The new addition to my family...

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by catinthedark

Can you stand another suggestion? It may help to introduce the new food slowly (both for her taste buds and for her tummy). Mix in a little bit at a time, a little more of the new food and less of the old each time. Poor thing must be feeling very disoriented. She lost the person she loved most in the world, got locked in a cage at the pound, was probably scared and confused, and then brought to a strange house with new smells and a new person. Can understand why the poor love is nervous - give her some time. Give her lots of love. Even going out and coming back after short spurts will help her see that you aren't going to abandon her. Then, when you go for longer, she'll know you're coming back. Try saying the same thing to her everytime you leave. That will become a signal that you are leaving - but that you will be back. Sounds silly, but in their little worlds, that is big.

Have I mentioned I think you're a great person for saving her!

No no - please- I welcom all suggestions. My family has always had dogs - but I realized this is the first time that I am a dog's primary care giver

I am trying the slow integration of new food - the people at the shelter recommended that - I know she needs some adjustment time - I'm actually impressed by how comfortable she already seems at my place -wasn't outwardly nervous or squemish - still I know she must be very confused and may have abandonment issues - I went to the store last night leaving her for a short period- she was fine and so happy when I got back....I'm so excited to have her in my life now - she's such a sweetie

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

Let's see he's come home on at least four seperate occasions with abscesses.
He came home with a huge laceration on his rump that nearly reached his anus. (Apparently another animal tried to rip him a new a$$hole and almost succeeded.)
I've had to pull other cats' claws out of his skin more than once.
Oh yeah, and he came home one night lethargic, hissing at everyone, covered in mud and his claws were all broken and frayed. Never did figure out what happened. Neither myself nor the vet could find any wounds, xrays showed nothing out of the ordinary... hit by car and got lucky? Who knows.

But I know what you're probably thinking... Why don't you just keep him inside all the time? I never let him outside or my other cat Dunlop (named for the tire company because he'd been hit by a car before we adopted him) for that matter. My family on the other hand cannot be convinced to do the same.

Wow - that's odd - I house sat for some other cats (for someone who's allergic I've watched a lot of cats in my day) and they used to come home with odd stains on their fur, cuts etc...BUT these people lived out in the desert - I was always thankful that the cats came back at all and weren't eaten by coyotes

But yeah - then they killed a bunny and brought me the head as a little present - freaked me out...but yeah these people refused to keep their cats indoors all the time...

[catinthedark]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

No no - please- I welcom all suggestions. My family has always had dogs - but I realized this is the first time that I am a dog's primary care giver

I am trying the slow integration of new food - the people at the shelter recommended that - I know she needs some adjustment time - I'm actually impressed by how comfortable she already seems at my place -wasn't outwardly nervous or squemish - still I know she must be very confused and may have abandonment issues - I went to the store last night leaving her for a short period- she was fine and so happy when I got back....I'm so excited to have her in my life now - she's such a sweetie

Yikes! Just re-read my post - sounds like I was lecturing you from atop my all-knowing podium. Gak. Glad you didn't take it that way! It's definitely not the tone I wrote it in... But definitely sounds like you're the perfect person to have found this dog! Hope it continues to go so well!

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

Wow - that's odd - I house sat for some other cats (for someone who's allergic I've watched a lot of cats in my day) and they used to come home with odd stains on their fur, cuts etc...BUT these people lived out in the desert - I was always thankful that the cats came back at all and weren't eaten by coyotes

What drives me nuts is that although we don't live in the desert, we do live right by a creek - which is home to raccoons, possums, and all sorts of lovely ill-tempered wildlife. Not to mention is a magnet for stray dogs and punk-ass kids.
Have had previous cats hit by cars, attacked by god-only-knows-what, and shot with bbs. Yet my family still doesn't understand "Keep the cats indoors, period."

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by catinthedark

Yikes! Just re-read my post - sounds like I was lecturing you from atop my all-knowing podium. Gak. Glad you didn't take it that way! It's definitely not the tone I wrote it in... But definitely sounds like you're the perfect person to have found this dog! Hope it continues to go so well!

