Again, thanks for all your help. I have read everyone’s comments, advise and good wishes, and then I took all of the common advise and have been applying it to Rusty’s training. He is actually doing a lot better. Once we figured out not to be feeding him every hour, his bowels have settled down, and a few times he has even gone to the door to go out to piddle. Of course we are raving over him when he does this, and gets a small treat for doing it outside. When he goes in here, we tell him a very firm NO, and sit him outside. I think in a few weeks he will catch on. He is so tiny yet. We neither one think he is going to make it to 40 lbs. He has tiny little feet, and as my Dad used to say, “they grow up to match their feet'”, so we are thinking he will be smaller than they are saying.
We went Rusty shopping again yesterday. We had bought him some chew toys the day we got him, but it only took him one day to chew right through these. Tennis balls didn’t work either. He can rip into those real easily, and I am afraid he will choke on the nylon or whatever they are made of. The big knotted rope is working, and the Bully toy is still in one piece, so right now we are going with those. We did get some poopy bags, dog shampoo, treats for when he is a good boy, and a very nice bed to sleep on. Of course he thinks his bed is a new chew toy, so we are watching closely when he is in it. I also got some Resolve cleaner, and am very satisfied with it.
Yesterday we gave him a bath when we got up and were afraid that the shampoo we used would be too strong, so we bought the citrus smelling flea and tick shampoo. He does have a slight odor, so we are hoping this will help take care of this. He had a flea treatment at the Vets, but he is scratching, so it may be the shampoo that we used, and I will check with the Vet. again to see if he needs more flea meds.
I am getting caught up with laundry again today. We have used a lot of extra towels and so forth on the new baby, so need to keep those all clean.
I don’t know what is going on with me. I haven’t been sleeping, and it is wearing me out. It was 3:00 am this morning, the last time I looked at the clock, and I was up at 7:00am, so I am thinking I got somewhere between 3 or 4 hours. That doesn’t work for me. I have always been an 8 hour person, and I am afraid my mood reflects this. Poor Donnie; he has been staying outside a lot today, and who can blame him.
The Park Christmas Party is tonight, but we have opted out. I don’t want to sound all Bah Humbug, but I am just not in the mood for a party yet. I think after the first of the year we will get back in to the swing of things around here. There are usually a lot of Pot Lucks, and game nights, and that is more what we think we will be ready for. When I talked to my daughter last Sunday, she said she wasn’t going to her work Christmas Party either. I guess it will just take us a while to get back in gear.
Sorry, no pictures today. I am going to get off of here and get all of our lunches ready. He eats before us, so we can then take him walking after he is through. It is working pretty well for us, so this is the routine we are in. Stay safe.
9 comments:
Could your lack of sleep be anxiety over Rusty? Probably not, since it sounds like things are going well with him. All the exercise you have been getting walking Rusty should be helping you to sleep. Maybe you could take a sleep aid for a few nights?
Glad that Rusty is doing better. I read before somewhere that dogs should be eating after the people. It's supposed to set the people up as the Alpha person. Maybe you could find out more about that.
I just love the header picture.
I rarely (almost never) bathe my dog, but I brush her a lot. I think cold dry weather makes skin itchier, and the brushing seems to help.
Glad to hear things are getting better. Post some more pictures of him when you get time.
Next time you buy dog shampoo you might want to try an oatmeal shampoo. It seems to work well for dogs with sensitive skin. Also, both my dogs scratch on the day they get their bath - but not after that. Not sure why. Hope you can get some rest - Most nights I get only 4 to 6 hours of sleep, not fun. The only thing that works for me is Lunesta - then I can get 6 hours.
I use Johnson's baby shampoo on Kandi, and used it on all of my Poodles. Smells good, and it won't sting the eyes if you get it in them.
I understand about the sleeping thing. I never sleep through the night. Some nights are worse than others. My minds starts to working as soon as I lay down. The more I try to "turn it off" the worse it gets! Hope you three have a Merry Christmas!
Glad to hear Rusty is getting a little better. The more he gets used to his new surroundings, the better he will be!
Sounds like Rusty is getting the idea. When we accepted our guest dog, I was surprised how much we started spending on treats, toys, and preventive med treatments.
I guess that is the reason there are so many big box pet stores :)
you will get the hang of it soon!..as will Rusty.. I can remember when Tucker was little we had a chart that we used to track how many times he went out and did his business..in the beginning it was 20 times a day!..now two years later we are down to 4 times a day!...he refused to pee on puppy pads..he would pee on the floor though!..and the pen training worked for him..he didn't like his crate..we think he got too hot?..but who knows?..he never did his business inside his pen!..so now as we think back..training was pretty easy..we were just consistent!..
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