Dogs: Neurotic, Houdini, & Hallucination

Pete has been a Fischer for almost a month but we're seeing all sorts of interesting behavior come outta this little guy. He seems a bit neurotic where he'll act up but it's not regular. After a few weeks of trying to fix his behavior, I called up a friend who has a LOT of experience with dogs. It appears that Pete wants to be #1 in the pack, we're enforcing that Max is #1, and Max is not enforcing that. No wonder why Pete is so confused! Pete is trying to work out pack order and we're interfering which is making it much more difficult. So we're going to let the dogs work it out and just make sure no one damages anyone else. Hopefully since Max has no wish to be #1 and Pete does, they'll work it out relatively quickly.

We moved Elmo to a different foster home today. He had adopters come see him last sunday and they absolutely loved him. Actually they originally met Elmo at a different foster home during Christmas and knew he was the one so they applied to LRR with the sole purpose of adopting Elmo. LRR made them see other dogs to make sure Elmo was the one. I think they'll make a fine home for Elmo and will help him through his puppyhood. While he was here, he got a LOT better about night outings. After a few more days of 5-6am wakings, he moved to 7am so we were MUCH happier. He does have a rather unique trick though. He's the only foster dog we've ever had that can open the crate door. Elmo hates crates and can't be left alone in a crate for more than a few hours or else he turns pretty destructive which is why he was sent to us. Well, earlier this week I went out for a few chores and put him in the crate. Imagine my surprise when I came home and three dogs met me at the door! I think he banged the door enough times to loosen both latches to get out. He's escaped twice while I've been out, thank god he didn't cause any damage to the house at all.

Lastly, on tuesday night I had the best dream. I dreamt I was walking our street with Sheba by my side. The dream was incredibly clear and the day was beautiful outside. In my dream, I knew Sheba was gone and she was simply a hallucination that only I could see, but I could also bend down, hug her, and pet her. She was happily trotting next to me with a grin on her face. I'm amazed at how real that dream felt. When I woke up, it didn't feel like a dream, it felt like a memory. It put me in such a good mood through the day.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ooooo... a Sheba visit! I think of her every time I find a tennis ball around the house. :>