My purple, yellow-tailed Yankee dog and I are homeward bound!

[oruacat2]

Well, I did it. Took a load of two-week old Heeler puppies (and their mama) up to the Michigan shelter, and picked up The Dog Formerly Known as Dawson. We're now on our way back to KY, with a layover at an East Lansing hotel for the night.
First impression - I made a great choice with this one. He already minds, even though I've been trying different various "new" names on him, and he's just as calm as can be. He's also got personality by the truckload - as I type this he's standing on his two rear legs, both front paws firmly on the counter/sink, staring at himself in the mirror. What an ego. lol He's a blatant attention-hound. So far I've tried not to overwhelm him - no sudden movements, letting him come to me, etc, and he's big into that whole "stick his snout into the palm of my hand and force me to pet him" trick that all dogs learn. There's been no tail-wagging yet, as he's essentially been uprooted and that must be at least a bit traumatic, but he's not skittish like those others at the shelter, and so far I haven't heard a growl, bark, whine, or peep out of him. That's a good sign considering I live in an apartment.

I'll be watching him closely over the next few days, trying to gauge his personality and come up with a fitting new name, but so far I'm leaning towards "Rocket" - something about that unflattering photo on the rescue group website - the phrase "the rockets' red glare" keeps popping into my head and just won't go away. Wish us luck!

KD and Kickass-Dog-to-be-Named-Later

[capcat]

Pretty excited about the name "Rocket", and it's not even my dog. lol Any dog that looks at himself in the mirror, well... :thumbup: is all I can say to that.

[oruacat2]

Hey, can you do me a favor and insert "and I" into the thread title so I don't look like a complete illiterate? lol

He's calmed down just over the past few minutes, though he's On Alert any time someone walks past the hotel room door. Good boy.

Hell, that silly blonde tail is growing on me.

KD

[Rockober]

Congrats!! I just welcomed a 8 week chocolate lab to our family on Saturday. I forgot how much work is involved:eek: but I also know they are well worth it as I also have a 9 year old chocolate.

[oruacat2]

Well, just when I get complacent....pizza delivery shows up, I open the door a crack, and Houdini here makes a break for it - a mad dash to escape. I had to grab that yellow tail and drag him back into the room, totally reversing what little trust I'd built-up over the few hours since leaving the rescue facility. I'll have to watch this guy carefully until he gets comfortable with me, I guess. lol

KD

[oruacat2]

Well, I'm having trouble settling on a name for this guy.
"Ruckus" is a favorite, but he's far too calm for that one (and who am I to complain?)
"Rocket" doesn't quite fit, because this dog doesn't know the meaning of the word "hurry".
My lady friend likes "Rebel", but again, so far he's been too well-behaved.

I think he looks like some sort of wild-dog-from-the-desert....so what are your thoughts on "Gobi"? FWIW, you SNL fans will also recognize it as Jimmy Fallon's stoner sidekick (portrayed by Horatio Sanz) on "Jarret's Room", the modern-day version of "Wayne's World".

Thoughts? Ideas?

KD

[capcat]

I like DOG, pronounced Dee-OH-Jee. Sounds kind of "wild dog from a desert in the southwest". Maybe spelled Dioji.

[capcat]

Or Dingo..."Wild Australian dog with tawny color, pointed ears and a bushy tail".

[capcat]

Or Migo, short for amigo. Or something traditional like Champ.

[oruacat2]

The only thing about "Dingo" is that it's SO common amongst this breed, because dingo is a big part of the breed's make-up.

Kinda like anyone who has ever had a pet racoon - there are only two approved names - "Rocky" and "Bandit". lol

KD

[ukwebfan]

How about a pic?

[oruacat2]

Definitely some pics - as soon as I learn how. What's the one "free" photo site that everyone uses on these boards? You upload your own pics to the site, then link to them?
I can never remember the name of that site.

More Gobi updates (yep, Rocket just didn't fit):

After 24 hours of near-perfect "male" behavior, wherein Gobi didn't "mark" anything in the apartment and did his business outside with no accidents, he once again caught me off-guard. No lie - it wasn't 5 minutes after I brought Boo back home that Gobi hiked his leg and claimed the trashcan in the kitchen. My startled yell stopped him mid-stream, and he showed a bit of shame like he knew what he did was wrong, and he hasn't tried it again, so there's hope on that front. I've gotten lazy having a female dog for 12 years - this guy stuff will be an adjustment for me, as well.

