We took River for his first 10K hike yesterday. That's roughly 3 hours at a good pace.
After 2 hours we had to stop and rest for a while. Poor pouch was panting non-stop... then again it was pretty hot out. 10K was a bit much for me too and I enjoyed the break.
It wasn't our intention to go for that long of a hike right off the bat but we picked a new trail in Elk Island National Park and didn't check until a quarter into it what the kilometers were. Oops.
Still, River slept for the whole night for the first time since we brought him home... in the living room. Yeah, he's still pretty mad at us for having to continually put eye drops in. We can only use a trick once before he learns it. Such are the troubles with smart dogs I suppose.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Eye Infection
So River has an Eye Infection. He's not the happiest guy around right now. You can tell it itches him, because he makes a point of rubbing the left side of his face against any soft piece of furniture. D took him to the vet yesterday morning.
Apparently River freaked out when the vet went to put the eye drops in. He growled and looked aggressive; completely out of character as far as we have known him. The vet had to call two other guys into the examination room to hold River down while they gave him the drops. D told me that he wasn't looking forward to having to put drops in River's eye twice a day for the next week.
Last night was a disaster. River didn't get vicious like at the vet, but he was not happy. It felt a lot like when I had to push him into the kennel. We tried 6 times, to get the drops in. In the end we had to stop. D got so frustrated that he raised his voice at River who cowered but wouldn't come when he was called. D went to bed. River moped until I went to bed too. I had a serious case of guilt. I didn't sleep well at all last night, especially when I hear river leave our room to go sleep in the kitchen. Who was mad at who?
D leaves the house 1.5 hours before I have to get up. When I did get up, I called him and said he tried to get the drops in but he didn't try that hard. I know he feels awful for putting River through last night. I tried three times this morning.
The first was with a treat to get him to sit in front of me... I missed. The second I tried coming from behind him, but he was on to me and took off before I got close. The third time was pretty straight forward trickery. River went to lay down on his bed and I pet him. I pulled the eye dropper out and held it over his head asking him to look up. He did and drop. I got him. It didn't hurt him, he really only blinked for a minute and then looked at me with a "what the heck was that?" look. I gave him treats, and pets, and left the house feeling better because I'd given him the eye drop, but still bad cause I tricked him.
So I have learnt that getting your dog to take medication is hard. You know that they need it to get better, but they don't. You can reason with a person, but you can't with a dog. Until we make River learn that we won't do stuff that will hurt him, trickery is the only option...
... and it sucks.
Apparently River freaked out when the vet went to put the eye drops in. He growled and looked aggressive; completely out of character as far as we have known him. The vet had to call two other guys into the examination room to hold River down while they gave him the drops. D told me that he wasn't looking forward to having to put drops in River's eye twice a day for the next week.
Last night was a disaster. River didn't get vicious like at the vet, but he was not happy. It felt a lot like when I had to push him into the kennel. We tried 6 times, to get the drops in. In the end we had to stop. D got so frustrated that he raised his voice at River who cowered but wouldn't come when he was called. D went to bed. River moped until I went to bed too. I had a serious case of guilt. I didn't sleep well at all last night, especially when I hear river leave our room to go sleep in the kitchen. Who was mad at who?
D leaves the house 1.5 hours before I have to get up. When I did get up, I called him and said he tried to get the drops in but he didn't try that hard. I know he feels awful for putting River through last night. I tried three times this morning.
The first was with a treat to get him to sit in front of me... I missed. The second I tried coming from behind him, but he was on to me and took off before I got close. The third time was pretty straight forward trickery. River went to lay down on his bed and I pet him. I pulled the eye dropper out and held it over his head asking him to look up. He did and drop. I got him. It didn't hurt him, he really only blinked for a minute and then looked at me with a "what the heck was that?" look. I gave him treats, and pets, and left the house feeling better because I'd given him the eye drop, but still bad cause I tricked him.
So I have learnt that getting your dog to take medication is hard. You know that they need it to get better, but they don't. You can reason with a person, but you can't with a dog. Until we make River learn that we won't do stuff that will hurt him, trickery is the only option...
