothing in this life.

I think you need to really look at what you want , you dont seem like you are some amature when it comes to dogs. Perhaps you are the perfect owner for this dog, sounds like this dog might have chose you hehehe

PS I love the dog whisperer

Good luck with your decision

Steve

 

[Trojina]

Hiya,

since quite a while I'm thinking about getting a dog. Today I went to the local kennel – on Sundays they let people take dogs out for a walk. When I reach there all the dogs where out already but for a few. One of them was Tequila, a dog with a malformation in the front legs who cannot walk properly and therefore goes out only with trained people.

He's up for adoption since many years and his physical handicap prevents him from finding a family.

I thought about adopting him but since my professional life is at a standstill at the moment, I am afraid not to be able to provide the care he needs. I asked the Yi: "Is it timely, appropriate and beneficial to adopt Tequila?"

48.4.6 > 44

Beats me if I get what it means! It could be a yes as well as no. I am afraid to act and make a mess.

Can anybody with some clarity on 48.4.6 > 44 advise me?

48.4 'the well is being lined'..if a well is being lined its out of action during the repair...how does that fit with the situation. If the well is your own capacity to care for a disabled dog then 48.4 suggests you need to adapt somehting in order to have him ?

Maybe something physical..or maybe its do do with time, how you arrange your day ?

Wait....I just re read your post and you say your professional life is at a standstill...ahem how does that affect the dog ? Chortling here considering perhaps this dog will only consider going to professional working individuals Surely the less you are at work the more dog is pleased...being social creatures and liking lots of walks so you being home is not a problem. And dogs don't cost that much do they ?


Okay, thinking as I'm typing when you say the reason you are hesitating is because your professional life is at a standstill...so since you can't be concerned the dog will feel you are a loser and therefore unacceptable as an owner you must be concerned re finances right ? If thats the case I think 48.4 is reassuring and the answer is reassuring you do have the wherewithal to care for the dog. Your well, your income/professional life is out of action right now like a well being re lined...but it will provide good water again as 48.6 shows. Not sure about the 44 though...don't be too whimsical about this...well i see you are trying not to be but....

I'm afraid I can't see this as a definate yes, though I am much more inclined to a yes than a no...but you must know if you can provide for it...and frankly I don't think its money thats the main cost with a dog, its time and care...having said that this one has existing physical problems so maybe vets bills will be an issue

 

[emiliana2010]

Thank you so much Circe, Sooo and Steve.

Yes, Tequila is a bitch, and 44 states: “Don't take the woman"... Furthermore, even if line 6 is an auspicious one, line six seems to indicate that one cannot be of help to others unless one has his number together, and believe me, projects coming my way are very sparse and few in between these days (the career front Yi reading is another one of my concern 5.1.6 > 57).

I know that I will get Tequila, I'm just afraid that my timing might be wrong and that she might suffer for it.

 

[emiliana2010]

Trojan,

thank your so much for your reply.

In fact my concern is money, meaning that right now I'm living out of my savings, and if I want to keep indulging in expensive hobbies like eating and paying rent, something has to happen fast. Really fast.

 

[Trojina]

Trojan,

thank your so much for your reply.

In fact my concern is money, meaning that right now I'm living out of my savings, and if I want to keep indulging in expensive hobbies like eating and paying rent, something has to happen fast. Really fast.

In that case I feel the answer is quite likely not so much to do with the dog as with the addressing what you see as the obstacle to having the dog...I feel 48.4.6 is a reassuring reading that you will have enough to keep the dog even if you dont right now. hex 44 could refer to the circumstances, possibly unexpected or 'intrusive' as in unusual, that led to recent shortage of funds.

 

[emiliana2010]

Thank you again everybody.
Sharing readings helps a lot. I have an easier time understanding other people's reading but with my own often I feel quite uncertain about the meaning. I appreciate your input a lot.

 

[sooo]

Yes, Tequila is a bitch, and 44 states: “Don't take the woman"

This is good advice to any dog owner. Without going too into it, a dog can misinterpret smothering affection or sympathy and relates poorly or can act out in extremely controlling ways, 44 ways, i.e. taking ownership of everything, at least in their own mind. This includes claiming ownership of the owner, and can extend to literally everything within the dog's consciousness: it owns it all! This is more common than one might imagine, and it makes for a confused and unhappy, even eventually neurotic dog, and a totally baffled or else indifferent owner. It's a very sad condition for both the dog and the human, and I could easily connect 44 to that.

So, correct, don't take the woman as a wife, but as a dog. Your biggest responsibility is being a good and caring pack leader to her. I'd have to ask, would she be better off staying where she is now, or taking her chances with you? That's how I decided to take my dog home that day. I decided to take the risk and do my best to be a good human leader for him. It does limit my activities, it does cost some money for shots and fixing, but most animal control agencies offer good discounts of spay and neutering services. Food isn't that expensive. Of course sickness can always create financial difficulties, just one of those things that comes with being responsible for another life. But the joy can be immeasurable.

