Saturday, April 30, 2005
Settling Into a Routine
We're at three weeks and counting! Jewel has fit into our little lives here rather nicely and we're starting to work on some of her dominance issues. So far everything is solvable, even though Carol is still a little nervous with Jewel around a couple of her house dogs. Star is Carol's princess, and while Star hasn't hesitated to tell Jewel when Jewel is being annoying, I think Carol is still afraid that they'll butt heads. So we have to watch that. And Jewel seems to have finally gotten it through her head to leave Blackberry alone. Blackberry isn't an aggressive dog and doesn't tell Jewel very forcefully to go away. So Jewel had started nudging Blackberry too much. This took intervention from Carol, and Jewel seems to have gotten the message.
All is well between Jewel and each of my two dogs. Mardy, my old biddy Irish Shedder, just growls at Jewel when she gets too close and Jewel understands. Mardy isn't much of a dog dog, preferring to be a people dog. Izzi, my little playgirl dog dog, is getting along famously with Jewel, often growling and playing in the yard. Jewel doesn’t keep it up much though. But I'll frequently find Jewel and Izzi curled up together in the crate I keep in my office, so they are quite comfortable together.
Jewel came housebroken and with basic commands, so now that things are settling down we're working on things like Come. She's doing great at it, but we've not been doing it long enough for me to feel comfortable letting her loose even in the yard. (Actually, I tried it once and it took a while for Jewel to come into the house. So I'm waiting a bit until we trust each other more.)
We did have one scary episode a couple of weeks ago. I was taking baby steps at leaving Jewel chained in my dog yard. When the dogs had to go out I tried chaining her and going into the house, watching from the window. It went okay a couple of times, so I tried turning away for a minute or two at a time. The first time I did that I turned back to find a chain and collar lying on the ground and Jewel nowhere in sight. Aargh! Fortunately I live well away from busy streets and found her on the next road over, and she jumped right into the car. Whew! So now she's on a limited slip collar, which is working well. Now we've worked up to where I leave all three dogs in the yard all the time when I go into town, two loose and Jewel chained. That has made life easier, particularly since Jewel has not proven to be the best car dog. Just a bit too hyper for that.
Jewel continues to be thinner than I'd like, but isn't unhealthy. I'm feeding her the high octane Annamaet Blue, but she just isn't the most focused eater. I'm trying various things, but as long as she doesn't get any thinner I'll let her eat what she wants.
I also need to get her more exercise. She gets some when we go over to Carol's tearing around the dog yard playing with the other dogs. I've been using a Halti on walks and runs, so we're getting that routine down. I'm looking forward to being able to walk or run with her loose, when she'll stay close and come when called. It'll be a while before I do that, even under controlled conditions!
All is well between Jewel and each of my two dogs. Mardy, my old biddy Irish Shedder, just growls at Jewel when she gets too close and Jewel understands. Mardy isn't much of a dog dog, preferring to be a people dog. Izzi, my little playgirl dog dog, is getting along famously with Jewel, often growling and playing in the yard. Jewel doesn’t keep it up much though. But I'll frequently find Jewel and Izzi curled up together in the crate I keep in my office, so they are quite comfortable together.
Jewel came housebroken and with basic commands, so now that things are settling down we're working on things like Come. She's doing great at it, but we've not been doing it long enough for me to feel comfortable letting her loose even in the yard. (Actually, I tried it once and it took a while for Jewel to come into the house. So I'm waiting a bit until we trust each other more.)
We did have one scary episode a couple of weeks ago. I was taking baby steps at leaving Jewel chained in my dog yard. When the dogs had to go out I tried chaining her and going into the house, watching from the window. It went okay a couple of times, so I tried turning away for a minute or two at a time. The first time I did that I turned back to find a chain and collar lying on the ground and Jewel nowhere in sight. Aargh! Fortunately I live well away from busy streets and found her on the next road over, and she jumped right into the car. Whew! So now she's on a limited slip collar, which is working well. Now we've worked up to where I leave all three dogs in the yard all the time when I go into town, two loose and Jewel chained. That has made life easier, particularly since Jewel has not proven to be the best car dog. Just a bit too hyper for that.
Jewel continues to be thinner than I'd like, but isn't unhealthy. I'm feeding her the high octane Annamaet Blue, but she just isn't the most focused eater. I'm trying various things, but as long as she doesn't get any thinner I'll let her eat what she wants.
I also need to get her more exercise. She gets some when we go over to Carol's tearing around the dog yard playing with the other dogs. I've been using a Halti on walks and runs, so we're getting that routine down. I'm looking forward to being able to walk or run with her loose, when she'll stay close and come when called. It'll be a while before I do that, even under controlled conditions!
