Life is tough when you're in the middle of a house remodel. After nearly 10 months, this whole thing should be over (mostly) by Friday. Which also means a really convenient excuse I've had handy will go away. I'll have others, mind you, but I've gotten pretty good flailing this one. :)
So how is Pickles?
Just dandy. I am so over the moon with this girl it's not funny.
Pickles is sweet. She fetches. She's housebroken. She fetches. She's losing weight. She fetches.
Did I mention she fetches?
I know I'm a broken record here, but it's something my first show dog, Gusto, did, and we spent endless hours over the years perfecting our fetching game.
Gusto left me in 2000, and I've really not had a committed fetching partner up until now.
Pickles loves to fetch. And she really, really, really wants to do that. There's all the difference in the world between a dog playing fetch because you want to and a dog playing fetch for the sheer joy of the game. This girl just adores it. So every night we spend about 10 minutes playing fetch (and tug!).
Not surprisingly, she still has separation anxiety. For two weeks, her crate was in the kitchen at night, but there was no sign of improvement in her barking. So we moved the crate into the bedroom, and nary a peep have we heard since (pretty sure the neighbors are grateful, too...she can be relentless). Simple solution. Crate in bedroom = a very happy Pickles. She bounds into her crate, gets a cookie and goes to sleep. Problem solved.
One negative thing I'm seeing is this girl is a chewer. She's tried dragging the big dog pillow I have here in my office into her second crate. And that big pillow in no way will fit there. She's forever dragging bedding around, and I've found some holes chewed in them. She's got chew flips, a huge dog bone and some other toys to occupy her, but for the family who adopts her my first piece of advice is get a crate. Then get some good toys for her to chew on. She's not a puppy, but a 5, she still has more oomph than my seniors here.
Pickles is losing weight. Her weight on February 2 was 11.8 and today she weighed 10.6. She's got a ways to go. Pickles was very well cared for, and a couple more pounds should come off. I'm sort of thinking 8.5 to 9, but until I get another pound off her, I won't really know what my target is. I'm seeing a bit of tuckup, but ribs are still missing. So we've a ways to go here.
Cats don't bother her, though she's chased my Oriental Short Hair a few times. That's the "let's just have some fun chasing" sort and Ollie invites it. When he's not in he mood, she ignores him. Ditto my other cat who isn't a big dog fan. So I can comfortably say she's fine with cats.
Other dogs? Yes and no. She's jealous, and some of that may disappear over time. She likes her crate to herself and her bed to herself. She doesn't want to share. She's not really gotten possessive over me, but it won't surprise me if that happens. Needless to say, we're working through this. It's not attractive, and it's not acceptable here. If she goes to a house where she's the only dog (and I think that may be her background), obviously there won't be a problem. Here she's with 5 others so she's learning what she can and can't get away with.
She's not a picky eater. No real surprise in a girl who is more Rubenesque than Catwalk Model. She's eating a mix of canned and dry right now, and not much of it. She's a fan of peanut butter like everyone else in this house, but she's not a veggie fan (something I miss since my standard dachshunds loved them).
And even though she's been here a few weeks and we've gotten to know her for who she is, she still stuns Randall and me by looking so much like Buddy, the BNR foster dog we lost a year ago. I kept saying I wanted another Buddy and, well, Pickles is so close.
I hope to have a few more updates over the next week. With photos and maybe a couple of videos.
I will say again if you're looking to add a small adult dog to your family, take a good look at Ms Pickles. She's a total doll with a great personality who loves everyone and has a lot to offer. Check with Bark N Rest Retirement Center for the particulars.
Bark N Rest on Facebook
Bark N Rest on the web
So how is Pickles?
Just dandy. I am so over the moon with this girl it's not funny.
Pickles is sweet. She fetches. She's housebroken. She fetches. She's losing weight. She fetches.
Did I mention she fetches?
I know I'm a broken record here, but it's something my first show dog, Gusto, did, and we spent endless hours over the years perfecting our fetching game.
Gusto left me in 2000, and I've really not had a committed fetching partner up until now.
Pickles loves to fetch. And she really, really, really wants to do that. There's all the difference in the world between a dog playing fetch because you want to and a dog playing fetch for the sheer joy of the game. This girl just adores it. So every night we spend about 10 minutes playing fetch (and tug!).
 |
| Pickles (and Skeeter) looking at the squeaky toy |
Not surprisingly, she still has separation anxiety. For two weeks, her crate was in the kitchen at night, but there was no sign of improvement in her barking. So we moved the crate into the bedroom, and nary a peep have we heard since (pretty sure the neighbors are grateful, too...she can be relentless). Simple solution. Crate in bedroom = a very happy Pickles. She bounds into her crate, gets a cookie and goes to sleep. Problem solved.
One negative thing I'm seeing is this girl is a chewer. She's tried dragging the big dog pillow I have here in my office into her second crate. And that big pillow in no way will fit there. She's forever dragging bedding around, and I've found some holes chewed in them. She's got chew flips, a huge dog bone and some other toys to occupy her, but for the family who adopts her my first piece of advice is get a crate. Then get some good toys for her to chew on. She's not a puppy, but a 5, she still has more oomph than my seniors here.
Pickles is losing weight. Her weight on February 2 was 11.8 and today she weighed 10.6. She's got a ways to go. Pickles was very well cared for, and a couple more pounds should come off. I'm sort of thinking 8.5 to 9, but until I get another pound off her, I won't really know what my target is. I'm seeing a bit of tuckup, but ribs are still missing. So we've a ways to go here.
Cats don't bother her, though she's chased my Oriental Short Hair a few times. That's the "let's just have some fun chasing" sort and Ollie invites it. When he's not in he mood, she ignores him. Ditto my other cat who isn't a big dog fan. So I can comfortably say she's fine with cats.
Other dogs? Yes and no. She's jealous, and some of that may disappear over time. She likes her crate to herself and her bed to herself. She doesn't want to share. She's not really gotten possessive over me, but it won't surprise me if that happens. Needless to say, we're working through this. It's not attractive, and it's not acceptable here. If she goes to a house where she's the only dog (and I think that may be her background), obviously there won't be a problem. Here she's with 5 others so she's learning what she can and can't get away with.
She's not a picky eater. No real surprise in a girl who is more Rubenesque than Catwalk Model. She's eating a mix of canned and dry right now, and not much of it. She's a fan of peanut butter like everyone else in this house, but she's not a veggie fan (something I miss since my standard dachshunds loved them).
And even though she's been here a few weeks and we've gotten to know her for who she is, she still stuns Randall and me by looking so much like Buddy, the BNR foster dog we lost a year ago. I kept saying I wanted another Buddy and, well, Pickles is so close.
 |
| Buddy, beloved BNR foster dog |
I hope to have a few more updates over the next week. With photos and maybe a couple of videos.
I will say again if you're looking to add a small adult dog to your family, take a good look at Ms Pickles. She's a total doll with a great personality who loves everyone and has a lot to offer. Check with Bark N Rest Retirement Center for the particulars.
 |
| Pickles really wants that squeaky toy |
Bark N Rest on Facebook
Bark N Rest on the web
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