For a very good guide to all sorts of dog training processes and dog behavior challenges, I use and recommend Clickertraining ...that link goes to the description of this terrific ebook you download immediately, wherever you are! -- Rosana

We’re back home from our two months around various parts of the U.S. Unfortunately, we returned home to discover our two portable propane tanks, plus some other things, had been stolen from our yard and our locked side patio. No hot showers that first night home! This took place on a weekday when our housesitters were at their jobs.

Similar thefts happened at quite a few houses in our neighborhood the same day, and robberies like this are increasing all along this Lake Chapala area. We foreigners are seen as rich (whether or not we are by U.S. standards), but the Mexicans of all classes are having similar problems.

A friend of ours in another town lives with a very protective, very large Doberman and two other large dogs. She and her husband have not had any problems. We had lunch with her yesterday and she suggested we add another good-sized dog to be more of an outside dog. (LarryDog prefers to be inside a lot. Since at 10 or 11, he’s a bit of a senior citizen, he does have some rights.)

So we’ve been thinking about it. Our friend Rosie stopped in this morning with her two magnificent young Dobermans, and it was fun to see them running around our yard.

I’ve never gotten a dog JUST for protection, and I wouldn’t do it now… But I’d enjoy having another dog to love… and it would sure give me a lot to write about for this site! As it is, I have a nice little book on multi-dog households that I’m going to re-read.

The other night I dreamt of a Xoloitzcuintli. Hmm, I thought when I woke up and remembered the dream. Is it getting to be time to think of adding another dog?

Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced, roughly, show-low-eets-queent-lee, which explains why this rare breed of dog is often just called a Xolo. You might know it as a Mexican Hairless.

I’ve been intrigued by these dogs for years, hearing that they have spiritual healing qualities. (Well, arguably, all dogs do…) Then a few months ago, I went with some friends from where I’m living now, by Lake Chapala outside of Guadalajara, Mexico, to the town of Colima. There is a tradition of pottery dogs there, and I bought several reproductions of pre-Columbian dogs. You can see those posts here:

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/pottery-dogs-of-colima.html gives a little history and shows one of the pottery dogs I bought.

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/dogs-in-tombs-of-colima.html has some great photos from a book I bought. You can really see the love!

I’ve acted on dreams before…

When my husband and I watched the Westminster dog show recently, we would comment to each other about this breed or that breed. It gradually dawned on me that I at least was beginning to compose a mental list of what I wanted and didn’t want in a future dog. Kelly wasn’t exactly thrilled when I mentioned this to him, but that’s how it usually goes when we get a dog: I start the process and a bit later he too throws himself into it.

Some of the things we came up with have to do with training, most don’t exactly. I’m sure each person’s list would be very different. For what it’s worth, here’s ours as it stands right now. We have had mixed-breed rescue dogs and am not averse to one again, but for starters I *am* thinking of a purebred dog for the predictability.

• A breed that likes training, which is different from a smart dog. Our Basenji was very smart but had next to no desire to please us. She was more like a cat in that way.
• Not a huge dog.
• Not a dog with a long coat that requires lots of grooming. Been there, done that.
• Probably not a dog with a flat face, due to their snoring and because my husband prefers other dogs’ looks. This is negotiable; Pugs and Boston Terriers do interest me.
• Not a terrier: we are writers who work at home and we need a dog who who has a lot of lazy time. We’ve had two different dogs in the hounds category and they worked well in this way.

We haven’t decided about size. Nor about when!

UPDATE: Several months later, we got a rescue Rottweiler puppy, several months old. So much for “Not a huge dog” but we adore her!