Week Two – Starting to Feel His Cheerios
Starting Monday the 23rd we let Hondo sleep in our bedroom. We put up a gate to keep him in so we could monitor him. He seemed very happy to be in the same room with us and he went right to sleep and slept through the morning. Of course when he heard us stirin the morning it was doggie kisses all around. Thanks Hondo, but I prefer to take my shower at night.
Hondo wasn’t really interested in chewing the rawhide bone we offered him for the first week. He didn’t seem to know what it was used for even though Raven was eagerly showing him the method on her own chew bone. The second week I bought them both raw beef knuckle bones and sterilized beef bones which we filled with peanut butter. He liked the peanut butter but the winner was the knuckle bone. He really lunged at it when I offered it to him like he knew what a real bone was. I would bet he has eaten a few scrap bones in his old life. Well after he started chewing on the knuckle he became interested in his other bones as well. Now he really likes chewing on rawhide as well but he’s still mastering the methodology. His favorite method is laying down on his side and chewing without lifting his head. When he discovers that he still has his front dewclaws he’ll surely become super efficient at demolishing bones.
This dog is fast and he’s a real jumper. While Duck and Raven were sitting in the back yard, Hondo jumped right over them with such altitude that he slammed into the wooden fence about 5′ behind them. That dog can sail! So I raised the hog fence in the back yard from about 4′ to 6′. Now I’m not worried about him jumping it. I think he’ll have to dig under if he wants out now. But he’ll be supervised in the back yard for the foreseeable future. He really seems to enjoy sitting outside on cool days when people are out there with him. On warm days he turns right around and wants back in the house. I let him watch (securely tied with a rope) while I raised the fence. Post fence-raising, when he is loose in the back yard he runs around like a lunatic and wants to play fight with Raven and with me. He plays rough but he doesn’t bite people. He’s too rough with Raven though and we have to call him off of her when he gets too rambunctious. He likes to hold her down and put her whole neck in his mout and generally bowl her over. She’s already submissive to him so it’s a little out of line but he has never hurt her. He plays like a puppy that doesn’t know how big he is. He also loves to play fetch with a ball. I am pretty sure that his previous owners must have played fetch with him because he brings the ball back to you after he retrieves it. But he’s no Lab. He’s good for 4 or 5 fetches and then he just looks at the ball like, “You go get it, I’m done”.
Hondo already knows his daily schedule and he knows the paths we take on walks (and there are many of them). He loves putting his feet in the water at the bay. When he comes out from wading he starts running around like a crazy dog afterward. He’s definitely going to be a wader when his stitches heal and he might even turn out to be a swimmer.
On Sunday the 22nd we went to Goose Island State Park for Hondo’s first road trip and first adventure to the woods. He and Raven both did an excellent job using the new dog ramp and neither of them are skiddish after only a few times going up and down it. Raven is the model traveler and Hondo settled into the traveling rhythm very quickly. They both found their places and took turns looking at stuff out the windows and taking short naps.
The woods were a huge hit of course. Raven loves pulling you down the path as fast as you are willing to walk. And Hondo was so excited he just couldn’t run quickly enough back and forth across the trail to smell all the wild smells that must be out there. He was relatively well behaved until he got a good look at his first armadillo. Then his Mr. Hyde personality came out. He started pulling so hard that I could barely control him. He wasn’t listening to commands at all. I’m sure it must have been funny to watch me struggle with this pulling beast but it wasn’t funny to me at the time. This dog is the strongest dog I’ve had. When I did succeed in getting his attention I had to remind him that I am alpha dog and that he has to follow me, not visa-versa.
While we were sitting and resting by Copano bay, Hondo was listening intently to every bird sound,and there were a lot of them. He looked as if everything was completely new and mysterious to him. He became very concerned when he saw a small motorboat approaching us heading for the boat ramp. He followed the boat with his eyes all the way from the horizon to the shore. He’s a very observant and inquisitive dog.
He has a strong prey drive. He wants to chase birds and cats for sure. Obviously this extends to armadillos and I’m sure it will be the same with all small wild animals. But in only 2 weeks he has come a long way in terms of restraint. We use the “off” command and he is getting better and better about leaving cats alone. I think in a couple of months he will be able to walk by a cat without being very interested.
Friday the 27th the stitches came out. Now he doesn’t have to wear the e-collar at night any more. Our regular vet did the honors and he thought Hondo was a great dog and very gentle. The staff all love him. Our vet says he thinks Hondo is right at 2 years old. He gained 3.2lbs. over the last 2 weeks and he now weighs 73.3 lbs. He is looking better every day. His ribs aren’t showing quite so clearly and he feels a little less bony to the touch. I’m betting he’ll be right at 85lbs when he is up to weight.
Visit the Week Two and Goose Island galleries for more pics.
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