Well, I'm back at work after being on vacation and Buster seems to be adjusting OK. We had about six days of my vacation time together, so he kind of got used to me sleeping in. Mom usually gets up earlier than I do when I'm on my days off, and after she'd get up, he'd try to get me up, too, and then get all excited when I did.
Thursday, though, when I got up early after my alarm went off, he was just escatic that I was up early! He ran into the kitchen when I went to fix breakfast, and ran back to my room with me and ran little circles as I went about getting ready for work. And then he stood at the door and looked confused when I went out to the car to leave. I was amazed at the difference in his behavior from one morning to the next. Friday, when my alarm went off and I got up, he actually seemed like he was moping! Like he had figured out that when the alarm goes off, it means I'm going to be leaving him. Now it's the weekend, of course, and I could sleep in, so it'll be interesting to see what happens when I get up Monday morning.
Today, when I was getting ready to take him for a walk, he seemed a little excited about it. That's the first time, so maybe he's starting to associated the word "walk" with going outside. And he does like to spend a lot of time outside, so I'm thinking maybe a doghouse would be a good idea. I'll probably still get a dog door, but if he likes spending so much time outside, it'd be a good idea to have something for him out there.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bandana dog
He just looks like he needs one.
And if that's not enough for you, here's Buster in his first video:
And if that's not enough for you, here's Buster in his first video:
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Buster
Buster is adjusting pretty well to his new home. And we're adjusting to having a dog in the house again. It's a good adjustment, though.
He's so much the opposite of Nipper, though. Nipper was definatley an alpha dog. Nipper would listen to you if he wanted. He took up most of the bed, or couch or whatever he wanted to lay on. He decided when it was time to play, and when he wanted his walk, you'd better be ready! Part of that is my own fault. I didn't understand the particulars of canine communication, and so probably encouraged a lot of his alpha behavior. We eventually came to an understanding, and I think in some way he saw me as an equal. Which is better than being thought of as below him in the pecking order.
Buster, though, is not an alpha. He comes almost every time I call him, and he'll even come to a sit when he gets to me. I can roll him on his back with no problem. When I say no, he stops what he's doing. Usually. He does tend to bump my hand to be petted or use his teeth when giving me kisses or playing. He's a young guy, still, really, so a lot of that is puppy behavior, but he still needs to learn to stop doing it.
We're getting the sleeping arrangements worked out. After he rolled off the side of the bed last night, he curled up near my feet and seemed a lot more restful there, rather than on "his side" of the bed, like Nipper preferred. Buster doesn't use a pillow, either.
Buster is also a lot more attentive to sounds. He reacts to noise from the TV, especially kids and other high-pitched sounds but also dogs and loud noises. He notices just about every vehicle that passes by, but he doesn't startle at vehicles going over the nearby wooden bridge like he did the first day or so.
While I was at work today, Mom discovered he likes chasing a ball. I tried tossing one ball for him that first day, a hard rubber one that has a little jingle bell inside, but he never showed interest. Mom tried another ball that didn't make sound, and said he had fun chasing that one. So tonight, when he obviously needed to burn off some energy, I took him out for a bit and we had fun with the ball. Although I realized after a bit what it might sound like to the neighbors when I'm shouting "Get the ball Buster!" Oh well.
He's so much the opposite of Nipper, though. Nipper was definatley an alpha dog. Nipper would listen to you if he wanted. He took up most of the bed, or couch or whatever he wanted to lay on. He decided when it was time to play, and when he wanted his walk, you'd better be ready! Part of that is my own fault. I didn't understand the particulars of canine communication, and so probably encouraged a lot of his alpha behavior. We eventually came to an understanding, and I think in some way he saw me as an equal. Which is better than being thought of as below him in the pecking order.
Buster, though, is not an alpha. He comes almost every time I call him, and he'll even come to a sit when he gets to me. I can roll him on his back with no problem. When I say no, he stops what he's doing. Usually. He does tend to bump my hand to be petted or use his teeth when giving me kisses or playing. He's a young guy, still, really, so a lot of that is puppy behavior, but he still needs to learn to stop doing it.
We're getting the sleeping arrangements worked out. After he rolled off the side of the bed last night, he curled up near my feet and seemed a lot more restful there, rather than on "his side" of the bed, like Nipper preferred. Buster doesn't use a pillow, either.
Buster is also a lot more attentive to sounds. He reacts to noise from the TV, especially kids and other high-pitched sounds but also dogs and loud noises. He notices just about every vehicle that passes by, but he doesn't startle at vehicles going over the nearby wooden bridge like he did the first day or so.
While I was at work today, Mom discovered he likes chasing a ball. I tried tossing one ball for him that first day, a hard rubber one that has a little jingle bell inside, but he never showed interest. Mom tried another ball that didn't make sound, and said he had fun chasing that one. So tonight, when he obviously needed to burn off some energy, I took him out for a bit and we had fun with the ball. Although I realized after a bit what it might sound like to the neighbors when I'm shouting "Get the ball Buster!" Oh well.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
I was thinking about a cat ...
... but look what I brought home:
Say hello to Buster, a 13-month old blue heeler. He was a stray, just showed up at someone's house, and then was taken to the refuge run by my vet. She'd had him about three weeks. About all they know about him is that he's not good at herding, and so they suspect maybe he was bought for that purpose, and when he didn't prove to be good, was just let loose.
