As expected, Bonita had a rough first night so her first day felt like two steps back from last night. That’s to be expected. What I didn’t expect was for her to spend the day coming in and out of my office, as I’d hoped she eventually would. When she finally came into the room well away from the door I realised something really important.
I’ve got this.
I’ve been reading a lot about how to calm anxious and skittish dogs and my hands-off let her come to me approach is generally the accepted one by dog experts.
That’s all I think I’m going to say about raising my new baby. If I had a human child, I sure wouldn’t talk much of it online, not with the whole world, well meaning as it usually is, having an opinion on the matter. I have my tight circle of fellow doggie moms to rely on if I get stuck, but, most important, I have to trust myself as much as the refuge trusted me to take on this formidable task. I can’t do that if differing opinions have me second guessing myself all the time.
But I will share a few things that I’ve already learned about my fur baby:
-She gives better tongue baths than do cats — smooth tongue and no drool!
-It doesn’t matter how well you stir her medication into her food, she will pick it out;
-She’s not sure what to do with toys and soft beds;
-She loves being scratched behind the ears;
-She really likes dog biscuits;
-She’s not so sure about peanut butter, to which she would say, “Maybe if mom doesn’t try to hide my vitamin in it next time, I’ll like it better. But ha ha ha I made it burst and it splashed ALL OVER her.”
So there’s already been laughs and tender cuddles and tonight, I sat on the bench on my porch for the first time and realised that nights here can be really tranquil with the Earth smelling so fresh that it’s like being in a completely different place. “I would have never known this had I not gotten a dog,” I thought.
And so, I find myself changing with her and discovering how much I’ve missed the gentle clinking of ID tags telling me I have soft kisses and cuddles coming.
Awwww Sweet.
No idea why this went to spam, but glad I rescued it. Thank you! 🙂
Toby would pick out his medication too. So I’ve found a great method that works for him. His medication was in pill form. I take a Kraft single sliced cheese (dogs LOVE cheese). I rip it into three long pieces. I give him the first piece with no meds, I give him the second piece with the pill rolled up in it. When I give it to him, I raise his head up and rub his throat to make sure it goes down. And a little comforting head scratch. Never had a problem. Then I give him the last piece of cheese. Maybe this will work for your little lady. Good luck.
Thanks! I’ve had really good luck with peanut butter in the past, but she doesn’t seem interested in that. I’ll try cheese this morning!
Great post Rae. Can feel the love.
Too bad the PB does not work but I have used the cheese slices also, with great success. They sure do know how to sniff out any meds and I had to give so very many at the end. PB is an acquired taste.
Thanks for the update.
I’ll learn her tastes over time. I already know she’s more into beef than she is chicken! My Bulgarian dogs loved sardines. Dogs are just like people in terms of food fussiness and more fun to feed than cats!
She asked for her breakfast today, which felt like an enormous step forward as that means I’m established as the food provider. I still haven’t gotten any cuddles today, but she is SO much more relaxed (not jumping at every noise and actually sleeping deeply enough to start snoring!). It was clear she had a good second night and this morning shows me that she’s settling in.
Congratulations, Rae, on the new family member — dogs are just the best creatures! She looks wonderful (albeit a bit thin — but better thin than too fat) and her eyes are calm even though she is nervous in her new situation. I’m surprised that the peanut butter trick did not work. As an experienced lifetime dog owner, I would think that the cheese might work, but I would caution you on how much you give, especially if the pills are more than 1x/day. Dogs don’t tolerate dairy products well (even though they love it). So instead of dividing the cheese slice by 3, divide the slice by 6 and uses less at a time. I’ll try to restrain myself from giving any more unwanted dog-raising or health advice unless you ask. 🙂 Just keep doing what you’re doing! It’s amazing seeing a rescue dog come out of it’s past — we say in Rescue that it usually takes a month or sometimes more before you start to see the “real” dog emerge.
Thanks, Lynn! Yes, I know about too much dairy, but thanks for the reminder! I had really good luck this morning grinding her pills into her gravy. She also takes a gel capsule vitamin. I know that the actual goodness is the contents, not the gelatinous envelope,, so I popped that open and mixed it in her gravy as well. I can tell that I’m not pulling the wool over her eyes, but she licked her bowl clean, so I’d call it a success!
The refuge and I are going to reevaluate after three weeks. I suspect that she’ll be here past then. 🙂