Officially Ours!

[LyonsFamily]

Last week marked the 8th month since we rescued Odin and it also means that out of all the homes he's bounced between these first few years, he has officially lived here the longest!

Today we went on a nature hike with a poodle, a malinois puppy, and a grumpy Shiba Inu and then hit up Petsmart before the trip home. He was a little angel for all of it, took surprise puppy kisses in the field, and we even met an assistant manager at Petsmart that had two Dutch Shepherds at home.

I can't believe how far he's come since I first brought him home. I remember finding the posts on here from his old owners and thinking "oh, what have I gotten myself into?" We spent the first week with him refusing to venture into the front half of our house, and months of him being crated for anything that involved us leaving the room, including showers and getting the mail.

Now, he can meet a new dog for the first time and act like a respectable canine citizen, and has full run of the house when we're gone. He's also gained almost 15 lbs and put on a ton of muscle. We had our first dock diving show a few months ago, and I'm looking forward to adding many letters after his name.

[Sugars Mom]

How wonderful for you to put into words the progress made by you guys. It is so awesome to hear success stories like this! Odin was Otis, right? I do remember posts from his old owner, and how they wanted so much for Odin to get past some issues as they thought he was such an amazing dog otherwise, and was quite heartbreaking for them. Congrats on all the hard work you've put in to get to the point you have! Yippee for Odin!!

[Marjolein]

yay, good story

[LyonsFamily]

Yep Odin was 'Otis in Chicago'. I actually didn't even read those posts until after I finalized the adoption and I was waiting on getting our new place before taking him home. It was kind of cool to find out his past, but he had more then the trainer told us. My husband actually wanted to change our choice to the malinois that was available after finding out everything, but we're really happy we took the chance on him now.

[felixone123]

Thank the doggie gods for you!! It's people like you that have love, patience and kindness that are willing to do the work so Odin can become the dog he is today!!

He is very handsome, btw!!

[leih merigian]

Such a great story, and so much fantastic progress!

You all rock!

[Schlussdibusti]

super !! you guys rock!!

and yes, he is a handsome dude

[Dutchringgirl]

Wonderful!!!

[katm4110]

Great story! He's definitely where he belongs! We almost didn't even look at Stella because she was 3 and I had read online that dutchies can be quite the handful.... so glad we chose to adopt her!

[LyonsFamily]

Thank the doggie gods for you!! It's people like you that have love, patience and kindness that are willing to do the work so Odin can become the dog he is today!!

He is very handsome, btw!!

Aww thanks.

[Christie M]

I can't tell you how happy I am that he has been such a success with you. Based on his history, I was very cautious about him being rehomed and was very worried that he would end up in the wrong hands and go down a very bad path. He is so lucky to have ended up with Jennifer and then with you. His whole direction changed 180 degrees and he has only you to thank for that success. So often in rescue, it just doesn't go that way. Too many people want to adopt an unknown who "is perfect with all people (never aggressive) but will protect us, safe with cats, well trained and will never destroy a thing in our home.....while completely being ignored 23 out of 24 hours per day." I didn't have high hopes for him because your kinda home is rare - but he hit the jackpot and I am so grateful!!

[vneerland]

[LyonsFamily]

So often in rescue, it just doesn't go that way. Too many people want to adopt an unknown who "is perfect with all people (never aggressive) but will protect us, safe with cats, well trained and will never destroy a thing in our home.....while completely being ignored 23 out of 24 hours per day." I didn't have high hopes for him because your kinda home is rare - but he hit the jackpot and I am so grateful!!

Well, we got 2 of those. 50% isn't bad . He's definitely protective and surprisingly has never once destroyed anything in our house. He stole a spatula off the counter once, and licked it to death, but when I caught him he shoved it under the stove and ran out of the room. We're both allergic to cats, so if you count that out of the mix, we were batting over 600 to begin with. He really isn't a bad dog. He has some stranger suspicion and high exercise needs, but what untrained Dutch doesn't?

He's incredibly loyal to those strangers that take the time to properly meet him. He met my sister in law for the first time last month who just happened to be 8 months pregnant and moving back home from a year in Europe a month early, before my brother could join. He climbed every step with her when we were moving boxes from the upstairs storage to the moving trailer.

Jennifer put a good obedience foundation on him and I'm very thankful for that. His "place" command has been the most useful for expanding training and meeting new people. He just spent 4 days at her kennel for boarding while we traveled and despite having 2 new mal puppies in her own pack, she managed to give him some extra attention and take some pictures to post.

I think we really lucked out with him, it just took some time and I'll admit, I thought it was too much at some points too, but he honestly has me addicted to this breed.

[LyonsFamily2]

I’m writing this here as a way to provide an update on him over 12 years later (the 14 year old big guy)- we lost Odin yesterday and I don’t think life will ever be quite the same. I’m the aforementioned husband in the post and frankly was never someone who was a “dog” person. Odin changed that. And at the risk of sounding a bit dramatic, I never imagined his loss would be so sudden or heartbreaking. I’m going to write this present tense a bit to make it easier to write.

Odin is Odin.He plays so hard you have to take his toys away sometimes so he’ll stop and get a drink of water. If you’re in any kind of pain he always knows and comes to comfort and stay with you as long as you need him. He is so loving, kind and caring in spite of being a huge prankster and a bit of a troublemaker. When our other Dutch - Elli is playing fetch he always pretends he’s not watching and then the second the ball or stick is thrown he just takes off and races to overtake her and catch it before she can. Hahaha. He’s so fast.

He is so vocal. He does this little whine squeal and talks in his own way which is always understood if you get the context like he does. It sounds like mmmm mooowww wow wow wow mmm bark! Or sometimes just squeal squeal quickly. And he always does it when he’s trying to help someone.

Which brings me to cooking! When we lived in this apartment in Chicago on 29th after leaving college I used to burn food all the time while cooking it. He figured out how to tell when the food was perfectly done so that I would take the food off the stove or George Foreman grill instead of burning it and setting off the fire alarm accidentally. God is he funny. He is such a good cook though. He does chicken, steak, burgers and pretty much any type of carb - potatoes, he tries with noodles, and really only struggles with Fish. He’s the best dog.

When he runs in the snow he looks like a bear or a snow tiger.
He and Elli always go out and chase each other around this bush we have in our yard at full speed - and even doubly so in the winter. He’s a prankster even then where he pretends like he’s stopped…and then takes off! At full speed! I want to add more but this takes a lot to write. Putting this here makes me feel like he’s in the next room and I just have to go see him. I’ll probably edit to add more in the future. Odin was the best friend, most loving family member and put up with pain and problems with the most grit I have ever seen. He’s the guy who makes you a better person the closer you are to him and I only wish he was still here so I could live life with him even longer.

[centrop67]

I am sorry for your loss, and that is a wonderful tribute. It had me thinking so much of radar.