Lola will turn up a lot in this blog and website from now on! We acquired her two days ago, from a woman who was fostering her till a good home was found. We’ve known several wonderful Rottweilers, but weren’t focusing on the breed.

We wanted a dog that would be a good guard dog, as there have been a lot of thefts in the region of Mexico we’re living in, by Lake Chapala not far from Guadalajara. Our quarter-acre yard is completely walled and fenced, so any dog would be safe in it.

A friend emailed me the information that Lola was available, and we went to see her. On the way over, Kelly commented that what would really be essential– besides all the practical matters — would be the bond we felt with the dog.

Keep scrolling down for photos that give an idea of that bond! We took her home with us within an hour!

I got there first, as Kelly had an appointment. Lola was a total love, but what really surprised me was how mellow and laid-back she was, not at all like the two Dobermans I mentioned in a recent blog post. They are several months older than her but intrinsically much more high energy. Lola was more my style, with all the hours I spend on the computer.

She let me touch her all over — adored it, as you can see. She wasn’t mouthy. She’s quite beautiful and has lots of soul in those big brown eyes…

We don’t know a lot about her history but she is purebred, though with no papers. She’s been at several homes recently but hasn’t worked out for one reason or another. (She isn’t housebroken, we were told, but we’re being vigilant and there have been no accidents.) She’s been spayed and had her shots.

When Kelly arrived, they hit it off just great too:

Once home, we crated her for a while, and after a few hours she and LarryDog got acquainted. We couldn’t believe how well that went. The cats are still wary of her but Lola is showing great self-control.

Last night our friend Linda, who had been the “go between” came over to dinner with her husband Bill. They gave Lola very high marks and commented that she will be an excellent guardian. Lola demonstrated her agreement by soon producing the first two barks she has done here. She has a deep voice already!

A Rottweiler means lots and lots of training, and she and I are at it already. She already knew some things, thanks to a local trainer who had already worked with her once or twice. She’s very biddable and very smart.

We are very lucky.

Here’s a family portrait Linda took last night, in our yard:

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!