Best wishes with your decision.

 

[bamboo]

This is good advice to any dog owner. Without going too into it, a dog can misinterpret smothering affection or sympathy and relates poorly or can act out in extremely controlling ways, 44 ways, i.e. taking ownership of everything, at least in their own mind. This includes claiming ownership of the owner, and can extend to literally everything within the dog's consciousness: it owns it all! This is more common than one might imagine, and it makes for a confused and unhappy, even eventually neurotic dog, and a totally baffled or else indifferent owner. It's a very sad condition for both the dog and the human, and I could easily connect 44 to that.

I know we've talked about this before, heehee, but are you sure the above is always true? Different dogs have different personalities, and backgrounds. Sometimes I think a dog who has been mistreated has 'childhood wounds' in the same way that a human does. These possibly need a lot of coddling and affection in order to grow a new heart so to speak, in order to feel safe and protected.

It's no secret that I am a coddler and possibly over-affectionate to my dog. When I moved over a year ago and my dog seemed to be having trouble adjusting, I did take your words to heart, and it helped. I changed my behavior... the same way I changed my behavior towrds him when he trembles uncontrollably and tries to hide from thunder, lightning and heavy rain. I learned that it is counterproductive to hug and cuddle and coo at him when he is frightened like that...that a strong solid unmoved presence is a better antidote and gives the dog more of a feeling of security.

That said......ahem.......I still think my dog is a natural Percy, ie "sissy" and he is a mama's boy. Once at a dog park when a lady witnessed my dog literally sailing off the ground and into my arms when he got scared, I said guiltily to the lady: "I know, I made him a sissy, I am too overprotective" and she said to me: "Oh no! He would never stand for that kind of coddling if it wasnt already his nature." I considered for the first time that maybe some dogs are more babyish than others, maybe some respond healthily to lots of affection.

even tho I got him as a puppy, he came from a store that buys dogs from puppy mills. Puppies from puppy mills are yanked away from their mothers way too early, and here again, I theorize that, just like people, some are more resilient to this and others, maybe of more sensitive nature, are wounded emotionally by this too-early weaning .

The first dog we got from the store was a TOTAL disaster. The owner of the store saw us coming (saying "ah, suckaaaaa!" ) and sold us a re-tread, still young, but totally unmanageable, defiant, incorrigible, and who pooped in his crate every night. I put up a gate in the kitchen and this tiny yorkie jumped right up over the gate and into my face! Took him to the vet to get him fixed, and found out he was already fixed. After two weeks, when I came home one day to find the toilet paper from the bathroom literally pulled out like a spool all the way out into the hallway and down the stairs, and three piles of poop beside it in succession, one after the other, I had had enough. I took him back and demanded the right to return him. Now, that was a neurotic dog. Even so, I cried for three nights straight. I just felt so bad and had already got attached.

In the meantime, my daughter, then ten, had spied a little tiny white fluffy maltipoo in a corner cage. He was as polite and sweet as you could ever hope. He would gently jump against the bars when we came in, no barking. In the petting room, he romped like a little bunny, ever so softly. He was meek and mild and adorable.

We took him. I was prepared for the worst. At the very least, I thought he was going to whine and cry at night, so I put the crate up in the finished attic, so I would get some sleep even though I left the door open. I woke up at 9:am. there had not been a sound. Even as started to move around, there was no sound from upstairs. I went up and there he was sitting expectantly but silently in his crate. No poop. Just a sweet little face looking at me innocently, as if to say ; What now?

He was a dream come true. eager to please. Oddly enough, a month or so later, I had to go away for the weekend, so I took him back to the store to be boarded for two nights, thinking he would feel at home there. As soon as we got there, he went berserk - for the first and only time I have ever seen him go berserk. He slipped out of his collar, scaled a 5 ft high wall, and took off like a rocket, out of the store yard, onto and across a busy street, and full speed ahead. he woulda been a goner if not for a kindly worker who grabbed a bike and went in pursuit. We found him blocks away in someone's backyard, having stopped only because he was cornered.

I think he had been abused possibly, or still "remembered" his early insecure days there.

