Janey's Journey to Becoming a MFW

Cinny91

Awesome news about the puppy!! I find that so bizarre that people would say no to him because of his eyes? But if they're that superficial with dogs, it's probably a good job they didn't get him. My pooch has blue eyes, but one has a streak of brown. I think it just makes them more striking

Hope everything goes well for you today!

ljaneyr

Well our darling dog has arrived and he is truly amazing! However, he is not perfect so I need to write this quickly as I am now awaiting a new laptop charger. I'll explain later

When we got to the kennels yesterday he was on a lead in the paddock. The lady bought him over and he climbed on me before I could get out of the car, he just hugged me! Before we had signed all the documents (and the cheque :eek:) he had climbed on both of us, looked lovingly into our eyes and basically said 'take me home'. When the lady asked if we would like to take him we all just laughed! He jumped into the boot of the car the moment it was opened so there was no possibility of leaving him.

He has been so well behaved with our little Jack Russell, given her space and accepted being told off when he gets too much. Most of the time they ignore each other which is so much better than we expected! He just seems to have settled in so quickly. He's happy and seems really attached to us already.

The only problem occurred last night. We had been warned he might cry, apparently it's really common in rescue dogs. He became really agitated when we went to bed, pacing around, up and down the stairs and whining and crying with the occasional bark. It took all our strength not to go out to him because you're not supposed to encourage it. We're going to speak to the neighbours later because the walls are very thin in places :eek:
When we came down he had pulled one of the sofa cushions off and snapped my laptop charger lead in half! He also did a little wee on the rug. I think he had gone quiet by 2am and he was sooo pleased to see us when I got up at 7 to see if he was OK.

Any advice from anyone who has been through this? We're going to try to barricade him in the dining room which is better sound proofed from next door and see if he's any better tonight. We shut the little one in her crate which we used when we were house training her so we know she's safe but he is not alone.

In general we think he has been so well behaved (google suggests it could have been a lot worse) and we are completely in love

On the to-do list today is horse riding (don't feel like this I'm so tired!), the little chap needs a bath, OH is going to have a tidy up in the garden so he's got more room to run, then we're going to go for a mega long walk!


I've just updated all of the spreadsheets as once this batteries gone I won't be able to see them. I've moved £40 cashback to the renovation pot and £57 to the Earn £100 challenge. We were annoyed to find OH has been charged £10.50 overdraft fees again and found that they now charge daily so even more incentive to get him switched away from Barcl@ys.

I'll hopefully be back to catch up on everyone else's diaries later using OH's laptop and i might even manage some photos!

Janey x

Habibiboo

:wave:

Hi Janey!

I'm so glad you have him, sounds like he's overjoyed (and very lucky) to have you as his new family!

Ooops to the teething troubles! I can't offer any advice really regarding the night time separation as we were never successful at doing this (and to be honest we always felt the advice given should be taken with a pinch of salt ... it's about doing what's right for you and your way of living. For instance a rule of keep the dogs downstairs at night doesn't work if you live in a bungalow ... or a flat like I did originally)!

Additionally, we always felt that if they were downstairs and barking / crying in distress we'd (a) never get any sleep (b) never know if there was a real problem that needed action ... Fire or burglar etc, because you'd just tend to think "the dogs are at it again"!

So, we keep the dog beds in the upstairs hall and the dogs sleep there at night. Sometimes the boy puts himself to bed earlier in the evening if he's tired! We used to keep the bedroom door shut but there was just too much scratching at the door, so we now keep the door open and they wander in and out if they need to. The ridiculous thing is that they don't come in much, I think it was just the door as a barrier that was the problem, if they know they can get to us as needed, they are happy to stay on their beds!

I think you just have to find what works best for you (and your girlie dog too, so that her routine isn't too wrecked by it all ... sounds like she's being very tolerant so far)!

