We've been adopted...

I posted on this forum a number of times pictures and comments of my 2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks. It was funny, when we were on the boat (52' Cockpit Motoryacht) both dogs were very happy. As soon as I started the engines the female found a place to go to sleep. Our male got very nervous and paced and shook. My wife had to hold him which was a challenge as he weighed 90 lbs. Things improve when we bought him a Thunder Shirt. You might look into one if he remains nervous. And Mike....he was probably only nervous cuz he heard you were cutting his nuts off. Makes any guy a bit gun shy.
Shawn
 
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Sailor has done an amazing job of fitting into our family. Now, when we go out on the back porch, instead of us having to tie him up on his 50' leash, he comes out in the yard and stays in our back yard. That's kind of surprising because there are no fences in our subdivision. He seems to have learned where the yard boundaries are and stays within them.

We're supposed to get a thunder storm tonight. It'll be interesting to see how he responds to the loud noises. With July 4th coming, we don't know how he's going to do with the fireworks in the neighborhood.

Tomorrow's "tutoring" day. I hope he doesn't make a mental connection between the loud thunder and the "tutoring".
 
Well Sailor went to the vet and came home a little lighter weight but only by a few ounces. :rolleyes:

There really haven't been any changes in his behavior. He got me up three times to water the bushes, which is a little unusual, but not too bad.

So now he's a soprano and hopefully won't be chasing that scent from a female in heat.
 
Yeah, Chester used to keep his life jacket handy - just the mention of boat ride got him going. He would not let that life jacket out of his sight. Chester died on a Wednesday and had been out with me on the boat the previous Sunday.

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Yeah, Chester used to keep his life jacket handy - just the mention of boat ride got him going. He would not let that life jacket out of his sight. Chester died on a Wednesday and had been out with me on the boat the previous Sunday.

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I'm sorry for your loss. It rips your heart out when they pass.
 
Bill, it is always sad when a friend like Chester. When we got married my wife had two elderly pugs that were rescue dogs. We had them for several years. They both got sick at about the same time and we had to put them down when they got too bad. Sad day in our home.
 
Bill, it is always sad when a friend like Chester. When we got married my wife had two elderly pugs that were rescue dogs. We had them for several years. They both got sick at about the same time and we had to put them down when they got too bad. Sad day in our home.

Hey, thanks, didn't mean to shadow your new family member with sad stories. My point is dogs are so much smarter than we give them credit, it is amazing how they become part of the family. Looks like Sailor is figuring things out real quick!
 
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Yeah, Chester used to keep his life jacket handy - just the mention of boat ride got him going. He would not let that life jacket out of his sight. Chester died on a Wednesday and had been out with me on the boat the previous Sunday.

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Sorry for your loss Bill. Cancer took our golden retriever away from us just over a year ago. “Maggie” was only 4 1/2 years old. We have since got another golden but there’s still an empty spot in our hearts that Maggie left behind.
 
No sad shadow cast upon this thread. It's always sad when pets die, but it's part of having a dog or cat or any other pet.
 
Pets of all and any kind... our extended families. They are more than we can ever explain.
 
It’s been just over two months since Sailor adopted us so I thought I’d write a short update to let you know how it’s going. My background with owning dogs goes back to when I was 5 years old and over those 60+ years I’ve owned more dogs than I can count. Big dogs, little dogs, Pugs, Huskies, Labs. You name it and I’ve probably owned one.

In the 2 months we’ve owned Sailor I’ve learned some amazing things about him:
-He’s very smart
-He’s tricky
-He’s bashful
-He’s playful
-He’s a very quick learner.

Some of his oddball characteristics:
His bedtime is around 9:30. If I’m not ready for bed and messing around on my laptop, he walks up to my chair and lays his head on my keyboard. If I move his head away, he puts it right back. This can go on several times until he gets fed up with my antics and he’ll try to push my laptop off my lap with his nose.

He’s not a bit shy about letting me know what he wants and when he wants it. His early morning trick is, when he’s walking around on the wood floor, I can hear the click of his nails. If I pretend to still be sleeping, he shakes his head so the tags on his collar rattle and his ears flap. He knows that will wake me up.

Then it’s time for a walk. He’s patient, but only to a point. I get up, do my bathroom stuff, get dressed and he’s pretty patient through all that. But the minute I pick up a pair of shoes to put on he goes ballistic, talking to me and telling me to hurry. He’s ready for his morning walk.

He loves to walk to the river bank. He explores down there, running up and down the bank checking out the new smells. He really likes it when the river is way down. That gives him more area to explore and more smells to check out. He also knows when he’s down there, ,it’s when he’s to do his morning toiletry duties.

His vocabulary is getting bigger every day. Since he adopted us he’s learned these words: Stop, go home, no, come, get your stick (one of his favorites. He carries around and plays with a 4' long x 1" diameter stick), get your monkey (his stuffed animal he carries around, and another of his favorite commands). He knows what dinner is, what treat means and we have to spell the word “walk” or he goes bananas.

He’s becoming more tolerant of being on the boat and isn’t frightened of the sound of engines starting like he was.

Before we were adopted, I had my mind set that we would not get a dog until after our summer-long trip to Canada was done. It only took Sailor about 2 days to get me to change my mind. Now that he’s a permanent part of the family he’s going to be coming with us.

I could write a lot more about his comical antics but this is enough. You get the point. If you get the idea from reading this that I’m taken with this dog, you’re spot on. He’s increased the size of our family by 50%, but he’s increased the fun factor by 100%.

Welcome to the family, Sailor.
 
RIGHT IN THE OLD SCHNOZZOLA!

We've kinda figured that Sailor's prior life included living in an apartment or a home in a city environment. For starters, he can't swim. And he absolutely loves to run along the river bank and explore in the weeds. It's all new to him and all exciting.

So last night Tina and I were sitting on the back porch enjoying a nice mid-70's evening. Sailor was lying at our feet just loving life as it is for him now.

He suddenly jumped up, barked a couple of times and ran to the end of the porch. When he jumped off the porch he was only on the ground for a second or two when he came back up, shaking his head, coughing and wiping his face with his paws.

Yup, he'd found his first skunk and got a direct hit in the mouth/face for his efforts.

Normally he doesn't like me to hose him down and get his face wet but last night he was loving it. He stuck his face right into the hose stream and let me rub his face and eyes to get rid of the skunk spray. We put some drops in his eyes and he was even OK with that.

I don't know/care where the skunk went; he disappeared quickly.

This morning, other than stinking to high heaven, Sailor doesn't appear to have any lasting effects.

Another lesson learned by the city dog now living in a semi-rural area. Let's hope it's a lasting lesson.
 
This recipe is pretty much the only thing that works for skunk smell.
Keep it out of the eyes, I use a sponge to dab it around the face.
My dogs usually get sprayed at least once a year.
1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1/4 cup of baking soda

1 to 2 teaspoons Dawn



For very large pets one quart of tepid tap water may be added to enable complete coverage.
 
Greg, thanks for the recipe. When GW gets back we'll put it together.

By way of a side note, I'm on my way to Lowe's to pick up a new sprinkler to replace one he "ate" that no longer works.
 

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