Behind the Music: Rowdy and Buster

As requested, I'll start off this new blog with a long post about Rowdy and Buster...

Rowdy

My husband Eric got Rowdy before we started dating, back when he lived in Austin, Texas. Eric got a German shorthaired pointer because he wanted an intelligent, athletic hunting dog that would also be a good companion around the house. Eric picked Rowdy up when he was 9-10 weeks old and weighed about 20 pounds. 

Eric trained Rowdy at his house in Austin and also sent him to a bird dog trainer for a couple stretches during the first year of his life. Rowdy knows a number of commands, such as "heel," "whoa," "free," etc. He has a working vocabulary of about 20 words.

I met Rowdy when he was mostly fully grown. He was always very attached to Eric, but Rowdy and I did not form a really strong bond until they both moved to St. Louis in the fall of 2013. Before that, I primarily saw Rowdy over Skype. To this day, whenever I am Skyping a friend Rowdy will climb up in my lap so he can see who it is. Once we all lived in the same place, Rowdy and I became fast friends. 

My family always had cats when I was growing up. Although we cared for my brother's dog temporarily, Rowdy is the first dog I've really had as a pet. He has kept me company on a lot of lonely nights when Eric was working overnight shifts on the ambulance. 

The first year Eric and Rowdy lived in St. Louis was the coldest winter in 30 years. We spent a lot of time cooped up in the apartment or taking long walks in the snow. Rowdy was a great companion through all of it. He doesn't like riding on sleds, though.

Rowdy weighs about 70 pounds now. He is big enough that people are cautious of him on the street, but he's very sweet-natured and calm. He enjoys running around outside and chasing after small animals (particularly squirrels), but he is a great house dog. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be "comforting." He loves watching movies and will snuggle with you at any time of the day--he's lying next to me as I type this. Rowdy's favorite movies are The Jungle Book (animated version) and the Harry Potter series. I want to find out if I can get him certified as a therapy dog someday so we can visit hospitals and nursing homes. I think he has the right demeanor for it. He's very patient and doesn't mind being petted by strangers. He makes very little noise and doesn't bark at other dogs. He loves almost everyone and everything. Among the few things he doesn't like are skateboards, rain, and baths. 

Although he has short hair, he sheds a lot, and his hair is very coarse and hard to remove from upholstery.

Buster

Eric started badgering me about getting a second dog as soon as he moved to St. Louis. He argued that Rowdy was lonely and needed a buddy. Judging by Rowdy's demeanor now that we have two dogs, I don't think he was unhappy before. Eric is just obsessed with animals. At some point I realized I was never going to get Eric to stop asking me about a second dog, so I started negotiating. We live in a smallish apartment, so I didn't want to get another big dog. I decided that if I had to get a small dog, I wanted a dachshund. I read that they were really stubborn and hard to train, but have a lot of personality. That sounded good to me. I wanted a small dog that would be feisty and quick enough to keep up with Rowdy.

We got Buster when he was eight weeks old. He weighed 3 and a half pounds. He was so small he could walk under all our furniture. And it's all pretty low to the ground - a clearance of about four inches. We discovered one day that Buster had been secretly pooping under our bed! Thankfully he's not small enough to walk under there anymore.....it was tough to clean up. 

In one word, Buster is entertaining. He reminds me of a tiny Chris Farley.  

One time he was lying on Rowdy's back on our bed, and Rowdy decided to jump off the bed and inadvertently sent Buster flying about 10 feet in the air. He landed with a crash against the wall...it kinda freaked me out because I thought he would be seriously injured, but he walked it off like nothing happened.

Buster's fully grown now. His breed is supposed to be 9-11 pounds and he's 11 or 12 depending on what time of day you weigh him. I make sure he gets a lot of exercise, because a lot of dachshunds end up getting overweight. I think maybe people don't exercise them as much because they think the dogs can't go very far on their short legs. I've been taking the dogs on long walks and hikes every weekend lately, and Buster goes everywhere the rest of us go. Occasionally I will carry him for a short stretch if he starts to drag, but he usually gets a second wind and wants to run around more. 

Both of our dogs are very affectionate, but Buster is needier. I have to leave the bathroom door open when I shower so that he can come in and stand on the other side of the shower curtain. He gets upset if he can't get to us at all times. He is spoiled. 

Together, I think of them as a comedy duo. Rowdy is the straight man and Buster is a slapstick comedian.

Overall, I like having dogs. They are more work than cats, but it's nice how they get so excited when I arrive home from work, and they act like I'm the most interesting person in the world. I still like cats too, though.


Up next: a day in the life of Rowdy and Buster....