Remember that time when I said I’d try to at least check in once a week? I seem to have jinxed myself. Here’s what we’ve been up to.
Two weeks ago, we stopped by Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet in Mahtomedi, where MN Boxer Rescue was having a meet and greet. We met Maya and Uno, two of the female dogs that were currently available for adoption (Maya has since been spoken for, hooray!). Zoe was really excited when we got out of the car. I thought I’d try it without the Gentle Leader for a while, but that turned out to be a bad idea because she was pulling so much on her regular collar that she was choking. But once we put the Leader on, she was fine, and she even mellowed out enough to lay down for a few minutes.
Everyone was surprised to see how good Zoe looked. Many people had seen her at the height of her mange, so people were pleased to see how shiny her coat was and how much she’d filled out, due to her foster family’s excellent care.
We learned something odd about her previous owners. In addition to not wanting to treat her mange properly, they were so cheap that they didn’t even want to surrender her with a collar or leash. They had planned on breeding her, but couldn’t because of the mange. Unfortunately, they probably went out and got another female dog right after they gave her up.
I’ll forever be grateful that they made the decision to surrender Zoe, because otherwise she wouldn’t be with us now. However, she was not treated very well while she was in their care. They didn’t give her a lot of attention, and all she really wants is to be loved. We’re trying to make up for that lost time.
We’ve started going to obedience class, which has been a good experience for both of us. The first night she was extremely distracted and found it very hard to focus with four other dogs in the room. When we practiced commands at home, she picked them up very quickly.
I felt like a delinquent the first week when I realized that I forgot to practice one of the commands, and I worried that my dog was going to fall behind in class, but she’s doing well when she’s able to focus.
The second week, she was able to pay attention for about a half hour, and things went downhill for the last half of the class when she decided she was more interested in a staredown with the Bichon mix a few feet away. She’s the largest dog in her class by about 40 pounds. She gets some sniffing in, but I was hoping there would be a few bigger dogs there so she could get some more play and socialization. Despite the size difference, it’s still good for her to be around other dogs.
We’d like to start looking for some canine companionship for her. We have a couple vacations coming up, so we want to make sure New Dog #2 is settled first.
