So, new developments with "the dog." Yes, I know she has a name...
She pooped on the floor! Twice! AND peed once..... ummm, so why did it take several days for her to show her true potty habits? Her intake sheet said she was housebroken...so, either the people lied, or she is having issues. She has never told us when she needed to go out which is kind of a warning sign. When you take her out, she doesn't run out and pee immediately, which is what most dogs do. They take advantage of being outside and "go" while they can! So that was a signal.
I don't really know what to do here, because she is not an outside dog. So I can't just have her outside most of the time. She would freak out. We could get a crate and have her sleep in it at night, and put her in it, or outside, when we leave the house. We have never caught her in the act, so it's not like we can "train" her out of it. Once was when we were gone for only a couple hours, and the other was last night while we were sleeping. So, maybe she knows it's wrong. AND her seperation anxiety would make crating hard at this age.
I guess the other option is to trade her in, so to speak. You have a 10 day trial period with any rescued dog, to make sure it's the right fit. We could, theoretically bring her back and get a different dog, and possibly solve our other issues that way. A dog without seperation anxiety, that knows how to play, that is hopefully housebroken. But that would only mess up Mandy more, getting "dropped off" again. Not that she wouldn't get adopted, if the right person came along. But again, I don't want to make her worse :( and you never know what you're going to get with the next one either.
So, I am at a loss. I thought writing a blog would help me figure out what to do, but so far, nothin'. :P Here I go to think on it some more....
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"Announcement"
So, for those of you who don't know already, we are 12 weeks pregnant. This is my 6th pregnancy and I only have one child, so you can guess the rest. I had this ultrasound done yesterday morning, and it revealed a healthy baby. Healthy at this point basically just means measuring the right age. This is the furthest I've made it out of all the losses, so it's great news!
Now, I know that this doesn't mean that nothing bad can happen. When you go through what we have been through, I think you are permanently changed. You never look at pregnancy the same. You know that it ain't over 'til that baby is in your arms, and it's vital signs are good. So while we are "realistic," we are also hopeful that we will be welcoming a new life into our family early next year.
My official due date is Valentines Day! How cute :) We think it's a girl, but will find out for sure in 2 months. We are open to naming suggestions. I think it's appropriate to name this one since we have seen it. If something did happen, I would like it to have an identity. I feel bad that the lost babies didn't have identities, but it was too early for me to have an impression about gender. This is about how far along I was with Nate when I started feeling strongly that he was a boy.
So, for names, if you have any ideas, I would like something a little traditional/old-fashioned (but not too common), and romantic, since it's Valentines, if you can use romantic as an adjective for a name..... Naming Nate took a long time, so this one might also. We had a girl name sort of (almost) picked out before we found out he was a boy, but we were stumped when it came to boy names. So, we are trying to prepare for either one this time.
I am realizing as I write this blog that it's more for me than anyone else, so oh well. :)
And about Mandy, she's doing fine. Still trying to get her to play, but she does run around with us a bit more in the backyard, and we left her alone in the house for awhile yesterday, and she was just fine. Right now, she is laying at my feet asleep, like normal.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Mandy the dog
So, here is her story:
We went to the local shelter looking for a dog on Saturday. We just moved in to a house that has a big fenced backyard, and Nate is about at the right age for a dog. He just loves dogs, and we thought it would be good to start him young on proper "pet etiquette" and teaching him to be a "pack leader" as Cesar Millan would say. www.cesarmillaninc.com if you want to look him up.
Having a dog teaches children a lot, and our family was finally ready to take on the responsibility. We had dogs, in our pre-child life, and Steven is quite the "dog whisperer" so it has been a bit odd (though necessary with all of our changes lately) that we have been dogless for so long.
Anyway, about Mandy. In her "past life" she was a family dog, surrendered to the Humane Society onlya week or so ago. Her intake sheet said the owners' reason for surrender was "can't keep her"....hmmm, mysterious....
I need to back up a minute. We went to the Humane Society, and Animal Control, next door, looking to "fall in love". None of the dogs stuck out as "the one," which is weird because it's not hard to fall in love at a shelter. We noticed there were a lot of empty kennels, so we asked the man at the desk if there were more, and he said they were having an adoption event off site, so we drove over to check it out. Long story short, we walked up to the Humane Society booth and I saw her first. She laying on the floor very calmly, just watching people walk by. I went right up to her and looked in her eyes. I could tell she was sweet, and gentle, which is exactly what we were looking for: A mellow dog that wouldn't knock our little guy over, or get too rough with him while playing. I asked the volunteers about her, and they gave me her file, which was basically a questionnaire filled out by the previous owners, and a bill of health. It said she was around children ages 0-2, very gentle, no behavioral problems, housebroken, leash trained, etc. Sounds great. She was the dog for us. Everyone there was so happy to see her go with us. They all gushed about how sweet she was.
It didn't hurt that the Humane Society had an adoption special this month-only $40 to adopt and it's usually $90 or something. Includes all her shots and microchip! Good timing on our part.
