Night Run

A few nights ago Jackie and I took the dogs for a walk before going to bed. As we were walking in the dark, because our apartment complex never replaces light bulbs for the flood lights, a cat was hit by the moon light. At that moment Ruby happened to be looking in that direction and reacted. Jerking my arm,causing me to release the leash, Ruby broke away and bolted to the cat. Being that cat's see better at night than dogs, not the best idea. The cat went straight for the wooded area, also completely dark. A black dog heading for the dark woods at night is not my ideal way to conclude my evening.

But there I was, and my choices were: a) Hope Ruby would come back when called, b)Figure she'd find her way home sooner or later and go back inside, c) Run to the edge of the woods and call for Ruby, d) hall ass after her into the woods. I did not recount the choices I had until the morning after, at that moment there was no choice. Hall ass in there after her. I managed to end up with my leg tangled in what I am now finding out was poison ivy, and get clocked in the head with a branch. As I hit the ground when the ivy nabbed my leg, Ruby turned around and saw me. At that point she saw what had happened, came back to me and rolled over looking to be pet.

I went to bed that night debating how different things would have been if I had gone with any other option, and how happy I was I ran after Ruby... and then I woke up.

I reached for my cell phone to turn my alarm off the morning after the night run. The phone was charging when I went to bed, when I grabbed my cell phone it was unplugged. I looked down, and found the charger, it was shredded not so much as to sever one piece from the rest of the charger cord but certainly enough to render my charger useless.

As soon as I move my head in the morning when my alarm goes off, Ruby is up and ready for action. Running over me, anxious for attention and to go outside. I suppressed my erge to be upset at Ruby and took the dogs outside. Usually Ruby goes within the first 20 seconds we're outside, the perfect dog, but this time she didn't go. Odd, but I didn't mind that there was nothing to pick up that morning. As I started getting ready for work my routine took me to my dresser, around to the other side of the bed, upon turning the corner I figured out why Ruby didn't go outside. She had purged her body of everything she would have done outside.

Naturally I started wondering how worth it running into the woods for Ruby actually was. I grabbed Ruby to show it to her and tell her "no" as any potty training book tells you to do. Ruby got scared, and like bread crumbs to find her way back she peed every 2 feet as I dragged Ruby to her mess. A new level of questioning my decision had started sinking in as I cleaned up all the mess.

Week 3 Highlights

One day this week while we were walking Ruby Jackie and I caught a glimpse of how fast Ruby actually is. As we were rounding the corner of our apartment building we passed shrubbery that was housing some birds. Most took off high, avoiding all confrontation. But there were a few that thought it best to tempt Ruby. Not smart. Before I realized birds where flying low out of the bush, one disappeared. The only evidence a bird had flown out of the bush was a wing hanging out the right side of Ruby's mouth. After it registered with Ruby that she had actually caught something, she opened her mouth and the bird flew away. Since that day I have not seen any birds in the shrubbery. Though Ruby has become much more eager to try and catch other wildlife. She will try to run up trees to get to squirrels, but has yet to get even close to anything other than the bird that got away.

This weekend we took Ruby to a local dog park. Ruby was my shadow, I spent most of my time there trying to talk away from Ruby, as she slithered behind me, staying close. There was a brief glimpse of a happy dog. Ruby found another dog she wasn't scared of and started trying to play, stamping her front feet while wagging her tail and sticking high in the air. The other dog started chasing Ruby. Ruby ran, tried to shake the other dog off by changing direction quickly to the left, and the right. Within a minute, Ruby had every other dog in the park chasing after her. Finally I got the chance to see how fast Ruby could run, she opened up and bolted across the park at top speed, the other dogs were dragging behind as Ruby stepped on the gas and flew away from the pack. Once she saw how many dogs were chasing her, she stopped running, found me, and went back to my shadow. But for a brief moment I had the opportunity to see Ruby the way she truly is, free of fear.

Shit Storm 2010

Today was interesting.

On the up-side, Ruby was extremely happy to see both Jackie and I when we got home. She was so worked up I had a very difficult time putting her leash on her and Zoey for their walks. Leashing Ruby was nothing compared to trying to leash a dog a quarter the size of Ruby and having Ruby shoving her body at your face to play.

