Show us your pets!

[sundial]

It's nice to know that he's getting more comfortable and confident. Now if I could just figure out how to get him to just walk on by squirrels...

Shiloh is making progress--yay! It took Niki about 1 year before she came to totally trust me and not want to bolt at the first site of anything new.

Good luck with the squirrels. I have yet to meet a dog that didn't want to chase them.

[mtbdarby]

What adorable collies!

Here's a couple "before" pix. The first is him and Zeus checking each other out in the backyard. The second is in the are on the way to the groomers. Notice he's sitting in B's carseat!

[mtbdarby]

And here's the "after" pix. I had to give Zeus a bath when we got home because the little stinker peed on Zeus's head! He's quite the redhead - I can't wait to get a picture of him with my other redhead!

He sure is drinking a lot of water. I've had to take it away because he just drains the bowl - and I don't need to be getting up multiple times during the night.

[PamNY]

Dar, he is beautiful. Boy dogs sure do like to play pee-on-the-head. Hope his medical woes are easily solved. Rescue/shelter dogs usually run up a bill. I just stopped talking to people who told me I was "lucky to get a free bulldog."

Sundial, my bulldog pays no attention to squirrels. He does try to chase horses and deer -- go figure.

Tulip, I'm glad the children are less of a threat to Shiloh.

Pam

[tulip]

Dar, what a beauty, all shined up. I wonder what's up with the water consumption? Maybe he's just a little stressed out at the moment.

As for Shiloh and kids, whenever I see kids, I take him by them. We also watch pickup basketball games at the park. The only problem is when kids want to pet him. If there's just one kid, he's fine, but two or more, I tell them that he's in training and can't be pet right now. I'm proud of the progress he's making, though.

[mtbdarby]

Thanks everyone.

Tulip, glad to hear about Shiloh's progress - what a good handler you are!

We made it through the night incident free. I started him off in a popup crate I found at Walmart. It's nylon and can be buckled into the car. My sons nap mat from Kindergarten fits perfectly in there so I just put a sheet over it. He did a very low cry a couple times then went to sleep.

About 5:30 he started making these hacking sounds so I left them both out for a potty break. Then they BOTH jumped in my bed! I was waiting for Zeus's reaction but he did fine. I just made sure he was up by me and the new guy was at the foot of the bed. We did fine for another couple hours.

I made the mistake of going outside with them not on leashes. Red took off exploring but Zeus stayed put. This guy so needs a name so I can start training him to stay and come! He didn't eat all his breakfast though - a half cup of kiddle with 1 oz of ground turkey soaked in water. He went right for the water dish again and started draining it. I'll see if I can give him a couple drops of rescue remedy in case it's nerves. I'll call the vet if he's still doing it on Monday.

He has episodes of sneezing and hacking and woke up with very goopy eyes. This morning I hid his medicine in a piece of ground turkey because he didn't like me in his mouth yesterday. At least he ate it. My other dog always knew when I was hiding something and would spit the pill out.

After my coffee we're going for our first walk to check out the neighborhood. Too bad it's only 30 degrees! I'm also going to call the nursing home and see if it's ok to bring him with Zeus. I don't really want to leave him home alone so early.

Bryce may be in for disappointment. This dog follows me EVERYWHERE. He's worse than Zeus! Right now I'm flanked by them on the couch, lol. B so wants this to be his dog so I hope they bond. Any ideas how to help them do so??

[tulip]

As I recall, you wanted to get a dog for you son so that he could train him. So let him name him and train him (and feed him and walk him). That way, the dog will figure out who he belongs to.

[sundial]

I made the mistake of going outside with them not on leashes. Red took off exploring but Zeus stayed put. He went right for the water dish again and started draining it.

Mtdarby, there is about a 2 week honeymoon period with rescue dogs in which they are on their best behavior. After that, you might see the dog start doing destructive things, or have accidents, bond with one family member, or what have you. Most rescues have emotional baggage so you'll see their quirks eventually. During this time it is important to not overwhelm the dog with "jobs" as the dog is still getting used to a routine. And dogs are very routine oriented. (That means it's important to not push obedience class, therapy training, etc on him until he has had a chance to get used to his new home and new family.) They will also start determining their pack order and since Red peed on Zeus, he's establishing dominance. It takes about 3 days on average for a new dog to integrate into the pack.

I would not let Red off leash just yet. He has not established a full bond with you and if anything should frighten him, he could bolt and get lost. When I bring a new dog in the home, I use this leash that snaps on the collar of the dog and buckles around me to support the bonding process. This is particularly helpful if you have a puppy so you can keep tabs on what he or she is doing.

As for the drinking, I would check with your vet. Drinking lots of water could be a sign of infection or diabetes.

He looks fabulous. His coat will really shine now that he's on good food and has lots of TLC.

Keep up the good work and soon he'll blossom into a special boy.