So on the way out, she was great on a leash. We immediately established dominance by not letting her walk in front of the family. She stayed to the side or back a little. She was a little bit excited to be leaving, we could tell, but still mellow. She was ready to get in the car, she jumped right in! When we started driving, we noticed she had come up to front by us, which we thought was sweet, but little did we know....
We took her to PetSmart, as we didn't have any dishes, food, toys, collar, leash, so we bought what we needed and were on our way home. She didn't do very well in the store. She became very clingy, a bit scared in the store. It may have had something to do with the guy who came right up to her and tried to shove a holistic, organic treat in her mouth without asking our permission. That made me so mad! People should not give dogs or children treats without talking to the parents! It takes trust for children and pets to accept treats from strangers, and I don't want my kid, or my dog trusting any old random person. People who do this: make a note! Anyway, after that, she was stuck to Steven and I like glue.
So, in general, after a few days, Mandy's behavior is thus: she is still very calm, sweet, cuddley even. She is very tolerant of any "over attention" given her by the toddler of the house, and eager to please. She hasn't eaten much since we have been home, so whether she is picky or jsut adjusting, I don't know yet, but I am not buying different dog food until she is satisfied. No, she can be happy with Iams. It's the good stuff! Well, the best we can afford anyway :P
Her issues are: she doesn't play! I think she is just on the submissive side and maybe was never played with. But we intend to teach her. She won't chew her rawhide bone, or chase a ball. She doesn't get more than 5 feet from us when we are outside, which is not a bad thing, but you can tell she lacks confidence. She does allow the boy to pull her around on a leash, most of the time. If she's feeling lazy and doesn't want to go, there's not much he can do about it, because she's way too heavy for him to get up from a laying position. But we are trying to teach him to use commands and be assertive....tough for a 3 yr old, but we'll get there.
Mandy is becoming a member of the family. We have decided she is not allowed to sleep in our room. She goes to sleep in Nate's room, she is Nate's dog, and that's what we want. Dogs tend to become a little co-dependant on Steven because he is so dominant, they think they have to please him 24/7 and it sort of gets on his nerves. I wouldn't like it if she was in my face all the time either. She respects me, and loves me, but she isn't needy with me like she is with Steven. So he is separating himself from her so that she can be Nate's dog. She is taking to it quite well. And boy does he love it! He giggles when she's on his bed and she gives him a lick, or stretches , or rubs up against his foot.
She has some separation anxiety. We haven't left her alone in the house yet for this reason. I think she just has an abandonment issue from her past owners, and she will get better. This morning I had Steven leave her outside when he left for work at 5am, and she scratched at the door and whined most of the time. One that knows dogs knows not to respond to this behavior if you want it to stop, so I just tried to ignore it. By the time Nate got up, she had stopped, so I had him let her in. He loves having a bit of responsibility, so feeding her, taking her outside, walking her around on the leash, just thrill him!
This has been a very long post, so I am terribly sorry if you got bored. But hopefully I will stick with it and post her progress. Item 1: teaching Mandy to play.
And may I just say, the most annoying sound in the world (to me, right now) is the sound of a dog licking or chewing itself. Thank you.
We went to the local shelter looking for a dog on Saturday. We just moved in to a house that has a big fenced backyard, and Nate is about at the right age for a dog. He just loves dogs, and we thought it would be good to start him young on proper "pet etiquette" and teaching him to be a "pack leader" as Cesar Millan would say. www.cesarmillaninc.com if you want to look him up.
Having a dog teaches children a lot, and our family was finally ready to take on the responsibility. We had dogs, in our pre-child life, and Steven is quite the "dog whisperer" so it has been a bit odd (though necessary with all of our changes lately) that we have been dogless for so long.
Anyway, about Mandy. In her "past life" she was a family dog, surrendered to the Humane Society onlya week or so ago. Her intake sheet said the owners' reason for surrender was "can't keep her"....hmmm, mysterious....
I need to back up a minute. We went to the Humane Society, and Animal Control, next door, looking to "fall in love". None of the dogs stuck out as "the one," which is weird because it's not hard to fall in love at a shelter. We noticed there were a lot of empty kennels, so we asked the man at the desk if there were more, and he said they were having an adoption event off site, so we drove over to check it out. Long story short, we walked up to the Humane Society booth and I saw her first. She laying on the floor very calmly, just watching people walk by. I went right up to her and looked in her eyes. I could tell she was sweet, and gentle, which is exactly what we were looking for: A mellow dog that wouldn't knock our little guy over, or get too rough with him while playing. I asked the volunteers about her, and they gave me her file, which was basically a questionnaire filled out by the previous owners, and a bill of health. It said she was around children ages 0-2, very gentle, no behavioral problems, housebroken, leash trained, etc. Sounds great. She was the dog for us. Everyone there was so happy to see her go with us. They all gushed about how sweet she was.
It didn't hurt that the Humane Society had an adoption special this month-only $40 to adopt and it's usually $90 or something. Includes all her shots and microchip! Good timing on our part.