We've had one minor scrap/fight - Gobi nipped Boo on the ear for no apparent reason, and rather than fight back (she's smart, she knows she'd get an arse-whippin) she gave him a dismissive huff and went under the coffee table. It's been the only sign of aggression out of him, if that's indeed what it was. Later on I took them on our first "two dog" walk, and they were fine together. I loaded them both up into the back of my Jeep and took them to the local dogpark for an hour, and they were fine in transit and at the park itself. No interest in playing with each other, but no interest in killing each other, either, so I'm considering it a plus at this point. Worked on his recall a few times - which basically consisted of me yelling "Gobi, COME! Gobi, COME!" repeatedly from increasingly further distances, and while he didn't exactly speed over to me, he did come to me each time. He can't fetch worth a darn, and when I threw a frisbee towards him he dodged it like a fighter pilot taking evasive action. lol

I was told that in most of these rescue/adoption situations it takes 2-3 weeks for a dog's "real" personality to emerge, so based on that rough timeline, I'm encouraged by what I've seen over the course of the first two full days - especially considering the trauma of the move itself.

I'll keep you updated until interest wanes....

ps at edit: He's lying on the floor, and the sound of my voice alone now sets his tail a-waggin', so I'm taking that as a good sign, too. lol

KD

[Jeff Craddock]

Nothing to add here, Kenny. I'm just enjoying the ride, reading the adventures of Oruacat and the "Nameless One". :thumbup:

Maybe you'll want to wait on his name--if you can--those two or three weeks while his true personality emerges.

[WILD1]

Well, I'm having trouble settling on a name for this guy.
"Ruckus" is a favorite, but he's far too calm for that one (and who am I to complain?)
"Rocket" doesn't quite fit, because this dog doesn't know the meaning of the word "hurry".
My lady friend likes "Rebel", but again, so far he's been too well-behaved.

I think he looks like some sort of wild-dog-from-the-desert....so what are your thoughts on "Gobi"? FWIW, you SNL fans will also recognize it as Jimmy Fallon's stoner sidekick (portrayed by Horatio Sanz) on "Jarret's Room", the modern-day version of "Wayne's World".

Thoughts? Ideas?

KD

How about "Rowdy"...sounds as though it's an apt description? ;)

[oruacat2]

Day three - good news and bad news

The good news is that he's crate-trained, at least philosophically. He understands not to do his business where he sleeps. The bad news is how I found out this little factoid. He had a diarrhea attack while I was at work, and must've aimed his big cowdog butt out through the crate's grated door - keeping his bed clean, but, well, you know the rest. lol
Can't really be mad at him - he also puked later last night, so he can't be feeling well, and he does understand the principle of keeping a clean crate.

I'll say this - that crazy yellow tail is wagging all the time now. He's really starting come out of his shell, I think. I'll give it another day or two, then I'll start taking him around to all my dog-owning friends and start socializing him as much as possible. I don't want him to be leery of people, and I want exposure to other dogs besides fellow cattle dogs. I'm not expecting any trouble in that regard, as he was the GoTo Guy at the shelter when they needed to socialize OTHER rescues. Hell, they had Gobi in the same pen with those three freaked-out younger male pups that I originally drove up to see, because he has a calming effect on them (at least that's what I was told - we'll see).

Well, I'm off to spend even more money on this rogue red heeler. I'm gonna need one of those small handheld carpet spotcleaners, and I think I'm just gonna bite the bullet and get his very own crate instead of the hand-me-down I've been using. Let it be all his own, with no "old dog smell", brand new sheets/towels/whatever for bedding, etc.

BTW - I do like the "Rowdy" suggestion, but my late great-grandmother in Somerset had an old collie-mix by that name, so my wisearse family would crack me for a lack-of-originality. lol

KD

[Jeff Craddock]

Nothing like coming home to doggie "accidents"....:eek:. Buddy, our Golden eating machine, once ate over four pounds of dry dog food. He managed to work the lid off the food bin and ate every last morsel. We figured he would either blow up and explode....or he would pass unbelievable amounts of poop. It was the latter and he passed most of it when both of us had gone to work--there was nothing we could do, except clean up the mess that he left EVERYWHERE--on the carpets, kitchen floor, the hallway...even the basement. Poor dog must have been extremely stressed and confused when the stuff started blowing out his rear. It was winter, so I can't even begin to to describe the first blast the hit my nostrils when I came home from work.

Luckily we had all the tools--brushes, carpet cleaner, ZeroOdor, scoops to get the poop off the wood floors, small brushes to get it out of the little seams between floorboards, etc. Our heating bill was a bit higher than usual that month, as there was no way we couldn't air out the house.

The joys of dog ownership....

For the olfactory aftermath of such inevitable incidents, we use the following with great results.

ZeroOdorStore (http://www.zeroodorstore.com/)

[ukblue22]

Sounds like the dog deserves to fall into my old Shelties name: Joker. It's a great name and reminds me of all the crazy Batman characters. All the Jokers were vain and likely to sucker you into an escape at any minute.