1st Anniversary for us / 3rd Birthday for Arrow

No posts for 12 months...hmm... this is what Depression can do.  The good news is, I'm coming out of it - and Arrow has played a HUGE role in my recovery.  The following is a bunch of randomness on the past year.

When Arrow first came home with us, he wouldn't let you touch his legs or feet.  Wouldn't allow us to brush him.  We had to be careful not to play too rough with him.  Even so, we got bit.  A lot.

Now, he only "mouths" us when he bites, and we can have mock battles with him.  And he tolerates being brushed (still not his favourite thing).  When he comes in with muddy feet, I can pick them up and wipe them off with a towel and not worry that he'll try to bite me or growl at me.

I discovered he loves to go for bike rides.  This dog is FAST.  When he plays chase with other dogs at the dog park, he is almost always the fastest, regardless of breed.  So, of course, when we walk him, he wants to go much faster than we do.  One day I decided to see if would run beside my bike.  I googled "bikeridingwithyourdog" and found all kinds of advice.  There is even this product you can buy that attaches to the bike frame, and prevents your dog from pulling you over if he get distracted by THAT SQUIRREL.  There was advice on how to slowly get your dog used to the bike and how to gradually build up to a "real" ride.  Well, being the impatient person that I am, I decided to just go for it.  I tied the end of his leash to the frame under my seat, and said, "let's go!"  WOW!  You'd think this dog had been doing this his entire life.  He knew to watch out for the front wheel and he responded to "this way!" when I wanted to make a turn.  But the coolest of all was how happy he was to be running with me!  And when I didn't peddle fast enough for him, he pulled me!  Check this out -

3 WEEKS

We've had Arrow for 3 weeks now!

I'm usually pretty good with words, but it's hard to find the right ones to describe what these past few weeks have been like.  Arrow is such a gift to me, and the way my family has embraced him is a gift, too.

For all you parents out there - do you remember what it was like before you had your first child?  The dreams you had, the expectations, the hopes and even some of the fears?  You just knew you'd have the perfect child and of course, would never make the same mistakes raising him/her as your parents did.  Then you actually have the baby, and maybe he cries all the time, or maybe you're suffering from post-partum depression.  Maybe, when she gets a little older, she doesn't want to take ballet, or he doesn't like sports. What you thought of, dreamed of, and hoped for isn't the reality.

Is it strange to compare adopting a dog to having a child?  I had certain expectations, and certain criteria. No puppies for me, thank you very much!  I wanted a dog already trained.

The first few days were so hard!  Disappointment was huge!  My perfect dog was not perfect!  Not even close....

but, he got better.  and better.  He's still getting better.

look at this face!

Arrow brings such joy to my life!  He can be demanding, just like a toddler - play with me, play with me, "PLAY WITH ME!"  He requires things from me, things that sometimes I feel too tired or too lazy to give. "Wanna WALK, now!"  But he gives so much more!

I am so, so BLESSED by this dog!

Arrow having a blast with his new friend at the Dog Park.

Obedience Class #1

Arrow is a superstar!!

He did not bark at, growl at, or lunge at the other dogs! 

He is very food motivated, so did all the exercises very well!

What a good boy!

One Week Already!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Things are starting to improve.  Arrow does a whole lot more “right” things now, than “wrong”.  I have to admit, the first few days were pretty depressing.  Arrow seemed to have a whole lot of “issues” that I wasn’t prepared to deal with.  But he’s made dramatic improvements, and continues to get better every day. 

I have a walking harness for him, and that stops almost all the pulling!  (Plus he isn’t choking himself trying to pull me along).  We’re practising, “Arrow, sit!” at the crosswalks, and “OK – let’s go!” when I’m ready to cross the street.  He even “stays”, sometimes.

At home, we play ball a lot.  I throw his tennis ball, he chases it and brings it right back!  I’m using this to try to teach “Come!” – when he’s already running towards me, happy.  We’re working on him letting go of the ball so I can throw it again, but even this is getting better – he’s not as possessive.  He might not let go of the ball, but he doesn’t growl anymore.

We also play tug (very carefully on my part).  The first time was not so good – lots of growling and he seemed more fierce than playful.  This was with a rope toy.  But then I got him a long plush squeaky – he holds it in his mouth, and I pull him around in a circle, then let go.  If he brings it back to me, I pull him around again.  If he stays away, I just let him have it.  He sleeps with it, now.

Last night, he actually let me comb his fur!  I was very careful not to pull and I kept my movements gentle, like I was petting him with the comb – but it got all the way down to his skin, where it should be.  Combing out knots will be far in the future, I think.

Arrow has improved so much in just the past few days, I’m even starting to believe he’ll do okay at Obedience School!  (After he realizes he can’t attack the other dogs, that is!)

