Another day in doggy paradise

I woke very early this morning after a blissfully quiet night. Came downstairs to find Ragnar curled up tightly on the end of the chaise longue instead of on his own bed. Hahaha, we didn't think he would fancy it much as it's quite narrow but obviously he decided that a comforting whiff of human was just the thing to get him through the night. He cheerfully moved to his own place when I pointed to it, with a shake/shrug that seemed to say 'ah well, it was worth a try and good while it lasted'.
We went down to the canal where the sun was already over the dijk and I could drink my coffee while the dog 'tidied up some sticks'.

 

Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

 sweet of feet wrote: ↑

Yesterday, 8:05 amCloggy is very quiet

that's because Cloggy is up to her eyes (sometimes literally) in dog stuff atm.
I imagine it's a bit like having a new baby in the house (except that this particular baby weighs more than I do and follows me about all day) - your whole routine is turned upside down as the new creature tries to work out what all this new stuff is and what its place in the household is.

After a very peaceful first night he decided to spend his second night howling like a wolf to summon his new found pack to his side. For a big dog he has a surprisingly soft sort of howl but it's a noise that still somehow manages to penetrate to your very bone marrow. I knew that if I went downstairs to reassure him that he hadn't been abandoned I would be rewarding him for his howling so had to resist. But after a while I couldn't stand it and Something Had To Be Done.

I decided on a compromise. I would go down and ignore him and open the curtains, as his previous owner said he liked to look out of the windows (and had been given a place on the sofa to facillitate this, something that isn't necessary here). So I did that. It seemed to help and we were all able to fall into an uneasy sleep. (I dreamt that my campervan was parked on the beach while we had a walk and when I came back the left front tyre was spectacularly flat and melting rubber in a river of black down into the sea. The horror, the horror.)

Shortly after I woke up I heard intermittent howling start again but it was about time to get up anyway so I timed my descent so that I would be going into the living room in between howls. And, rather than rushing out down to the canal immediately with a jacket pulled over my jammies like I did on the first morning, thinking he might desperately need a pee, I managed to start to let him know that that wasn't how it worked here. I did my bathroom stuff, got dressed and a thermos mug of coffee made and only then did we go out the door. He was fine with this - I think he was just glad that I had reappeared from the mysterious 'upstairs'.

And this, dear readers, is one of the (many) reasons it's a good thing I never had yer actual babies of my own. I would long have bored everyone to death with the dull details of their existence. ;-)

I'm having a bit of a panic atm because since arriving here he seems to have decided that he's never getting in a car ever again. The whole reason I decided he was the dog for me was the way he enthusiastiallly jumped into the van on first sight. I've never had to 'persuade' a dog to get in a vehicle before. All mine have been very enthusiastic - whenever I jingled the keys they were ready to go. Mr Clogs says he's feart I'm going to take him back to where he came from. I'm not convinced that dogs think like that. So I've been googling of course. Lots of tips to be found involving gradual acclimatisation and rewards and yes, I've already started that process. But it's all a bit of a backwards step and not a problem I've ever encountered before. Any top tips from people with experience on this front would be very welcome.

I suspect he maybe banged something during the explosive pushing through the door exit and now associates the van with pain. Not that he seems obviously bothered by anything but he could well have a minor bruising under that bruise coloured coat... Or he could just be overwhelmed with new stuff atm and has decided that he's not getting in the van to be taken to possibly more new stuff. I'll just have to have patience and keep working on making him see the van as a good place again.

Lady Macbeth wrote: ↑Yesterday, 6:56 pmHope it's helped.
They say it takes 3 weeks before a rehomed dog realises it's staying and 3 months for it to settle properly.
I expect you know all this, but I'll stick the link in, anyway: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice ... rescue-dog

thanks for this. I moved onto this:https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice ... e-stressed
It's reassured me that this is indeed all fairly normal and that he's actually doing pretty well all things considered. I've had 3 adult dogs before but of course there's always years in between and it's easy to forget the initial period of adjustment. I do think that this time it's marginally more 'problematic' than with previous dogs but even so, it could certainly be a lot worse. I'm sure we'll be fine.
Just back from a very windswept walk where he was able to run about and get rid of some of his nervous energy.

King('s Day) Ragnar

 He did spend an hour or so trippling around the house panting nervously but he eventually settled down for a snooze and he seems to have decided he'll be ok here. I also have to do something about his exiting technique from the van as atm it's a bit too explosive to be safe but I'm sure I'll get it sorted once he gets used to how it all works and I make some adjustments to suit him better.

The explosive van exits were probably partly my fault. He was so keen to get out and about in the world that he just pushed right past me and, as I wasn't expecting it I was too late to correct him and keep him in till I was ready for him. Luckily the first one was on the deserted beach at the end of the road that I drove to before going back to our house precisely so that he could expend some of the pent up nervousness of being in a strange van for an hour with a new human. The second one was in our garden, when I was slightly more prepared but still not fully in command of the situation. I now know him a bit better and am pretty sure I can get him to sit and wait before getting out. I certainly won't be going to any unknown places with him till both of us have mastered the safety procedures.

The Ragnar has landed

 

His colour is officially blue, which means a charcoal grey colour, though when the sun shines on him there's a tinge of brown shining through. A bit like a giant Weimeraner. I think he'll soon settle here. We're both fair exhausted with all the newness of the situation but I think we'll quickly establish a routine.

Dan maar een kleintje...

 

To Bun or not to Bun

 

Well I made my first tentative steps into Bunny World today.
It's a rescue place staffed mostly by volunteers with various mild learning difficulties.
The woman who took me out the back to show me the rabbits made it very clear that her speciality was guinea pigs. I think one of the buns must have heard her because he promptly bit her finger when she lifted him out of his hutch. Tssk.
Not that I was holding this against him but I did actually prefer the look of the first pair she'd shown me. Both quite sizable beasts (not giant but not tiny either.) One was the colour of what I can only describe as Natural Rabbit Colour, the other a darker solid grey. Flop-eared. Ticking quite a lot of boxes as far as their looks and my preferences went. But...

There's something about them that doesn't quite click with me. I think I prefer my pets to be more... domesticated? They have such bland faces. They don't look you in the eye and communicate with you like a dog does. They're not interested in humans. I feel it would be like having a wild animal in the house. I'm not sure I'd feel totally comfortable with the idea. And yes I do realise it would take time to earn their trust. I do enjoy Giddy's tales of binkying bunnies but I'm not convinced they're right for me. I'd also worry about tripping over them. They seem so... unpredictable somehow.

I left (after a tour of the guineapig flat ;-) saying I would have to think about it some more and thanking them for their time.
It's pretty much a paradise for the animals there. They do sell them on sometimes/eventually but many of them have been there for years and are all very well housed and cared for. I think if I'd thought they really 'needed' rehomed I might have felt differently...

Burns' Day