... and it sucks.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Day Three - Stuffies
River has discovered stuffies. The soft teddy bear like toys that sometimes make noise when you squeeze them.
Last night D and I were trying to get River to play in the front yard. He hasn't seemed that interested since we brought him home, I was starting to wondered if he knew how to play.
D bought a stuffy that looks like a duck and quacks like one too. River would wag his tail when D made the duck quack but that was about it. Until last night.
D put the duck on Rivers back and started squeezing it so it would make noise. After a few moments, River turned around and grabbed the duck.... and then proved that he knew how play a little.
River would chew on the duck, making it quack in his mouth. He would even roll over onto his back as if he could get better grip on the toy that way. D pretended to come up beside River as if to take away the duck. River bounced away like a rabbit, 3 or 4 huge pounces, before turning around and running straight at D and head bunted him. Then river would go back to chewing the duck. They did this for about 15 minutes, and D got knocked over quite a few times. I have some pictures, but unfortunatly they just don't convey how funny it was.
When he was done though, he was done. And no matter how much D squeezed the duck River was no longer interested. The duck isn't even that damaged.
Things are getting better, he seems to be coming out of his shell. Now if only we could figure out what's wrong with his eye...
Last night D and I were trying to get River to play in the front yard. He hasn't seemed that interested since we brought him home, I was starting to wondered if he knew how to play.
D bought a stuffy that looks like a duck and quacks like one too. River would wag his tail when D made the duck quack but that was about it. Until last night.
D put the duck on Rivers back and started squeezing it so it would make noise. After a few moments, River turned around and grabbed the duck.... and then proved that he knew how play a little.
River would chew on the duck, making it quack in his mouth. He would even roll over onto his back as if he could get better grip on the toy that way. D pretended to come up beside River as if to take away the duck. River bounced away like a rabbit, 3 or 4 huge pounces, before turning around and running straight at D and head bunted him. Then river would go back to chewing the duck. They did this for about 15 minutes, and D got knocked over quite a few times. I have some pictures, but unfortunatly they just don't convey how funny it was.
When he was done though, he was done. And no matter how much D squeezed the duck River was no longer interested. The duck isn't even that damaged.
Things are getting better, he seems to be coming out of his shell. Now if only we could figure out what's wrong with his eye...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Kennel Troubles
The day we picked River up, his foster mom told us that she put him in a kennel at night, but warned us that he didn't like it. So we went and bought a kennel.
That first night with us, we wanted him to feel comfortable so we didn't put him in a kennel. River was happy to curl up underneath D's bedside table.
Monday, the first day away from him for 8 hours, we put him in a kennel in our bedroom.... or I should say I did because D leaves for work at 5:00am. River fought me the whole way in.
I made the mistake of coming home at lunch to let him out to go pee (mistake because of what happened not because I let him pee). When I had to put him back in the kennel, he freaked out and fought me harder than he did the first time. He didn't bark, he only cried a little, but you could tell he hated the kennel. I felt awful about doing it, but I pushed him in and went back to work.
That night when we were going to bed, we tried to call him into the bedroom. He knew that was were the kennel was, and wouldn't even come into the hallway. He was so scared to come to us he sat down by the front door and wouldn't move. I felt worse if that's possible.
We picked up a baby gate and kept River in the kitchen that night.
I threw the kennel into the basement... when River wasn't looking.
I guess crate training is out of the question. I just can't stand the guilt. From now on, he stays in the kitchen during the day. He doesn't hate me quite as much anymore.
Last night, he felt comfortable enough to come and sleep in the bedroom again, but we let him do it on his own terms. We put the baby gate up so it blocked the living room and closed all the other doors. This meant he could sleep in the kitchen or walk down the hallway to our bedroom.
Can you tell we are new at this?
That first night with us, we wanted him to feel comfortable so we didn't put him in a kennel. River was happy to curl up underneath D's bedside table.
Monday, the first day away from him for 8 hours, we put him in a kennel in our bedroom.... or I should say I did because D leaves for work at 5:00am. River fought me the whole way in.