We went to the vet today, Ruby weighed in at 35lbs, she gained about 5lbs in 13 days! Wehn we got home, we cleaned up in the shower. Upon exiting the shower a foul smell of shit circulated around the apartment, we looked all around Zoey's crate, as she did not come to the vet and was in her crate for the past hour and a half. Our search ended by the front door.
All the extra weight was forced out of her body and into Jackie's shoe in the form of a massive Lab poop.

Down Side to today:
Ruby and Zoey both shit while we were showering. Ruby shit in Jackie's shoes. How is that even possible?

On a morbid up-side to this, Ruby got the message that we were upset with her. I don't think she understood what she did or why we were upset with her, but it was clear she was scared. On the walk immediately following our discovery, Ruby glued to me as we walked, I tried to keep her away from me to drive the point home. Jackie was waiting at the door for us as we turned to the back of our building, Ruby sank down and laid on the ground, we couldn't get her to move forward and get into the apartment. She was stuck to the ground, afraid to get up. I feel bad for shunning her as we did, however taking a dump in the apartment is unacceptable. Hopefully she learns her lesson.

Week 2 In Review

Ruby has been eating a 13oz can of wet food every morning, and 1.5 cups of Nutro kibble with a pouch of Mixables in the evening every day. We have been keeping Zoey in her crate when it is feeding time, the only way to keep her distracted is by using some of the Mixables on her food. Zoey picks out the pieces that don't have Mixables on them and throws them out of the bowl. Ruby has started cleaning up after Zoey by eating the pieces that fall out of Zoey's crate. We go to the vet tomorrow for a follow-up with Ruby, our hope is that she has gained at least 5lbs.

Ruby wants nothing more than to play with Jackie and I when we get home from work. There are two sides to this, first Ruby is settled in enough to know that we're coming home which is great! At the same time, I'm not used to having to gear up to come home from work. Normally home time is my time to relax and I find that I am not able to relax as much as I would like. Ruby looks for any excuse to play or cuddle with us. Jackie came home from work one day this week and took a nap, Ruby laid in bed with Jackie while she slept. Ruby just enjoys having us around. Along the same lines, Ruby has been trying so hard to play with Zoey and Jack, our ferret. Ruby will paw at Zoey or the pillow/blanket Zoey is laying on, anything to try and get Zoey to play. If Zoey acknowledges her at all it normally results in her rolling over onto her back and letting Ruby sniff her. We are finding that Ruby and Zoey are laying next to each other much more frequently as Zoey becomes more comfortable with Ruby. Jack provides Ruby much more interaction. Ruby has a great time chasing Jack around, but it is clear Ruby has no idea what Jack is or how to deal with it.

Some dogs can sense when people aren't feeling well. Ruby is not one of those dogs. She looks for the same amount of attention and love that she does every day. Both Jackie and I have been sick this week, and it has not affected Ruby's behavior at all. In fact, I have found that Ruby shoves herself at us more when we don't move as much. It's either give her all your energy with playing, or all your attention when you're sitting.

Ruby will sit and lay down on command, which is amazing. She is also good when it comes to understanding direction, no means no. If we tell Ruby no, or down if she's jumping up on us, Ruby immediately listens to us. This is so much better than Zoey, who we need to tell several times to stop, specifically when it comes to wanting human food and attention.

I vacuumed this week. Ruby was definitely interested in what was causing all the noise. Though all she would do is stick her head around corners to sneak a peak at the vacuum, but when I got close to her she ran away.

Friday morning at 3:45am Jackie and I woke up to Ruby making some horrible noise. I was told to take care of it since Jackie had to wake up in an hour. All I could do was open the door to give Ruby some water, of course she didn't drink any water, she just wanted to play. Ruby is very much a puppy. We never really figured out what was wrong with Ruby, it sounded like she wanted to throw-up but she thankfully did not.

Most interesting thing that has happened with Ruby this week:
She caught a bird while we were walking her this weekend. It happened so quickly I did not know what was going on, I needed Jackie to help fill me in on the whole story. We were walking the dogs Ruby got close to a bush, and several birds flew out low from the bush and somehow Ruby had ridiculous reflexes and caught a bird in her mouth. All I saw was us walking the dogs, then Ruby sitting there with a wing sticking out of her mouth. We told Ruby to drop it and she opened her mouth, allowing the bird to fly away. Good thing that Ruby listens to our instruction. But this just shows you how much Ruby is changing and how much we are learning about her. And I am sure there is much more to learn.

