Kuna arrives!

Well, it's been one busy month! I won't waste valuable computer bits rehashing these last five weeks - just know that everyone is alive and well.  The most recent and significant change: there's a new boy in the family. That's right: we're fostering a terrier/hound mix, 5 - 6 weeks old with cuteness seeping out of his pores. We named him Kuna - the fact that my boyfriend already named him pretty much means we've adopted him, but we keep telling ourselves it's temporary.

I always told myself that if I found a dog B could tolerate, I would adopt him/her right there. For all these years, I never understood what it was about our last foster that granted him safe access in to our home without B's world being turned upside-down. Shame on me for not thinking outside of the box. I was thinking it was only because he was a puppy. That could still be part of it but more importantly, he was a HE. B doesn't care so much for the drama that females bring - she's got enough of it to last a life time. So J and I said that if we found the right dog, he'd at least have to be a boy. :)

After only a few days of volunteering as a trainer at the Calvert Animal Welfare League, we found Kuna.

All he does right now is eat, sleep, pee, poop. Oh! And WHINE! This boy whines alllll through the night. But it's okay. I keep telling myself: his training has begun. If you go open his crate while he's whining, it will never stop. 

I also forgot how much a puppy doesn't know! He doesn't know:

what a leash is

how to navigate stairs 

what the sound of plastic opening could potentially mean...

He also didn't know some very important puppy lessons that can be taught by an appropriate older dog. Surprisingly, that has turned out to be Bizzle! The one dog who I thought was clueless about dog body language.

Kuna kept trying to follow her into her kennel. I lured him out of there before disaster struck, but he was very persistent. When it came time to feed her, he slipped from my hands and went for her food (I wasn't feeling worried for his safety, so you can understand why I was kind of thinking, "well, let's see what transpires.") He not only went for her food, but jumped on her head while she was eating! B emitted a low grumble...VERY appropriate for such foolish behavior! Kuna backed off immediately on his own and for the rest of B's meal, he sat at a safe distance from B and her food. She never repeated herself or got out of hand. Her stern voice told him, "You better back up kid..." and that was all that had to be said. What a great lesson for them both: B learns that using appropriate reactions works and K learns to be told only once.

I'm very interested in how B and K will learn to coexist...stay tuned for new puppy updates! We're back in the blogging saddle with plenty of new stuff to talk about!

e