One month

It is one month to the date that Teddy arrived. I would like to think I have made strides with him. He is such a sweetheart. He is no trouble whatsoever, but I sure wish I knew if he was "happy". He wags his tail a lot at both of us and he really likes Dave and follows him around which is cute. I kind of think Sunny in particular resents it. She is such a suck. Today Teddy actually stayed while we played. Of course he waited for the treat but he wasn't running back and forth like he usually does. And after Saturday's fiasco with the noise, well yesterday and today in particular, were great. Barb and Larry were here and we all went for a walk when a firecracker went off. Harley is bad enough, but Teddy really freaks so Dave and Larry took the two of them home while Barb and I walked with Storm and Sunny another time. Teddy was good with them in the house and in fact, he now approaches Miriam on his own. I guess that is a good sign. I know enough to take it slowly, to break down a behavior in small steps, but it kills me to see him so terrified. I have to keep telling myself that he has almost 8 years of reinforced behaviors that are all negative. This will take time. Maybe he is here to show me that I can learn new things too. It sure is a challenge.

Tomorrow is another day. I look forward to even the slightest positive sign. I hope it comes sooner rather than later. Harley goes for his annual check up tomorrow too..it's always something:)

Don't hate us cuz we're beautiful

May 22....Bath day. The dogs. Not me. But that is not exactly true. I looked and felt like a wet dog by the time we were finished. Starting with Storm who looked as if he were being sent to death camp, I bathed Sunny, then Teddy and finally, Harley. Truth be told, Harley was the easiest. At 11, he hopped in and out of the tub. I think he rather liked the warm water and the soapy massage:) I think my bathroom floor must be spotless with all the water I kept cleaning up. Even though I got in with each dog, lathered and massaged them and rinsed them, I would get out, close the tub doors and wait for them to shake. All of them waited for me to re-open the door and then promptly soaked me and everything else in the bathroom several times before running downstairs where Dave waited to dry them. Now Harley...he simply shook while we were in there together! So it took about an hour and a half for the 2 of us to get them washed and dried and brushed and sprayed with a natural grooming spray. I took their picture later after I cleaned the bathroom and the tub. Of course such a busy day has them all sound asleep now. We did our walk and they got brushed again and had their teeth done. Such pretty pretty puppies!

Storm

Poor Storm has the itchies. It's been about a week since we noticed a sore on his foot and we realized that since he'd been scratching his nose on any and everything - including us - that his allergy seems to have flared up a lot sooner this year. I anticipated this starting at the end of July and it is only the middle of May. I hope that it doesn't last all summer. He is on Benadryl which I hate giving him but it seems to help. We wash his feet and spray them with an anti-itch spray and so far he's managed to keep most of his fur on his feet with only a few bald patches. I absolutely hate when this happens to him. He is such a big goofball and so sweet. I feel so mean scolding him to stop chewing or scratching.

Saturday,May 19 - Teddy is here 3 weeks today.He is doing better to the point he actually initiated play with Sunny tonight. I have been trying to get him to run with Sun and Storm and he has been a bit apprehensive but plays with me. But finally tonight, he spun around, butt in the air and pawed at Sunny. Her reaction was shock since Teddy has gone nuts on her in the past and I don't think she's quite ready to trust him. But when he "slapped" her in the face twice, spun around with a "play bow" then ran, she took off in pursuit with Storm joining in. The 3 of them romped around and even Harley came down to see what the fracas was all about. Unfortunately with the Canadian holiday, we've had several loud pops of firecrackers and both he and Harley were upset enough that I had to use Rescue Remedy. Things seemed to have calmed down now so I hope that will do it for tonight.

A step in the right direction

Week 3 is in progress, and for the most part, things are pretty good. Teddy still has issues, in particular with noises. He detests the garbage truck and even my gang's relative calm isn't enough - yet- to calm him. We had our usual morning walk and routine. Denise popped in with Romeo and that went well cuz Teddy was fine with sniffing, as was Romeo. He does seem to be good with other dogs, at least so far. After our evening walk and grooming session, I took Ted in the back yard with Storm. I began playing with Teddy who started running wild and lo and behold if Storm didn't join in. I thought that might cause Teddy to hastily retreat but when it didn't, I let Sunny out, and before long the 3 of them were romping in the back yard. Teddy was really playing with me at first, but then I noticed him running past Sunny with a little play nip and at that point I don't think he was worrying about what would happen if they joined in. They can be rambunctious, and Sunny in particular, yappy. But they had a great romp and it was something positive to see!! I am going to try to keep this going on a daily basis as long as the weather holds. Teddy has logged 30 1/2 miles walking with us since he arrived, and besides that exercise and whatever he gets through the day, he is not losing weight and that is a very good sign!

The Gang's all here

Pretty puppy

Such a pretty puppy:) Weight today at my Vet- 29 lbs. YAY TEDDY!!!!