Who's a good dog?!!

Day 2 - Thursday, January 9 2014

Dog Diaries – Day 2

We are not off to a very good start today.  Arrow picked up one of my “QT%PKY-S!TL$P” (code for personal item), and was carrying it around in his mouth.  I tried “drop it”, and I even tried to take it out of his mouth, but he growled at me and I got a little scared.  So I thought I would try “trading” him for it.  I offered a liver treat, but instead of spitting out the item, he swallowed it so he could have the treat too!  Who said dogs are dumb?

We visited the vet today.  She said not to worry about the ahem (again, code), that he would more than likely poop it out in a few days.  She also said his scratching was probably due to stress (and maybe a touch of dry skin).  He got a shot for DAPP (vaccine for some kind of bug dogs can get from drinking stagnant water) and lots and lots of treats!

Next, we headed over to PetSmart and got a walking harness (because boy! does he pull!) and a red collar (simply for fashion, because his leash is red; and because we need something to put all his tags on.  He’s got 2 from the Guelph SPCA, one from me with his phone number on it, and his new Brantford City “I’m a legal resident” tag.)  He was so good in the car.   Laura sat in the back with him and made sure he didn’t try to come up front.  He just looked out either between the front seats or out the side (Laura complained his paws were cold!).

Once we got home, we had a successful encounter with the cat.  Jack was sleeping on our bed, and Arrow went in, walked all around the bed and back again.  Didn’t bark, didn’t growl, didn’t try to jump up.  Jack just sat there.  Good boys!

Well I spoke too soon about the cat-dog bonding.  Jack came into the living room while Arrow was snoozing on the couch, and Arrow saw him and took off after him!  Chaos ensued.  Arrow is so eager to “play” with Jack that he even squeezed through the cat opening in the baby gate!  Sorry, Jack – it looks like you’re regulated to the basement for the foreseeable future.

Happy Adoption Day, Arrow

January 8, 2014 is Arrow's official new "birthday" - his adoption day.  

We met this beautiful Cocker Spaniel Mix last Saturday at the Guelph Humane Society.  I won't say it was love at first sight, but it was definitely "like".  He was energetic, but not frantic.  He was enthusiastic, but also seemed even-tempered.  We agreed to meet with the adoption counsellor a few days later, and went home to "sleep on it".

After sleeping (and waking up far too early), and praying, and thinking - I decided "yes", this was the dog for me.  And Dean (my wonderful, cat-loving husband) didn't say "no".

So today, we braved the frigid cold and drove back to Guelph (about an hour's car ride away) for our meeting with Caroline, the adoption counsellor at the Humane Society.  Because of some issues that Arrow (formerly known as Milo) displayed with food and with being touched (he cannot stand having his nails clipped) and also with "reactivitiy" to dogs, the SPCA insists that the dog be enrolled in obedience training before they will release him.  We had checked out a local training facility that is highly recommended by our vet, but had not registered for the classes - because, after all, we weren't 100% sure we'd be getting this dog.  That meant calling and registering over the phone.  No problem, right?  Except, when I called, no one answered the phone.  I left a message, but I had no idea how long it would take to connect.  They could be closed on Wednesdays.  They could be conducting a class for the next 2 hours.  We needed to register and have the trainer speak with Caroline at the shelter before her next appointment at 4 o'clock.  In one hour.  And if this didn't happen, we'd have to come back tomorrow to get Arrow.

Oh, and the crate I bought to transport the dog was too small.  That meant a trip to Petsmart for a new crate and a collar.  But, a trip to the pet store would give the trainer time to call back... which of course, she did, and she spoke with Caroline, and we returned with a crate the right size and a collar the wrong size (too big), and filled out some paperwork, and paid the adoption fee, and VOILA, Arrow was ours (mine).

The car ride home was a bit ... unpleasant... we ran into not one, but two road closures, and ended up taking the back back way home.  Arrow "talked" quite a bit, sometimes loudly.  Whines, whimpers, a-woo-woos, and a few barks.  Dean thought maybe he had to "go"; I thought maybe he just didn't like long car rides.  We stopped for a pee break half-way home and he was a bit better after that.

Cat introduction, part 1

It wasn't quite this bad, but you get the idea.  We will have to take this reeeeaaalllly slow.

Arrow showed very little interest in eating from his dish - but he played with the Kong and got the kibble out of that.  He was hilarious chasing the tennis ball; but even more so with the soft squeaky toy - he wants me to play with him but he doesn't want to let go of the squeaky long enough for me to take it and throw it.  It was quite hilarious watching him struggle over whether to let me have it so he could chase it, or whether to keep it.  We've managed to wear him out - he's sleeping on the couch as I type away.