A Day of Firsts

Pet Day.  My first reaction was, no way.  Why would I want to take Trucker to elementary school for 50 kindergartners to see, while might I add, wheeling Stella along.  It sounded like a bit too much.  It sounded like it could go very wrong. 

Well, I have said it before and I will say it again, mommy guilt will get you to do things you didn't think you would do.  Jac didn't really compain, he just looked at me, with those big blue eyes.  Jeff said it though, plain and clear, 'you kind of have to do it, right.'  'Trucker is his pet.'

So there you go.  That is why I showed up at school today with a Golden sooooo happy to be alive and an almost 6 month old in a stroller, pissed that she was being kept from her nap.  But actually, all went well.  It was really fun, and I am glad I did it.  Jac got to be the center of Kindergarten attention for his two minutes of fame, Trucker got to meet at least five new dogs and all kinds of kids who didn't want to stop petting him.  And Stella, she survived.  She was really good until the end.  And then she promptly fell asleep once back in the car. 

So Trucker, in his first pet show.

Stella was up A LOT last night, which is unusual.  But, right on time, I think there is a tiny little tooth coming in.  Just a hint of one on the bottom left.  This is good!  Once we get those two bottom ones in, we should be good on the teething front for awhile.  Stella is a rolling, sitting, eating machine.  She is doing all of the six month old 'stuff'.  And it all came at once.  She is a different baby this last week.  She is protesting when she drops things and looking for them.  She can pick up a paci and put it in her mouth.  She is eating solids, today she ate two jars of food.  She finished all of her cereal this morning.  This from a baby who protested when you put the spoon in her mouth a month ago.  So lots of firsts for baby Stella.  And maybe tomorrow I can say her first tooth, also!

So the last first!  Jeff went to the baseball game tonight with his dad, his uncle and his cousin.  That in itself I am sure is a first.  They caught a foul ball!  Jeff has never caught one, he has been near them several times and probably could have knocked over a twelve year old to get one, but after 38 years he still hasn't been that close to one, until tonight!  How exciting!

Tummy Troubles

It seems that with a Golden comes tummy troubles, at least that is true for both of the Goldens we have been lucky enough to own.  Most of the time, we know what Trucker got into - usually it is a rubber duck or a wiffle ball.  He loves plastic and rubber.  But today, he either doesn't have an excuse or he ate all of the evidence.  I am betting on the latter.  He had been walking around gagging, eating as much green stuff as we allowed, drinking 13 gallons of water and of course just the constant licking - like he has something stuck to his tounge.  Jeff needed to give him some love to make up for the tummy problems.  I was SHOCKED to see him gather as much of Trucker as he could on his lap - and here's the kicker - on the couch!  Yes, on the couch. 

We have been the lenient dog owners in the past, before kids.  That changed with Trucker.  I told someone, I now know the difference between dogs and children.  I don't want Trucker on the couch, the bed or surfing the counters; and if you start with these rules in place it is easy to establish boundaries.  Once you open Pandora's box, just try to get that box closed again.  For families where the dog is the child, this must sound cruel.  But seriously, a girl can only clean up a finite number of messes everyday, before going NUTS.  So I show affection to my dog in less indulgent ways - you know, the old stand bys, walks, playing ball, teaching tricks, or just a quick scratch behind the ear.  So the fact that my DH just pulled the 66 lb dog of which 30 lbs must be hair on to my couch, I was shocked.  I have no doubt, that a day in the not so distant future, I am going to walk into the cars room and find my lovely Golden grinning from the couch where I just woke him from an afternoon nap. 

Being Able to Play in Your Own Backyard, Priceless

What an accomplishment!  We finally broke down and had the Invisible Fence trainer come out.  I really was doubtful about what they could possibly do different and that a one time visit would really be worth it.  It was so worth it. 

Tonya was our trainer and she was brilliant.  She trained him for about 25 minutes and by the end of that he was mentally and physically tired.  She played with him, gave him treats and encouraged him all while showing him that he really didn't want to go anywhere near the boundaries.  It was pretty amazing.  She also tightened the heck out of the collar which of course makes the 'training' a bit easier.  She never had to turn the volume up on the intensity it just needed to be tightened so that all of Trucker's fur wasn't insulating it quite so much. 

She really encouraged us to entice him past the barrier, which I never would have done.  Not in a cruel way, but in a way that is going to happen naturally.  So if the kids leave through the back of the yard, Trucker has to know that even if they go he doesn't get to.  If a ball rolls outside of the yard, he can't follow it; things like that. 