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Adapting
Jewel has been with us for 41 hours, with two nights and one full day so far. And I'm happy to report that it's going great! Outside seems to be consciously separate from inside (although I'm still restricting movement in the house, probably for a couple more days), and Jewel is pretty well integrated into our routine. She seems to be comfortable here...I'm thrilled with that!
Nights have been serene. She gets closed in a crate late at night when I'm ready for bed and I have yet to hear a peep from her all night long. In fact, I'm jealous of how deeply she seems to sleep! This morning Mardy had to go out around 2 AM, and as near as I can tell Jewel didn't even look up. Izzi decided to spend the night outside (of the three she is most built for the cold, so as it gets warmer I think she's more comfortable out there).
Yesterday afternoon we took her for our first walk together. This was a chance for Jewel to meet the first of Carol's 23 dogs, Ivy. They met in my garage, did the requisite butt sniffing, and then we were off. No aggression or hostility at all. Ivy is kind of a growler but a very friendly dog, so we were wondering how they'd do. No worries! Mardy also came along, but Izzi, who tends to stray a bit too far, stayed home.
We walked the Ester trails east of Henderson, maybe four miles, a fairly leisurely walk. Jewel clearly prefers to stay on packed trails, stopping quickly when she ventured off the trail. That might have been because she was on my 16' Flexileash. It looks like she'll be on a leash for a while for walks. She comes when called, but usually pretty slowly. We'll work on that in coming weeks. But she clearly enjoyed being out and sniffing all the new and interesting scents that a moderately-used trail contains. When Mardy found a treed squirrel and started explaining the facts of life in the dog-squirrel nature of the world in loud barks, Jewel would quickly pick up the pace and try to tear off my arm. All in all, it was a delightful evening on a beautiful day with four hot women (it was quite warm). I think that it will do Jewel a lot of good to get lots of exercise.
My dog yard is setup with four-foot field fencing, not high enough to keep Jewel in. (It's not high enough to keep Izzi in either, but she has learned to stay put.) And with the snowpack, it's probably only two feet in a few places. I have a couple of poles where I can chain dogs out, so it's served my needs up to now. (And given Jewel's known preferences I want to avoid chaining her out until we trust each other more.) I'll probably need to make some changes, but for now I accompany Jewel outside with her on a Flexileash. It's a nice way to spend some quality time with her, and she pees and poops just fine on the leash.
I expect that next week I'll start taking Jewel with me on errands to town. I'll have to see how good a car dog she is, and whether she is patient enough to wait for me.
Jewel is eating, but not as much as I'd like. I'll probably move her to Annamaet blue (I just went to red for the summer for my other dogs) to get more in her for the volume she's eating. With Carol's reassurance, I'm not real worried for now, and will let Jewel eat as much as she wants and regulate her own intake. I'd love to see her put on a few pounds.
Jewel is becoming a member of the family. I can't tell you how happy I am about that!
Nights have been serene. She gets closed in a crate late at night when I'm ready for bed and I have yet to hear a peep from her all night long. In fact, I'm jealous of how deeply she seems to sleep! This morning Mardy had to go out around 2 AM, and as near as I can tell Jewel didn't even look up. Izzi decided to spend the night outside (of the three she is most built for the cold, so as it gets warmer I think she's more comfortable out there).
Yesterday afternoon we took her for our first walk together. This was a chance for Jewel to meet the first of Carol's 23 dogs, Ivy. They met in my garage, did the requisite butt sniffing, and then we were off. No aggression or hostility at all. Ivy is kind of a growler but a very friendly dog, so we were wondering how they'd do. No worries! Mardy also came along, but Izzi, who tends to stray a bit too far, stayed home.
We walked the Ester trails east of Henderson, maybe four miles, a fairly leisurely walk. Jewel clearly prefers to stay on packed trails, stopping quickly when she ventured off the trail. That might have been because she was on my 16' Flexileash. It looks like she'll be on a leash for a while for walks. She comes when called, but usually pretty slowly. We'll work on that in coming weeks. But she clearly enjoyed being out and sniffing all the new and interesting scents that a moderately-used trail contains. When Mardy found a treed squirrel and started explaining the facts of life in the dog-squirrel nature of the world in loud barks, Jewel would quickly pick up the pace and try to tear off my arm. All in all, it was a delightful evening on a beautiful day with four hot women (it was quite warm). I think that it will do Jewel a lot of good to get lots of exercise.
My dog yard is setup with four-foot field fencing, not high enough to keep Jewel in. (It's not high enough to keep Izzi in either, but she has learned to stay put.) And with the snowpack, it's probably only two feet in a few places. I have a couple of poles where I can chain dogs out, so it's served my needs up to now. (And given Jewel's known preferences I want to avoid chaining her out until we trust each other more.) I'll probably need to make some changes, but for now I accompany Jewel outside with her on a Flexileash. It's a nice way to spend some quality time with her, and she pees and poops just fine on the leash.
