Priyanka - Dog Mum to Max

Loving pets is one thing but dealing with them is another.

Max in Chicago

When people say they love animals it does not mean they can live with them. Because living with an animal comes with a lot of other responsibilities of which love is a very important but a small part. Though Priyanka loves dogs and live with one too despite the dog has behavior issues, she is hanging on to Max and hoping things will be better. For Priyanka, Max will always be her first born on whom she does not want to give up so early.

When I talked to Priyanka about her journey with Max, she told me that how difficult it has been for them to go on vacations as most of the pet-sitters or dog care refuse to keep Max because of his behavior issues. He has been a difficult dog and after she had her baby early this year, she is finding it pretty hard to handle both the babies but she is trying her best.

Me: Hey! Great knowing about you through a friend. Just wanted to hear from you how the journey started of being a dog mum.

Priyanka: Well! It started way before Max because I was a dog sister 😀 as my parents had a dog when I was a kid. We always had dog in our family and I am continuing the tradition. But Max gave me the identity of a dog mum.

Me: Hmm. As you recently shifted to a new country from the U.S. along with Max. How was the whole experience?

Priyanka: The experience is worth sharing as it was the toughest decision ever. The time I got Max's RNAT (Rabies Neutralizing Anti Body Titre) Test we weren't sure of moving to Australia. After the test, I had contact to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) for couple of documents. It costed us nearly 10,000 USD to bring Max to Australia.

During this process, we were still discussing our relocation. Slowly things became clearer and coincidentally our second IVF became successful. Everything was falling into place and we started the formal process to take Max along with us to Australia.

Me: Oh so you did everything when you were expecting?

Priyanka: Yes! Initially it was quite difficult but we made our mind to take him along.

Firstly I had to find a suitable agent who should be experienced and within our budget for relocating him. We decided to go with Happy Tails &Travels. But the real struggle starts after finding the agent. I had to find USDA certified vet, which was tough, it took more than a month. After that we started all the vet visits as told by the agent. Australian government follows very specific timeline for vaccinations that should align with his flight date and entry to Australia. For one vaccination where he has to enter within 21 days then for the final vet check up he should enter within 12 days. So we had to do so many calculations. It was a bit stressful I would say but then there was no option.

Max while traveling from US to Australia

Me: I understand because I also relocated my dog from India to Singapore.

Priyanka: So you know how agents come at the last moment and ask for some or the other thing. In our case, our agent asked some particular vaccination otherwise his stay at quarantine might get delayed . And we had to get appointment immediately and get it done. When all this was happening, I was already six month pregnant.

Quarantine is a period of isolation or detention, esp of persons or animals arriving from abroad, to prevent the spread of disease, usually consisting of the maximum known incubation period of the suspected disease.

Me: You have a newborn too. Do you find Max as an added responsibility? I had a similar feeling when my son was born but it settled after few weeks.

Priyanka: Yes I do feel Maxwell is an added responsibility for us. It makes even more difficult because we are staying away from our home country. We have to manage everything on our own and with my husband's busy schedule it boils down to me.

Me: Yes I can understand with a toddler and a dog it is mind boggling. So what are basic problems you face with Max?

Priyanka: Max is 6 years old and very active dog. Even at 6, he has energy of a puppy. I find it very difficult handling his energy at home. It is the major challenge for me. We don't have time to take him to playgrounds, he's not friendly to other dogs or humans so we've to be very careful if we leave him without leash.

Me: Can you share any incident where Max was not comfortable with other dogs?

Priyanka: Before leaving Chicago, he attacked another dog when his collar accidentally opened. It was a very frightening situation for us as the owner of the dog fell on the snow and Max started fighting with this dog. He was so ferocious that we were unable to get him off from him. She could have easily sued us for this incident but she was so kind that she was asking if Max is fine.

Me: Oh that is scary!

Priyanka: He also got out of control in Melbourne Quarantine facility. We exactly don't know what happened but when the agent came to drop Max after completion of quarantine period, he told us people at the centre told him to be careful of Max.

Me: That is totally a concern.

Priyanka: Just having a dog with a baby is not my concern but his anxiety and behavior worry me more. If he does something here, then Australia has strict rules and guidelines for aggressive dogs. We could end up in court case and paying huge if he does a damage to a dog or human. Majority of dog boarding places rejected him and the vet also advised us that he is not suitable for our family as we've a baby now. So we're considering about surrendering to a shelter as our last resort.

Me: Now with Max's behavior issues, how do you handle Carvak and him together.

Priyanka: Max is a very serious dog and he has severe behavioral issues. He's not like any other normal playful dogs. Currently he's staying away from the baby and he likes to do so. Even though we've tried to make him friend with the baby but he's not very comfortable, he had barked on kids before and seeing him for the past 4 years we don't think he would ever get friendly with the baby. He might or might not harm the baby but he won't be friendly either.

Me: Did you try to get some help from the trainers?

Priyanka: We've tried with 3 trainers, 1 for obedience training and 2 for behavioral issues when he was 2 years old but nothing worked on him. It had a temporary effect. He takes time to trust people. One such incident is that my husband's friend and his wife relocated to Melbourne around the same time. His wife was so scared of dogs and it was unimaginable for her to stay with a dog but when they stayed for around a month with us Max became their best friend. She almost got out of her fear with dogs and Max showed her a new side of being friend with a dog.

Me: So your dog is different from other playful dogs. Still how different it is being mum to an animal than to a human.

Priyanka: Dogs have very basic needs, they want to stay with you, they want love and attention from us but even if we're not able to give them they don't demand for it. Their habits and daily needs are simple so you don't get overwhelmed by thinking how to keep them happy. Dogs are even happy to see you after a long day of work. It is easier to be a dog mum that mum to a human.

Me: How does your day look like with a baby and a dog?

Priyanka: It is eventful and very busy. I have OCD, so I can't control myself from sweeping dog hair throughout the day. After Max comes back home I wipe his paws. It has happened so many times that the baby is crying and Max need to be cleaned and fed. I have to manage a lot. Thankfully max is so well trained that he can wait for hours to get cleaned. Sometimes he had waited for 2 hours right there, while I was handling the baby.

Me: What do you think about the “Don’t shop! Adopt” campaign?

Priyanka: We always had dogs in my family and all the dogs we got from a breeder and all of them were well behaved.

Max is the first dog we adopted from a shelter and later we got to know shelter dogs might develop behavioral issues due to their past experience.

If you're adopting a dog make sure to socialize him /her from the first day otherwise the situation could be difficult and out of control. So there are pros and cons for both. But yes I wouldn't say I support to any one of those, because all dogs should get a chance to have a happy family.

Me: That is a beautiful thought. Any travelling experience with Max you would like to share.

Priyanka: We have traveled with Max and experience was good. As he's a very active and energetic dog, it was easier to do hiking with him but initially he had anxiety while traveling in a car, so that was a difficult phase. He used to slobber all over the back seat of the car and make noises, letting us know he doesn't like it. Then we spoke to the vet and she gave an anti anxiety medication which made Max calmed and sleepy. Now he enjoys car rides a lot.

Me: How would you rate yourself as a dog mum on the scale from 1-10?

Priyanka: I would rate myself 9. As Max has severe behavioral issues and aggression, in spite of that I stick to him.

Me: I would give you 10 :)

Priyanka: Thank you!

Thank you Priyanka for part of the blog series, Dogmothers. It was great talking to you about Max and how you are trying your best to deal with him.