He's very sweet and mellow, not at all excitable like you'd think a working breed would be. They said he doesn't have separation issues, so that's very good with the concerns I have about being away from the house more with the second job. I'll just need to get a dog door before too long, but he does seem housebroken. When I first let him into the house, he sniffed around a bit and started to lift his leg on a door frame. All I did was make a scolding noise, and he scampered away pretty quick. Same thing when he started to poop in a part of the yard I didn't want him to. He's also pretty timid around new people and loud noises, and when I took him for a walk, he got scared a couple times by some big trucks. It makes me wonder what's happened to this guy to make him that way.
But he seems to be relaxing now and maybe getting used to the idea that this is home. I'm on vacation until next Wednesday, so we'll have some time to get to know each other. Really, I'm pretty happy to have come home with a dog. I like cats, but they're just not the same. I'm sure a cat person would feel the same thing about dogs. But I'm not a real outgoing person, and having a dog makes me more outgoing. I get out around the neighborhood, see what's going on, chat with the neighbors. I'd been a bit worried that with a cat, I might have gotten a bit too reclusive.
I can tell tonight, though, it has been far too long since I've been walking!
Say hello to Buster, a 13-month old blue heeler. He was a stray, just showed up at someone's house, and then was taken to the refuge run by my vet. She'd had him about three weeks. About all they know about him is that he's not good at herding, and so they suspect maybe he was bought for that purpose, and when he didn't prove to be good, was just let loose.
He's very sweet and mellow, not at all excitable like you'd think a working breed would be. They said he doesn't have separation issues, so that's very good with the concerns I have about being away from the house more with the second job. I'll just need to get a dog door before too long, but he does seem housebroken. When I first let him into the house, he sniffed around a bit and started to lift his leg on a door frame. All I did was make a scolding noise, and he scampered away pretty quick. Same thing when he started to poop in a part of the yard I didn't want him to. He's also pretty timid around new people and loud noises, and when I took him for a walk, he got scared a couple times by some big trucks. It makes me wonder what's happened to this guy to make him that way.
But he seems to be relaxing now and maybe getting used to the idea that this is home. I'm on vacation until next Wednesday, so we'll have some time to get to know each other. Really, I'm pretty happy to have come home with a dog. I like cats, but they're just not the same. I'm sure a cat person would feel the same thing about dogs. But I'm not a real outgoing person, and having a dog makes me more outgoing. I get out around the neighborhood, see what's going on, chat with the neighbors. I'd been a bit worried that with a cat, I might have gotten a bit too reclusive.
I can tell tonight, though, it has been far too long since I've been walking!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Time to recharge
Whew, it's been a busy week. Or at least it seems like it. Things are rough at work and look to be getting rougher. I worked at the second job three weeknights (which means I'm gone from the house from about 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.), and that seemed to wear me down a bit. I got behind on some housecleaning and other things I wanted/needed to do, but now it's time to catch up. I'm now officially on vacation time until Oct. 17!
I still have to work the second job, but that won't be so bad. I've got Wednesday through Friday completely free this week, and Mom will be back from her trip about that time, so maybe I'll go find some things to do and let her get back into a groove of being in one place. Then I've got the following Tuesday and Wednesday totally free, too, before I go back. I should try to get my car in to the shop one of those two days before I need it. I'm coming up on about 30,000 miles since I bought it, so it's about time for some routine maintenence. At least I won't need a new battery. Had to deal with that last week after I got stuck at Home Depot with a dead one.
Last Wednesday was my support group meeting, so that was one high point of the week. We had a memorial for the sisters who have passed on -- five in a little over a year. We had a candlelighting ceremony, sang and shared memories. There were tears, of course, but also laughter. It's something the group will do each October, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Then Saturday was the local university's homecoming, so we had our float in the parade. We had more who were able to ride this year, and everyone had fun, even though it was hot and the parade people seemed to think the parade needed to move along at about 20 mph. All the poor walkers handing out candy were either far behind us or looked like they were running a candy-handing marathon!
I don't have a lot planned for the vacation. I need to clean out Mom's side of the garage (hey, there's plenty of space for the lawn mower and stuff now!), plant the irises and some other things I got, do some weeding and set out some mulch before it gets too chilly. Other than that, it's mainly just relaxing and getting refreshed.
I still have to work the second job, but that won't be so bad. I've got Wednesday through Friday completely free this week, and Mom will be back from her trip about that time, so maybe I'll go find some things to do and let her get back into a groove of being in one place. Then I've got the following Tuesday and Wednesday totally free, too, before I go back. I should try to get my car in to the shop one of those two days before I need it. I'm coming up on about 30,000 miles since I bought it, so it's about time for some routine maintenence. At least I won't need a new battery. Had to deal with that last week after I got stuck at Home Depot with a dead one.
Last Wednesday was my support group meeting, so that was one high point of the week. We had a memorial for the sisters who have passed on -- five in a little over a year. We had a candlelighting ceremony, sang and shared memories. There were tears, of course, but also laughter. It's something the group will do each October, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Then Saturday was the local university's homecoming, so we had our float in the parade. We had more who were able to ride this year, and everyone had fun, even though it was hot and the parade people seemed to think the parade needed to move along at about 20 mph. All the poor walkers handing out candy were either far behind us or looked like they were running a candy-handing marathon!
I don't have a lot planned for the vacation. I need to clean out Mom's side of the garage (hey, there's plenty of space for the lawn mower and stuff now!), plant the irises and some other things I got, do some weeding and set out some mulch before it gets too chilly. Other than that, it's mainly just relaxing and getting refreshed.
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