Well, after envying Lindsay as well as Ace’s connection for rather a while now (and every other human-dog bond for that matter) – I have lastly taken the plunge as well as embraced one more dog!
It was a difficulty to get to this point, however we are so pleased that we have done it! Our 16-year-old pound hound passed away about two years ago, as well as it took a long time to get over it.
More recently, our wonderful 3-year-old feline Inso (who believed he was a dog) suddenly died from cancer. despite still having a 16-year-old Russian blue feline as well as two rescued alley cats in the house, all the life as well as energy seemed to be gone. The old feline is just that, old.
Sure, he walks on his leash as well as is extremely well behaved however is not so lively in his old age. He’ll want interest however mainly wishes to nap.
I was trolling the rescue ads as I commonly do (since I miss having a dog in the house) as well as came across a truly special guy. I sent the ad to my husband, as well as we couldn’t get him out of our heads.
I contacted his foster household as well as asked if he was still around. sure sufficient – he was.
And now, may I introduce Gustav the bloodhound. His name is really Gus, however Gustav seems so much more regal!
He is remarkable as well as everybody who satisfies him falls in love. Besides bragging about my excellent new addition, I believed I would take this chance to reiterate what we’ve checked out on this blog many times as well as throw in a few of my own tips:
Know the breed you are getting yourself into!
Gus is a bloodhound. He is stubborn. He drools. He smells “like dog” (not overpowering, however that “dog smell”).
This guy has big, floppy ears that requirement to be kept clean or else an infection might set in. He is likewise 110+ pounds as well as not the dog that just anyone should attempt to have. Conversely, he is the sweetest, most nonviolent dog ever.
He won’t assault you, children, or other animals. The point: if you can’t offer with the idiosyncrasies of the breed – don’t get it! This bad guy was dropped off at the shelter, adopted, returned, embraced again, returned once again as well as then saved by his foster family.
We are at least the fifth household he has been with as well as quote that he is about 3-4 years old. No dog deserves this. If you are going to embrace a dog, make sure you understand what you are getting into. animals are not disposable. Don’t be selfish with your choice.
If you want a dog to just sit there as well as not requirement any type of interest up until you are ready, then you should most likely not get a dog at all.
Uppsatta mål!
Gus is about 10-15 pounds overweight. This is partly because of his lazy bloodhound nature. I have two main goals/challenges that I am undertaking to battle this.
First, I walk him every morning right when I wake up. This is not a issue since I utilized to get up as well as get on my elliptical fitness instructor or stationary bike for 30-45 minutes to get up each day.
He’s a vigorous walker, which works perfect for me. We are on our second week as well as have not missed a morning. He does get walks at least two other times in the day so far as well.
Second, I bought him a dog pack (like a saddlebag). This will assist him lose the weight as well as provide him a task to do where he feels responsible. He is trying to get accustomed to it now. It is truly entertaining at first, as well as he acts like he can’t walk. It isn’t tight as well as doesn’t hurt, he’s just stubborn.
He’s getting much better, as well as we walk with it on him every morning. I keep a collapsible water bowl, refillable water bottles, a drool rag, doo-doo bags, treats, wipes as well as doggie cologne in his bag.
Speaking of goals, handle a little bit at a time.
I have other future goals for Gus however am not going to burden either of us keeping that pressure yet. when we have the walk as well as using a pack as a routine, I’ll introduce other enrichment behaviors as well as activities for him.
Realize your cars and truck will now belong to the dog if you take him places.
We have two cars, fortunately. We have set up one with the back seat completely covered in sheets as well as towels for Gus to lie as well as drool as he sees fit. when you do this as well as let the dog have the domain, move on. This is part of having a dog.
We constantly clean the sheets as well as towels as well as wipe up the drool, however do so happily since we are so pleased to have him in our lives.
Be the pack leader!
There is no reason to be mean or overbearing to a new dog, however set limitations early. particularly with my Gus, he likes to see what he can get away with. His fOster -hushållet var fantastiskt och satte honom med lite träning så han förstår “nej” såväl som något annat beteende.
Jag kräver att fortsätta arbeta med dessa med honom så att han inte glömmer.
Återigen, att vara paketledare betyder inte att du måste skrika eller få din hund att känna sig dålig. Som Lindsay har förklarat tidigare, att ringa din hund såväl som att skrika inte fungerar. Gus kan prova vårt tålamod men vi håller oss lugna och få honom att samarbeta.
Vi ropar inte eller skäller. Om du nöjde honom skulle du förstå det! Han är den sötaste killen någonsin.
Lyckligtvis online online i ett extremt hundvänligt område. Det finns en mängd platser som vi kan ta Gus i Los Angeles, liksom han är extremt mjuk runt andra hundar att starta.
Under helgen tog vi honom till Venedigs strandpromenad och kanske knappt skulle komma med publiken. Alla ville husdjur och prata med honom. Han åt upp det! Vi har inte många blodhundar i den här delen av landet, så han är ganska framträdande sedan det såväl som hans underbara uppförande.
Nedersta raden, att lägga till en ny hund till hushållet är ett äkta ansvar.
Ta på det (och ta det på allvar) såväl som du får mer belöning tillbaka än du någonsin har lagt in. Jag kommer att komponera om hans utveckling än en gång såväl som exakt hur hans mål kommer med (så länge Lindsay kommer ta mig). Förutom ja, är han kastrerad, så mycket som datum med sina bilder såväl som licensierade.
Vår 16-åriga katt är oerhört glad att ha en hund i hemmet igen, men de två räddningarna var vid allra första specifika att han är instrumentet för deras bortgång. Min andra hälft arbetar ständigt med dem såväl som de börjar hitta runt.
Jag vill särskilt säga tack till Lindsay för att ha hållit dessa ämnen framför mitt minne på den här bloggen.
Tack på samma sätt för att du gjorde det möjligt för mig att publicera om mina underbara kompisdjur. Jag kommer att kommentera från och med nu om min Gus istället för vad jag använde för att göra med min gamla tjej, MOCA. Tja, jag kan inte helt misslyckas med att komma ihåg henne …
Apryl Delancey är en infödd i Los Angeles såväl som sportfanatiker som bevarar en blogg som heter “Women Like Sports.” Nästan varje sport du kan tro på är täckt, så stanna för en se någon gång! Åh – liksom snälla, för att parafrasera Bob Barker, kommer inte att komma ihåg att spaya såväl som att kasta dina kompisdjur!
Kolla in Gus avkopplande i hans nya hem.