Wednesday, August 22, 2007

There's No Place Like Home...

So Rosie made it back safe and sound from the pound. And quite frankly? I think it's the best $50 we've ever spent. Whereas previously she was a bit stand-offish (always sat in the corner, never really came up for cuddles etc), now she's become a more like a member of the family.

The first thing she did when I came home and cuddled her was roll on her back. Submissive gesture, yaay! I AM MASTER! LOL Since then she has started to be a lot more responsive to us, and tonight even settled on her side for a bit of a lay down. Fred in comparison has been moping all weekend, fairly bummed because his playmate won't play with him.





On her little sojourn, Rosie managed to tear off one of her toenails. Enter visit to the vet, and bye bye buckaroonies. So though we may be poor, Rosie is now wearing a very fetching red and blue sock.

Said sock has already stopped looking so smart, and is a little bit worse for wear. Saturday morning saw Rosie with some of the white bandage dangling out. After fetching the scissors, I spotted Fred sitting beside her, 'helping' by pulling on the bandage. *shakes head*

Currently Rosie's favourite past time is to lick her red and blue sock. Don't ask me why.



Below are some pics of Fred and Rosie, with Fred looking soooo bummed. hee hee.

He's mastering that bummed/bored look to a tee. Who would've thought no playing around could cause such a face!!!

Fred's favourite scratch though, is still lying flat on his back. Here are some amusing pics. His paws all held up like a kangaroo's! LOL. And check out his face! Bliss!!

Dsc
Jg



In case you're wondering, it's the bf's leg you see near Fred's neck, and that's my foot you can see in the second pic in the bottom right hand corner.


It's funny watching the two doggies, Fred's getting a lot bigger already. He's Rosie's size now, and it's only been about 3 weeks.

We were thinking about getting Rosie a little poncho coat thing to keep her warm at night (they sleep outside now) and I had to measure her... when she was lying down, from neck to tail? 90cm...

YIKES.

I was walking them tonight (both) and the little dog owners? You should see how quickly they run to the other side of the road when they see me.I guess they're afraid. I don't blame them, big dogs like mine. But I
guess I never really thought or noticed how antisocial big dogs can be
for their owners.

I guess it didn't help when they heard me shout "SIT" in such an angry and desperate voice. It echoed around the ENTIRE neighbourhood. Rosie managed to sniff and find (I'm thinking it was another dog, but it may have been a rabbit or something), and wanted to go scrabbling in the bushes. I'm not abt to be dragged around the neighbourhood by a 30kg dog chasing a rabbit! So I had to get her to sit. She half sat, and half crouched, wanting to get at whatever she found. I had to drag her away. *shakes head* I'm actually having slight trouble getting her to chill out on walks. By the time she does and doesn't pull on the lead, the walk is pretty much over! =/ I can't wait to get to obedience classes next month. She may be trained properly, but I'm not. And I need to know what rules I can enforce, and what she knows and doesn't know. So I guess the obedience classes are more for me than her. LOL.

Last Friday I also went to the library and picked up all these dog books. Bf never reads books all the way through. So I was quite surprised when he really got into one of them. It was written by this science guy who theorised that the idea that dogs are loyal isn't really true. Instead, they're smart enough to figure out that their lives are a pretty good deal. I mean, who wouldn't want to be waited on hand and foot? Don't need to hunt for food, it always arrives on time, get to walk, have plenty of cuddles, and a safe place to sleep. You'd be crazy not to just stick with your owners. LOL.

I don't know how I feel about that theory. Anyway, so our weekend has been spent reading up on dog books, and trying to enforce our dominance. I even picked up a book called "how to make your pound dog love and respect you". Yes please! So far I think it's working, although I think the one night at the pound probably scared the bejeesus out of Rosie. LOL. And she's realised that 1. we're here to stay, 2. we really do want her, and 3. life's not so bad with us.

So hopefully she'll turn from Troublesome Rosie to Sweet Rosie. Just like her foster mother claimed she was.

Right now as I type this, Fred's settled at my feet, sleeping on his side, with his bottom covering my foot - a sign that he 'owns' me. I don't mind being 'owned' by a 30 odd kg wolfhound, who's going to be double his current size =D I don't really want to move him, I like him being by my side, and being my personal foot warmer. But the dishes really are calling to me...

Meanwhile, Rosie's in the living room chilled out with the bf. We each have a doggie!! =D AWww...



5 comments:

  1. Glad Rosie is back with you. Sorry you had to invest more $ for that fabulous sock... do they not know that you want some money to spend on YOU? LOL. Hubby almost lost a dog (said beagle that was stolen) in Mammoth Cave National Park one day while we were hiking as a family. Alekhine smelled something and DH unhooked him--- who quickly proceeded to run into the brush. DH had to go after him. I warned him. Jack used to run away at the last house when his collar battery was dead but has been good here. Knock wood. I think they are more timid because they've never had a chance to run around here without being on the collars or on a leash. 

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  2. Glad Rosie is home safe and sound. On another note, *chuckles* Fred is so expressive. I love his lil bummed look. :)

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  3. Awww... Poor Rosie, it must have hurt a lot for her. I can't imagine how she got her toenail torn off. Trapped in a fence/hedge? She must have been so happy to get back home where she's warm and loved. :)

    After my dog ran off - rushed out when the gates were opened, we found her lying in the grass by the main road about 5 mins from our house. Poor thing had her foot pads all worn and torn from running. We found her after 2 hours, so we guessed that she must have ran non-stop and hurt her tender footpads. Came home looking sorry and slept like a log. For the next two days she was very quiet and unlike herself. LOL!

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  4. yeah, we're all thrilled rosie's back too. she's soo much better now. coming up for cuddles. she also settles into the walk better too. i'm stopping lots and making her sit, whenever she starts pulling.

    course the last few nights it's also been drizzling outside, so i think they know what a big deal it is to get a walk out.

    oh wern, what a sight to see - to have your dog lying down near your house. i'd have been so panicked if i saw that.

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  5. Yeah, we were panicky when we couldn't find her. Me and my parents were driving around, calling out her name. It was instant relief when we saw her lying down by the road (we spotted her from across the road). It was a very busy road with dual carriageways, and we were so worried that she might have been knocked down. *phew*

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