Making progress

It’s taken a few days, but we’re all starting to get the hang of one another. That being said, I think Abernathy is still holding out hope that Emma’s just here for a quick visit and will be on her way soon (he often tries to gently guide her towards the door).

We’re starting to learn more about each other though. Emma’s figuring out boundaries with Greg, Abbie and I (thank goodness), and we’re starting to get a better sense of her personality too.

Emma is incredibly and endearingly clumsy. Just a few seconds ago, she fell off the bed accidentally after wriggling around, trying to look cute enough to persuade me to ditch the computer and cuddle her. When we’re about to take her for a walk, she gets so excited that she does a little dance that involves shaking her head…which inevitably smacks right into whichever wall is closest by. We hear her falling down (or up) the stairs about four or five times a day in her mad rush to get to whatever she’s decided she absolutely needs to see next.

Her hearing and vision are fine – it’s her nervous energy. She’s got a ton of it, but she’s slowly starting to settle in (and down).

She’s also always smiling. There are certain things she’s still trying to figure out though, including cameras. I don’t think she’s ever seen one before, so whenever I take her picture, she looks quizzically at me, as if trying to figure out what exactly I have in my hand, why I’m so interested in it (since it’s clearly not edible), and why it flashes.

 

Emma trying to figure out what I'm pointing towards her (the camera), and if it's dangerous.

Abernathy is still recovering from his shots on Friday (poor baby) – and has had a really rough weekend. He’s milking it for everything he can though, and gets carried up and down the stairs (by me – Greg thinks it’s a little much), and we’re feeding him special food until his tummy settles. He’s slept for most of the weekend.

 

Abernathy fast asleep on the bed, and in the sunshine.

Thanks to everyone for your advice on managing the transition. It’s going a bit more smoothly now, and although we still likely need to call in a professional trainer for help, it’s not nearly as madness-inducing as it was in this house a day or so ago. We still have moments of “dear god, what have we done?” but they’re getting fewer and farther between.

Crate training is moving very, very slowly. Progress is almost nonexistent at this point, but she is moving closer to the crate every once in a while to sniff at the treats she knows are in there. We’re hoping she’ll get the courage to go in soon (and that she’ll see it’s really not so bad in there). Everything we’ve read says that this will take time, and I suppose that makes sense, but we’re really hoping for a teensy bit of headway soon. This is also going to be something we’ll be investigating with our dog trainer.

On Monday, it’s Emma’s turn to go to the vet. She’s got some…ummm…passing issues we need to figure out. At first, we thought the stress of the transition was wreaking havoc on her system a bit and that it would settle down, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

 

Day 3: Rations are low

We’ve decided to crate train our new dog, who also has a new name. Victoria just didn’t seem to be catching with her, and it doesn’t really seem to suit the personality we want her to have. If I recall, Queen Victoria was a bit of a ball breaker, whereas Emma in Jane Austen starts out high strung and headstrong, and becomes quite a lovely, mature lady at the end. That’s what we’re hoping we can do with our girl.

So she has yet another new name. It’s a good thing we’re getting this name confusion thing sorted out with our dogs…and I’m hoping we can figure it out before we ever have kids! I don’t think the folks at the registry office are quite as patient with parents saying…”well…we really like this name, and know it’s on the birth certificate, but now we’re leaning towards this…couldn’t we just change it one more time?”

She tends to get super excited at about 4 a.m., and that’s just not on. This morning I got up to take her out, and because she just wandered around, I figured maybe she didn’t need to do much yet, only to find out she was waiting until we got inside to do her business. Not impressed…though to be fair, I probably should have just kept her out longer.

The nice thing is that Abernathy is growing fond of his sister again (or at least I think so). Because I took Emma out on her own at 4 a.m., I decided to take Abbie for his own walk this morning too. He wasn’t having it — and hung around the garage and looked concerned until I brought his new sister out too.

We’re also making some progress on obedience training, though I think we’re going to have to get a professional involved. She’s simply too high strung, and training a 2-year old pup that’s never been trained before (at all – we’re talking no awareness of even the basic “sit” command) is tougher than I thought it would be. We’re both getting pretty frustrated.

