Week One in Review
Has it really only been one week? Oh boy. Roxy is settling in nicely. She's keeping me on my toes and challenging me to "hear" the world as she does. First a few observations;
- She jumps up every time I move. I'm not sure if it's because she's afraid I'll leave or if it's simply a way she's adapted to being deaf. She's almost always touching me in some way. Lays next to me on the sofa or chair with her paw on me, or her body leaning on me. If I'm at my desk, she lays on my feet - keeps them toasty warm...Thanks Roxy! So, when I make the slightest move, she hops to her feet to follow me - even when I'm not going anywhere.She can be sound asleep and I lean forward to get my glass of water from the coffee table, and she'll jump up. LOL I wish I could just say, "Relax, I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." But for now, it just seems like this is what she needs to do.
- No matter what door I leave from, she lays down with her back touching the door, to wait for me. That might be the back door, the bathroom door, or the bedroom door. Doesn't matter. She's always going to know the second I come back.
- Not having her hearing means that unlike my hearing dog, Togo (husky/retriever mix), she doesn't have the benefit of knowing where I am in the house through passive listening. So, she doesn't hear the water running when I am getting in the shower, or the pans clinking in the kitchen, or me walking about the house. On occasion she's fallen asleep on the floor. When she awakens with a start, she immediately goes to the most likely places I will be - the kitchen (who knew?), the sofa, and then quickly surveys the rest of the house until she finds me. Once she finds me, you can just see the relief on her little puppy face.
As I begin this blog, I think I'll write about the week's challenges and celebrations. And even though it's only been a week, I've got a lot to report! These weekly reports will be an overview. If I want to share more about something, I'll write a separate blog post about it. So, here goes...
Celebrations
1. Training
Roxy came to me knowing a few hand signals. She knew sit, good girl, come, and no. I'm not sure how consistent her response to the signs was, but I can tell that she knows them. So, I started out the first few days just reviewing the signs and working on getting them more solid. She went from probably responding to "sit" probably 30% of the time. It's a good, solid 90% of the time now. Lots and lots of treats were given!
2. Recall Work
I'm scared to death that she'll get away from me. So, after a few days of settling in, I began working on recall. What that means to me is that I want her to check in with me very, very often. We work on this during walks around the neighborhood. Basically, I gave her a treat whenever she looked at me and whenever she felt me tug on her leash and responded by looking at me. She understood immediately what she was getting the treat for. The second day, I was curious if she'd remember. She did! In fact she came back so often that it was hard for me to get a few steps in. So, I started using a new sign. I used the sign for "OK" and then with the pointer finger of the "K" I enthusiastically pointed forward. Meaning: You checked in with me, good job. It's OK to keep going now." I didn't give her kibble each time, but sporadic. She still kept checking in. I work on this every day. Obviously if she ever gets loose, I won't be able to call her. I will probably use a vibration collar at some point, but for now, I just want to teach this one very important skill.
3. Roxy loves people. She wants to be with people. She spends a few minutes being very excited but is able to settle down pretty quickly.
Challenges:
1. Dominance issues
I've never had two dogs before. And my old girl, Togo was my very first dog ever! So, she's been in a single doggy home for 10+ years. I didn't know what to expect. My son, Caleb and I introduced them thoughtfully. They met in the backyard and then we immediately took them for a walk. Even with everything done as I'd heard it should be, there's just no short cut to them working out who will dominate and what their relationship will look like. Let's face it, Roxy is a toddler and Togo is an 80-year old who kinda likes kids but really doesn't want to be bumped and run into, and pounced on 24/7. Dog people keep telling me it will get better and they did play in the yard a few times together. But this continues to be a concern for me. I had no idea how responsible I'd feel for both of them - for their happiness. It's hard to let the dogs be dogs and figure it out!
2. Gastrointestinal Fortitude (or lack-there-of)
(Yes, I'm getting graphic about my dog's poo!) I walked away from Double J Dog Ranch with all the information I could imagine needing about her. She rode great in the car for our 3-hour trip home - except for one thing. Gas! This puppy is a very gassy girl! Holy cow! The smell just about took our heads off. And she always seemed to have her head in my lap and her rump aimed toward my son! Poor Caleb! When we got home and I observed her bowel movements, they were very loose. She pooped 5-7 times each time, while Togo poo'd only once. I learned that stress can cause this. Good news is she was completely house trained so no messes in the house.
3. Two-Dog Walking
I research things to pieces. That's just me. I read that having the two dogs walk together would help them bond. Since dogs are pack animals, walking together is a natural thing to do. The first day, my son walked one dog, and I had the leash to the other. It worked fine. The second day, I did it alone and it was a bit challenging, but we did it. The third day was terrible. They got tangled up in each other's leashes and I couldn't get them under control. I made a decision then and there - until I have a better handle on Roxy and a good communication system with her, I won't walk them together again. I've switched to walking them separately for now.
So, that's really not bad for week one.
Karen and Roxy (Woof!)
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