Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[koalathebear]

My post was split in two b/c DOL said I had 'more quoted blocks than permitted'. This is as bad as the time I exceeded the number of permitted emoticons in my post!!

aussielover: Clover sounded like a very special and unusual dog - the kind that only comes around once in a lifetime and probably makes it hard for any other dog to match up ... I hope you can find another special doggy that comes close though ... We are very happy with our two doggies right now. Elbie is our crazy hyper dog and Hoover has a way of blinking up at us like a perplexed little alien that we find really hilarious.

Wow, this thread fills up fast!

Yes! I see 21 pages because I have more posts per page but I logged out just out of curiosity and the garden variety person would see 55 pages!!!

We didn't crate train James but basically achieved the same effect with his playpen. He now sleeps in his (enormous!!) soft crate in the bedroom.

Hee! Those TopBuy crates are awesome. Do you realise DOLers must have bought out their entire range of XXXL???

Roo is better today, but I've stuck to mashed pumpkin and chicken for now.

:laugh:

Glad that nothing was damaged by the water. We have had constant rain here, too. Not only is it making us wet when we take Hoover out, when it's raining, Elbie gets confused and thinks that everywhere is Poo Corner. We have to leash him up and take him there.

I'd really like to keep Roo inside for a lazy day, but she hasn't worked out that her Very Expensive Dogbed is for lounging in- any suggestions?

I lure Elbie to the bed and make him drop. If I keep him in a drop position long enough, he gets tired and lounges. I am shameless about using bribery.

Max- how did your job interview go?

I, too would like to know this.

My house just isn't big enough for it as well I don't think. Plus, I cannot be completely sure that Roo wouldn't want to destroy it. I could sell it I spose...

If you want to sell it, I'll buy it off you. I was thinking of getting a soft crate for Hoover, too and it is one step closer to a crate in every room. Elbie doesn't destroy his soft crate but sometimes he claws at it a little and sounds like something from a horror movie.

[Niques]

I'm quietly dying of cuteness over here every time I see Elbie and Hoover sharing the bed How's their relationship going - is Elbie still looking to be the more submissive of the two? No conflicts?

Hee! Those TopBuy crates are awesome. Do you realise DOLers must have bought out their entire range of XXXL???

Ha hum...I may have bought the XXXXL I do think it's growing though - when it first arrived he could stretch out from end to end, but now it seems he only takes up half Unless he's curling into tighter and tighter balls to sleep.

Elbie doesn't destroy his soft crate but sometimes he claws at it a little and sounds like something from a horror movie.

James' is next to a wall and he thrashes a bit to get comfortable (this dog is too like his Mummy!) each night, so I often fall asleep to these odd thumps and grinding noises as the mesh rubs up against the wall.

I do (in my very limited experience) very much agree with the importance of owner expectations on how well the dog fits in. I don't know if we've just struck it lucky with James or if it is our expectations moulding him, but he is exactly how I imagined a dog to be Maybe a touch less naughty as a young puppy and a bit (...lot ) more naughty now as an adolescent, but basically, he's pretty spot on to how I expected him. My mother and I frequently have this discussion and I think watching her with James says a lot. She doesn't like dogs. At all, really. I don't think I've ever seen her pat a dog, except to subtly push it away from her Yet she's more than happy to get down to play with James and rub his belly. According to her, James is what she can tolerate in a dog - he has his moments but he's not exceedingly exuberant and energetic, he's not fearful and skittish...he's what we expected.

Of course, then there's always the potential of the reverse in that our expectations have very gradually shifted to what we actually have in James. And I certainly wouldn't put it past the manipulative sod to have done so

Clearly I've put much too much thought into this topic!

[koalathebear]

Marley'z mum - I see you lurking! Come out and play! this is the friendly corner!

[wuffles]

So it was snowing at our house this morning! I woke up, let the kids out, went to the loo then when I went to let them back in, they were covered in snow/ice Then I took them to the dog park at Belco and had a great time as no-one else was there!

Clastic: Satchmo had to wear a bucket for over two weeks straight when he had allergies and hotspots. He was SO itchy, it was horrible, but the collar was the only thing that stopped him chewing himself. After a few days he got used to the collar and we had no issues. We'd come home from work and you'd hear this BOOM CRASH noise, it was just Satch trying to get out of his kennel with his bucket on

lilli_star: No tips from me about getting Roo to use the bed, as mine gravitate to anything soft so I never had that problem ;)

KTB: Regarding the greyhounds, that thread is just an example of what happens when dogs aren't assessed properly before going into foster care and can happen with any breed. The girl we had lived with small dogs previously and she was fine with little fluffies - but this was tested before she even came into foster care. She wasn't cat friendly, but neither is Satch, so no problems there ;) We got a written document outlining her temperament and observations so far, before she came to us. We also had a backup carer if she didn't fit in at our house.

