Thursday, February 25, 2010
Walkies
The first time Suzie would allow my daughter to lead her anywhere; this was moments after, when she wasn't so sure. Maybe because Mom was "paying attention."
Progress!
Well, Suzie's doing better; no more snaps at my daughter, seems calmer, and more bonded with the pack. She kept coming into the bedroom when we were napping, then leaving again, or lying down for a minute and then leaving again, so we made her a nice soft bed (since she loves the couches to sleep on, which we don't want, particularly with my allergy!) at the foot of the bed, and she loves it! She slept there for the first time last night, and slept much better; I don't think she got up at all!
I should note, we were told to keep her in her crate at night, and she seemed more comfortable there at first. But now she seems to want the "pack" more, now that she sees us that way I'd guess!
Eating is still an issue. We're trying to find a food she likes, because she'll refuse to eat all day! For a couple of days I sprinkled a little feta cheese on it, which made her wolf it down, but yesterday that didn't seem to work either. I learned about the feta one afternoon when Nora was having a little dish of it, and threw the rest down, raining it all over, including on Suzie! Well she had a grand ol' time hunting down every little piece of that cheese! One of my "expert advisers" at Planet Pet said she sprinkled parmesan for her rescue dog for the first while, till she got used to her new food.
These two ladies, mother and daughter, have been the greatest support for us in this process; Planet Pet is the storefront for a low cost vet clinic, and they also rescue dogs and cats and re-home them. N and I first went in there when she was very small, just after we'd moved, after her first word was kitty, and D, the mom, and I became fast friends! Sometimes people think she's my mom too, but we tell them, Nope, just good friends.
I should note, we were told to keep her in her crate at night, and she seemed more comfortable there at first. But now she seems to want the "pack" more, now that she sees us that way I'd guess!
Eating is still an issue. We're trying to find a food she likes, because she'll refuse to eat all day! For a couple of days I sprinkled a little feta cheese on it, which made her wolf it down, but yesterday that didn't seem to work either. I learned about the feta one afternoon when Nora was having a little dish of it, and threw the rest down, raining it all over, including on Suzie! Well she had a grand ol' time hunting down every little piece of that cheese! One of my "expert advisers" at Planet Pet said she sprinkled parmesan for her rescue dog for the first while, till she got used to her new food.
These two ladies, mother and daughter, have been the greatest support for us in this process; Planet Pet is the storefront for a low cost vet clinic, and they also rescue dogs and cats and re-home them. N and I first went in there when she was very small, just after we'd moved, after her first word was kitty, and D, the mom, and I became fast friends! Sometimes people think she's my mom too, but we tell them, Nope, just good friends.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Update
Sorry that it's been a week; we've been struggling with Suzie's issues and I haven't quite known what to write.
On Tuesday we took her to the vet, because she'd been kind of off her food. Nothing was wrong, it turns out, she's just "selective" about eating, probably because she was spoiled in her previous home. Oh boy. Mixing wet food into her dry works well, but adds expense to her diet. Or Nora can feed her a meal piece by piece.. and eventually she eats it all. Hmm.
Then Wednesday or so she started snapping at my girl when she was feeling nervous about what she was doing, big upset. So we're working on getting Suzie to come to us when she's feeling nervous, which both calms her down, because she gets pets and reassurances, and also stops the pursuit, because doggie is sitting, so she can be petted. I realized after reading some more Tamar Geller this evening that if I teach them both to play catch or fetch, it will help things all around.
We tried some more cat/dog interactions today, but Suzie was prevented from barking only because when she inhaled to do so she snorted a bit or treat and had to sneeze instead. Note: dog sneezes are still scary to nervous kitty-cats. The second time she just stood up, but didn't try to bark, which I guess is something. More hmm. Suzie hates when we go downstairs without her, but the cats need attention too, so there's no help for it.
We have roughly 5 days left of the "trial period", before our adoption fee is non-refundable. Not sure we could bear to take her back, but it's not completely off the table. We need all our family members to be happy with each other! Oi vey.
On Tuesday we took her to the vet, because she'd been kind of off her food. Nothing was wrong, it turns out, she's just "selective" about eating, probably because she was spoiled in her previous home. Oh boy. Mixing wet food into her dry works well, but adds expense to her diet. Or Nora can feed her a meal piece by piece.. and eventually she eats it all. Hmm.
Then Wednesday or so she started snapping at my girl when she was feeling nervous about what she was doing, big upset. So we're working on getting Suzie to come to us when she's feeling nervous, which both calms her down, because she gets pets and reassurances, and also stops the pursuit, because doggie is sitting, so she can be petted. I realized after reading some more Tamar Geller this evening that if I teach them both to play catch or fetch, it will help things all around.
We tried some more cat/dog interactions today, but Suzie was prevented from barking only because when she inhaled to do so she snorted a bit or treat and had to sneeze instead. Note: dog sneezes are still scary to nervous kitty-cats. The second time she just stood up, but didn't try to bark, which I guess is something. More hmm. Suzie hates when we go downstairs without her, but the cats need attention too, so there's no help for it.