The crate training should also resolve some of our other concerns. Chow Chow mixes can be very aggressive, and if we can train her to like her crate, we won’t have to worry about leaving our kids alone together (and there’ll be no more of this 4 a.m. business). Right now, we’re keeping her in a bathroom with her blankie, some water and her toys while we’re out. However, I’m not sure about crate training her and letting Abbie roam freely throughout the day. Has anyone experienced something like that, or are we asking for trouble?

We haven’t seen any aggression problems yet – in fact, Abernathy is the dominant dog here, even though he’s half of Emma’s size. When they’re eating dinner, he’ll glare at her until she moves away from his food bowl (she tries to eat out of both bowls, which we were starting to correct but Abbie seems to be taking care of it himself). He has also taken ownership of several of her toys and her new puppy bed. She always defers to him, and it’s really quite cute. But I don’t think they’ll ever be left alone together unless she’s happily confined to her crate. I just don’t want to risk anything.

Emma also seems to be feeling better, which we’re taking as a good sign. Oh – and Abernathy gets his shots at the vet today. Poor pup.

That’s all for now. Except that Greg and I really miss sleep right now. Oh – and I would upload new photos of both pups, except that WordPress seems to be dead set against that right now. I’ve tried and failed several times before giving up.

Sleep is a wonderful thing

Last night went much better than the night before. Vicki managed to get up the courage to wake me up at 4 a.m. to go to the washroom, instead of simply doing it in the house (which, after last night’s mess, I really appreciated). What’s less nice is that she’s started to get very hyper after being outside, so after we got back in, she promptly ran back upstairs, and jumped on Greg in the bed. He was less than impressed.

She’s also been trying to engage Abernathy in playtime in the morning, and he is so not into that. He hasn’t been a morning dog for ages, and he responds to her like a grumpy old man who hasn’t had his first cup of coffee yet (kind of funny, considering they’re about the same age). Abernathy’s become less and less impressed with his new sister each day, probably because he didn’t think she was actually going to be staying for very long.

It’s good that she’s starting to get more comfortable around here though. She still shies away from us from time to time, but not as much, because she’s starting to get to know us, and the house. She hates doors, especially when they’re opening or closing, and she’ll still scurry away from that with her tail between her legs. But overall, she’s doing much better.

She’s doing so well that now we’re starting to look at obedience training classes, and are hoping to get her enrolled very soon. Yay!

And we were able to catch up on some much needed sleep last night. Oh my goodness, was I exhausted.

4 am ramblings

So…when we adopted our new dog, I had forgotten all about waking up in the middle of the night to something that will make you wish you’d stayed in bed with the covers firmly pulled over your head (or maybe that’s just me). Abernathy woke me up at 3:30 a.m. because he was upset about something, and Vicki was pacing around the bedroom, and looking for affection from me.

I was still a little groggy, but it didn’t take long for me to smell an overpowering odour of feces in the air…and I’m sure you see where this is going.

We’ve now spent the last 45 minutes or so cleaning it up. I’ve taken Vicki out for a quick walk (hoping to empty whatever else is in there), and am regretting not leaving her in a kennel for the night. We’ve noticed that she’s scared of doors and enclosed spaces, which is natural given her time at the pound — so to try to make her feel more welcome here I thought she’d be fine sleeping around us. After all, we’d heard that she’s been an indoor dog before.

There is also blood in the stool, which is making me rather nervous, so it looks like we’re headed to the vet tomorrow.

Good times. Poor pup.

This morning I need to volunteer at the Plantation for a few hours, so we’re going to see how everything goes (originally, we were told the pound wouldn’t let us take a dog home yesterday; however, because Vicki’s had her shots and is already fixed, we were given approval yesterday….oops). Greg’s working from home until about 9 am, and we’re going to put Vicki in our bathroom until I get back.  Hoping that works out…

Our new baby

Today we adopted a dog from the local animal shelter. She wasn’t the pup we were expecting to get, as we had already decided on one of two other dogs, but we fell in love with her as soon as we saw her.

She’s a 2-year old pomeranian/Chow cross. Her name at the shelter was Magic, but we haven’t figured out what name best suits her personality (we’re not keen on that one). Here she is!

