Wilson Meets New Friends

I had him out to a friend's to meet her dogs. He did his barking and wanting to get to them but we just walked forward, and not soon after he settled in, wanting a few sniffs but then ignored them as we kept walking. Sophie (the Pyr) and Skye kept wanting to smell him. Eventually, they were doing the butt smells. He seemed unsure of them at first but before you know it, all three were playing in the fenced half acre. He also went into the house where he met Tiggy the cat. Tiggy was sitting on a table and their noses touched. Wilson was great.

Beautiful Mr. Wilson

Such a beauty inside and out.

Wilson had his bath (I missed his face but will wash that shortly), and some grooming . He has been dewormed. He is now neutered. He is on his way to putting on weight. His coat will begin to get some shine and lose its dullness.

It had to happen. Zeetie finally had Wilson growling at her, ready for a scrap. Oh, Zeetie. My little sweet tomboy. I intercepted it before anything happened.

This guy is just one cutie patootie. True to being a gentle giant, he is so wonderfully sweet but I keep saying that. He is an excellent boy in the house. He loves to lie on the bed and look out the window. Or, lie on the couch and sleep, or, lie in the middle of the kitchen floor while we prepare dinner. He is learning to lie down while we eat instead of placing his chin squarely on the table top, watching us eat.

When we return from being out for a few hours or so, he is either lying at the back door, or upstairs in bed. We do crate him if Zeetz and Mac are with him in the house when we go out (a friend lent me a Wilson-sized BIG crate.) Max just does not like this big guy near him. I think it’s because, again, he is a one bitch dog. He does not like sharing Zeetie, and I think, plain out just doesn't like this guy.

A breakthrough at last on his sighting of a dog. We walked by a house with a barking dog in the back. Wilson looked, 'clever boy', I said. He whipped his head and shoulders around, and took the treat, treat, treat, 'good boy, Wilson'. I will need to up the treat value because the standard treats don't work as a distraction if the dog we pass is on leash across the street. I've discovered he also likes to leap at cars as they drive away from a stop. We were successful with no leaps today.

He'll come around with someone willing to be patient and work with him. Working with a dog like this can only help both of you get to know each other.

He is one amazing Pyr. You only have to meet him to know this.

Settling in Nicely

For the first time I left him loose in the house, I came down to the basement. I heard some roaming around and then nothing on the main floor. I let it be quiet for about 10 minutes. I then went up to check to see what was happening. No dog on main floor, no dog in plain view on the second floor. Into the bedroom. There he was, stretched out quite comfortably on the bed. Where every dog should be!

He has the cutest, squishiest face.

This is one handsome boy. How can you not love that face?

He sleeps in the bedroom with Zeetie and us, and he is very content. Zeetie has not yet allowed him on the bed with her, however, but he can be on it without her.

I have a hard time getting him out of bed mornings he is so relaxed. He just turns over on his back for belly rubs so I have to get the leash onto his collar to do a little convincing.

He and Zeetie can be together, now. Zeetie warns him off when he gets his nose up her bum but once he stops that nonsense, she is ready to play.

He went for a bath, finally. He was a little startled by all of it, and we had to hang on tight but what a clean smelling dog now. It turns out our boy has parasites which would explain some of the lost weight and his lousy coat. No amount of grooming will make it the best it can be with those in him. He is being snipped as I write this, and he'll be sent home with the medication to clear up the parasites.

He is turning out to be an amazing dog. It turns out that the the police went to his original house to arrest the husband. The wife told the police to take the dog away and have him euthanized. The police took him to a shelter, and well, the shelter people knew better. I must say, though, his former owners must have done something right with him. He is an amazingly affectionate dog to those he knows which is characteristic of a Pyr as they are aloof with strangers.

He is still trying to play with Max occasionally but has settled for lying in the kitchen. It doesn't matter how much Max snarls and hisses at him, he doesn't seem to know what lashing back means, and that is amazing. He'll make someone the most awesome companion, once he learns to socialize with other dogs. That will be a work in progress but one well worth it.

On Day 7

Day 7 and Wilson and Zeetie played today. He finally seemed to get that he needed that playbow and away they went for a short time. Poor Zeetz. Once he won her over, he was more interested in doing what intact male dogs do best, and that is sniffing and peeing on everything, and then, sticking his nose up Zeetz' bum.

 

He has such a beautiful big and curly tail, and a big, bouncy stride.

Max, on the other hand, just plain doesn't like him. Max doesn't back off from Wilson, and Wilson just doesn't understand. I just can't believe he doesn't even react to Max except wanting acceptance. It may have something to do with him still being intact that Max dislikes him. What a switch around. Normally, we have to worry about Zeetie.

It's Wilson

He's up for adoption!

He is stressed but settling in nicely. He is a six-year old baby who is absolutely stunning. I haven't seen an aggressive bone in his body, yet, but he has no social graces when it comes to dogs. He doesn't know when to back off so poor Max. Max is afraid of him so stands his ground, snarling and growling but Wilson keeps on going to him, wanting to play and be friends. We don't let him, though.

He weighed in at 79 pounds Tuesday, April 9th. He needs another 10-20 pounds. It's hard to tell since he is all coat. He has a great spring in his step and that big tail just curls up and around in happiness.