I absolutely didn't take it that way - and you didn't sound that way - don't worry

I'm not sure about being the perfect person lol - but we'll see how it goes! For sure I already feel so much happier with a dawgie in the house and I'm so excited to go home after work and spend time with her.... We went on our first walk last night too - she's great on a leash and it was a great walk!!

So - it does sound like you know a lot about dawgs - so mind if I post of PM you with any questions that may pop up??

[Nixxxed]

Congrats!

And YAY for rescued/adopted animals! I adopted my cockatoo Rocky going on 3 years ago ... and he makes me smile and laugh hysterically every day. Best thing I ever did!

[catinthedark]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

I absolutely didn't take it that way - and you didn't sound that way - don't worry

I'm not sure about being the perfect person lol - but we'll see how it goes! For sure I already feel so much happier with a dawgie in the house and I'm so excited to go home after work and spend time with her.... We went on our first walk last night too - she's great on a leash and it was a great walk!!

So - it does sound like you know a lot about dawgs - so mind if I post of PM you with any questions that may pop up??

Absolutely - anytime. I would be glad to help if I can. I got my dog when she was 9 weeks old - so I can relate when you say you knew you didn't have time for a puppy! But she's now four years old - and pretty much the greatest dog in the world (though I could be a bit biased here). Would love to chat anytime.

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by catinthedark

Absolutely - anytime. I would be glad to help if I can. I got my dog when she was 9 weeks old - so I can relate when you say you knew you didn't have time for a puppy! But she's now four years old - and pretty much the greatest dog in the world (though I could be a bit biased here). Would love to chat anytime.

yeah - if I had a job that allowed me more time at home I would totally get a puppy - but I think that right now, where I am in my life, Clancy is perfect for me - hopefully she'll feel the same way

Already she makes me laugh - it was snowing this morning and she went out to do her business and came back to the door COVERED in snow...lol..it was the cutest thing - she wouldn't shake it off She definitely loves the snow

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

What drives me nuts is that although we don't live in the desert, we do live right by a creek - which is home to raccoons, possums, and all sorts of lovely ill-tempered wildlife. Not to mention is a magnet for stray dogs and punk-ass kids.
Have had previous cats hit by cars, attacked by god-only-knows-what, and shot with bbs. Yet my family still doesn't understand "Keep the cats indoors, period."

Hmm, perhaps they need a consequence for what will happen if they let the cat out? Can you put your foot down?

I used to have an outdoor cat when I lived in the burbs, she was such a sweetie and stayed out of trouble but I always worried about her. One time she did not come home for a couple of days and I was beside myself. She had already been an outdoor cat when we got her so we let her continue that lifestyle. She was an awesome cat and nothing happened to her thank god. I asked the vet about indoor versus outdoor and he said "If you had seen what I've seen, you'd keep your cat indoors." My ex has to keep her in now where he lives and said she adjusted quite well. And of course here in Boston Mufasa stays indoors.

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Hmm, perhaps they need a consequence for what will happen if they let the cat out? Can you put your foot down?

I used to have an outdoor cat when I lived in the burbs, she was such a sweetie and stayed out of trouble but I always worried about her. One time she did not come home for a couple of days and I was beside myself. She had already been an outdoor cat when we got her so we let her continue that lifestyle. She was an awesome cat and nothing happened to her thank god. I asked the vet about indoor versus outdoor and he said "If you had seen what I've seen, you'd keep your cat indoors." My ex has to keep her in now where he lives and said she adjusted quite well. And of course here in Boston Mufasa stays indoors.

Unfortunately when I say "family" I'm referring to parents and it's a bit hard to put my foot down with them.

I also forgot to mention that I had a cat swallow a fishhook and line (a lot of people fish for crawdads in that creek and often use cut up hot dogs as bait, I can only assume he was trying to eat the hot dog). He ended up going through an exploratory surgery and over a week's worth of hospitalization and fluid therapy to the tune of over $1,000 (this was about ten years ago, so I don't even want to imagine what that would cost now). I was still in high school at the time, so that enormous bill was footed by my parents, and still they allow the cats to go outside.
I have at least managed to convince them to keep the cats confined at night, which brings down the danger factor some, but not enough.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

Unfortunately when I say "family" I'm referring to parents and it's a bit hard to put my foot down with them.