 

Our new baby girl

She’s more than a little scared right now, and we’ve pretty much had to carry her from place to place. She’s frightened of car rides, and most noises, which is to be expected after being in a shelter for a few months.

Abernathy is thrilled to have a younger sister (even though she’s larger in size), and he’s already assumed the role of the alpha dog who’s going to show her how things run around here. He’s also already tried to play, and although she’s been tempted a few times, she hasn’t given in yet. I give it until tomorrow.

We were concerned at first that she wasn’t one of the eight dogs needing a home before Friday, but were thrilled to hear that every extra space they have extends another dog’s life. Thank goodness! The other dogs were very sweet, but too big for Abernathy, who was absolutely terrified of them. He bonded with our new little girl right away.

Any name suggestions? We’re a bit stuck.

 

These pups need homes…quickly

For a while now, we’ve been thinking about adopting another dog, as Abernathy is used to having another pet around – first, our bunny rabbit Stewart (who passed away on Christmas Day), and then my parents’ dog, Rusty (a rather hyperactive Miniature Doberman Pinscher).

Abbie also used to go to a great puppy daycare in Edmonton, called the Pampered Puppy, so he was around dogs all day long. Since we’ve moved here, we’ve noticed that he misses that interaction – he tries to engage every single dog we meet in some sort of play…and not all of them are very into it (well…none of them so far, actually).

We’d been waiting to adopt a new pup until some of our guests that are allergic to dogs have come by to visit, but we found our schedule pushed ahead a bit this afternoon, when Greg was forwarded an e-mail from the Oconee Humane Society.

The shelter is over capacity right now, so there are eight dogs on the chopping block this Friday if they’re not adopted. All of them have been at the shelter for about five months or so.

This is something that’s completely heart-wrenching for me, and makes me want to rail wildly at those people who adopt a dog until they find it inconvenient. There aren’t many fenced-in yards here, and people tend to let their dogs run wild. There are also quite a few people that breed their dogs, though judging from the number of dogs in shelters and volunteer-run animal rescue organizations right now, I can’t see that there’s much of an ongoing demand. Spaying and neutering also seem to be pretty rare.

So needless to say, Greg, Abbie and I hightailed it to the animal shelter after Greg got off work. We arrived too late to adopt a pup today (they were getting ready to close, but let us see the dogs available for adoption quickly before politely shooing us out), and now we have a dilemma.

One of the eight dogs was adopted today, which is great – and there are seven left. There are two pups Greg and I fell absolutely in love with…a Jack Russell Terrier (with a remarkably sweet temperament) named Jolly, and an adorable Australian Cattle Dog mix named Zephyr (also a really super-sweet pup).

We can only really get one, and are struggling with the decision tonight. We’ve done all the research we can on both breeds, and know that it’s the meeting between those dogs and our pup that counts the most.

However, what’s tearing us both up a bit is that no matter what we decide, we’re saving one dog and potentially consigning the other to its death in a few days. It’s a terrible feeling…and I’m not a terribly strong person when it comes to animals (I cried when visiting the pups at the shelter, and told every single one of them I loved them), so tomorrow’s going to be a rough day.

We’re hoping other people in the Clemson/Seneca/Pendleton/Anderson/Easley areas also come by the shelter and adopt a baby pup into their home. They really are good dogs.

And I also hope people remember that adopting an animal – any animal – is a lifelong commitment. They should become a valued member of your family – and deserve to be cared for properly…regular vet visits, proper feeding, grooming, exercise and a ton of love and affection.

If you don’t agree, you don’t deserve a pet. Period.

Traces of Ida

It poured late yesterday and early this morning, thanks to Hurricane Ida, who’s choosing to wind down in our area. There are a few flood warnings until noon or so, so we’re staying close to home.

T has been playing with activity books, and is great at word searches, word scrambles and tic tac toe (though he’s VERY competitive)!

The rain is slowing down now, so we’re thinking of heading back to the South Carolina Botanical Garden to feed those ducks some bread. We figure they must be hungry by now. We’re also going to try to make it to the Greenville Children’s Museum, and to the Pendleton Village Baker.

Only one more day and then they’re all headed back home, which makes me sad. I’ve loved having them here!

