Today is the 7th day we have been graced with Cerberus, a.k.a Cerbie. He has had an eventful week. Well, somewhat eventful. He quickly settled in, and made himself home. He was quite chill, and relaxed. It took about 0 minuted for him to figure out that the couch is cool for doga here. He also gets along well with his younger sister, Lizzie. The first couple of days there was plenty of pecking order testing, mostly Lizzie trying to assert herself at the top. But Cerbie wasn’t playing that game.
Lizzie
Lizzie came to us scared of her own shadow. Apparently a prior adopter treated her badly, and she curled into her self, and is slowly becoming normal
It’s official, Cerbie is ours
Well, it’s official. Cerbie is ours. Yesterday afternoon, I went to Paypal to pay the adoption fee.
Monday, the second full day came and went without any major issues. Cerbie – as we now call him – did splendidly during the day. After the early morning walk where Lizzie’s tantrum in Barb’s office was the sold downside, he settled into a calm day. I seem to recall someone mentioning that he needed lots of exercise. Monday, you could have fooled me by how much time he spent sacked out on the couch.
From 3:00 to almost 4:00 while Barb was at the gym, I reclined on the couch to watch some TV, and Cerbie was sleeping next to me. No sleep agression there (a common Greyhound issue).
Out with the old, In with the New
The last three weeks have been trying, but in a good way. As you may recall, we became the temporary respite for two of my sister’s dogs, Sugar and Ted, as she lives close enough to the Carr fire that she (and – truthfully – we) was worried about losing her house. To help, we took two of her three hounds in (Grizz, the old man, could hang with her at work).
Lizzie Update – Late July
We slipped past the three month mark, and Lizzie continues to settle in. Time for an update.
First, she is sleeping through the night. No longer do I get the tap to wake up at 2 or 3 AM because she is up. Huge. In fact, more and more she is sleeping though my morning ritual (get up about 5, make coffee, read the NY Times, eat breakfast and then get ready for work.) Of course, she is having bursts of energy and playing fits later in the day and into the evening.
Lizzie Bear’s Progress
Work has been busy the last couple of weeks (even with the Independence day holiday this week) so I haven’t had time to jot down any notes on Lizzie.
We have been working on getting her more comfortable with other people, and other situations. We know that one day, we will have to take her to that dreaded place, the Vet, and are confident that will be traumatic.
However, Barbara had a conversation with the trainer at the local “Unleashed by Petco” store, and the recommendation was to bring her in for short meets, give her a treat, then leave.
New Frontiers
Lizzie has significantly progressed from the shy, retiring girl when we first met her at Alyce’s house, first bonding with me, then playing like a fool, then being bonding with Barbara. However, much work needs to happen.
In the mornings now, first thing, she practically insists on being harnessed up and going out front. She is pretty good at exploring the neighbor houses, but she isn’t much interested in moving beyond that comfort area. Sometimes, she wants to go out a second time, and then it is play time, and alas, she is impossible to control, so we head in quickly. Still, it is encouraging that she wants to go out.
Lizzie at Two Months
It has been a while since I have written, certainly time to get back to the world of Lizzie. Last Monday marked the 2 month anniversary of Lizzie’s arrival. The initial transition was rough, but she quickly bonded (with me at least), and continued to improve.
At about the 5 week mark, she began opening up to my wife, and became more comfortable around her while I was at work. Still some rough edges, backsliding on the potty training, and the destruction of a couple of beds (we now have a ballistic nylon tough bed for her “den”.) Additionally, she began going on a short front yard roam every morning.
Lizzie and more visitors
Last weekend, Lizzie had my brother and sister in-law in town with their two Maltipoos. That started a bit rough, with Lizzie hiding most of the weekend, but she was much more brave by the time they left on Tuesday afternoon, even playing with the lil’ pups.
This weekend, Barbara’s brother is in town. Lizzie was (and is) a bit more freaked out. Barking, hiding, growling. Not so good. Of course, Barb’s brothers are big, loud, and not dog people. Lizzie was not happy.
Visitors
This weekend, we had visitors. My brother and his wife came up from San Diego, and brought their two Maltipoos, Charley and Angel. Lizzie started the weekend in some stress. Strange people (very scary), and two little dogs who kept her corralled in her room.
They arrived on Sunday, and when we went to my sister’s house for BBQ, we left Lizzie at home. She wasn’t ready for a strange house, with strange dogs and people she just stayed in her room while we went out.