There are 2 types of animals that I have a spiritual connection with, dogs and horses!
I feel it, I hear their silent voice as though I understand what they need, it is not something you can explain very well, it`s just there.
All you have to do is look and listen, you will feel what they are trying to tell you.
One down side to this move at the moment is the house is on an estate with lines of houses and front yards right next to the pavements or sidewalks, here at the apartment complex there are no front yards just common areas, lake and woods so Buddy has had freedom to roam on his extendable leash, which for a hound dog is freedom for him.
Now not to annoy the neighbours we have to train him to walk to heal until we get to an area for him to run at full leash, the training has begun and I can say Buddy hates it!
My error I should have trained him when he first came out of the shelter so he knew it as his new normal and part of the package my bad!
I know I know I am going a blog fest today, but I have to catch up 🙂
Buddy loves tummy rubs and in his dog mind I am sure he thinks I owe him big time 2 months worth of tummy rubs so he has developed this new trick which at first was cute and I fell for it hook, line and sinker!
Buddy comes up and I give a tummy rub, then I stop, Buddy puts paw on once working hand, I continue with rub, I stop Buddy puts paw on hand and so the ritual continues, if at some point and there always is at some point! I get tired and the pause is not to Buddy`s satisfaction I then get the high five motion or a gentle paw in the face, cute so I continue….
This all would be cute but now it seems tummy rubs are on the menu 24/7 as I mentioned earlier he has taken residence in the bed, so after his early morning walk from dad at 6am he runs and jumps on bed, sits by my head and the paw starts or the high five in face if i`m asleep, note to self train dad to close the door!
I am so looking forward to those wood floors 😉
It is safe to say Buddy`s training of us dumb humans is well underway 🙂
We are moving!
Since my return from the UK we have been decorating and packing ready to move, it`s only 5 miles down the road but it is a house, with a back yard and lots more space than the apartment we currently live in.
Whilst I was away Buddy and his dad spent a lot of time at the old house as it is his mom`s old house and lots of sorting was needed, it is frightening the amount of stuff collected in 40 years!
The good thing is Buddy is very comfortable there and even spent the night with grandma on New Years Eve!
He is not too happy though that we are pulling up carpets, exposing wood floors, however I see this as a good thing as we may get our own bedroom back!, oh yeah I forgot to mention, in my absence Buddy took up residence on my side of the bed and on my return, he refuses to give up that privilege !
At first it was cute, but the novelty is wearing off, two`s company, threes a crowd as the saying goes, cold dead feet, hanging onto the edge for dear life and the golden silence in the middle of the night broken by genital licking is no longer cute!
Spot the dog?
Since I last logged on I have been in the UK for 2 months (visa rules!) and the seperation anxiety was too much for me to be able to stomach blogging!
I am back in the USA now and have been since 29TH December, being apart from your new family is not nice and skype made it even harder, being able to see your family and not be able to touch them 😦 also buddy`s disinterest in his mum being on a screen and not going crazy and licking it was also a disappointment 🙂
I was anxious of course at leaving them, but everything was in place ready for this day, buddy had a nice new walker, daddy was trained up 😉 and routine was established many weeks before me leaving.
Actually I had nothing to worry about, the boys did wonderfully and some male bonding was very evident.
On my return Buddy went crazy and followed me everywhere, phew he did not forget me, it was a tearful reunion with my fur baby, I would like to say that`s the end of seperations but I will be returning again in March to the UK but I feel this time it wont be so heart wrenching as I can relax knowing all is well.
Ok so he was spoiled for christmas, but who couldn`t, look at that little face!
In the shelter we see all types of shapes and sizes, pedigrees and mixes and various ages of dogs from 7 week old puppies to the older dogs in the shelter and we see people wondering up and down the cages looking for that perfect dog for them, but which one do they choose?