Aint Nothin But a Hound Dog

Woke up to a pile of crap that could only belong to Ruby. I did what the books all tell you to do, grabbed Ruby, stuck her face in it and said NO several times. Maybe it was because she was only half awake, but it was as if Ruby didn't care at all. My yelling and shoving her face in her mess did nothing to her. Normally a dog would be afraid or scared, Ruby just sat there and took it.

Before heading to work I gave Ruby half a can of wet food, she ate it all. It's good that she's beginning to eat, I am becoming impatient for Ruby to gain weight and fill out.

Jackie and I were wondering how week two would go since Ruby got a taste of us being around for the whole weekend. When I came home I got my answer. She could barely contain herself. As I was trying to take down the gate she was pushing as well, trying to get to me. She wanted to play, but I always try to take the dogs out before anything else. While we were outside Ruby kept jumping up on me and howling with excitement. *As a side note, the shelter labeled Ruby as a mix of a Lab and a German Shepard. I never believed the Shepard, but with all this howling and whining I think she is mixed with a hound dog* The whole walk Ruby was nothing but thrilled to see me. It was nice to come home to a kitchen that hadn't been destroyed by a distraught dog. It was even better that the dog was so eager to see me that she was pushing her way through the gate.

After the walk and a decent amount of play time, I tried feeding Ruby. 1/2 cup of Nutro kibble and 1/2 a pouch of Mixables. Ruby ate everything that had Mixable gravy on it, she left the rest. As did Zoey when I gave her a chance to eat the left overs. Either way, I did not have to stick my hands in dog food which was a wonderful change of pace.

I wanted to try something today. Ruby was sitting at my feet, Zoey and I on the couch. I began petting Zoey to see how Ruby would respond. As soon as Zoey started grunting (like she always does when someone pets her) Ruby's ears perked up. She jumped on the couch and practically laid on Zoey. It was not until I stopped petting her that Zoey snaked her way out from under Ruby. Zoey fell to the floor where Ruby had been sitting. Clearly Zoey hasn't accepted Ruby as a cuddle-buddy, much in the same way that Ruby hasn't figured out how to share the attention.

Jackie and I have trained Zoey to wait on the couch for attention whenever we got home, making it easier for us to get settled and then say hello to Zoe. Ruby hasn't caught on to this yet and I don't know if she will. Most entertaining was Jackie and Zoe playing when she got home. Zoey runs from one side of the apartment to the other as Jackie eggs her on. With Ruby here things are the same, but Zoe is followed closely by Ruby when she runs all over the apartment. Ruby has not yet figured out how to engage in play, but it is cute to watch Ruby try to involve herself in Jackie and Zoey's playtime.

Today Zoey and Ruby played together, however short it was. Zoey has neither the stamina or the stride that Ruby has, so "playing" was more like Zoey going insane running through the apartment while Ruby trotted after her. Reminiscent of any first sexual experience, it began just as quickly and abruptly as it ended, Zoey was exhausted while Ruby was left wanting more.

Dinner was the same as her snack when I got home, 1/2 cup of Nutro and the rest of the Mixables pouch. Five minutes after Ruby was finished eating, she found the rest of Zoey's food, and ate it, out of a bowl! We have been feeding Ruby off of a plate recently, but this is a huge step. Ruby wanted more food than we gave her, and took it from Zoey's food bowl.

Week 1 In Review

This weekend was different in many ways from last weekend, and the past 11 months of Jackie and I living together. This marks the end of the first week with Ruby living in our apartment, and as part of our family. Last weekend was crazy, adjusting to a new dog in the apartment was a challenge. But in this week we have changed and adjusted to better the life of Ruby, our new Lab mix.

Before this week I never thought I would sit next to a dog to help them eat, or scoop food out of a dog bowl and feed a dog from my hand. When Ruby came home she was hesitant to eat any food, both Saturday and Sunday this weekend Ruby ate 1.5 cups of dry Nutro and Mixables. We microwaved the batches of food (half a cup per feeding) and fed Ruby around noon, 5pm and 9pm both days, we also tried feeding wet food first thing in the morning, but Ruby was not interested. Either way, the amount of food Ruby is eating now versus when she first came home shows just one of the changes Ruby has made since coming home.

Along with eating more, Ruby has become much more playful. Her tail is always wagging now, eager for someone to play with her. She has tried several times to get Zoey to play with her, but Zoey has yet to warm up to the idea. I have wrestled with Ruby the past couple of days, falling on Ruby and having her crawl out from under me, her tail wags the entire time. One thing that hasn't changed is Ruby whining, in fact she has gotten much more vocal with her whining since bringing her home. The more we play with her the more she whines for attention.

