A Whole New You

Today, Dash finally got his visit to the groomers. They said that his fur was badly matted and they had to cut it very short to get all of the matting out. So right now, with his long legs and skinny frame, he looks somewhat like a baby deer from the side. They gave him a smooth face too, so now we know where his chin is. I wonder if he's suffering from an identity crisis?

What's really kind of funny is that our old beagle seems to feel sorry for him - up til now he's been considering Dash a somewhat annoying interloper - but since arriving home from the groomer, Snoopy has been extremely kind and curious. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, as I know the beagle understands more through his nose and ears than he does through his eyes, but there it is. Of course, the puppy probably smells very different (clean, and a lot less like the animal shelter) too, which could explain the new approach from the old dog.

Day 3: Play With Me!

Giving us a Dashing smile...

Sunny summer Saturday made it a perfect day to spend lots of time outside on the leash, trying to figure out what it is Mom wants you to do out there. And yes, he finally did figure it out on our fifth walk of the day. What was that the doctor said about taking it easy for a few days? The people from his past life said that they never really took him for walks.. but this is a guy who loves to get around! We also tried our hand at a few games of fetch. Unfortunately, another concept that seems completely foreign to him. I would throw the toy and he would enthusiastically run after and attack it. Then he'd come back to me, tail wagging, leaving the toy behind in the grass. Maybe it's a different game.. "Mom Does the Fetching". They say that poodles are highly intelligent animals. My son suggests that he may be too smart to fetch.
We had fun today, but I fear that he's going to be pretty bummed when we all go back to school and he's stuck home in a crate all day. On the other hand, he's so good sitting at our feet while any of us are at the desk.. I'm wondering if they'll let my daughter just bring him to school with her? (Wouldn't they love that?) Really, she finds him very therapeutic, and I'll write some more about that tomorrow or the next day.

Tempting!

Hmm, should I buy one? This is Bruiser's Cruiser from Legally Blonde. I really don't want to carry my teeny weeny doggy around in a handbag like a Stupid Girl, but I do need to go out this morning and have to either have the dog tethered to me or in his crate until he learns about where the doody goes.
(If you're reading this and you don't know me: This is a joke.)

Day 2: Soiler Warning!

Yesterday was a bad day for Dash's tummy, when we picked him up from the shelter he had yucky nasty doggy diarrhea - the woman there suggested it could be from the neutering operation or from the de-wormer they gave him, or the stress of not eating very much the past few days. Whatever the reason, it was really gross. If you've ever seen a poodle, you know how hairy they are.. and to make matters worse, due to his operation, we can't bathe him for a week. Shelter lady said, "Do your best to clean him up without bathing him..." Yeah.. good luck with that. Poor puppy was running scared every time he saw a washcloth in my hands.
This morning I called my vet to see about setting up a first visit, and they were able to fit us in today. When she saw his bottom, she decided to have one of the technicians shave the hair in that area so that it would be easier to clean up. She gave him a medication to take twice daily for the next week hopefully to clear up whatever was bothering his tummy, gave us some medicine, some advice and sent us on our way. Oh, yeah, she also said we really hit the jackpot at the animal shelter - apparently they don't get toy poodles there on a very regular basis.
Today started in the same way it does for many new pet owners - cleaning up the spot on the carpet where our new friend has soiled. We knew when we got Dash that one of the big challenges we were going to face was the housebreaking. He is nearly 9 months old but has not been fully trained. We're pretty sure this in one of the major reasons his original family gave him up.
"But," confident me says, "I have a little more than two weeks before I have to go back to work! I will use this time to teach Dash how dogs use the outside world as a great big toilet! It will be fun, fulfilling and make me feel as if I did something worthwhile with my summer vacation!" So, I spent a lot of the day encouraging Dash to go forth and fertilize. He loves, loves, loves going out on his leash but mostly he just wants to run around and explore the world. This might be a little harder than I think..

Homecoming Day

Today we brought home our newest family member. Dash was adopted from the Humane Society shelter in our town. He's a miniature or toy poodle mix, 8 months old - at the moment it's hard to tell exactly how big he is or how big he will grow because he is a hairy beast! I'm sure we'll get a better look at him after he sees the groomer next week.
The past few days have been difficult for little Dash. His family felt he needed more attention than they could give him, so they decided to give him up. Certainly they assumed he would be snapped up right away by a loving family, as he is a tiny and adorable poodle pup. (It's really the bigger hounds and pit bulls that the shelter has more trouble finding families to fit. ) And they were right, we were there first thing in the morning on Tuesday, bringing our older beagle to see if they would make a connection or play together. We took to him right away and decided that he could be our new pal. Unfortunately, there were a few procedures he had to endure at the shelter before he could come home. Specifically, they had to neuter and de-worm him, so he had to stay at the shelter for a couple more days.
He was finally able to come home with us today, but he is not feeling very lively - his stitches hurt where he lost his manhood before he could even begin to enjoy it.. and his tummy doesn't feel so good from the de-worming medication. So he has been pretty chill today, so far - prefering to curl up on the floor by my feet as I type online. Occasionally popping up to follow Snoopy around, but he doesn't really have his heart in it.

We're beginning to think that Dash is not quite the name for our puppy. My daughter thinks he might be better described as "Spud" because he's a couch potato and because he is about the color of Idaho's biggest export. I told her maybe they called him Dash because he isn't ever going to be as big as a sentence, just a little - Dash!

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