Something I knew, something I learned

Kwazy

Shared on Sun, 03/11/2007 - 21:15
I'm beat.  Not just in the Kerouac essence, but in an absolute also.  Picked up our new dog today from the shelter.  Romeo (that's what he settled on) is wonderful.  We've done everything by book, and he's doing well.  Lot's and lots of walking today, along with some alone time in the crate, followed by more walking.

When we picked him up, he was VERY anxious.   We spent a good fifteen minutes in the lobby of the shelter establishing dominance and peaceful control.  Pretty uneventful until we got him into the Jeep.  I don't think he's spent much time in cars.  Not his favorite thing yet.

After all the walking, he's learned how to to keep a leash almost slack for nearly three seconds at a time.  Kidding aside, he did great.  After eveing potty breaks, we sat down and watched a half hour of Tivo-ed stuff while he destroyed a dental bone happily at our feet.  He's now back into the crate for the evening.  A few yips, but he's mostly cool with it. 

Something I knew:  You can walk a lab mix for two or three miles without really affecting its energy level.

Something I didn't know:  You can walk a lab mix for seven miles without really affecting its energy level.

I'm not kidding.  Four and a half this afternoon followed by 2.5 more this evening.  Here's a pic of the not so little guy.  The shelter estimated he's 10 months old.  Personally, I think he's a little bit younger...which scares the heck out of me considering his size.  It's something about the way he still pounces on bones and toys that lends the impression.

I don't know how he's going to sleep tonight, but we're not going to have a problem!

Comments

CreeperJR's picture
Submitted by CreeperJR on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 09:27
RE: the slack leash We've gone to using a product called the gentle walker. We ahve 2 hound dogs that are pretty good on a leash, but if they get a fresh secent can go beserk without notice. The wife had trouble handling themon her own when that happened. The Gentle walker is nice because it trains them not to pull. Basically, it's a harness where the leash attaches at the front of the chest. If the dog tries to pull ahead, he gets turned in the opposite direction of where he wants to go(because of where the leash attaches). It sounds like you are doing a good job settling Romeo in. He probably won't need quite this much exercise all the time; he probably had tons of adrenaline and anxiety from the new surroundings. My wife is an adoptions couselor at the local shelter, so we've got tons of resource books around here. If there are any introduction/transistion questions, she might be able to help. Shoot me a PM if you want. And thanks for adopting!
CreeperJR's picture
Submitted by CreeperJR on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 11:59
Sorry - I had the wrong name on that harness. It's called an Easy walker. The same company makes a product called a gentle leader, so I got a little confused.
CreeperJR's picture
Submitted by CreeperJR on Tue, 03/13/2007 - 11:04
Sounds like you're doign great! Congrats.
dkhodz's picture
Submitted by dkhodz on Sat, 03/17/2007 - 13:31
I guess the adoption agency didn't check your blog avatar or they might have been more hesitant in letting you get a dog. Congrats!
DeltaT's picture
Submitted by DeltaT on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 18:40
Odie is over 3 years old now and nothing slows him down he still pounces and has endless energy and is Powerfull on a leash( unless Im walking him then except for the first 10 mins Then hes cool THey LOVE FETCH FETCH FETCH FETCH..lol and then more fetch...lol
DeltaT's picture
Submitted by DeltaT on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 18:45
OH yeah, mighty good looking dog congrats on the new family member
meemoos's picture
Submitted by meemoos on Sun, 03/11/2007 - 23:14
watch the "dog whisperer" he's awesome!!!! Good luck!
J-Cat's picture
Submitted by J-Cat on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 20:26
We never played fetch with our dog: we played hockey. It's just like fetch, but you use a hockey stick to take a slapshot over the dog's head. This way you don't have to touch icky slobbery doggie balls. HA! doggie balls. Take fun avec puppy!
Kwazy's picture
Submitted by Kwazy on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 21:05
Found the Easy Walker...thanks Creeper! He's actually doing incredible on the choker. When I took him out today, he'd virtually mastered walking at my side with no tension on the lead. I think I might get one anyway as it will likely prove handy in crowds and the like. Here's a link if anyone else is interested: http://www.puplife.com/dogsupplies/easy.html
Kwazy's picture
Submitted by Kwazy on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 05:09
Yup. We caught it from time to time before. But there was a marathon on the night before we picked him up. You don't know how many times we said, "Cesar said" yesterday as we were walking him. :)

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