First night we met Abbie in the city on 58th 'tween Park and Lexington. I was nervous. Would she be as cute as in pictures? Would she be friendly? Scared? Assertive: good or bad? Would she be smaller or bigger than I expected?
Brendan and I stood on the side walk watching every car pass by. "Is there a puppy in that one? Oh- Nope, no puppy. How bout that one? No." Then I heard someone call out. There she was, walking down the side walk all tiny and cute and tail up with attitude. Happy and healthy looking and absolutely perfect- Love At First Sight.
It was sad for her to say goodbye to the family that saved her and took care of her the last few weeks. I could tell she was confused as we got her in the back seat and I held her leash while she went in circles looking out the windows. Finally, as we entered the Lincoln tunnel, she calmed, resting her front legs and head on my lap. We spent the following 40 minutes cuddling until Wal-Mart.
After buying supplies we took her home and began with a walk around the outside of teh property. Then we gave her the inside tour and introduced her to the cat. Rosie (the cat) was NOT a fan. She's been our one and only baby for years now, but as far as I see it- it's a healthy adjustment for her to make. She'll need to do it one day when we have kids anyways, so might as well make a friend to keep her company when that day comes.
For the most part, Abbie really didn't care about Rosie, but if you started petting Abbie, or if she went somewhere the cat was used to going, Rosie would be right there meowing. At that point Abbie would go to inspect what was making the noise, and then you would here the hiss and a jump from the pup as she avoided a swipe.
The good news is: they are not afraid of eachother. It's about territory and sharing of affection. So long as we show them both love and make it clear their are no favorites. It should be fine. Still... we figure puppy sleeps downstairs to give the cat some space at night and make sure she doesn't have to feel on edge.
It worked pretty well. We heard some banging on the gate, and she cried for a good 20 minutes. We tried to think of it like children. When you put the baby down- your supposed to let it cry itself to sleep. She eventually quieted down and so I drifted off as well.
The next day we got up and wa-la... no mess! And she had slept in her new bed! We left her in the kitchen for the day, feeling good that she couldn't get into anything bad and the kitty would be able to do her thing. That lasted until Brendan checked in at home and she was on his arm chair. Turns out she jumps the fence.
We had a few casualties. Not pictured: a drink coaster. Nothing tragic. It did mean we needed to rethink her "safe place". As much as we would LOVE to give her free reign over the house, until she and kitty get along better (which takes typically 3-6 months) and she's better trained... that ain't happening.
That night we tried to keep her in the kitchen, not having thought of an alternative yet. We figured 'let her jump the gate, so long as she doesn't come upstairs.' Brendan got up four times to bring her back downstairs and put her back behind the gate. Finally, as we laid there in the dark listening to her walking up the steps, I said 'let's just pretend to be asleep and see what she does. At least we are not re-enforcing the bad behavior with giving attention to it.' With kitty on my right, the puppy laid next to Brendan's side of the bed (on the floor) and went to sleep.
Perfect.
SO, as of the next morning (10/20), here is the puppy breakdown...
TRAINING
1) Housetrained - yep, so far so good.
2) Leashtrained - nope, Brendan tried taking her for a morning run, which would have worked out well if he wanted to run in tiny circles.
3) Sits on Command - yep, when not distracted.
4) Lies Down on Command - not really, sometimes does when you say sit down.
5) Heels on Command - nope.
6) Comes when you whistle/call her name - not really, comes because you get her attention and she's interested in what you are doing.
LOVES
1) Rawhide sticks - yes, devours them quickly.
2) Big Bone - first night too excited to give it the time and energy needed but second night went to town on it. 1/4 eaten.
HATES
1) Being Alone
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