15months to debt free - I hope

ladyholly

tjp70 said:

Hello ladyholly. 

I’m delurking to ask how you are feeling. Also how is Bear getting

Thank you for asking. My breathing is gradually settling down again. I think it will always be bad until I lose weight. I keep trying but find it very hard for various reasons most of  which I wont go into here.. My knee is still bad as I think Mr C did it some damage on one of his wild walks when he pulled me at an angle and my knee went in the wrong direction for a few second or two.

Bear seems to be settling quite well. He does seem down at times and I am sure he is missing his previous owners. Mr LH still hasnt put the trellis up so I think he is a bit fed up with having his garden access limited. To be honest he isnt the only one. We still havent got the fence paint so it cant go up and I dont think he has even thought about how to fix it to the wall. This is how he works - very slowly and it drives me mad. I would do it myself if I could but physically I couldnt manage it. The good thing is that when it is done eventually it will be a good job.

Bears walking is improving and he is pulling much less, I havent had him growl at anyone in the last day or two but his lunging at the traffic has been more prevalent. We take him to a busy road once a day and get him to watch the traffic until he is obviously uncomfortable and are hoping this will help (we did the same with Miss W and although her fear was never entirely conquered we could walk her over a bridge with a narrow pavement).  Bears main issue is traffic coming from behind but if you can tell him to leave at the right moment he is less fearful. I am hoping as he learns to trust us to keep him safe he will realise that we are in charge. Hard for a former street dog.

Must finish now as he is waiting for his second walk of the morning. He goes out twice as I am limited in how far I can walk and it is also useful as his first one is about 7am when there arent many people about whereas going now (8.45) there will be a bit more activity and other dogs and people.

Have a good day.

Sun_Addict

I really don’t know how people can part with their dogs. Obviously there must be a reason but it must be so unsettling for the poor dog 😢He sounds as if he’s gradually settling in and he’s got a fantastic home with you, he won’t be let down again. 

ladyholly

Sun_Addict said:

I really don’t know how people can part with their dogs. Obviously there must be a reason but it must be so unsettling for the poor dog 😢He sounds as if he’s gradually settling in and he’s got a fantastic home with you, he won’t be let down again. 

I would have said the same but having experienced C I can see that problems can arise whereby there is little choice.  In Bears case I really do think they have tried their best with him but taking on a feral street dog when you have no experience is not the best start and I suspect that having had bad experiences with him when they first got him their tension just waiting for the next incident simply became too much as their anxiety went straight down the lead to him and it all became a self fulfilling prophecy. They did everything they could including trainers and a well qualified behaviourist. We wer told he doesnt really like other dogs but because we are relaxed when a dog approacghes he sees it as a good thing. He has met numerous dogs since he arrived and has been thoroughly barked at but there have been no incidents and he has been friendly to all. Traffic he doesnt like but that is pure fear and we are gradually working with him as I said earlier.

He wont be going anywhere from here and we are pretty confident that he will become a very good boy.

Sun_Addict

He’s a very lucky boy.  I’m pleased for you too that you’ve got a dog you can work with. 

ladyholly

I think we have broken the dog. We took him to the secure field today and he ran himself ragged but seemed very happy to do so. He has done nothing but sleep since we got home and I even had to wake him for his tea. I will book the field again for a few weeks. He did surprise us as once he had run for a few minutes as he proved to have something of a recall which we werent expecting. Obviously it wil need working on but its a start.

Several parcels posted today so thats a bit more money in the Christmas/ birthday pot. Money transferred to the motoring account. There is a small amount to pay on the credit card which is the final bit of the bills from the little one and Mr H as there were quite high costs that werent covered by the insurance. I should be able to cover it this month and then all set for the new garage door. It would be a treat to be able to open it without a fight.

Other than the PO  trip and taking Bear nothing has been done today as I feel shattered. The buses are haywire again as it travelled its normal route first thing but on its way back it missed our stop and the next one due to the road works. I wish they would either close the stop entirely or at least let people know what is going on. This is all due to fibre cable laying which has been going on since about the beginning of November in our small area. I note that they are about to dig up the road again for the third time. i dont know what is going on but am considering writing to them to find out. One of my friends know of a young man who is autistic ended up walking most of the way to college (about 2miles) as the bus didnt come and he didnt understand that he needed to walk to the previous stop. Not to mention the 80 year old who has to carry her shopping about twice as far to get home. She wont let people help her but I do think its getting too much for her.

Off to book the field for next week so have a good evening - Whats left of it.

jwil

Sounds like things are going well with Bear

ladyholly

I posted the last of the weekend sales this morning and spent a  £4 in Sains**** on spinach, carrots and honey . Things I couldnt get at T****yesterday.

When I got home I spent a couple of hours with an ice pack on my knee because it was really painful this morning. That seems to have worked as its much better this evening. Ice seems to be the answer to the pain at the moment.

We have discovered a couple of things about Bear. Firstly he hoards treats. A couple of time he has been given something and he then goes and hides it, then eats it later. Secondly I have always given the dogs a dental stick when I go out, firstly a a treat and secondly so they know I am about to leave the house without them. Bear doesnt eat it when I go but does so as soon as I return. We have never had a dog that doesnt demolish food at high speed the minute they are given it.

More sessions in the field booked although it was a bit of a trial as the owners of the field have a new website and I found a problem on it so had to wait for it to be sorted out before I could book.

Money wise I have made a bit of a mess up as I transferred some money to savings a couple of days ago but realised this morning that I needed the money for the credit card bill and I had got the dates wrong. Still at least the money is there and easily transferred back until next week when it can go back into the savings account. the bank must love me.

I have nagged Mr LH about the trellis as it still isnt up and now the weather is getting warmer or at least less cold we will  want to have the doors open which we cant until Bear can go out on his own without the risk of him going over the wall. I will watch him carefully until until we are reasonably sure of his escaping ability. It will also mean I can get out in the garden and start to tidy it up a bit ready for some planting. I have also mentioned that the conservatory needs clearing as during the winter it tends to become a dumping ground but I need to get in there and give it a good clean. I would clear it but it is almost all his stuff in there - mainly from the car that he wants to sort before it goes back in. I think we have both been a bit lazy, me due to my knee and breathing and him because he is still grieving for Mr H and the little one and having to return C to the rescue has knocked both of us. However we now have Bear who is suiting us well and I think we are suiting him and he is settling nicely. The funny thing with him is he pulls much less for me than Mr LH which I think annoys him a bit and makes me feel slightly smug.

I think thats enough wittering for today. Happy Thursday when it arrives.

Sun_Addict

Sounding really positive about Bear 🙂

beanielou

Love your tales of Bear.

WinterWarrior

My Labrador will save a high value treat for when I come back home. She’ll eat biscuits and snacks (before I’ve got out of the door), but if I give her something she can gnaw she saves it. I think it’s just that she can settle down and enjoy it with me there. She has the cats, so she doesn’t get stressed because they aren’t stressed, but it must be nicer to enjoy treats with her mum. I guess lovely Bear is the same x