Edited October 15, 2010 by wuffles

[dandybrush]

snow!! did you take pictures wuffles??

[lilli_star]

It's snowing at my house. Started snowing some time after I went to bed (so after 12:30), and is still snowing now. When I got up this morning at 7am, there wasn't a lot of snow on the ground, but took Roo out for a play anyway. Brought her back in around 8 for breakfast and went back to bed. Got up again at 9 and it had snowed a lot more and was deeper. You couldn't see the grass! Roo had a great time catching snowballs in her mouth and doing zoomies around the backyard. We spent almost an hour out there I think. Then she came in and after awhile the cat and her were riling each other up and I was getting annoyed, so Roo is now in her crate asleep (hopefully) and the cat is asleep somewhere.

I'll post some pics in awhile. Not many though because my camera has hissy fits when it's cold and shuts down. Gah.

KTB, are you still having your party? You're welcome to my soft crate by the way. It's still in the box- haven't even taken off the packing strips.

[lilli_star]

Houses across the road from my house at around 7:30am this morning

[lilli_star]

Same view, but after 9am this morning

[lilli_star]

Edited October 16, 2010 by lilli_star

[aussielover]

Wow Lillistar that looks amazing!

Lucky Ruby! I bet she had fun playing in the snow!

Where abouts are you? I'm surprised it would be so cold at this time of year!

[lilli_star]

I'm near Orange. We had snow on the last Sunday in November in 2008, and I've been told it has snowed here on Christmas one year, but I've only been here since 2007. This is the most snow we've had since 2008- one day last year I think and 1 this year in August, but it didn't settle. Ruby did have fun catching snowballs and doing zoomies. She's still asleep.

Just looked out the window- still snow on the ground, but I can see more grass now. Still a few snowflakes falling though.

Edited October 16, 2010 by lilli_star

[Genabee]

Hi Peoples!

Wow those pics are amazing LS!!! I have never seen snow in real life before... I would love to one day! No, I haven't been downing lemonade and salads! Do they work? I just feel sea sick on and off all day, some days better than others... dry toast and tea sometimes works for a little while. Basically steady eating keeps it at bay. I just am constantly eating which I don't normally do, so I feel out of sorts. Poor G looks at me as if she never gets fed! She probably thinks I am a mean Mummy now because I am constantly stuffing my face.

We had a hail storm early this morning, so I woke up to our back patio covered in hail stones. Genevieve was going off her tree, barking at them. I think she got hit by a couple when she went out to the loo - she came back inside with a few lying on the top of her coat. It was pretty hilarious - until I saw paw prints all over the floors!

Love the pics of the recovering patient!!!! Poor boy. I am sure he will heal fast and forget all about it.

KTB - Elbster and Hoovster look like they have become great brothers already! I love the pic of them sleeping side by side!!! Maybe Hoovster likes the company, rather than just trying to hyjack his bed? And if you ever want to borrow Genevieve to add to your family, be my guest! I bet she would become Daddy's little girl! She adores my Dad... its quite pathetic really. When we were in Perth she followed him everywhere, slept on him etc. The fact that he winds her up and lets her lick him might have something to do with it!

As for the discussion on expectations.... I expected her to be a bit more sad, quiet, subdued and not so bark-a-lotish when I bought her home. WRONG!!! I am pretty sure she was running in some presidential campaign for dogs, because she was pretty vocal. And attention seeking!!!! She would purposefully do naughty things to get my attention - she was 8/9 weeks old!!! I didn't expect that kind of behaviour until now (which she still does, but even more naughty things!!!). I think that is why I struggled so much in the first few weeks... I wasn't expecting hyper puppy quite so soon.

[koalathebear]

Thanks to KumaAkita, we now have a second dog bed for the two monsters.

Thank you so much!!

Also thanks to clastic, wuffles, kumaakita & Mr kumaakita for coming by today to meet our monsters and bring toys!

Rock Band 3 comes out soon so if you ever feel like geeking out and playing plastic guitars/drums or singing, you would be most welcome

ETA: Some photos taken on my camera by wuffles of my two monsters.

Hoover's expression here is a classic.

Then they were banished to their dog beds

But see who ended up with the bigger bed

There are a few more photos but because there are Faces of Peoples I'll only post them on facebook so people with FB can see...

Edited October 16, 2010 by koalathebear

[Clastic]

Rock Band 3 comes out soon so if you ever feel like geeking out and playing plastic guitars/drums or singing, you would be most welcome

The tiny bit of geek left in me is saying... YES PLEASE!!!

