A new addition
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.
Gestelde doelen!
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 huishouden was geweldig en bracht hem op een training, dus hij begrijpt “nee” en andere gedragingen.
Ik moet met hem blijven werken, zodat hij het niet vergeet.
Nogmaals, het zijn van de pack -leider betekent niet dat je moet schreeuwen of je hond slecht moet laten voelen. Zoals Lindsay eerder heeft uitgelegd, werkt uw hond om en dan te schreeuwen niet. Gus kan ons geduld proberen, maar we blijven kalm en laten hem samenwerken.
We schreeuwen of schelden niet. Als je hem tevreden stelde, zou je dat begrijpen! Hij is de liefste man ooit.
Gelukkig heb ik online in een extreem hondenvriendelijk gebied. Er zijn een veelheid aan locaties die we Gus kunnen nemen in Los Angeles, en hij is extreem zacht rond andere honden om op te starten.
In het weekend namen we hem mee naar de Boardwalk van Venetië en zouden we nauwelijks bij de menigte kunnen komen. Iedereen wilde zowel met hem en met hem praten. Hij at het op! We hebben niet veel bloedhonden in dit deel van het land, dus hij is nogal prominent sindsdien, evenals zijn prachtige houding.
Kortom, het toevoegen van een nieuwe hond aan het huishouden is een echte verantwoordelijkheid.
Neem dat op (en neem het serieus) en je krijgt meer beloning terug dan je ooit hebt gedaan. Ik zal opnieuw samenstellen over zijn ontwikkeling, evenals precies hoe zijn doelen komen (zolang Lindsay dat zal doen heb mij). Naast ja, is hij castreerd, net zo goed als zijn schoten en gelicentieerd.
Onze 16-jarige katachtige is buitengewoon blij om weer een hond in het huis te hebben, maar de twee reddingen waren op de eerste plaats dat hij het instrument van hun ondergang is. Mijn andere helft werkt constant met hen samen en beginnen ze rond te vinden.
Ik wil vooral Lindsay bedanken voor het houden van deze onderwerpen voor mijn geheugen op deze blog.
Dank je ook dat je me in staat hebt gesteld om te publiceren over het leven van mijn geweldige buddy -dieren. Ik zal vanaf nu commentaar geven op mijn GUS in plaats van wat ik gebruikte met mijn oude meisje, Moca. Nou, ik kan me niet helemaal niet herinneren over haar …
Apryl Delancey is zowel een inwoner van Los Angeles als sportfanaat die een blog bewaart genaamd ‘Women Like Sports’. Zowat elke sport waarover je kunt geloven is bedekt, dus kom eens langs voor een tijd! Oh – evenals alstublieft, om Bob Barker te parafraseren, moet u niet onthouden om te castreren en uw buddy -dieren te castreren!
Bekijk Gus ontspannen in zijn nieuwe huis.