I expect that next week I'll start taking Jewel with me on errands to town. I'll have to see how good a car dog she is, and whether she is patient enough to wait for me.
Jewel is eating, but not as much as I'd like. I'll probably move her to Annamaet blue (I just went to red for the summer for my other dogs) to get more in her for the volume she's eating. With Carol's reassurance, I'm not real worried for now, and will let Jewel eat as much as she wants and regulate her own intake. I'd love to see her put on a few pounds.
Jewel is becoming a member of the family. I can't tell you how happy I am about that!
Friday, April 08, 2005
Jewel Comes Home to Us!
I'm happy to report that Jewel is settling into her new home here. Jane dropped her off Thursday afternoon, and we've spent a lot of time with her since then. Jewel is just about the sweetest dog I think I've met, and has the cutest expression that melts my heart. And if I ever decide to get satellite TV, I bet her ears have great reception! Heh.
We've had exactly two indoor pees and one poop as she sorts out what is inside and outside, but none since yesterday afternoon so I think she's figured it out. Carol helped me slowly introduce Jewel to my two dogs. First was Izzi, the consummate playgirl who is submissive and will play with any dog for hours on end (her favorite playmate these days is Carol's Misty, another SCL dog). Then we brought in Mardy, my 7 year old Irish Shedder who has never been in a pack and never will be part of a pack, thank you very much! The requisite butt sniffing ensued, with Jewel definitely being the most interested of the three in exploring the fine subtleties of posterior scents. Jewel and Izzi played for a while and got out their aggression in one very limited incident that they seem to have successfully used to probe each other's boundaries. There's been no sign of aggression since. And Mardy is happy to sniff butts but just growls a little when Jewel steps on her, as she does with most dogs. So everyone is settling in for a new home situation.
Jewel is not eating well yet, but I think we'll sort through that quickly. I'd really like to put some weight on her and get her coat healthier.
I work at home, so she's going to be loose indoors most of the time. Initially I'm using some baby gates to restrict everyone to limited rooms. When I left for a couple of hours last night I put Jewel in a crate in my bedroom, and she did fine. I also crated her last night and didn't hear a peep all night long. I'll probably do that for a few more nights until I'm sure she knows indoors from out.
So far, she is looking to be a delightful addition to our little home. And sometime this weekend I'll take her over to Carol's to start meeting some of her dogs, since hopefully she'll spend a lot of time with me over there. And later today we'll take our first walk together, hopefully with my dogs and a couple of Carol's.
P.S. Jewel asked me to let you all know how happy she is that you have been so concerned about her. "I haven't been very happy lately as you know, but I think you people say something about third time's the charm. Maybe that will be the case this time. Don looks and smells kinda funny, but not too bad."
We've had exactly two indoor pees and one poop as she sorts out what is inside and outside, but none since yesterday afternoon so I think she's figured it out. Carol helped me slowly introduce Jewel to my two dogs. First was Izzi, the consummate playgirl who is submissive and will play with any dog for hours on end (her favorite playmate these days is Carol's Misty, another SCL dog). Then we brought in Mardy, my 7 year old Irish Shedder who has never been in a pack and never will be part of a pack, thank you very much! The requisite butt sniffing ensued, with Jewel definitely being the most interested of the three in exploring the fine subtleties of posterior scents. Jewel and Izzi played for a while and got out their aggression in one very limited incident that they seem to have successfully used to probe each other's boundaries. There's been no sign of aggression since. And Mardy is happy to sniff butts but just growls a little when Jewel steps on her, as she does with most dogs. So everyone is settling in for a new home situation.
Jewel is not eating well yet, but I think we'll sort through that quickly. I'd really like to put some weight on her and get her coat healthier.
I work at home, so she's going to be loose indoors most of the time. Initially I'm using some baby gates to restrict everyone to limited rooms. When I left for a couple of hours last night I put Jewel in a crate in my bedroom, and she did fine. I also crated her last night and didn't hear a peep all night long. I'll probably do that for a few more nights until I'm sure she knows indoors from out.
So far, she is looking to be a delightful addition to our little home. And sometime this weekend I'll take her over to Carol's to start meeting some of her dogs, since hopefully she'll spend a lot of time with me over there. And later today we'll take our first walk together, hopefully with my dogs and a couple of Carol's.
P.S. Jewel asked me to let you all know how happy she is that you have been so concerned about her. "I haven't been very happy lately as you know, but I think you people say something about third time's the charm. Maybe that will be the case this time. Don looks and smells kinda funny, but not too bad."