Having two dogs at once proved to be more difficult than we anticipated. The constant tangling of leashes when we're walking them and giving both equal amounts of attention while realizing that maybe they both require different amounts of one on one focus were two of our bigger problems to overcome. Ruby has trouble walking in a straight line, she enjoys stumbling from the left all the way to the right and back again. This normally ends up getting her leash very tangled with Zoey's. We're working on keeping Ruby on one side of us, so it's not such a challenge to walk the dogs. We have been challenged to make sure Zoey does not feel like an outcast now that a new dog is home. Zoey has always been a bit stand off-ish, keeping to herself from time to time. Jackie and I are trying to feel our way through when she wants to just be left alone, and when she's feeling left out.

Ruby is the first dog over 10lbs. that I've owned, and as the week has progressed I have been noticing many differences between the tiny dogs I am used to and Ruby. On a basic level, a larger dog takes up more space. Snuggling with Ruby is not as easy as it is with Zoey, Jackie and I have not been able to sit next to each other since Ruby came home due to her taking up the whole middle of the couch. We've started moving her as we become more comfortable with her not feeling rejected, but I think we are still working towards set positions for the animals and us on the furniture. When the vomit storm hit, other aspects of large dog ownership came to light. Sneezes with a little dog is a light mist that you may or may not feel. When Ruby sneezes it looks like water balloons have exploded on the blanket, it's the difference between a shot and a fifth of vodka, all over the blanket or clothing or whatever Ruby happens to be around at the time. Same issues with the amount of vomit, it was much more than I could have anticipated. Another item that I hadn't considered until after bringing Ruby home, everything is bigger with a bigger dog. Bathroom time is a hand-full, rather than a drop.

More to the point of this blog, the first week of dog ownership has been much more difficult with adoption that it would have been with a new puppy. With a puppy, they come home and usually are very trusting and happy to be with you right away. Adoption dogs have a history, a past that affects their perception of the world, with some things this is for the better like when a dog comes home house trained. Other times, like with Ruby, her past caused her to close herself off from the world and trusting others. In this first week we have worked towards building trust between Ruby and us while also trying to rebuild trust for people in general.

Overall adopting Ruby has been one of the larger personal challenges I have faced in my life. All week I was being woken up by Ruby in the middle of the night and having my patience tested with her eating habits. Through all of the challenges of this week, it has been a very rewarding first week. To see Ruby willing to eat without scooping food into her mouth is amazing on its own but to see her interested in playing with Jackie and I as well as the other animals in the apartment is wonderful. A week ago, if I were to have wrestled with Ruby she would have been scared and ran away from me, now her tail doesn't stop wagging and enjoys our time together. There is still a long way to go for Ruby to be a well adjusted dog, but knowing what she has been through and where she is now, I am positive the best is yet to come.

Eat! Eat! Eat!

Another night of everyone sleeping in the bed, everyone slept through the night. Once Ruby saw that I was awake in the morning she started whining for attention. All I did was pick up my head to check the time, but Ruby saw it. I started snuggling and petting Ruby hoping she would go back to bed, all the did was whine for attention. The funny part was, the more attention I gave, the louder the whining became.

Before going to work I was able to get Ruby to eat about 8oz of wet food off of a plate, though I had to hand feed about half of that to her. Either way, it's the first morning meal she's eaten since coming home with us.

Today also marked the second time I heard Ruby bark. Our neighbor's dog came waltzing up to our window. Zoey let out a few barks, followed quickly by Ruby, and Ruby did not stop barking for a minute or two. The barking was louder than last time, of course, being inside only made things seem louder.

For dinner Jackie fed Ruby kibble with water and wet food. Ruby ate 2/3 cup dry food with 1/4 can wet food and water. Jackie gave her more but that was all she was willing to eat.

Coming home from work, as soon as my key hit the door both dogs started barking. Zoey was never much of a barker, though with another dog it seems she's getting into it.

We tried feeding Ruby a for a third time today. The late night meal consistent of a can of wet food (13oz), both Jackie and I were shocked Ruby was willing to eat so much food. Zoey was allowed to lick the plate, Zoey stood on the plate so we had a hard time taking it away from her.

Three meals in one day is amazing. Today was definitely the first day that Ruby ate enough to at least maintain her body weight.