I also forgot to mention that I had a cat swallow a fishhook and line (a lot of people fish for crawdads in that creek and often use cut up hot dogs as bait, I can only assume he was trying to eat the hot dog). He ended up going through an exploratory surgery and over a week's worth of hospitalization and fluid therapy to the tune of over $1,000 (this was about ten years ago, so I don't even want to imagine what that would cost now). I was still in high school at the time, so that enormous bill was footed by my parents, and still they allow the cats to go outside.
I have at least managed to convince them to keep the cats confined at night, which brings down the danger factor some, but not enough.

Ahh, I see. Your parents are insane. That poor kitty that swallowed the fish hook, awww My cat was a chicken so she kept to herself while prowling around. She did bring home a mole once in a while, good kitty! And when we had a bat in our apartment she swatted it out of the air for us. The guys were trying to catch it to no avail but Izzy "quick paw" C got it right out of the air!

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

On a side note: Estrange4Life, it is oddly amusing that someone such as yourself, with your sig of a guy headbanging, would be on a Fleetwood Mac board.

But then again, metalheads confuse me sometimes. I had a friend in High School who was one and absolutely hated FM because they were "too pop." Yet on the other hand, he was a huge Phil Collins fan. WTF?

most of the metalheads I know are, well..um..."Chiffonheads"!!! Stevie has a diehard following in the metal circles among men because physically she is the perfect woman for her sexiness & how she presents herself, She is adored by alotta metalheads...And besides, If Stevie ever needs a "boy toy" who can keep up I am ALWAYS AVAILABLE

Kinda funny, but most of the metal heads I know say Stevie "Rocks" whereas Phil Collins just "Blows goats" As for Fleetwood Mac being too "pop" I think someone needs to have a check on that lump located 2 feet above their ass, Cause Phil Collins is more "pop" (Or in his case "puke") than FM ever were.

"Bang it til it bleeds..."

\m/_<-_->_\m/

Brian j.

ps-Hell, A few Ledgies have seen me headbangin' during "Come" at the Oklahoma City show in 2003...Ol' habits die hard

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

most of the metalheads I know are, well..um..."Chiffonheads"!!! Stevie has a diehard following in the metal circles among men because physically she is the perfect woman for her sexiness & how she presents herself, She is adored by alotta metalheads...And besides, If Stevie ever needs a "boy toy" who can keep up I am ALWAYS AVAILABLE

Kinda funny, but most of the metal heads I know say Stevie "Rocks" whereas Phil Collins just "Blows goats" As for Fleetwood Mac being too "pop" I think someone needs to have a check on that lump located 2 feet above their ass, Cause Phil Collins is more "pop" (Or in his case "puke") than FM ever were.

"Bang it til it bleeds..."

\m/_<-_->_\m/

Brian j.

ps-Hell, A few Ledgies have seen me headbangin' during "Come" at the Oklahoma City show in 2003...Ol' habits die hard

Hhhhmmm... interesting. Actually the metalhead friend I am referring to is the one that I stole my "Elmer Fudd comparison" (on another thread, don't remember which) from. Of course at the time I was rather offended by it, since I was (GASP) a Stevie fan back then.
Stevie, the perfect woman? Ok. whatever. We'll agree to disagree on that one.
We'll have to agree to disagree on the subject of Phil Collins as well. He is much more pop than FM (which is why I was so confused by my friend) but I like his music quite a bit.

Headbanging to come? That's something I certainly have never seen anyone do. But then again, I read somewhere (don't ask me where, it's been years since I read it) that Jerry Cantrell of AIC has listed LB as an influence, so what the heck?
I certainly didn't get the urge to headbang during that song, but the friend who went with me still insists that I had an orgasm during it.

[amber]

You like Phil Collins! Bwahhhhh!
Oh, that so made my day...

[DrummerDeanna]

And let me just add that coming home to someone who is SOOO happy to see you is awesome lol...

I got home from work and Clancy was beside herself excited....then I got her leash and she literally started jumping up and down - it was the cutest thing ever...

Unfortunately she seems to have gotten sick to her stomach today - nerves I guess She hasn't eaten much even though I kept the same food she ate at the pound...it's Science Diet Anyway - I'm loving this - she's so friendly and cudly