We have roughly 5 days left of the "trial period", before our adoption fee is non-refundable. Not sure we could bear to take her back, but it's not completely off the table. We need all our family members to be happy with each other! Oi vey.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Busy Weekend
We think there may be some progress with the cats, but for me it's hard to say. The first time they were "introduced" Suzie lunged and Rhymer. The second time (she was crated this time) she growled and barked at Tarz. But if she's at the top of the stairs and the cats are at the bottom she does fine. Hmm. This is all very stressful.
We went for lots of walks this weekend, including the first where she passed in close quarters to other dogs. Well, the first set she barked and growled at one of the dogs (there were two), but the second set she didn't. Guess one of the first must have been a "dominant female" like we've been warned about; silly humans can't tell from looking, plus I was focused on our dog, and giving her treats to "desensitize" her.
My husband gets up, even when it's snowing, and takes her out. And takes her out before bed too!
We went for lots of walks this weekend, including the first where she passed in close quarters to other dogs. Well, the first set she barked and growled at one of the dogs (there were two), but the second set she didn't. Guess one of the first must have been a "dominant female" like we've been warned about; silly humans can't tell from looking, plus I was focused on our dog, and giving her treats to "desensitize" her.
My husband gets up, even when it's snowing, and takes her out. And takes her out before bed too!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Suzie's History
We learned more about Suzie's past when we picked her up yesterday. She first showed up at animal house on April 4th, 2008, with her four two day old puppies. All found good homes, and grew up to be gorgeous dogs, much bigger than their Mama, who is only about 40lbs when she's in shape. Then she lived with a nice man who loved her very much, but had to give her up when he lost his house to foreclosure in December. There are many dogs losing their families this way!
When she arrived back at Animal House on December 1st, she was "very overweight," but is now close to ideal again, just a little big on the ribs.
When she arrived back at Animal House on December 1st, she was "very overweight," but is now close to ideal again, just a little big on the ribs.
Susie's First Day
Well, first evening, really. N, my daughter, and I went up to Fort Collins to pick up Suzie, and we all got home about 3. We went right to the backyard, and Susie found all the tasty cat poop that neighborhood cats have been leaving there! She got some, but I got the rest, thanks to her clever nose!
So far N needs more training than Suzie does! But we're all learning how to make her feel at home. But also to teach her to stay off the couch; which is hard because she looks so comfy there.
So far the cats are still isolated in the lower part of the house. We've tried introducing them briefly, with Suzie on a leash, and lots of "gold treats" ready. Rhymer came up, and moved towards her carefully, and Suzie jumped at him! So much for the first try!
The good news is that she's done very well so far on walks, in terms of other dogs. And she does well with sit, and okay with come. So, one step at a time!
So far N needs more training than Suzie does! But we're all learning how to make her feel at home. But also to teach her to stay off the couch; which is hard because she looks so comfy there.
So far the cats are still isolated in the lower part of the house. We've tried introducing them briefly, with Suzie on a leash, and lots of "gold treats" ready. Rhymer came up, and moved towards her carefully, and Suzie jumped at him! So much for the first try!
The good news is that she's done very well so far on walks, in terms of other dogs. And she does well with sit, and okay with come. So, one step at a time!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Our Journey
It's been a long week, full of discussion, debating, driving, but we're finally decided; we're bringing Suzie home tomorrow. Suzie is a rescue dog that we're adopting from the Animal House Dog Rescue in Fort Collins, Colorado.
She's, from appearances, part german shepard and part corgi. A medium sized dog. A smart dog. Almost totally untrained, apart from house-training and crate. She's between 3 and 4 years old (one source says 3 yrs 8 months, so i'm going with that, as that puts her birthday in May, along with the cats).
She's very good with our 19 month old daughter, and promising in all the other things that we think are important up front: doesn't bark, doesn't jump up, doesn't think cats are prey. So we'll go from there. I want to document our journey because I've tried to find stories like ours in the past few days, stories to give us a glimmer of what we're getting into. I hope that our success will encourage others to give "secondhand" dogs a chance to enrich and transform their lives, as we do theirs.
She's, from appearances, part german shepard and part corgi. A medium sized dog. A smart dog. Almost totally untrained, apart from house-training and crate. She's between 3 and 4 years old (one source says 3 yrs 8 months, so i'm going with that, as that puts her birthday in May, along with the cats).
She's very good with our 19 month old daughter, and promising in all the other things that we think are important up front: doesn't bark, doesn't jump up, doesn't think cats are prey. So we'll go from there. I want to document our journey because I've tried to find stories like ours in the past few days, stories to give us a glimmer of what we're getting into. I hope that our success will encourage others to give "secondhand" dogs a chance to enrich and transform their lives, as we do theirs.
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