All the old fogies here were really bent out of shape over Ariel's short stay with us this week.
Saturday morning, Randall took Ariel to meet up with her ride to San Antonio, and the relief around here was palpable. Soooooooooooooooooo happy to have things back to normal.
I never realized just how much the seniors don't want to be around a puppy...even an older one. A 10 month old dachshund has boundless energy. And poor Ariel actually got depressed and stopped eating because no one here wanted anything to do with her.
The two senior dachshund fosters, Aggie and Dixie, were the most affected. Dixie is quiet and timid and really didn't like being poked by a puppy. All she wants really is to be left alone with a pillow and blanket. She was mortified when she corrected the puppy. For all her senior pep at times, she really is a reserved and gentile lady.
Poor Aggie was bereft. She has some neurological issues to go along with her deafness, and she simply couldn't resolve the active puppy with her routine. She sat in the hall with her back to the bedroom and pouted. She just couldn't accept this.
Buddy wasn't really impacted by Ariel's stay except he couldn't move freely through the house, and by Friday night he'd had it. When we got ready for bed, he curled up and faced the trash can near his pallet. Usually when I get on the floor for a goodnight cuddle, he eats it up. Friday night he wouldn't make eye contact with me, and he actually growled at Randall when he was prompted to go outside for one last potty break. Randall said he thought for a minute he might bite. HIGHLY unusual for a very even tempered older gent.
So this little experiment in short term fostering was a mixed blessing. The foster parent reports Ariel is eating and having a blast with her other blind dogs. For us, well, I don't think we'll be willing to bring in another puppy unless it's urgent. Our guys just can't face the sort of behavior and energy the young kids present.
It wasn't fair to Ariel either. She obviously could not understand why no one would play with her -- and after we had to enforce separation, I believe she thought everyone hated her.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that she is eating and drinking water again. Younger dogs willing to play with her made all the difference. She might have done okay here had we been able to play chase the ball or something to wear her out, but since she's blind, we couldn't think of any way to do that. She liked being held, but that wasn't a substitute for being able to play.