Yesterday, he was outside with us for over an hour being quite the gentleman.  He just stayed by us, sniffed around and rolled in the grass.  He played ball with Jac and ate crumbs off the driveway and sunned himself a little.  All of those fun dog things that he hasn't gotten to do.  It was fun and a little glimpse into the whole family being able to be outside this spring and summer. Something that I doubted, up to this point, would ever happen.

Maybe the Dingo Ate Your Baby

Only one baby doll was harmed in the making of this picture.

Please excuse the vacuum dirt from the picture.  I threw away the baby doll and then realized it was something I would like to remember.  Call me crazy.  Trucker still hasn't thrown the missing limb up, but I expect it any day now.

Trucker, We Love You

Trucker is officially part of our family, if there was ever any doubt.  He is calming down and it really hasn't taken that long.  He came into our family five weeks ago, tomorrow. 

Someone told me the other day that everything takes time and everything is new to him.  I believe we were talking about the Invisible Fence.  We still don't have him trained on it.  I was lamenting this fact, when she said "everything is new, his food, his bed, his routine, everything."  And she is spot on.  How would I adjust if you picked me up and plucked me down into a new family, new town, new routine, new food, new place to sleep?  I can tell you this I would do a lot more crying than this little dog has done.

As far as behavior goes, he is doing really well.  When he gets bored or if he hasn't had a super long walk in a couple of days he will start retrieving things for me.  But he has actually been very good of late.  He is such a gentlemen when meeting new people.  He sits immediately.  Except for my neighbor who he jumps up on.  I think it is because he smells her Newfoundland whom he is dying to meet.

So everything is going good and the other day I stopped by Pet Smart and bought some more food, some treats, and a Nylabone.  All perfectly reasonable purchases for a dog owner.  Trucker has a stuffed pig that after five weeks, finally started have his stuffing pulled out.  So I decided that surely Trucker could have a chew treat.  With Trooper we never would have bought him an edible bone, he would have devoured it in five minutes and for one that is expensive, but also a bit dangerous on his tummy, at the very least stinky (doggy gas is yucky).  But Trooper also tore up everything immediately.  He really didn't have a ton of toys because he shredded them in literally five minutes.  The only toys we could give him were food puzzles (like a Kong or a food ball) and he also had a Galileo Nylabone that I believe may have been made out of concrete. 

So I bring this seven inch bone home, it is supposed to be chicken flavor.  I avoid duck flavored things and rawhide because they are known to make Golden's gassy.  Around 3:00 PM when Trucker is perking up from his midday nap, right around the time he starts barking at passersby.  Perfect timing.  Except for the fact that Jac has just asked to finish his Valentines.  So I hand the bone to Trucker, he promptly carries it into the living room where there is carpet and better leverage; then head back to get Jac set up.

Five minutes (okay to be honest this could have been longer, but really no more than ten minutes) pass and I say something like "ooh, I need to go check on Trucker with that bone."  So I hustle in there and there he is smiling, no bone.  I scan the room quickly, no bone.  I look out in the foyer, no bone.  I recruit Jac's help to find it.  Jac of course knows where to look, under the furninture.  We are on our hands and knees, then I start moving furniture just in case it has sunk down into the floor and I can't actually see it when I am level with the floor.  NO BONE!

Then we widen our perimeter.  We look in his crate, we look under every piece of furniture in the house, we look upstairs, we look everywhere we can think of, NO BONE.

I go and retrieve the package out of the trash.  It says that you should supervise, well good to know.  I call the vet in a panic.  Surely a seven inch bone couldn't be ingested in five (maybe ten) minutes, even if it was chicken flavor.  After a few minutes of waiting I find out, no harm, no foul.  He will be fine.  Maybe some gas, yuk and potentially an upset tummy, vomit and diarreah.  I am prepared for that now, because of course this is  my fault.  My punishment will be to clean up what ever comes my way.  But, he must have a stomach of steel because he is no worse for wear, you would have never known that he ate the biggest bone on the planet in five (ten) minutes.

Trucker Week 2

I can't believe Trucker has been with us for two weeks!  Everything is going very smoothly.  Of course we have endured the coldest part of the winter and so far so good.  He could definitely use more exercise, but sometimes it is just too cold!  He usually gets two walks a day, which is pretty good, they just are pretty short. 