I made the mistake of coming home at lunch to let him out to go pee (mistake because of what happened not because I let him pee). When I had to put him back in the kennel, he freaked out and fought me harder than he did the first time. He didn't bark, he only cried a little, but you could tell he hated the kennel. I felt awful about doing it, but I pushed him in and went back to work.
That night when we were going to bed, we tried to call him into the bedroom. He knew that was were the kennel was, and wouldn't even come into the hallway. He was so scared to come to us he sat down by the front door and wouldn't move. I felt worse if that's possible.
We picked up a baby gate and kept River in the kitchen that night.
I threw the kennel into the basement... when River wasn't looking.
I guess crate training is out of the question. I just can't stand the guilt. From now on, he stays in the kitchen during the day. He doesn't hate me quite as much anymore.
Last night, he felt comfortable enough to come and sleep in the bedroom again, but we let him do it on his own terms. We put the baby gate up so it blocked the living room and closed all the other doors. This meant he could sleep in the kitchen or walk down the hallway to our bedroom.
Can you tell we are new at this?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Puppy Mommy
It official... I'm a puppy mommy.
River is a wonderful addition to our family, even if he is incredibly timid and shy. River is a Border Collie cross, although he looks like a larger version of a pure bred Collie.
HIS STORY:
He was found at the Westlock Vet clinic as a stray. They took him in, fed him, and waited for someone to claim him. No one did. The vet clinic can only keep dogs for so long before they have to put them down. Luckily, Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCARS) picked him up and took him to a foster home while they waited for someone to adopt him. This was July12.
One week later, on July 19, my fiancé "D" and I went to a meet and greet with some of the animals up for adoption with SCARS. River (formerly Mario) was quiet, hanging back from everyone else. He didn't even catch our attention until one of the ladies pointed him out.
We walked him around the store, pet him, and generally hung out. River just let us do what we wanted. He listened to our commands, even if he only understood half of them, and was very well behaved. When other dogs were aggressive against him, he just turned and walked away as if he was no longer interested in where he was sitting. We think he may have been abused before he became a stray. One of the ladies was feeding him treats raised her hand too quickly and River dropped to the floor and shook like a leaf for a few moments until we all reassured him that everything was fine. He was an interesting dog.
We put in an application and slept on it. It is a big decision. By morning, we both knew that we needed to give this dog a forever home. We picked River up from the foster home on July 20 at 6:30pm. He is just as timid and shy as we saw at the meet and greet, but I'm confident that he will open up when he realizes that this is his house and that no one will hurt him here.
I'll keep you posted on his progress.
Tina Hunter
River is a wonderful addition to our family, even if he is incredibly timid and shy. River is a Border Collie cross, although he looks like a larger version of a pure bred Collie.
HIS STORY:
He was found at the Westlock Vet clinic as a stray. They took him in, fed him, and waited for someone to claim him. No one did. The vet clinic can only keep dogs for so long before they have to put them down. Luckily, Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCARS) picked him up and took him to a foster home while they waited for someone to adopt him. This was July12.
One week later, on July 19, my fiancé "D" and I went to a meet and greet with some of the animals up for adoption with SCARS. River (formerly Mario) was quiet, hanging back from everyone else. He didn't even catch our attention until one of the ladies pointed him out.
We walked him around the store, pet him, and generally hung out. River just let us do what we wanted. He listened to our commands, even if he only understood half of them, and was very well behaved. When other dogs were aggressive against him, he just turned and walked away as if he was no longer interested in where he was sitting. We think he may have been abused before he became a stray. One of the ladies was feeding him treats raised her hand too quickly and River dropped to the floor and shook like a leaf for a few moments until we all reassured him that everything was fine. He was an interesting dog.
We put in an application and slept on it. It is a big decision. By morning, we both knew that we needed to give this dog a forever home. We picked River up from the foster home on July 20 at 6:30pm. He is just as timid and shy as we saw at the meet and greet, but I'm confident that he will open up when he realizes that this is his house and that no one will hurt him here.
I'll keep you posted on his progress.
Tina Hunter
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