Update on my dog Joey (now Bowie)
It's been three months since I adopted a 13-year-old Beagle/Jack Russell mix named Joey. We already had a 13-year-old Joey in the family, so the new Joey became Bowie, chosen to rhyme with Joey. It probably didn't matter all that much, as his hearing isn't the best.
Neither is his vision. When he wasn't here very long, I had to separate Scruffy, my cat, from him because he lunged aggressively at her a couple of times. I spoke with a trainer recommended by the shelter, and she said separation was best for 2-3 months until he was fully acclimated to his new home. At some point I realized that Bowie might have reacted to Scruffy because he couldn't identify her. His vision is much worse than I initially thought, and he might have seen a shadow approaching instead of a cat. I need to talk to the trainer about this and get her advice on bringing Scruffy downstairs again.
Bowie's a happy dog. He stays close to me for the most part. He's excited to go out, but eager to come back to the house. He's good in the car. My family loves him, and my 11-year-old grandson is proud to be the dogwalker-in-chief if I'm out. Bowie loves soft, plush squeaky toys. I gave him Bunny when I first met him at the shelter, and he was quite devoted--until I gave him Chewy the bear. Love at first sniff there, which lasted until this week, when I offered him Lamb Chop.
He started scratching constantly, creating "hot spots." The shelter gave me his vet records, so I knew this wasn't a new problem. He'd been given Apoquel before. I was hoping not to go that route (it's expensive, and not without potential consequences), but that's where we ended up. The drug is effective, and I'm glad he doesn't itch anymore. Constant itching is torture.
Barking at night was a problem until I took my granddaughter's advice and started playing music for him. "Alexa, play Classical for Meditation." I know music designed to calm dogs exists, but we've been doing so well with Classical for Meditation that I don't want to rock the boat.
I haven't fixed my own sleep problem yet, however. I haven't had a full night's sleep since he arrived. As a senior dog, Bowie can't "hold it" for long hours. As a senior woman, I sympathize. He can manage about 6 hours, so I get up to take him out earlier than I like. I tell myself I can go back to bed after, but I never do. I probably wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep anyway. Sometimes I get a nap during the day, but 30 minutes or so doesn't do enough. My sleep deficit is piling up, and I feel it every day.
The shelter told me Bowie liked a big bed, so I bought him a nice one. He does like it, but sometimes he squeezes himself into a cat bed.
Asleep in his big bed with his new lovey.
Thanks for reading!
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An update and another question about dog obedience
Comments (19)Correcting unwanted behavior is done much easier by preventing the behavior before it starts. That also allows more opportunity for positive reinforcement techniques. There are several ways to prevent behavior. Correction before the behavior starts is the goal. The requires close awareness of the dogs body language and actions. The largest block to preventing unwanted behavior---especially when other methods have failed---is how the handler/owner s emotions are during the training. The human has to mask any fear/anticipation/etc. behavior. Simply because the dog has become attuned to such cues and associated those cues as signals as how the dog should behave. You need to start correcting the lab mix when people arrive in the driveway. Your(whomever is handling the dog) needs to adopt the attitude the dog has to obey simply because you say so. That is usually much more difficult to do than to say. I use that technique and have sometimes blown a session simply because I was not paying attention and allowing other things to block my mind. And, it takes time. What to try. When you know someone is pulling into the yard---as the dog hears the visitor, start the corrections that signal his excitement before the visitor gets to the door. A training session with another person acting as the 'visitor' would be great. Because you can make the corrections and allow some time for the behavior to settle---allowing positive reinforcement to happen. That is a double training effort---blocking unwanted and praising acceptable behavior....See MoreMy3dogs' Fab Chairs Now Living in DD's Apt !
Comments (21)I am STILL grinning from ear to ear over this! I called my mother each time I got an update from kswl, and I took Friday off to go to southern Maine with Mum to (you guessed it) picked up some CL chairs! She was here in my office with me when we saw the emails with pics coming in, and it was quite a thrill. We had a wonderful lunch outside on the patio at Stonewall Kitchen's Cafe in York, ME. Who knew that over a month ago, one of the chairs I saw and wanted was owned by an artist, who is also a cat rescuer! I was looking for his phone number online and found this article, which made the front page of the local area newspaper when it happened. Brad still has that cat named 'Banks' and 5 others. He is looking for homes for 3 of them, but potential adopters will be carefully vetted. Brad sent me home with a chair that I hadn't planned on buying as well as the one he'd been holding for me. Both were from his grandparent's home. He asked for pictures when they are done, as did the nice man in Gray, ME where I bought the two that I am doing for Chibimimi. Lazygardens, I don't sell on Etsy, or anywhere else, other than the Mustard House in Buxton, and anyone who happens to see and want something they've seen. Pam, the owner of the Mustard House, wants me to do this antique French sofa she bought. I've looked everywhere and have not seen one like it, with those built-in arms on each end. Researching shipping these to GA was interesting, and the rates from FedEx and UPS shocked me. Incredibly high in my opinion. Being an eBay fan, I have seen many auctions that offer Greyhound shipping at a reasonable fee, so I researched that, and it was 1/6 of the highest price, which was from UPS. The buyer does have to pick them up at a Greyhound station, but the savings were HUGE! The size of these at 44" high made them too big to go USPS, as the 'horse stool' to MA did. Here is a link that might be useful: Vet calls cat rescue a 'miracle'...See Morech-ch-changes (David Bowie is stuck in my head now)
Comments (1)I think you will really enjoy having hardwood in the kitchen. We have had wood floors in this house and the one prior and I have never had a problem in spite of our big dogs and a tile guy who spilled tons of water on it. We don't baby them. We do have 2 or 3 coats of polyurethane as a top coat. I wouldn't have anything else. I have white oak with a lighter custom stain which helps hide a multitude of sins. Sounds like your plans are coming along great!!! All the best with your new kitchen plans....See MoreFreeze Question about my Joey Avocado Tree
Comments (1)Attempting to grow avocados in Bryan/College Station here! Any updates on the sick avocado tree? I'm sorry to hear that you had it in a pot for two years and then moved it to the ground before this very cold winter (for us Texans) :(...See More- last year
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AlisandeOriginal Author