If I get pictures tomorrow of a snow day, I will post them 🙂 School is cancelled for tomorrow since it started snowing tonight. Dudley loves going out in the cold even though he has a short hair coat. In the mean time, here are some pictures of him on a 3 day dog sitting adventure with the barky Malinois. There was bed piles and lots of barking. He was glad to go home after the 3rd day! The dogs did amazing and were so good together inside the house. The Dude just doesn’t like lots of noise.
Mr Melancholy in his new bandana
Dudley is so close to the color of a deer and we live in the woods so I always want to find something that will say “hey, not a deer” Plus he is just too handsome to not accessorize! My previous dog was a GSD who had a massive mane…he was probably mixed with malamute and he looked incredibly ridiculous wearing a bandana or collar. Dudley is not good with sweaters or harnesses so I’ve stuck with the scarf/bandana road. I ordered these from a fellow Oregonian on Etsy who names all of her pieces for various towns/landmarks in Oregon and Washington. Her stuff is amazing and makes me so happy!
We did it!!! My neighbor and I decided to brave the weather and load the dogs up in the back of his VW Rabbit to head out to the lake nearby. Dudley was not a fan of riding in the Rabbit since it’s diesel and a stick shift…noisy and has rattling motor mounts but it runs like a champ! He rode on the floor of the back seating area on the way out since he wedged himself back there. There was shaking but not stress panting! It was about a 10 mile ride so he survived.
The service road we walk on is gorgeous. Lots of trees covered in moss…A hill to go up and then down. I brought the harness with me just in case. Dudley hates wearing it but I like to have it for emergencies. There was a point on the walk where he was just smiling away…so happy to be hanging out with his buddies! For the ride home, we made sure to load him up first and move the seats so he couldn’t wedge himself on the floor boards. He finally laid down and had a border collie sitting on top of him. The GSP was so cute when my neighbor pulled up and he saw Dudley. He started whining and howling. They love him so much!
My neighbor’s wife is so grateful that I am around to go on these ridiculous adventures with her husband and the dogs. He is obsessed with this project car and it actually was quite fun to ride in some tiny go-kart with the dogs! I didn’t get very good photos this time but will clean my phone camera lens and hopefully take some video. The boys don’t stay still for long or they are always in compromising shots of them pooping or peeing. We are testing the distance that Dudley can go. He went a little further today than last time but he was definitely slowing down towards the end.
This last weekend was a doozy for the Oregon Coast. We had extremely cold weather and rain so we didn’t get out for adventures. I’m hoping that this coming weekend will just be the usual wet and tolerable temperatures. Plus we had some family stuff and general sickness going on as well.
I’m dealing with the rescue honeymoon being over. Dudley is still amazing and such a joy but he’s started really showing his stubborn side. If he doesn’t want to get up and go out, he is cemented to his bed. I worry about it affecting his muscles in his remaining leg. I know that as it stays light longer and the weather warms up, he will want to get out more. I don’t push him to go out if he doesn’t want to right now and he tends to go a bit longer without peeing or pooing than I feel comfortable with. He isn’t a big water drinker unless he has fresh cold rain water, but I give him a good amount of water with his 2 daily meals. We have a vet appointment in a few weeks to just do the regular things and I will bring the water/bathroom issues up.
I have found that if he doesn’t want to do something, he will go straight into the fear fight or flight mode. He will bolt if his back end gets lifted or growl and give warning snaps. I don’t let him off leash if he isn’t in a familiar area where I can body block him. He gets excited and wants to run after a good poo, etc. He is amazing around other dogs who are well trained, however! As a rescue dog, I know that there are a lot of “quirks” that will present around this time…he’s feeling comfortable and is able to let his personality present. He is still the most social and loving boy. He hasn’t met a stranger, human or dog. It’s a bit awkward when I have to tell him that not everyone is ready to have the full on “Dude” experience. Fortunately most of our experiences are with him crashing my neighbors breakfast etc. Both sets of neighbors love him so much and are always happy to see him. I got to have french toast and coffee last weekend because of Dudley sitting on the steps wagging his tail. He could hear our neighbors in their kitchen. He quickly finished the dogs breakfast and settled in the malinois’ crate. Such a freeloader but he is really cute <3