He has always been a mama's boy, we smother him with affection, and although sometimes he does insist on his own way, he is a very good boy. still eager to please. I have been happy to see that he adjusted really well to his home here. When a big German shepherd sometimes comes running into this yard with a gruff manner, my little guy runs out fearlessly and goes straight up to him, then politely turns and sniffs the ground. sometimes the shepherd nips at him, but it doesnt bother my dog at all, and he never gets aggressive in return. He charmed the shepherd, and last time I looked out at them, they were side by side snifing each other, tails wagging like crazy. I have never seen Coco get aggressive with anyone, man or beast. He is just kind. he has a good sweet heart. and he needed a mommy. I am convinced of that!

whew! I guess I needed to tell that story

 

[bamboo]

 

[sooo]

Love dog stories.

awwwww... just saw the image

I love when a small dog leaps into the owners arms. If I had a small dog, I'd like that too. I give my dog lots of affection, but I have to be careful how much, and when. And since he weighs near 100 lbs, jumping into my arms is something he'd BETTER not do! However, our equivalent is "Up!", and he stands and sorta falls trustingly with his front paws and body weight into my hands. It's like a high 5. He counts it as a privilege, he's only allowed to do that when I give the word, or else he could easily knock me over, as he already has, while plowing through me with his baby toy as a football. I gave up being lineman against his rushes. lol.

The key is to give dog affection when he/she is behaving in ways you desire. The problems arise when giving affection at a time when the dog is behaving in undesirable ways, thinking they are protecting the dog, calming the dog, petting the dog, and even restraining the dog, but in the wrong way, will all actually increase the degree of the dog's anxiety or aggression. A dog in its natural state is not neurotic, but there are many neurotic and disturbingly unhappy dogs, whose owners are at a complete loss as to how to get this/these dog(s) on track, so they all can live happily as a family.

I think if its one thing all dog lovers can agree on is that we want to have happy dogs. Happy dogs exhibit certain traits in common, even though they have different, um, doggyalities . They're not people, and they don't have personalities. They have unique character traits, but no matter how much we'd love to think they are cute and furry, four legged people, they are dogs, and they process things in much more direct ways, and use senses differently than human do. Which senses they are using at a given time, says a lot about what state they are in. For example:

On our most frequent walks, we turn down a dirt road. There's a friendly family living there, we wave and talk, and their neat female pup and Mojo love to say hello and and sniff each other. That's how I know things are perfectly fine, that's what normal, happy dogs do, they follow their noses, they read their environment with their noses. A dog can sniff a twig and identify the different dogs that left their mark on it, and recognize those same individual scents on various twigs along the way. There's an entire map and history their nose is engaged in.

When we walked a little further, this family's chicken/rooster coup and pen comes into our view. Mojo catches their scent, and fixates on them with his eyes. Mojo's consciousness instantly shifted, from happy and social, to predator, because a dog in predator mode fixates their eyes on their prey. So, as soon as I notice him looking intensely at those fat and juicy hens, I either touch his neck with two stiff fingers (teeth), or boot/push his butt with my foot from behind me, or a quick snap on the leash and making "your sound" to change. I'm not talking about kicking, but using the foot or stiff fingers as a way to snap him out of that state. Usually the touch can be very light, and he's like "Oh! and we're walking! " Completely forgets the hens. If instead, I pulled the leash back and say no, Mojo! he would get totally confused, and either become more excited and fixed on the prey, or he may become sulky and fearful as a result. Neither is a desired result. But the touch works, on any dog, once the two establish how its going to be. There's no pain, no abuse or heavy-handedness. Exception being if a dog is already entering the red zone (out of control, out of his mind with rage), he can be flipped onto its side (it's what dogs do), and then the two stiff fingers touching (not pushing or shoving - in dogland, only the dominant's fangs need to touch the unruly one's neck) the dog's neck snaps them out of that state, into a calm and relaxed state. THAT'S when giving affection is healthy for the dog, and makes the dog more relate-able and enjoyable for the owner.

Another thing, a dog needs to have a job of some kind. I often awaken in the middle of the night for a couple hours. In extreme heat, Mojo's inside most of the time. If I say, "it's nice out now, want to go outside?" he looks around, unsure what to do. But if I say in a teasing way, "Go do your job!" he jumps up with tail wagging, waiting to be let outside. His job is to patrol and secure the parameter, and warn me of anything suspicious. He suddenly is happy because he has a sense of purpose. He usually lets rabbits stay, but won't tolerate the squirrels on his watch. hahaha

Dogs are great. They can teach us so much in return. It's really a two way learning experience, or can be. As a neighnor who just tied his dog on a short leash his entire life justified, "There are dog owners and dog lovers." That may be true, but I think people who own a dog ought to prove themselves qualified first. Out here it's popular for certain folks to tied pit-bulls to their front door. Pit-bulls can actually be great dogs, like other powerful and potentially dangerous breeds, but they require great attention, exercise, discipline and affection.


phew... you got me started

 

[bamboo]

I like dog stories too

Today I tried the two finger thing. I guess my guy is hopeless . Then I rolled him over on his side. He didnt like that too much. I am going to keep trying.

Emiliana, I hope you get a dog.