If I get a chance and no staff are nearby I try to talk to the people I am not really supposed to do it I am supposed to direct them to the front desk, but walking these dogs you get a good look at them and a feel for what their energy levels are and asking a few questions about the possible new owners you can maybe help them make the right choice.
The first question I ask is what do you want from the dog? and they look a little strange to start with as they think the first question I should be asking is what type of dog are you looking for?
but to be honest most people have not got a clue what type of dog they want if they have never had a dog before they only know size wise but most just want to see one that they think looks good to them but to me this could be a fundamental mistake and the reason why dogs are returned unsuitable!
The dogs breed and personality has to be a consideration surely to fit around their lifestyles unless of course they are willing to completely changetheir life around for the dog, which is doubtful all though some changes will be made, but it is unlikely that if they do no exercise at all that that suddenly they are going to take hourly walks four times a day, however however there is always the exception.
so I say to them what do you want from the dog? and then the answers come, for company, for affection, to fit in our active lifestyle etc etc
then I ask them how active are you? or intend to be? this is also important as an active breed needs to be exercised properly or they could encounter a sad dog or see behaviour problems for example a small backyard and no extra walking is not good for a large fit active dog etc.
We then try and point them in the right direction of dogs suitable, but time is of the essence and I would have to leave to walk a dog, but its food for thought for some of them.
For instance the other day an elderly lady came in to find a dog and was looking for a “quiet dog” anyone who has visited a shelter knows the noise of excited dogs especially in a shelter, there is no such thing as a quiet dog in there unless its so terrified its just shaking in his or her cage! this lady in question went to a dog named alisha, she was quiet and just lying down and the lady was very interested in her now alisha is shep/lab mix and gives me a run for my money I can tell you, she is a runner and a puller and the reason she was quiet was she just had surgery and was feeling miserable! thank goodness that old lady did not adopt her can you just imagine? that poor dog would have been returned within hours and not even thinking about alisha could have pulled that the poor woman over!
this is Alisha when she felt well again 2 days later!
My dog from the shelter Buddy is a hound mix, he is young and very energetic and gets up to 6 walks a day as well as playtime but there is nothing more he loves than going in the woods and using his nose, living up to his breed.
this is buddy in his favourite place – in the woods 🙂
when adopting a shelter dog the best question you can ask yourself and staff is what dog is right for me?
I wish people would do some research into the breeds, not too much just enough to know a bit about them are they runners, sniffers, jumpers, diggers etc, I mean I know Buddy is a hound mix but I am not ever going to go hunting! but I know a sniff in the woods makes him feel good and is in his blood and tracking squirrels is always going to be his thing no matter how much I try or wish it wasn`t, he is not being bad.
Buddy is always on a harness and a 23ft leash and I have given up in the woods trying to make him go the way I want to go, he just follows his nose and I follow him and he gets me in some right ole states and tangles 🙂 but I will never let him off as once he has a scent he switches off to the world around him as his instincts have kicked in!
I recommend anyone adopting especially if never owned a dog before or have children and pets at home to take a few days to think about it, there is no rush and you can put a dog on hold until you decide, spend some time with the dog, take it for a walk, so the adoption is right for everyone and no dogs get returned and no human gets disappointed or deterred but then that is my hope for a better dog world.
Whatever dog someone adopts, there is always some adjustment, understanding and training on both sides to be expected, there is no such thing as a perfect dog or perfect human it is a relationship to be worked on and it is continuous in my humble opinion.
Love is great and what all dogs need but it is not enough just on its own, but it is better than what some of the shelter dogs have ever known and its a fantastic starting point!
Buddy watching a film with us enjoying a very occasional popcorn treat. Its not all woods 🙂
So please if you are looking for a dog go down to your nearest shelter or even give them some of your time, I have not regretted getting Buddy for a single second! sometimes a puppy is not the answer and puppy mills and pet stores with puppies in glass “fish tanks” will be subjects in my future blogs as some of these puppies end up in the shelters, the “out of date” used too often mothers are!