We went to the vet on Tuesday and he is doing very well.  She took out his stiches, cleaned his ears, weighed him (60.8 lbs), gave us some flax oil for his itchiness, took a fecal sample and gave us outrageously expensive heartworm preventative and flea protection.  I do think he has gained a pound or two while he has been with us, but you can still feel his ribs.  She was actually perfectly happy with his weight, saying he could gain a pound or two but was trim and she liked that.  We will try and keep him around 63, it is so easy to put weight on a dog and not so easy to get it off.  (Just like us.)

Trucker still hasn't been off leash yet in the backyard.  We are a bit terrified to trust the invisible fence, but I think we are going to give it a whirl this weekend.  We will need to be on deck with running shoes, treats, a leash and the car in case he decides he doesn't mind the invisible fence.  Maybe we should say a prayer or two before we let him off leash, yikes. 

His naughty behaviors are still there.  He LOVES anything stuffed or plush and brings them to me constantly.  Jac keeps asking me, "why did you bring down all of these stuffed animals".  He really thinks that I am the one going up and getting them out of rooms and bringing them down.  His barking seems to be getting better, he does spook easily and tends to bark right before bed when he is half asleep and early in the morning when the rest of us are half asleep.  He paces, a lot, but I am still thinking that this will go away with time. 

He has only had two accidents in doors, once here and of course once at the in-laws house, I could have died.  He likes to go in the front yard for his business, not enough other doggy smells in the backyard I guess.  He still doesn't really "ask" to out, or maybe I am just not that observant.

Right now he is sneaking by me with one of Jac's friend's shoes in his mouth.   His tail is between his legs, better go get that shoe.

Trucker Week 1

Trucker seems to be adapting very well to his new home and family.  He is very good with kids and if I could just train him to not only pick up their toys but to also put them away, we would be in business.  This is one of his bad habits, but really for a stray he is doing great. 

He also tends to bark, but generally it is when he is afraid (loud plow trucks last night) or when he wants to meet another dog or person.  So we are working on that, encouraging him when he looks out the window with no barking and tell him 'no' when he does bark.  Sometimes you have to distract him if the neighbors dog is out in the yard.  We will continue to work on this. 

He has had several accomplishments.  He now can walk up and down the stairs, yay!  He has dropped on command a couple of times.  He almost knows 'down'.  He is getting really good with 'stay' and 'come'.  He definitely knows his name.  He shies from the beeping invisible fence.  He walks very well on leash and Jeff says that he seems to be trained to 'heal'.  He hasn't attempted to get on the couch or the counter for two days (we have only had him six).  He now can pee in the backyard, he seemed to only want to pee on walks which is tough. 

I felt really bad about saying this last night, but he seems to be more well-behaved than Trooper.  Trooper was really good, but some of his bad habits we were never able to conquer.  He was a freak when you walked by other dogs and even got away from  me a couple of times which was scary.  We constantly had to worry about him running away.  He would eat anything on the counter (I am sure Trucker would also), and even lit the stove once when I forgot and left brownies on the back burner.  He didn't burn down the house or light himself on fire, but he did melt a perfectly good teapot.  Trooper jumped and was aggressive on meeting new people and dogs, and I hate to say it, but he was a humper.  Trooper also ripped to shreds any toy we gave him within minutes.  He would swallow whole most of them, even raw hides or toys supposedly made for aggressive chewers.  The only toy we could really give him was a Galileo Nylabone and that was basically concrete.  Oh, but I miss him..

Jeff is worried that if he is too good and when he gets older he 'won't have any personality'.  Au contraire, my friend, in personality he is not lacking!  I took him out in the snow and ran around with him, fun!  I can't wait to let him off leash in the backyard.  He is going to have so much fun terrorizing the squirrels, birds and cats that come into our yard.  Birds I like, but I could do without the squirrels, I won't comment on the cats.   He needs some neighborhood dogs to play with on a regular basis.  There are a few dogs in our extended family who he will be around several times a year, but he probably needs to have some doggy dates to keep up his socialization. 

I am now able to recognize that Trucker is a dog.  He is not my child.  He is most certainly a part of my family, but he ranks well below Jac and Mia.  I think with Trooper I always projected my human feelings on to him.  For instance, if he was begging I thought I would hurt his feelings if I didn't give him something.  That is just crazy.  If anything he would respect me more and consider me alpha if I didn't hand over the biscuit!  Poor Trucker, he is getting the raw end of the deal with a more mature dog owner.  But hopefully this means we can let him off leash in the backyard soon and he will be able to go to more doggie friendly places than Trooper.  In the end he will not miss the biscuits, or the hamburger or the cheese or the carrots that Trooper used to love.

I will give you another update soon.