Zeetie, of course, hasn't accepted him yet so he is in his crate during the day. No worries. He gets plenty of walks during the day, and sleeps with one of us at night. Zeetie will lie outside his crate, guarding his food in the crate, claiming it as hers. We send her away. She comes back, and just lies outside his crate in an amiable manner. They touched noses this morning before she did her protest barking.

When people want to adopt, some say, only if he gets along with my dog. Well, first meetings aren't always that great, especially with Pyrs. Zeetie will never like a dog, on first, second or even third day. She is afraid, proprietary and just needs to take time to get to know a dog. There has been the occasional dog, off property, to whom she takes. Bring that same dog into her home, and it's bets off.

This boy is just so sweet with his big fat face. He really is a good boy and walks well on a leash. He is strong when he decides he want to go his own way but a firm check settles him down. I can't wait to give him a bath and am grooming him a little each day. His soft, white hair blows into the neighbourhood in tufts. There will be many bunny and bird homes constructed from this material.

He has Addison's. This disease is another great pretender as it resembles so many other illnesses. It is an adrenal gland dysfunction which is an endocrine-disorder when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of a certain hormone. The adrenal glands sit next to the kidneys. If you are interested in reading more, read up in the Whole Dog Journal. Wilson will live a normal life now that he is being treated. It only costs 45.00 a month.

If you're interested in adopting this boy, contact adopting@hopefulhearts.ca

Dogs in Harmony

I smiled as I took this first picture, and instantly thought of Lynn and Dogs in Harmony. Lynn's teachings are why we have dogs in harmony and why we can manage Zeetie and why Zeetie can share her couch (with time).

Boscoe has been staying with us for the last month, and sadly, for us, goes home shortly. It only took until day five for Zeetie to fully accept him. She had already had him for a week this past summer but she certainly did not get to this level of acceptance. She now allows him in the bedroom, on the bed, near her toys (he doesn't care about toys, at least not hers), on the couches. He can drink the water, too! They can all be walked together and play with no fights. It is so peaceful We live in harmony, for sure. Well, she and Max will always protect their food, as does Boss, but I don't consider that an issue. However, Boss might. He has a little facial welt which is presently healing nicely. 

Trickster, Zeetz, Max  (watch those hooded eyes) and Boss

Sharing the bed.

Does Everyone Just Close Their Eyes?

Does anyone know or even care how many dogs are euthanized everyday at shelters across the world, across Canada, in Ottawa at our own Ottawa Humane Society? Those cute puppies people 'bought' for Christams gifts from a pet shop or a backyard breeder. Then it peed on the floor, jumped on the guests, ripped up the furniture because no one bothered to show it how to live in our society or exercise it. No one thought beyond the cuteness.

They didn't think they'd have to feed it regularly, train it not to jump on people (training is pretty easy), housetrain it (very easy), exercise it, socialize it and the dog will live anywhere, barring any tragic circumstances, between 10 and 18 years old. That dog should be with your family for that entire time, living as part of your family.

I volunteer with Hopeful Hearts Dog Rescue. And, frankly, it's absolutely heartbreaking to turn dogs away but we've had to. Why, because we have been working on fixing other people's dogs, the ones they didn't have time or money for, the ones they didn't spay or neuter and have had pups, the ones that come from puppy mills in Quebec, from the Amish puppy mills in Ontario and we have now run out of funds because we have four upcoming big surgeries that will cost money. The dogs that no one wanted because they weren't cute anymore.

Those dogs end up in 'shelters' (horrible places for most dogs to be) or rescues. Chances are these same dogs haven't been spayed or neutered so already they have created more unwanted pups. I'm saying this because one woman just turned up with 5-6 week old pups wanting to dump them. And, you know what, we have no funding left to care for more dogs. Just like so many of the other rescues who are overflowing.

Come on people. Put your thinking caps on. Don't get a dog if you can't be bothered to the put the work into it. And, if you feel it's work, don't get a dog. I cannot believe people who adopt a rescue, and the dog does something like be possessive to its human because it doesn't know whether it's coming or going, and the new people give up. They are ready to dump it at the closest vets. Not even willing to have a trainer in. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that if the dog is growling in the bedroom at the longer time resident dog that the adopted dog should not be in the bedroom. Where is the problem?

We work hard as volunteers. We want to do our best, and everyone becomes tired because it's never ending. We are constantly smashing our heads against the wall because so many people work against us. We don't have to be here as a rescue. No rescue does. We do it because we want to save deserving dogs, the dogs people discarded or abused because of their selfishness. It's just never ending, and we know that. And, then, Paws R Us who had a court order not to breed for two years is out there breeding again, just in time for Christmas, and what does Quebec say? Well, we are ensuring the conditions are good for the dogs. Sure, 500 more dogs stuck in cages, fed peanuts, bred every heat, never see the light of day, etc. And the cycle begins, again. What was the whole point of saving those last dogs?

Dogs are nothing to so many people yet they want one to keep their kid happy. For how long? A couple of weeks, tops?

Sometimes, we all just want to pack it in. Does anyone other than us really care? Take your dog to the local human society where, if it doesn't meet their 'health and mental' criteria, into the gas chamber it goes. Don't think about it, though. It'll go away. Here no evil, see no evil.

Organizations such as Puppy Mill Awareness Solutions are in need of your help. Volunteer work can be thankless but one should be doing it for the rewards it can bring. For example, perhaps, just perhaps, PMA can get this brought to the legislature, get the work done in having legislation to shut these factories down. Wouldn't you like to be a part of that? Please, contact pmasolutions7@gmail.com.