Day One

An early morning update.....
(if you haven't looked at it, be sure to check the earlier post with photos, below)



Last night was a challenge, to say the least!


Mister No Name (yet) was having some trouble figuring out the new home, as would be expected. As you see from those photos, I let him sleep with us on the bed. I debated about the "common sense" of putting him in the kennel, but I want him to understand that he is no longer a confined animal, but a treasured pet. So I risked it.

I put papers down by the back door, having no idea if he had any concept what it was for. His roaming was limited to the bedroom and the laundry room where the back door is located. The food and water dishes are in the pantry/laundry room area, so he could eat some dry food and have a drink. I didn't know if that would be a mistake either. This morning, it appeared that it was all OK. There was a poop on the paper, and one tiny one on the tile, almost as if he wasn't sure. I've found no wet spots on the carpet. I'm guessing we are going to be fine with a few to-be-expected oopsies along the way.

Little Guy was enthralled with the ability to come and go from the bed. Oh, gawd, was he enthralled! Up and down, down and up, every couple minutes for the first couple hours! Ali and China were trying to settle down, and obviously The Boy, with his youthful energy, was wound up, excited, and apparently rested from the lengthy sleeping during the travel! As I've mentioned, he likes to be close to the other animals, so he would run up onto the bed and more or less plop down beside one of them, and he'd get a "yip, yip, grrr." Two septuagenarians, in dog years, are going to have a bit of adjustment to life with an apparent teenager or young adult with more energy than they can even remember! But as long as he doesn't bump them or disturb them in some way, they seem fine. The worst is that they look at him like, "Kids, hrumph."

Ali did have to make sure when we got in the house to let The New Guy know who is boss here, as if the pecking order changed because we came into the house. A couple of woofs here and a few quiet "grrruffs" there, and it seemed to be settled.

In the process of the adjustments, Our New Friend discovered that when he sits at the foot of the bed he can see things in the dressing mirror. I have no idea what he was seeing. It was not immediately apparent to me what he saw. I sat where he did, and I saw nothing that was providing movement or other entertainment; yet he sat there and woofed off and on for a couple hours!! It wasn't a loud woof, but enough to be disturbing. I have a night light, and it seems to give enough light to keep him occupied!! Occasionally he would get down from the bed, to investigate it, I suppose, then back up on the bed, to woof some more. When he would come back to the bed, he would usually bump or irritate Ali or China, so there would be a little verbal rumble, and The Kid would mellow out. At least for a few moments!


This went on off and on until something after 2:00. We "older creatures" were wakened off and on, dozed off and wakened again. But after that time, we all slept through the night. Some time in the night he brought one of Ali's chew toys onto the bed, so I'm thinking he has played with them somewhere before. And last night he was doing that playful jumping (slapping his front pawn down on the floor, landing with head and front paws down on the floor with the rear end up), giving me the hint of his wish to be part of our pack and a happiness that hasn't been squashed.


This morning, all seems to be well. New Boy is sleeping comfortably without having to be touching one of the other dogs. He went outside and peed, although he dribbled when I picked him up. He is still cautious about me. I can't say he seems to fear me, but he isn't finished assessing me. I don't blame him. I try to pick him up in non stressful moments, so he doesn't feel fear when I have to chase him down. He does not come to me yet.

But when he can, he still sneaks over close!

We have work to do. I'm sure it includes some house training, definitely leash walking, and surely some social skills. I'll be spending this weekend addressing these, and I hope that by next week I'll be able to determine where we stand. I am absolutely sure he belongs with our family, and for that I am glad. He is a new spark of life that, while sometimes aggravating to the older members of the family, is still a new, happy piece of us! We needed him as much as he did us. :')

He hasn't adjusted to our cooler climate and his new haircut. He was shivering, so I laid an afghan over him. How sweet is that?