What is a new home with out a dog to fill it?So god likes to mess with Mike, his wife is from the Badger state and his new pup is from the land of Hawkeyes. HA! :)
This is George, our new puppy/dog. His full name is Mr. George Washington, but we might just shorten it to George. Actually, George is his given name but we might change it still (to Roscoe P-Coltrane, Rufus or Herman), although were kind of getting used to "George".
He was a breeding dog, a stud. But the breeder was getting older and he couldn't see as well. His wife has trouble walking. In fact, he didn't see George once and tripped over him and hurt his hip, so he decided it was time to give his dogs up. I guess George was his favorite, so when the Iowa Bassethound Rescue people came to pick him up he cried, but he knew it was for the best. (If only he could know how George is getting spoiled now.) Since George was a breeding hound, he stayed outside in his kennel which was attached to a barn that he could go inside. He doesn't really know what toys are, had no interest in his raw hide at first and has no taste for treats. To this day we can't get him to eat treats -- so Annie and Beetle, you guys can look forward to some snacks.
He's only 15 months old, born 11/12/2007, which is a bit younger than we planned on. His age is proving to be tiring -- he's still so young, he's still a puppy and he's got the energy of a puppy. So we have to wear him out from time to time so he doesn't get in much trouble. Which also wears us out - I keep falling asleep on the couch and Mike falls asleep with the TV on. But we cannot complain because George is a barrel of laughs. He's so funny!
The family in charge of Iowa Bassethound Rescue was supposed to come up to visit last weekend to do a home visit and sleepover with George while they were up in Minneapolis for the Pet Expo. But unfortunately they had to cancel last minute so that they could pick up some dogs and get them into foster homes and take some dogs to their forever homes. So we couldn't complain much because its good to see dogs being taken care of. What it did mean was that meeting Mr. George was going to become a little more difficult. Because they were running dogs all weekend it was hard to pick a time to meet up with them but we finally decided to visit at the vet who was taking care of George's fixing.
When we woke up on Saturday morning, 2-23-09, we were greeted by 4-5 inches of snow! This slowed us down a bit, but we got to Rock Rapids, IA in time to meet our little pup. When they let him out and he came trotting out towards us, I'd have to say it was love at first sight. What a darling little dog (OK, so little is a bad word to describe him)! He was real sweet and mellow, liked sniffing, didn't mind the dogs and cats at the vet and his personality just shinned. When the vet attendant was ready to go to lunch she asked us, "Well so, are going to take him?" I said to Mike, "Taking him home?" - It was more of a statement than a question. He said, "Yup, he's coming home with us." So we filled out the paperwork and made our way to the car.
We tried putting George in the crate we had in the back seat, but he wanted nothing to do with it and planted himself. So rather than force him in we decided to let him sit on the back seat. This arrangement was fine, until he got bored. :) At first he just hoisted himself up on the center console and stood there looking out the window and looking at us. Then he decided that wasn't quite comfortable and torpedoed into Mike's lap while he was driving, Mike swerved a bit. So I dragged the 60 lb. pup onto my lap and we sat there with a big dog in my lap until we could pull over and reorganize.
We ended up moving the kennel into the front seat and taking turns sitting in the back with George. He slept most of the way, poor guy was still re-cooping from his surgery on Friday. After the 5 hour drive, we took George for a walk (Caesar Milan's suggestion) and then let him in to smell the house. He sniffed pretty much all night. He didn't like the stairs at first, but now loves running up and down them on his stubby little legs. I think its a game to him - but its exercise so its fine by me.
He's only had one accident. Pooped once on Jake's watch, but has been good ever since. We are pretty diligent about taking him out, before he has to go. But when he has to go, he lets us know too -- he barks at the back door. He's learning to go in the backyard and not on his walks, so we don't have to carry around poop - eww. He's learning the terms "Whiz/Pee Pee" and "Poopy" - today I told him we couldn't go back inside until he went poopy and he immediately went and pooped and then dragged me to the door. It may have been a coincidence but I'd like to believe he's a smart pup.