So on the way out, she was great on a leash. We immediately established dominance by not letting her walk in front of the family. She stayed to the side or back a little. She was a little bit excited to be leaving, we could tell, but still mellow. She was ready to get in the car, she jumped right in! When we started driving, we noticed she had come up to front by us, which we thought was sweet, but little did we know....
We took her to PetSmart, as we didn't have any dishes, food, toys, collar, leash, so we bought what we needed and were on our way home. She didn't do very well in the store. She became very clingy, a bit scared in the store. It may have had something to do with the guy who came right up to her and tried to shove a holistic, organic treat in her mouth without asking our permission. That made me so mad! People should not give dogs or children treats without talking to the parents! It takes trust for children and pets to accept treats from strangers, and I don't want my kid, or my dog trusting any old random person. People who do this: make a note! Anyway, after that, she was stuck to Steven and I like glue.
So, in general, after a few days, Mandy's behavior is thus: she is still very calm, sweet, cuddley even. She is very tolerant of any "over attention" given her by the toddler of the house, and eager to please. She hasn't eaten much since we have been home, so whether she is picky or jsut adjusting, I don't know yet, but I am not buying different dog food until she is satisfied. No, she can be happy with Iams. It's the good stuff! Well, the best we can afford anyway :P
Her issues are: she doesn't play! I think she is just on the submissive side and maybe was never played with. But we intend to teach her. She won't chew her rawhide bone, or chase a ball. She doesn't get more than 5 feet from us when we are outside, which is not a bad thing, but you can tell she lacks confidence. She does allow the boy to pull her around on a leash, most of the time. If she's feeling lazy and doesn't want to go, there's not much he can do about it, because she's way too heavy for him to get up from a laying position. But we are trying to teach him to use commands and be assertive....tough for a 3 yr old, but we'll get there.
Mandy is becoming a member of the family. We have decided she is not allowed to sleep in our room. She goes to sleep in Nate's room, she is Nate's dog, and that's what we want. Dogs tend to become a little co-dependant on Steven because he is so dominant, they think they have to please him 24/7 and it sort of gets on his nerves. I wouldn't like it if she was in my face all the time either. She respects me, and loves me, but she isn't needy with me like she is with Steven. So he is separating himself from her so that she can be Nate's dog. She is taking to it quite well. And boy does he love it! He giggles when she's on his bed and she gives him a lick, or stretches , or rubs up against his foot.
She has some separation anxiety. We haven't left her alone in the house yet for this reason. I think she just has an abandonment issue from her past owners, and she will get better. This morning I had Steven leave her outside when he left for work at 5am, and she scratched at the door and whined most of the time. One that knows dogs knows not to respond to this behavior if you want it to stop, so I just tried to ignore it. By the time Nate got up, she had stopped, so I had him let her in. He loves having a bit of responsibility, so feeding her, taking her outside, walking her around on the leash, just thrill him!
This has been a very long post, so I am terribly sorry if you got bored. But hopefully I will stick with it and post her progress. Item 1: teaching Mandy to play.
And may I just say, the most annoying sound in the world (to me, right now) is the sound of a dog licking or chewing itself. Thank you.
Introduction
I decided to start a blog because we added a dog to our family, and I thought it would be neat to track her progess. Her name is Mandy, she's a one-year old Black lab/border collie mix and a shelter dog. She has some mild issues, and I have been looking for help with them, but I can't find anyone with exactly her issues, so I thought I would write a blog about figuring out on my own.
Then, I started thinking, maybe if "break the seal" with the blog writing, I can begin to finally write about other things happening in my life. I have become a more private person lately than I used to be. People close to me would probably never know that, but it's true. I used to be one of those people that would just tell you my whole life story upon meeting you, and then think later "Geez, I said too much, they probably think I'm crazy!" So maybe, this is a good thing!
The other thing is, I'm not a very good writer, so this blog will probably only be interesting if you are interested in the content. The writing will not be captivating by itself.... Oh well.
Also, I might need some help in keeping this moving so I don't just lay it aside like the "book" I started writing a few months ago, that only got about 5 pages. So if you have anything you would like me to write about, please tell me, and I will try to do it. Like those exercises in school where they give you a topic and you just have to write something to keep your chops in shape.
So here I go...wish me luck! :)
Then, I started thinking, maybe if "break the seal" with the blog writing, I can begin to finally write about other things happening in my life. I have become a more private person lately than I used to be. People close to me would probably never know that, but it's true. I used to be one of those people that would just tell you my whole life story upon meeting you, and then think later "Geez, I said too much, they probably think I'm crazy!" So maybe, this is a good thing!
The other thing is, I'm not a very good writer, so this blog will probably only be interesting if you are interested in the content. The writing will not be captivating by itself.... Oh well.
Also, I might need some help in keeping this moving so I don't just lay it aside like the "book" I started writing a few months ago, that only got about 5 pages. So if you have anything you would like me to write about, please tell me, and I will try to do it. Like those exercises in school where they give you a topic and you just have to write something to keep your chops in shape.
So here I go...wish me luck! :)
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