Thanks for having us over, those cupcakes were so yummy!!! Mmmmm!!

[dandybrush]

looks like elbie and hoover are having a ball together, have you had to enforce any rules like wuffles was talking about, ie. pushing in for pats etc.

pity i live so far away

[koalathebear]

lilli_star: great photos! Queen Roo looked like she was having a fabulous time in the snow! Does that mean she's fully recovered from her tummy bug? I'll PM you about the crate - definitely still interested if you really don't want it. Maybe you want to test Roo out in it first - she may surprise you!

looks like elbie and hoover are having a ball together, have you had to enforce any rules like wuffles was talking about, ie. pushing in for pats etc.

pity i live so far away

Yes. I'm sorry that not all of the lovely people on this thread weren't able to come and join us :'( To be honest, Elbie and Hoover spent a lot of the time snoozing while the humans were chatting. The two dogs are pretty good about pats - they don't interrupt those. Hoover has bad food manners and will try to push Elbie out of the way to get treats. He was also being bad-mannered about the bed and every time he got in, Elbie tensed up and then left. KumaAkita gave us Kuma's bed which he has outgrown and as you will see from above, Hoover took that, too!

Still, there was a positive sign today. Hoover got out of the big bed and went to the bed that Elbie was in. Elbie was wary as usual but this time instead of just barrelling in impulsively, Hoover was very cautious and deferential, stepping in carefully and then getting down into a drop position slowly.

Elbie: "Hmmmmmm!"

Then, to our surprise not only did he not get out of the bed like he usually does, he lay down and snoozed, too.

It's possible that as wizzle pointed out, Hoover wasn't trying to be dominant - he actually wanted company and to cuddle with Elbie but didn't know how to do it politely.

Still, Elbie just woke up with a start, saw Hoover sleeping on his butt and bolted out of the bed to jump into Kuma's old bed to sleep.

Edited October 16, 2010 by koalathebear

[aussielover]

Great photos!

I'm so jealous of all the people who got to meet Hoover!

He is so big! He is almost as big as Elbie, who i must say looks very unimpressed with hoover in the photos LOL

Love hoovers eyebrows they are very expressive!

[wuffles]

Thanks for having us over KTB! Hoover has such a thoughtful little face and I loved watching their game of bitey face. By the way I was right, OH hadn't fed himself when I got home

That's quite a bit of snow lilli_star! What's it like living near Orange? I'd actually like to live somewhere like that but OH would never agree

I like weekends when I can just lounge around with the dogs snoozing next to me. They just don't last long enough

[Clastic]

I like weekends when I can just lounge around with the dogs snoozing next to me. They just don't last long enough

We had a good snooze when I got home, Mars couldn't get comfortable.. he was sleeping at the end of the bed, then he'd come up and snuggle next to me with his cone head, then back to the end of the bed and finally back to shoving his cone head next to me again. Worst snooze ever.. but I do like how he is a tad more affectionate than what he used to be..

[Max#1]

Glad to hear the 'meet Hoover' party went well!!! Those bed shots are really classic. Poor Hoover - of course he wants to sleep cuddled up to Elbie! That's any puppy's paradise! Elbie will get used to it, I'm sure, and I'm sure it is actually nice for him too - just hasn't realised it yet! The facial expressions on the two of them are priceless!

Poor Mars with the cone head!! We tried, well we were successful thanks to some skinless frankfurters, to put cone on head of dog today. Not that's he's being overly licky, but we're worried about when we go back to work. It did not go well. Cheerful puppy became mad, bucking bronco/bull - from one end of the house to the other, bashing into walls and the floor. He was so distressed. Eventually he sat still, facing the wall, and did not move one inch - except his eyes. It was terrible. Ours looks a lot bigger than the one Mars has - its at least one size to big for Max so that probably doesn't help matters. So we got out the bitter spray. Also an unpleasant experience. Sweet little puppy is getting so many things to chew on - he must think its Christmas! But its working for distracting him.

As for the crate - last night while I was preparing dinner he hopped in of his own accord and was happy to sit there watching me!!! He has absolutely no problems going in and out - I've been throwing all fore-mentioned chew things in there for him to find again, as well as other random treats. Its also a handy place to store his toys - ha! We haven't shut the door as yet. But I'm very happy with progress so far.

Lili_star - that snow looks amazing. Its been that wintery here today in Melb, I'm almost waiting for it to snow too. I keep checking out whether its snowing on Mt Dandenong. Has Ruby seen snow before? She must've been pretty impressed!

And to those curious - the job interview went well, but I don't think its a job for me. I'm at a bit of a crossroads at the moment careerwise. In fact one thing I'm considering is applying to Canberra for a government training/job (IP Australia) - but the logistics make it probably too hard.