Hope today goes well! x

Habibiboo

ljaneyr wrote: »

Any advice from anyone who has been through this? We're going to try to barricade him in the dining room which is better sound proofed from next door and see if he's any better tonight. We shut the little one in her crate which we used when we were house training her so we know she's safe but he is not alone.

I'll hopefully be back to catch up on everyone else's diaries later using OH's laptop and i might even manage some photos!

Janey x

:wave:

Back again, now that I've administered to those in need around here!

The other thing we did with each of ours as pups was to really spend time with them on their beds. This may sound daft, but it really instilled their beds as happy places (so we never did the 'go to your bed' thing if they were naughty or OTT). So, playing with their toys on their bed, tummy tickles, cuddles, peek-a-boo (yes, real baby stuff but they love it) all helps to reinforce bed as a happy place to be, so then encouraging them to bed at night becomes a lot easier!

The other thing which helped us which I'm not sure is any good for you if you use a crate is that we used our girl (older) to help show the boy what to do when he was a pup. So, he settled at night far easier alongside her because she knew to settle down. Even in the phase where she's ignoring him it helps, because it means she won't engage in a game with him which again reinforces the idea that he should be settling to sleep.

On the issue of crates ... thoughts about these are different for everyone and I totally understand the circumstances which may make having one necessary, so I'm not saying anything negative to you personally here. All I want to say is how much of your boy's history do you know, apart from the two previous owners in such a short time already? I know you said it was your girlie who had the haven of the crate, but your boy may already have some negative association with crates from his past (mistreatment, neglect and confinement) and this may add to him being unsettled at night, ie: being around a crate or seeing his new best friend being popped into one?

It's just a thought which is very pertinent to rescue dogs ... it's easy to hit on something that's a major bad memory or stress for them without even realising it (we learned this with our own boy and an old gent with a walking stick :eek:) Of course, it can go the other way with some rescue dogs and a crate might be the only place they feel safe until they get used to their new surroundings. All I'm saying is crates can be a big issue for rescue dogs for different reasons and it may be worth bearing in mind?

:T Pics please (lead permitting)! Hope it doesn't turn out too expensive. Is this the same lappy you had to get a new battery for a while back? Shame I don't live up the road, you could borrow mine!

Hope you're not too tired to enjoy that long walk! x

gallygirl

Habibiboo wrote: »

:wave:

The other thing we did with each of ours as pups was to really spend time with them on their beds. This may sound daft

OK, so we have peek-a-boo with dogs and singing lullabies to chickens.

Who's owning up to taking a rabbit for a walk on a harness .

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

gallygirl wrote: »

OK, so we have peek-a-boo with dogs and singing lullabies to chickens.

Who's owning up to taking a rabbit for a walk on a harness .

I've walked cats on leads :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: :rotfl:OK, so you already know I'm mad :eek:

gallygirl

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

I've walked cats on leads :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: :rotfl:OK, so you already know I'm mad :eek:

I thought of that - but I knew someone would have done it - probably you :rotfl:.

Habibiboo

gallygirl wrote: »

OK, so we have peek-a-boo with dogs and singing lullabies to chickens.

Who's owning up to taking a rabbit for a walk on a harness .

Erm, it was purely for its own protection M'Lud (there be foxes and badgers in them there bushes, you see)! The whole practice stopped after an Unfortunate Episode of Bunny and Badger which was not of the harmonic Wind In The Willows kind, after which I vowed to my sons we would never get another poor bunny!

Me-thinks Gally may be starting to have me well and truly sussed!

gallygirl

Habibiboo wrote: »

Erm, it was purely for its own protection M'Lud (there be foxes and badgers in them there bushes, you see)! The whole practice stopped after an Unfortunate Episode of Bunny and Badger which was not of the harmonic Wind In The Willows kind, after which I vowed to my sons we would never get another poor bunny!

Me-thinks Gally may be starting to have me well and truly sussed!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Alchemilla

So excited about doggle.

ours is a failure of training so not in a position to give advice.