Here is Elsie, our new wolfhound x greyhound after her wash. There's been plenty of activity since we brought her home.
Freddie was extremely jealous on Monday night. I didn't expect that. Every time I cuddled her there would be whines from him.
The funniest thing though was when he did a double take through the window. Elsie had only just had surgery and the vet had advised she be kept quiet as her stitches will take a little while to heal. Freddie still hasn't been desexed yet, so it was crucial that he 1. not lick or chew her stitches, and 2. not attempt to mount her.
So we had let her in first. Freddie was let off his chain and he was running back and forth along the verandah to get his energy levels back to normal when he passed by the back door. He looked in as per his usual wont and did a double take when instead of seeing us, he saw me with Elsie. Talk about the look of shock on his face. He looked as if to say "hey! what is THAT doing in there? How come she's in there and not me???"
When later both were let inside and he was just settling into his tummy scratch, Elsie came over to me to see what I was doing. Freddie did the quickest flip I'd ever seen. As if to say "I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm definately not being submissive to you!" It was very amusing to say the least.
Interestingly, when the two dogs were greeting each other at the pound the ranger commented that it looked like Fred would be top dog in this pack. I was looking forward to having my Fred be top dog for once. This is the Fred who got snapped at by a Jack Russell for looking down and saying hello, and then immediately ran behind me terrified. This is the Fred who ran petrified, constantly looking behind him like Helen Hunt in Twister when they spot the tornado coming straight at her, when a maltese terrier yapped at his heels. It'd be nice to have my submissive bottom rung dog finally be in charge for once.
But it looks like it's not going to be the case.
Every time I gave Freddie a cuddle Elsie would come up to inspect. She hasn't learnt her name properly yet and will come whenever there is any sound made which might imply a cuddle. She'll push Fred out of the way (she's skinny enough to slip through the gaps). If Fred's lying on the ground, she'll simply walk over him. It's like he's not there!
And what's just as disturbing is that Fred doesn't react.
Instead, now, when I am giving her attention, he simply looks up from where he is, a little folornly, as if to say 'you're busy with her, but can I have a cuddle too?'
Fascinating.
And also a little disappointing.
I was so looking forward to him being able to lord it over someone, anyone!
As hubby puts it, Fred's a bit of an embarrassment. 40kgs of dog, undesexed and totally ignored by a 26kg, desexed featherweight of a girl. *shakes head*
I finally got around to giving her a shower yesterday. She's not that great with water, but she's definately not as bad as Rosie was.
I only managed to wash her top bits. I didn't want to get too close to her wound, and it was getting late so I didn't really do as good a job on her abdomen and legs.
Either way it was good to get the gunk and smell off the fur on her back. She was one stinky dog when we picked her up. Even her pound notes said she needed a bath.
It was funny - her hair didn't lather like Freddie's does. She has curls all over, whereas Fred just has the wolfie fur on the back. The rest of him is a bit shorthaired. And her curls never really held much sudsing. It was all very fine and wiry.
You can see her hair all fluffed out like a fluff ball on the right.
You can also see that she's got more greyhound in her face than Wolfie.
Fred's face is big and square whereas hers is more pointing and triangle-y.
She also has a white patch of skin next to her nose.
What's made it interesting after washing her, is that you can get a better idea of how bad her skin actually is. The pound reckoned it looked like she'd had fleas at some stage, which would explain the short patches of hair. Her pound report also noticed red irritated dermatits patches. I'm hoping a healthy diet and a clean home will fix all that.
You can tell by her feet that she's not going to get any taller but the pound assures me she should fill out quite a bit. Her claws are also quite sharp! She managed to get me in the palm yesterday and nicked some skin.
It's been 3 days since she's been home, so I let her off the lead (I've been putting her on lead whenever we go outside) and let her play with Fred. They seemed to get on really well and at one stage Fred was chasing her around the garden. Since then there hasn't been much whining. I think perhaps the first night was a bit of a shock. And the fact that they didn't get to socialise before coming in and getting human attention didn't help. Over time I think they'll be the best of friends.
I tell you if there were any doubts that she had greyhound in her, that chase put them all to bed. She was like a grey furball! Powering around the pen. It was amazing. I've never seen a dog run so fast.
