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My Pet World: Look for a super social dog if you live in an RV

By Cathy M. Rosenthal, Tribune Content Agency on

Dear Cathy,

My girlfriend and I have been longing to get a dog for some time now. We agreed on getting a Chihuahua puppy, if possible. My concern is that we live in an RV. It's a 26-foot vehicle, and we move it twice every 24 hours to stay ahead of our town's ordinance. Although we move basically to the same to spots, will our Chihuahua be OK with this lifestyle or should we not get this addition to our lives? My grandparents had a temperamental Chihuahua named Abby that lived to be 16 years old. Her nickname was Crabby Abby. Out of seven grandkids, I was the only one able to pet her. -- Chris, Bellevue, WA

Dear Chris,

You should absolutely adopt a pet! Your RV is your home and dogs (and cats) adapt easily to all sorts of domiciles.

As you can tell from your grandparent's dog, however, some dogs are not very social. With your lifestyle, you're likely to come into contact with lots of new people and their pets. So, be sure to expose your new puppy to lots of people, places, and experiences from a very young age. If you adopt an older dog, look for a friendly, easy-going dog who is already comfortable around people and other pets.

Because you move around a lot, make sure your dog has a microchip and ID tag with your cellphone and email address in case he or she ever gets lost.

 

Congratulations on starting a family.

Dear Cathy,

I have a 6-year-old American Eskimo named Lacey. We got her when she was 4-1/2 years old. She was raised to be a show dog but became aggressive toward other dogs. We did not know this when we adopted her. She doesn't like kids, people, or anything that goes by fast. If she sees another dog, she flips out, pulls up chunks of grass, and jumps around and barks. If I get in the way, she bites me; so far three times.

My vet put her on Trazodone, which helps a little. We have three grandkids, and she is finally warming up to them. We can't take her anywhere to play or go for a good walk. We are going to be moving in with my son and grandkids in the next few months. He has two Golden Retrievers. She has to get along with them. We don't want to return her to the rescue, but if she doesn't get along with the other dogs, I don't know what else to do. We aren't well off, so we can't afford to take her anywhere for training. Please help. We love her. -- Barbara, Easton, PA

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