We’ll update more tonight if T so chooses. Right now, T says “ruff!” (he’s a dog). He also wants me to spell the word “toe”. He’s not terribly chatty right now. He’d rather play.

Under the (indoor) sea

Today T took us to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We were going to go tomorrow, but Hurricane Ida forced a change of plans. Although Clemson is far enough inland to not have to worry too much about the storm, we are expecting to get flooded out with rain overnight and all day tomorrow. To be safe, we decided to try to beat the storm today (and we did!).

The Georgia Aquarium is a spectacular place. We had a great time, and spent most of our afternoon there! T’s favourite parts were the turtles and the fish…and the hammerhead sharks, and the fish that were overtop of us (there was a clear tunnel we could walk through, giving you the illusion that you’re standing in the middle of an ocean, surrounded by fish).

Some of the spectacular sea life on display (T chose this photo...it's a group of anemones).

Satpal taking a picture of some of the sea life in the tunnel. We loved it here! It was our favourite exhibit.

Satpal's giving T a lift!

T, Sheri and I through the looking glass. You can't see us that well...but that's okay. We're posting it anyway, because T likes this shot. And he wants you to know that he's named this photo "Toey-o".

Afterwards, we went to the World of Coke’s gift shop (the storm seemed to be gathering rather quickly, so we thought it was best to fly out as quickly as possible – so we never made it inside the proper museum for a tour). We also made a quick visit to the CNN Tower, which has a Cartoon Network gift shop (T really liked that).

On the way back, we stopped at the Tanger Outlet Center in Commerce, Georgia for dinner and a very successful shopping trip – every single one of us managed to buy something.  We’ve just made it home. T and Sheri are winding down and getting ready for bed, and the boys have headed over to the Esso Club in Clemson (a popular sports bar housed in an old gas station) to watch Monday Night Football and have a few beers.

It’s so nice having Sheri, T and Satpal here – and I’m going to miss them so much when they leave on Thursday!!! Tomorrow we’ll be shopping in Anderson.

A post from T

This post is being dictated to me by T – my adorable 4-year old nephew, visiting us this week.

T would like to say “thank you, that is all.”

This next part of the blog has been partly transcribed by his mother…

His favourite part of the visit is the toys he’s been getting (some cars, a knight’s outfit, Batman action figures, colouring books and a soccer ball so far), although he’s also seen some turtles today at the South Carolina Botanical Garden, and some ducks. Two or three of them, as a matter of fact.

Too many people had already fed the ducks today, with bread scattered all throughout the pond and in the meadow nearby, so we’re going back tomorrow to feed them (they should be hungry again by then).

We also went to Stumphouse Tunnel, and managed to make it all the way in to the end. It was a little scary in there (it was pretty dark), so we didn’t stay for very long, even though we had a flashlight to guide our way. T says he hated it because he was scared. He held his Mom’s hand the entire time. Abernathy didn’t like being inside the tunnel very much either…but Sheri and I thought it was neat.

Greg and Sat are in Atlanta today, and are going to a football game and a hockey game while they’re there. T is now attacking our left over Halloween candy, which we don’t think is going to last much longer. It’s going at a pretty good rate.

We’ll post photos later on (T has exhausted us to the point that uploading photos is simply too much work). Even Abernathy’s fast asleep. It’s hard to keep up with a 4-year old, but it’s awfully fun to try!

Under pressure (of the self-imposed variety)

This month, I’m taking part in the National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a NaNoWriMo), which challenges aspiring novelists to write 50,000 words in 30 days. The idea is to crank out a first draft quickly, without worrying about whether or not you’re writing reads like Hemingway or Austen, or if it makes the script for the worst movie of all time look like a masterpiece.

As of right now, I’m at 4, 566 words – a little short of my writing target for the past three days. But it’s all good. Most of it is also pretty terrible, which I suppose is to be expected. But there are also some interesting characters coming out in the draft so far (and a great relationship between two young sisters), and that makes me pretty happy.

Wish me luck!

On a not-entirely-unrelated note (as those of you who are aware of my slurpee addiction will attest), Greg and I finally found a place that sells slurpees here! I plan on consuming many of these syrupy cups of happiness over the next 30 days.