Thursdaze

Bolts of light at 4:30 a.m. flashed in the room. I realized it was lightening but with the room darkening shades I was hoping the dogs wouldn't. Then a crack of thunder that literally shook the house. Sunny looked at me, as did Storm. Harley stood up and Teddy ran out pacing back and forth. I hesitated but knew we were in for a storm for at least a short while. I got up, put on the light and realized Ted was gone. I checked the bathroom and other bedrooms and finally saw the gate was moved. Walking downstairs, I kept calling Teddy without any luck. Finally I saw him in the kitchen by the door. So I got the valerian and gave him a dose and then decided to leave him since he apparently felt he was safe where he was. The storm was short lived and I also gave Harley some valerian. Of course I was wide awake and ended up putting the news on. When Dave came home, Teddy came up and stayed with us. The rest of the day was pretty routine except that Ted stayed here with Harley while Sunny, Storm and I went to class.The rest of the day was sunny and nice. We walked our walks, they had their meals and were groomed and finally we went out at 11. It's cool and foggy. Teddy went on his own into my room where he has his own little corner. It's like a giant crate...4 dogs and me.

Doggy Daze: adjusting

Wed. May 9.- As I write this, "Teddydog", as his "real" mommy calls him, is asleep outside the door....on Sunny's bed. He sure is skittish and I wish I could help him conquer those fears, real and/or imaginary. He's really a good dog with what I see as a fear of being left alone. He follows both Dave and me all over the place. It can be cute and it can also be dangerous. Stepping over 3 dogs was more than enough, so adding one more to the mix makes it downright lethal. He's eating and sleeping well and certainly seems content. Of course now I live in a kennel. I have all 4 of them sleeping in my room since I wanted the widnow open and the furnace not to kick in, so I had to close the door. But I look at him and wonder if he doesn't miss his family, after all he lived with them almost 8 years. I am amazed how well he picked up our routine and in fact, he has begun to imitate the "boss" by hanging around the kitchen at 4:45 & following me if he doesn't think I've noticed the time. He is fed last; that is I put down the food dishes according to seniority which he doesn't seem to mind. He also has it figured out that the last walk means being groomed and having his teeth brushed including using the dreaded "Nolvadent". Of course there is a treat following this torture I put him through so he endures it.
I am hoping to get him to play. He doesn't know how. He doesn't play ball although he does participate finally in the Collie crew's game. The game: "Stupid collies chase the ball, I get a treat, run back up the stairs (only 3) and wait.....stupid collies chase the ball, I run down and get a treat...repeat this half a dozen or more times." Dave told me to try to engage him in catching a ball. He started running with Harley & Sunny when they were going after the ball but of course he didn't know what to do. I told Dave he wouldn't know what I wanted but he insisted I try so I called his name(Ted's) and threw the ball, which promptly conked him on his coconut. So much for progress...2 steps forward, one back:)
I don't know if I will ever see him comfortable with people. He sneaks up in the house and if someone moves to pet him, he bolts. But at least he tries and he lets Katharine pet him and today he took a treat from her in our yard as he did yesterday from Jen. Lugar he didn't care about, and outside of them sniffing each other, well, that was that....unless of course you consider Lugar's decision to get a closer sniff which resulted in Ted's snarl and Lugar backing off in surprise and fear. Ah, bipolar Teddy. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
So we are up to 43 walks and that means he has amassed 21 1/2 miles of motion. No wonder he sleeps so well. Up till now his exercise consisted of figuring out how to get Benjamin's food away without getting caught. Of course it helps that we don't have a goat:) And tomorrow's another day. My gang have a class and although I'd like to take him there, well, dear God, I don't think he's quite ready for sheep!

Doggy Daze

Sunday, May 6, 2007-05-06
Teddy arrived on Apr.28 via American Airlines at the Buffalo Airport. He was supposed to come Wednesday but weather problems caused the change to Saturday. Dave & I picked him up and although he should have been there at 4:30, it was about 40 minutes later he was brought out to us. He looked scared and Dave noticed immediately he had soiled the crate. The attendant said he had “company” – a goat. Good reason to soil himself anyway. He seemed relieved to be with us and got in our truck without hesitation. Unfortunately the stress was too much for him and he seemed to have several bouts of diarrhea that night and the next day so I put him on a bland diet to calm his stomach. He slept hard the first night then on Sunday, he got up around 2 then 5 to go outdoors. That was the only time he got up through the night. He seemed to fit right in with our gang and walked all the walks since we had such a nice weather week. By Saturday night, he walked 13 ½ miles total!!!! He is eating and sleeping well and from what I can tell, seems pretty content. I wonder if he misses his family and his home? We are beginning his second week now and he seems a bit more confident although he gets pretty skittish at times. I need to get him weighed since his papers say 28.6 lbs. I want to be sure he maintains a good weight.

Doggy Daze

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