Introducing maggie who had just given birth to puppies 😦
Its been a while since I blogged so will try and catch up on the gossip!
The last I blogged Buddy our adopted shelter dog was doing great and I was able to leave him with no problems and the next step was to find a reliable sitter as leaving a dog alone all day is absolutely not an option!
We met a great lady after researching the internet and invited her for a meet and greet, I knew that I would like her or not as soon as we met.
well Buddy kind of made our minds up he was all over her and she was wonderful with him so we hired her there and then! There are lots of different sites advertising pet sitting services that for peace of mind and a happy dog are not expensive, I recommend hiring people who offer references.
We started the sitter off straight away as this would get buddy into routine before I had to leave back to the UK for a while.
the sitting is going well she sends us pictures and texts and buddy is relaxed until we get back
so time now for me to get back to walking the shelter dogs……..
No body likes to leave their beloved fur babies at home alone, but unfortunately this is a necessity in this day and age unless house bound 😦
This past week has been training for Buddy, we have come through the chew everything stage! so the next step was to start to leave him alone for a while to see how he behaved and coped, coming from a shelter there is always something going on and they are never alone.
I wanted to do this gradually as he is still finding his bearings and learning to trust that this really is his home and that he wont be abandoned, so slow, slow was this part of his training and ours.
After a few days of settling in it was time! at first we just left him for 5 minutes, standing at the front door listening to see if he barked or whined or showed signs of stress ~ when we went back in we made a big fuss of him and gave him a treat so he associated with us leaving and coming back with something good ~ now dogs cannot tell time ~ so that 5 minutes could have been an hour to him.
The next time we left him was for half an hour ~ same routine on return, fuss and a treat.
Next step was 2 hours and this was timed to be on return it would be time for his afternoon walk ~ so after 2 hours I came back ~ no destruction, Buddy was just chilling, watching TV as we leave this on for him, radio is fine but I read somewhere that TV was better as its visual as well.
Great Progress is being made! and Buddy is happy
This was done for 2 days, then it was time to leave him at Grandma`s, we took him for a couple of walks before we left so he was tired and we were gone for 5 hours but made sure we were back before his evening walk time and dinner as this is when dogs would normally get stressed ~ I said earlier dogs have no sense of time but when it comes to walks and dinners ~ they know and feel its time 😉
Grandma report ~ he slept most of the time ~ she also put on the Dr Dolittle film for him (so sweet).
Of course all that saved energy meant Buddy was rearing to go when we got home, so a nice long walk was his reward.
Yesterday was the 4 hour graduation, (long walk given before leaving) the only thing was the TV was on a timer and on our return was on stand by! (come on Mum and dad sort it out!)
Buddy graduated with flying colours ~ the apartment was in tact, not a thing out of place, rewarded with a nice walk, dinner and some fresh cooked chicken.
Happy Family all around, for peace of mind for everyone it was worth taking the time to do this gradually, we can go out and enjoy ourselves knowing there is a happy dog waiting for us on our return 🙂
Next step finding a pet sitter for this little fur baby
We all know Grandma`s were great, they always had some goodies and treats for us, all of which were normally limited by our parents and the parents would look on drawing in breath as yet another treat was handed out which tasted sooooo good and a scowling parent made it taste even better! right?
after all at Grandma`s house your parents became the children again and had to do what they are told 🙂
well its no different for grand fur babies, they just love to go to grandma`s
Thanks grandma
yep Buddy brought some friends along! YUK! I hate fleas
We guessed as his front line had run out from the shelter, we treated him the other day with the most stinky of treatments and he continued to rub himself all over the carpet and blankets so the whole apartment still stunk of it Phew no wonder what with him being A cross hound it must have been 100 X worse for him! Plus it did not work!
So back to the store to get a different treatment tonight
This is going to be a flea free environment and give poor buddy some peace.
From The Inside 