Okay, so I couldn’t help wanting to write about this… and if you are wondering about whether you should read this or not, be warned by the word in the title: POOP!
I was just outside with our puppy, Moxie, (took her out to pee and poop) and I got really excited to see how nice her poop was! And I subtitled it “the little things” because being a miniature dachshund – and a mini, mini version at that – the poop is very small. Just so you know that I have a comparative view, some 20 years ago I had four Great Danes!
As I was watching Moxie pooping, it struck me as funny so I felt compelled to write to you about it. Here we are working too many hours in the day, dedicated to changing the world for horses and humans, and I’m fixated (and writing) about my miniature dachshund puppy’s quality of poop!
In my mind, and my heart, it reinforced how important the little things really are. Not only do I have to keep my eye on the big picture, I have to also stay present in order to discover the importance of the little things that happen all the time, every moment, every day. As I write, right at this moment, Moxie is licking Vinny’s ear after having a big, squealing wrestling match… and he’s loving it. Love, language and leadership continues to rule!
This is the love part, the bonding part – they sure have battles on the leadership front. It looks like play but when he makes her squeal I worry about her. Moxie probably weighs a pound and a half and Vinny is a little over 10 pounds, but she almost matches him in terms of energy and focus – actually, pound for pound, I think she out-does him. Whenever I worry that Vinny is too rough and pull him away from her, she jumps up and tackles his neck, chomping at him like a piranha – especially on his ears and lips! It’s amazing to watch these leadership (dominance) games. I keep warning Vinny to watch out when she’s his age – he’s 14 months old now and she’s only 3 months. He’s going to be in trouble!
By the way, because Pat and I are always scrapping about Moxie’s size and how he thinks she’s going to be way small and I don’t think she’s going to be that small, I came up with an idea to hold a little betting game between us: Guess what Moxie’s height, length and weight will be at 14 months. I’ll let you know what we each come up with!
Getting back to the original story (concerning Moxie and her pooping), poop became a really important subject because, when we picked her up it was 24 hours before she pooped. Her eyes were runny, she was all timid, a bit on the thin side (felt like a baby kitten instead of a dog) and I knew that things were not quite right. Over the next 24 hours she ravenously ate four meals… but wasn’t pooping – which is not good, especially with an alimentary canal that short!
So here we are five weeks further down the track: Moxie is now 13 weeks old. It took that long for her to start looking stronger (she was always full of energy) and to produce something that looks more like poop vs pudding. Yich! I really hope you’re not eating while reading this. 
I should also tell you that I credit her for getting me over my fear of poop!
What prompted me to write about this is not just that she pooped outside instead of one of my carpets, (she actually ran inside the other day to poop!) but that it looked like a nice little real poop. So it made me feel successful, valuable to that little life. I knew she was not 100% when she arrived, and to have made a difference to that little life feels really good.
So it made me think of how the big things are often disguised in the little things, but how often we don’t relate the two.
So now Vinny is on top of the woodpile with a manic look in his eye, he is filled with purpose and exuberance – finding a mouse would make his day! He’s determined to find a rodent and Moxie is lying at my feet – cute little RBE that she is. She cares more about having a leader while Vinny (LBE) has other agendas. And Remmer is craning over the fence sending me strong mental images of me feeding him while Allure is happily grazing.
It’s funny writing to you about my dogs, vs what I’m really known for. Moxie – your poop was much more than just a poop… it reminded me of how huge the little things really are.
Linda
My two mini long-haired dachshundsMoxie (L) and Vinny (R)
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Hi Linda,
I understand about the “poop” thing, I do. I Foster dogs/pups for the Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) and if one of my pups doesn’t poop or has “pudding” poop, I worry. The puppy that didn’t poop also didn’t eat, after taking him to the EHS Vet, I took him to my own Vet (out of pocket expense) and found out he had a blockage, he could’ve died but survived and was adopted out by one of my neighbors. The wet poops can be just as bad, can be from any number of things from Parvo to worms to any sort of bacterial or parasitic problem. Yep – POOP – seems like a little, messy, smelly kinda thing but can be an exciting and relieving (no pun) kind of thing.
Thanks for giving us the “poop” on the Moxie situation. I just love the way you & Pat can find the little things that make a difference.
Like you, we have a mini-dachshund – he’s 4.5 years old. And we have a new puppy, a 3 month old female Yellow Labrador. We’re hoping that Montanas Mattie Ross (Mattie) will grow up to be an assistance/service dog for me. But, just like our horses, they all have their own personalities & journeys ahead. I wanted a western riding horse; I ended up with an Elglish trained horse that I ended up giving to a young lady that rides English. No, I didn’t even try to ride him. With my deisabilities, it’s hard enough getting into a western saddle!
Anyway, just saying that I realise that Mattie may not turn out to be an assistance/service dog,no matter how much I want it or how well we train her. She’ll let me know what she wants to do with her life. And I never would have realized this without Savvy in my life. Just wanted to say thanks to both you & Pat.
Hugs! Michael
OK, Sorry about being so yakky today; but I just had to comment on the “POOP” article. I too have, what’s supposed to be, a mini doxie. She weighs in at about 17 pounds. She is my second doxie. Both of them love to go in the house. I think it’s bred into them! Have to have a consistent routine to escape that. My husband has two German shepherds and insists on letting them live in the house. I am so glad they prefer to go outside! Talk about “POOP”! I might as well let Buddy come on in. Here’s the deal, they are both German dogs. We know German people are inherently neat, clean, etc. What happened with the dachshunds? Could we re-wire that somehow?
Moxie didn’t have one oopsie in the house yesterday! Hoooray!!!
L
Praise the poop! God knows how happy we are when a horse goes when on the mend of a colic. They poop and we can take a deep breathe. Poop is always good!
Hi Linda – I just found your blog and I sure am enjoying it. I had to laugh, because growing-up we had miniature dachshunds that would be outside for hours and then run back inside the house to poop. You are savy with the animals, so I am looking forward to hearing that this issue is resolved.
My sister also has mini-doxies from a different line and guess what, they also run inside to poop…
That’s what Moxie would do! Too funny
L
It is so wonderful to see how happy you are…
with love, Nina
This blog post came simultaneously with my lesson with my favorite Parelli Professional. Karen is teaching me to pay very close attention to the tiniest tries that my LBI offers. An exercise we have added to our sessions is to see just how light a touch it takes on the rope to get her to offer her hose. It forces me to pay very close attention to the details in her expression and I’m truly rewarding the slightest try. Instead of micromanaging, I am showing my mare that I will NEVER force her. And my mare has become less dull and more involved — all because I’m paying attention to the little things. Super!
Kathy
Linda,
Kali is right, Parelli talks about everything, fantastic I too chuckled through the blog. As for Poop its another “P” to add to Pat’s “P’s”. Lovely picture
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