Meet Larry the Wolfhound Cross

Hi, I'm Larry!

Larry comes from a rescue group after being saved from deathrow in a country pound. He was significantly underweight and super timid and shy. His foster family believes he had been abused. He even has a docked tail, poor puppy dog. Knowing how much joy Ginger has with her whippy tail, I can only imagine how much Larry is missing out - although he probably is used to it and knows no better these days. :(

This was his pound photo before they got him off death row.

And after getting saved and put into rescue foster.

oh, the indignity!

Since then, he has blossomed and put on a lot of weight. Although I should probably try to put on a bit more weight on him. Bought a big bag of puppy food yesterday, and will do 50/50 for him until it finishes.

Larry and Ginger are getting along like a house on fire. Ginger has spent more time playing chasies in the last 24 hours than she has for maybe a month combined.

Ginger: I'm coming to chaaaase yoooou!

But chasing goes both ways..

Larry: Not if I get you first!!

Larry: Rarrr!

After all that chasing, Ginger's keeping an eye out..

Ginger: Oh no, where did he go?!

Larry: Woof.... that was quite the play. Need to catch my breath for a second..

Ok, all good now. Where you at, girly?

He's giving as good as he can get. No timid dog here anymore..

Going for the pounce..

Larry: I'm Top Dog!

Ginger: Sheesh, buddy. I get it!

And then the tables turn..

Ginger: My turn!!

Ginger: Bwahaha... No, I'm Top Dog!!

After all the fun and games they chill out to have a chat



And try to get to know each other better..

Larry: So.. nice collar you got there..

Ginger: Wow. You really going to start with that line?

Larry: What? What's wrong with complimenting a girl on her accessories?

Larry: C'mon girl, lighten up!

Larry: hey, you have a little burr stuck to your collar. Let me just...

 He's a smooth operator, that Larry...

So, Larry, what do you think of all this? Think you'll be happy here?

Larry: This place ain't too bad so far... Someone to play with. Lots of snuggles with humans and someone to document all my shenangians.

Larry: This gal's not too bad either...

Larry: Give us a smoochies there, now..

Ginger: Whoa, there, Tiger. We've only just met...

All in all, a fun day meeting and greeting and getting to know one another. Who says you can't find a pair of matching rescue dogs?

Changing of the Guard

Our new puppy arrived today. Well, not so much puppy as 18 month old. 

Another wolfhound cross. With markings very similar to ginger. Slightly smaller in height and about the same weight.

Wolfieboy thinks he's beautiful and ginger not half as pretty. Yet I swear there's more wolfie in her face than there is in him.

He's a sweetheart and well on the way to worming himself into my heart. I still miss my big boofy fred, but at least there's more of a stop gap now.

After all the palavar about naming, perhaps mainly because I couldn't decide for good, wolfieboy helped me name him, and we ended up with 'Larry.'

Perhaps not my first choice, and definitely one that I'm not at all sure I'm comfortable about incorporating into my family, but the name suits him. So, Larry it is, and I'll just have to suck up the rest.

Larry came and met Ginger, and from the minute he arrived she was desperate to play with him.

They seemed to get on just fine. Unfortunately the minute his foster dad left, he pelted out the gate and chased him down. And no amount of yelling brought him pack. For a few moments there, I thought it was all over before it had even begun.

He had actually barrelled through the bottom of the gate. I had been eyeing that little keyhole just that morning but had decided it wasn't big enough to be an issue. In the face of a determined wolfhound, I guess I was wrong.

And then to make matters worse, Ginger then jumps into my veggie garden and then shoves herself through the chicken wire. There is a ginger sized hole there now. Grr.

I gave up after that and trudged home to make a call to the foster people and prepare for the worst. Luckily, he came pelting back just as i got to the door. What a relief.

Put them on leads pronto and then decided we'd go for a walk to burn off some energy. He was good in lead with a few false starts. But settled in nicely. Wasn't fazed by much in spite of two wolfiepup tantrums and Ginger going AWOL halfway through when I decided to let her run on her own for a bit.

I'd been warned that as a stray he would be skittish, but so far I have yet to see it. I guess they broke him in good. Lol

After the walk they played together in the yard. Their energy levels matched and he gave as good as he got.

But they obviously need to get to know each other better, as they were still arguing about being top dog when they were let inside.

Like Ginger, he struggled initially trying to figure out what was what. And it took him a while to settle. Every time I got up to do something he would get up to follow, and then that would rev up ginger, who then would take it out on him. Voi..

Ginger was the same when she first arrived. Every time someone moved she would get up. Took a few days to her to relax enough to chill for good. But Fred was pretty indifferent to her and just lay around. Whereas this time around Ginger gets up when she does... Two big dogs trotting around, with wolfiepup in the middle trying to navigate. What a choatic mess!

He also tried to follow me into the bedrooms, but a few stern words sent him back into the common areas.

The following reminds me of Fred. Fred used to follow me everywhere too. Follow to the kitchen, follow to the bathroom, follow to the door. Rinse and repeat.

Ginger is slightly put out. She vascillitates between "I am a submissive dog" to a prim and proper 'sheesh. We don't do that kind of behaviour here.." and sits upright watching as I give him cuddles.

I think she appreciates having a buddy though. And I feel better about this decision than the one I had getting her. Her interest in Larry puts it all into perspective re how Fred was actually not that interested in Ginger when she arrived. Perhaps he never really wanted another companion, and the push for the second was really me trying to fill up the hole that Elsie left behind. Or perhaps he just never really warmed up to her, or was already too sick to pay her that much attention. I feel bad that his last four months weren't spent in peace and quiet and solitude with his humans :(

Having dogs in your life is a journey. You learn something new every time a new one comes into your life. But by the time you have it all down pat, I think it will be too late to do anything about it. You just have to live in the moment and do the best you can at the time, armed with the knowledge and instincts that you have. A bit like life, really...