I must admit that I do worry a little - I never expected to be a greyhound owner, and I hope that she will fit in well with us. I also admit that it's a bit odd looking at her pointy face. I've had to adjust, considering my original list of requirements for a puppy and constantly looking at wolfie faces. She just looks so different. But at the end of the day I have to be reminded, it's not all about looks. Rosie was a beautiful dog but her temperment just did not suit our family. Whereas Elsie looks like she'll be a good fit, even if she isn't what I'd consider to be the cutest face - not like Freddie.
Knowing that she will most likely dominate Fred if she chooses to also turns the tables a bit for me. I've been trying my best to shower her with love and affection, in the hopes of securing her love and confidence. I want her to be a homebody and encourage Fred to stick around rather than go off chasing roos and accidently getting shot by angry sheep farmers. But also knowing that Fred will remain bottom dog is a bit of a disappointment.
They are still currently sleeping seperately. She's in the laundry while Fred is in the bedroom with me. This will stay this way until Freddie heals from his desexing which will happen today.
I must say she definately seems smarter than Fred. And while everyone (the pound, rangers, vet, receptionst @ vet) all claim that Elsie is a lovely 'gentle natured' girl, when I compare her to Fred, I must say she doesn't stack up as well.
I guess not everyone has a Fred to compare with. Probably in comparison to other dogs Elsie is wonderful. But not as wonderful as Fred. Aren't I biased? ;)
For example, she walks into any room she chooses. Not like Fred who won't walk into a room unless you invite him to. She even sauntered into my veggie patch! Of course she wasn't to know she wasn't allowed in there. She was simply following me around. Who would've thought I'd find a dog that was a better shadow than Fred?
Still I think she's going to be a good addition. At the moment she's getting plenty of attention from both me and Fred. Fred's constantly sniffing her bottom and last night chewed her ears. She was sitting in my lap at the time and it felt like a total love fest.
She also gets lots of pats from me and treats when I call her or try to get her to sit.
In all it's been a very big week for me. I stayed at home on Tuesday to take care of her and make sure she was ok - which was good, since she threw up 3 times. I didn't even get to sleep in, because after hubby left for work there was this whiney howl emanating from the laundry.
I also wasn't sure whether or not she's toilet trained, so every morning I've put her on the lead and walked her around the house first thing in the morning while I'm still in my dressing gown. She always seems a bit restless when I let her out so I figure better to get this over and done with now rather than risk her peeing all over the house. Interestingly she has picked her 'toilet spot' and pees in the same spot every morning.
The first morning was quite disturbing because Freddie was with us and proceeded to drink her pee as it was coming out. =S Kinky dog.
I've had to keep a close eye on both of them and that's quite draining. Freddie's not allowed to lick her wound and I'm trying to keep him from sniffing her bottom too much, mainly because I don't want him to be interested in mating.
Her, I've had to keep an eye on to make sure she doesn't lick or chew her wound too much and break it open. That would be icky... and costly. The pound paid for her desexing, but I'm not sure if they'll cover anything if she stuffs up her wound.
I have to go and pick Fred up from the vet's today. He's also getting desexed and will hopefully curb his wandering spirit.
We found a pigging site the other day (where people breed dogs to hunt pigs) and there was a cross breed there that looked exactly like Fred's twin not so good looking brother. It was the same markings down to the white line on the forehead, white chest and hocks! Amazing.
I definately don't want Fred to be a pig dog. I'm more than happy for him to just be a pet/house dog. And hopefully the desexing will help with that. It does feel like a slight pity in that he's such a lovely tempermented dog that I'd like for more dogs like him to be exactly like him, but I'm not really the puppy breeder type. I certainly don't have the stamina to take care of puppies. Just look at me struggling with two dogs at the moment and feeling frayed at the edges!
So because Fred is at the vet's today is Elsie's first day at home. I put her on Fred's chain and left her with some breakfast and a stinky meaty bone which will hopefully keep her occupied for quite a while.
What will interest me is whether or not she will take advantage of the dog house. Hubby bought that thinking that Fred would need shelter from the weather in the dog run, but so far he hasn't used it, except for a chewing exercise (you can see the chewing marks on the corner). Silly puppy.
I also worry about her dominance issues. So far she has a tendancy to try and crawl into my lap or at least put her front paws on me when I am sitting on the sofa. I see it as a dominance thing which I am not prepared to allow. I need her to know that I'm in charge, not her. Perhaps I'm still skittish from Rosie, but I do not want a repeat of a dog who thinks they are dominant and refuses to learn.
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