DAKOTA UPDATE
Happiness is spelled D A K O T A! It hardly seems possible that this wonderful creature has been with us six months. We are one big happy family. Dakota has managed in that short time to take over our lives and pretty much has things ‘his way.’
Mom has turned into a softie and passed up her long time established ways of managing a dog’s life. Dakota has showed me new ways of how to do things. And they are so much fun.
He loves the outdoors especially when it gets cold..the colder it is the more he loves it. He’s learned to haul his Christmas teddy bear around everywhere and, should he forget to bring it in, he takes great delight in turning around and running back to get it. Sometimes we think he does that just so he can fly off of the deck and hit the snow again.
His bed remains in the corner of the bedroom where he thought it was ‘just perfect’ and he’s traded it for the king-sized bed. Since he is a king-sized dog, we are left with precious little space to sleep. Because of his hip problems, it takes him a while during the night to turn himself around, but when he does, he is aligned up and down the side of my husband’s leg. And how he loves that.
He used to get up when I got up in the wee hours of the morning, but no longer. He has trained me to come sit down on the bed next to him and we have our first ‘love-in’ of the day. He loves the scratching and massages as it’s such a great way to wake up. Once he’s had enough, he hops down on the foot stool we have for him and sits there for more wake up scratching. Then he hops down and is ready to head downstairs, pounce on his teddy bear and head outside no matter how cold it is.
After his breakfast he and I head into the family room to read the paper. Oh yes, he goes to get the paper on the front porch with me too. Then he curls up in front of the fireplace and warms up and gets some additional zzzzzzzzs.
We’ve gotten almost halfway through the thunder desensitization program. So far, it hasn’t fazed him. He sleeps right though it all. I’m betting he won’t be bothered by any of it even to the end. This has got me to thinking about what I’m going to do when the spring storms hit. Of course, there is always the chance that he won’t have a problem now that he’s settled in with us, but that’s a long shot. He loves his Kennel Calm CD and we are preparing to play that anywhere in the house and see if that helps. Only time will tell.
How I’ve managed not to trip over him in the kitchen is amazing. He trusts me no matter what I do. He doesn’t follow me around nearly as much and at times won’t even bother to get up if he’s feeling lazy. Other times if my husband lets him in the house or whatever, he races around to find me. But my other dogs did that too. After all mom is in charge of the food.
He’s not fond of grooming but tolerates it pretty well. Nails are a problem just like the other dogs, but he’s more tolerant. Soon it will be full bath time and that should prove interesting. I’ve been busy trying to figure out which heartworm medicine I’m going to use.
He has taken to a tennis ball once in a while and likes to chase it down the hall at times. He also considers himself guardian of the home front and let out his second alert last week.
What a delightful companion. We still call him Chaucie but he doesn’t seem to mind. He loves his lunch with my husband – yogurt with a dusting of treat pieces on top. He knows most of the routines around the house now. He is an extremely intelligent dog. His vocabulary continues to increase. I find he knows more obedience commands than I first thought. He chases his rabbit out of the yard but only half-heartedly. He loves to ride in the car and takes in everything in sight. He now has managed to find a way to lick the plates after some meals.
We are a happy Forever Family and enjoy new experiences along the way. He accepts our elderly ways and adjusts to them whenever it is necessary. I look forward to the warm spring mornings when I can sit out on the deck with him and watch the day begin.
Mom has turned into a softie and passed up her long time established ways of managing a dog’s life. Dakota has showed me new ways of how to do things. And they are so much fun.
He loves the outdoors especially when it gets cold..the colder it is the more he loves it. He’s learned to haul his Christmas teddy bear around everywhere and, should he forget to bring it in, he takes great delight in turning around and running back to get it. Sometimes we think he does that just so he can fly off of the deck and hit the snow again.
His bed remains in the corner of the bedroom where he thought it was ‘just perfect’ and he’s traded it for the king-sized bed. Since he is a king-sized dog, we are left with precious little space to sleep. Because of his hip problems, it takes him a while during the night to turn himself around, but when he does, he is aligned up and down the side of my husband’s leg. And how he loves that.
He used to get up when I got up in the wee hours of the morning, but no longer. He has trained me to come sit down on the bed next to him and we have our first ‘love-in’ of the day. He loves the scratching and massages as it’s such a great way to wake up. Once he’s had enough, he hops down on the foot stool we have for him and sits there for more wake up scratching. Then he hops down and is ready to head downstairs, pounce on his teddy bear and head outside no matter how cold it is.
After his breakfast he and I head into the family room to read the paper. Oh yes, he goes to get the paper on the front porch with me too. Then he curls up in front of the fireplace and warms up and gets some additional zzzzzzzzs.
We’ve gotten almost halfway through the thunder desensitization program. So far, it hasn’t fazed him. He sleeps right though it all. I’m betting he won’t be bothered by any of it even to the end. This has got me to thinking about what I’m going to do when the spring storms hit. Of course, there is always the chance that he won’t have a problem now that he’s settled in with us, but that’s a long shot. He loves his Kennel Calm CD and we are preparing to play that anywhere in the house and see if that helps. Only time will tell.
How I’ve managed not to trip over him in the kitchen is amazing. He trusts me no matter what I do. He doesn’t follow me around nearly as much and at times won’t even bother to get up if he’s feeling lazy. Other times if my husband lets him in the house or whatever, he races around to find me. But my other dogs did that too. After all mom is in charge of the food.
He’s not fond of grooming but tolerates it pretty well. Nails are a problem just like the other dogs, but he’s more tolerant. Soon it will be full bath time and that should prove interesting. I’ve been busy trying to figure out which heartworm medicine I’m going to use.
He has taken to a tennis ball once in a while and likes to chase it down the hall at times. He also considers himself guardian of the home front and let out his second alert last week.
What a delightful companion. We still call him Chaucie but he doesn’t seem to mind. He loves his lunch with my husband – yogurt with a dusting of treat pieces on top. He knows most of the routines around the house now. He is an extremely intelligent dog. His vocabulary continues to increase. I find he knows more obedience commands than I first thought. He chases his rabbit out of the yard but only half-heartedly. He loves to ride in the car and takes in everything in sight. He now has managed to find a way to lick the plates after some meals.
We are a happy Forever Family and enjoy new experiences along the way. He accepts our elderly ways and adjusts to them whenever it is necessary. I look forward to the warm spring mornings when I can sit out on the deck with him and watch the day begin.
posted by Katie | 1:56 PM
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