What a sobering thought.

Walking off lead

We went on our daily walk a little earlier today. She was Raring to go. Was doing speedy runs back and forth along the verandah before we even left the house, and managed to topple wolfiepup down in her excitement. That hasn't happened for a while. *shakes head*

Something kept on grabbing her attention on the walk though, and I tried my best to be vigilant.

I spy with my sighthound eyes...

First she'd stop and stare, and then you'd see her ears pop up..

And then you'd have to call her back before she pelted off.

Aww, c'mon mum! Stop being such a spoil sport...

She did good at the beginning, but then caught a whiff of goodness knows what. I certainly didn't see it. Her tail rose up high to a L shape, and she was off, bounding around in circles. And no amount of "Ginger!" "Oi!" and "Come!" worked. I even crouched down low at one stage. And she came towards me, but scooted off to the right at the last minute, tricky girl.

It was actually quite amazing to watch as she bounded in and out of the high branches, a bit like a kangaroo jumping around.

I finally grabbed a hold of her as she stood sniffing something on the ground, and we spent the rest of the walk with my hand on her collar. I let her off towards the end, but she stuck close.

I was reading something the other night about how you shouldn't pet dogs on the face/ears, but I swear, if I do it and stop she pushes her head into my hand for more.

So that made for an interesting if not ideal walk. The new puppy is due tomorrow, and I think we'll be back on lead for a little while. That in itself, should be interesting. Need to pick a name too.

We'll decide when he arrives and spends some time with us.

Last day of independent freedom, Ginger. Better make the most of it... she's currently chilling out in the yard trying to lick all the peanut butter off her squeaky toy.

New beds and sleeping in

New puppy was due, but has now been postponed until tomorrow. Meant I had enough time to finish the new dog bed. I now have 2 brand new beds. Here's hoping they don't go and wreck these ones anytime soon.


Both made from second hand quilts folded in quarters, sewn together, and then covered with a quilt cover that I had bought for $4 cut down to size. I'd also bought a baby cot quilt (wasn't sure at the time what sizes to get), and managed to fold that down to 3s and then could put it inside the matching pillow case.

In total the new beds came to under $20. A steal compared to the $50 beds I was eyeing. The material on those were so coarse, and the padding/filling was barely there. *Shudder*

It will be interesting to see what Ginger makes of them tonight when she comes inside.

In the meantime, I was busy fixing some things in one of the bedrooms, and happened to look out the window, to spot this:

 Who needs a fancy new bed when my garden bed will do just as well, eh? ;)

A walk in the sunshine

So after a few days of misery, wet and grey, the sun decided to shine.

Ginger and I took advantage and went out for a walk.

Ohmygoodness, is that .... SUNSHINE... I smell?!

 And no successful walk is truly successful unless you manage to find the rainbow...

Unfortunately there was no gold at the center of it.

I feel a bit jipped, really..

Although I have found these lovely little gnats that seem to capture the light like fireflies... purty...

Wait a second.. where did they go?!

Whoa... will you stop with the colour toning? One minute it's rainbows, the next you switch out the lights, and now you've gone all spooky moody. Seriously...

Thank you for going back to usual programming..

Oh, I give up. I think I'm just going to walking

ooOOOooo.. something smells interesting..

So you coming? Or not?

Such a grumpy little thing, aren't you, Gingery?

Ginger's new bed

Went into town today to look for a new dog bed for Ginger. Was a little horrified at the prices and quality. Decided to do a bit of thrift, and bought a quilt single size and a single quilt cover for $9 from Salvos.

Folded said quilt in quarters, and then sized and cut the quilt cover to size.

Voila!!

Hrmm, I'm not sure Ginger is as impressed as I am. *sniffs*

I guess I should be happy that she's using it at least.

On the plus side, it's stopped her constantly going over to chill on wolfiepup's play area mats...

You're such a cheapskate, mum.

 Yeah well, least if you destroy this one, it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg. Anyway, if you keep behaving yourself, I *might* bring myself to buy you another proper orthopaedic one. Just give me time for the sales to come back.

In the meantime, hey, this bed ain't so bad!

Ginger the Off Lead Lap Cuddler

Another day of walking Ginger off lead today. To be honest, I have no idea where the lead is. I had it 3 days ago. But I don't know where I put it. Good thing she's much improved, and a lot better on recall to boot.

Well that's just ridiculous, isn't it? I've been good for a while now, y'know? If you'd bothered to trust me..

Yeah, good point, Ginger. But you gotta admit, your track record wasn't all that great when you first arrived.

I'd forgotten what it was like to have a big dog yanking on the lead after years of Fred and Elsie. Suddenly you were dragging me left right and center. And when you decided there was something you wanted to chase, there was no getting you back.

Lucky for us you're a pack dog and always came back. Much more so than my two Wanderers.

The sad thing of course, is that I have to yell 'oi' in order to get you back. Not exactly the best word to use, but hey, if it works, eh?

Whatever, mum...

Now, about some cuddles..

 Oh yeah, that's also been nice too. You're trotting beside me for quite a lot now too, and you seem to be enjoying your neck scratches as we take a walk.

Wait, where are you going now?

Sorry - just thought I saw something.

Oh wait, or maybe I heard something..

What *is* that?! Is it a roo?! Hrmm, maybe not. Ok, time to move on.

Oh, now what? I just want to go take a look...

 Of course, the other way to get you to come to me, is to simply crouch down low. Then you run straight at me in order to put your head in my lap. I swear I've never had a more smoochy dog.

Lap Cuddles, here I come!!!