He knows his name I think and he knows "No" too. So he's really good about stopping what he's doing if we tell him not too. It might take him testing us two or three times but he's learning what he can and cannot do. For instance, Jake told him not to chew on his slippers (he LOVES shoes) and after telling him "no" a few times now he just looks at them like he wants them but knows he can't have them. He's funny about things he likes. Shoes, couches, garbage, boxes, brown paper bags, sometimes remotes and controllers, some cables, and bags/purses. He generally doesn't chew on things much, he mainly likes to drag things around. Which can be funny with his big ears, big feet and short legs. But he usually stops when you tell him too. And you can always tell when he's got something he's not supposed to because he sprints away with it. He can be naughty in the sense that he acts like a little kid, he will do something he's not supposed to and knows he's not supposed to so he's sneaky about it. Yesterday, Mike caught him jumping off the couch when he came downstairs.
When he's not sleeping, he's playing and when he's not playing, he's sleeping. When we first got him he was tired from his surgery, we thought oh was a sweet mellow dog. As he started to feel better though, the puppy started to come out. He's a hoot. Our first floor is set up in a square with doors leading to the next room, so he runs around in a circle. We like to chase him too, so he just sprints around like a crazy dog. Yesterday, he started chasing his tail. Jake is teaching him to fetch. He likes his squeaky pheasant toy because of its good squeaker but also because when he shakes it and there's a lot more action with the floppy wings. He has a squeaky hippo, a raw hide bone, a rubber ball and a Kong rubber bone with tug of war rope as his official toys. His unofficial toys are a brown paper bag and a Dr Pepper cube box. He LOVES the snow and tolerates the cold. I'll try to get a video of him romping in the snow tomorrow.
When he's calm he likes to be brushed and pet. He's a sucker for a tummy rub and if you pet him just right his foot starts thumping. He's a real cuddler too. He likes nesting in the blankets and putting his head in your lap. When he's sleeping you can play with his ears, pet him and play with his feet and he could care less. He's really laid back that way, he doesn't mind you messing with his body at all, which will make it nice for clipping his toe nails.We took him to Petsmart last Sunday, so he could pick out his own toys. Unfortunately, we had to pick out his toys because he was too busy watching people and other dogs. He loves dogs and people love him. There were 4 kids and 4 adults all petting him at once while we were trying to pick out toys. They were amazed at the big paws and ears and the stubby widdle legs. One lady asked me if they are always that short, yuppers. A number of people thought he was handsome. We were just glad to see he handled strangers and kids so well. Dogs on the other hand, he's so excited to see other dogs, I think he scares them.
He does have another puppy friend in the neighborhood though. Theo, a 1 year old golden retriever, lives a few blocks over on the 3700 block of Garfield. We run into Jim and Theo when we walk and they pounce at each other, its so cute to see them but they are hard to control on their leashes. We'll be taking George to a dog park once we know he's good with dogs, will come when he's called and also once he's healed enough to play.
George has met both sets of Neighbors. Both love him to pieces. I think our neighbor to the South wants a Basset now. Jerry (to the North) really likes him too. He chuckled when I told him his name was George and he says he's got very pretty markings. He comes over to pet George when ever we're out together.
George isn't really a barker, which is odd since he's a hound. He doesn't really care when people come in the house. He's not too worried about anything, but he has his moments. He doesn't like metallic noises though - clang of metal or scraping of metal. He also doesn't know what to do about shadows or his reflection. He used to bark when we put him to bed, but he's stopped. It's a real deep loud bellow. It scared me the first time - how did such a scary noise come out of that sweet fuzz ball?
We've got him on a schedule now, up at 6:10, eat breakfast, potty, short walk, locked in his back sun room and walked before we leave for work. If Jake is home, he'll let him upstairs while he's on his computer and he basically sleeps all afternoon. Then back to the sun room when Jake goes to work and then when I get home I take him out. When Mike gets home we or he walks him and then its time for dinner. Then we play and lay around. Before bed he goes out again and then its in the sun room until morning. I don't think he liked it at first but he's getting used to it. Tuesday I wore him out so much walking down to the lake and back that Mike barely woke him up to go to the bathroom before it was bedtime.
Having a puppy is time consuming and takes patience. We've never been this tired and we've never slept this well. But we wouldn't change it. As Mike says, "I just want to eat him up he's so cute!" He's a darling and I wouldn't change anything about my little munchkin for the world.
