Shiloh Settles In

Sweet Shiloh

Shiloh is settling in very nicely.  We have been taking multiple short walks each day, in each direction from the house so she learns the neighbourhood.  Each new route is cause for a lot of sniffing and some apprehension on her part, but once she has walked it once or twice, she is raring to go.  She walks beautifully on leash and at a good pace too!  Tomorrow we shall venture down to the beach to see what she thinks of that.

She has a bit of a weak back end and possibly some neurological issues (one of her back paws drags a bit and doesn't return voluntarily to a normal position when I flex it), but it doesn't slow her down much - just the occasional stumble.  She really enjoys walks, and has decided (I swear Eddie taught her this) that poops can ONLY be done on a walk, not in the back yard. So now I have TWO dogs who pace relentlessly when they have to go, be it six in the morning or eleven at night.  Why can't they all be like Mitzi, who just cries to tell me she needs out, goes out to the back yard, and does her business? Ah well, I can use the exercise. Hopefully we won't get much snow and ice this winter or I will have two miserable dogs with all four paws crossed.

Like many older dogs, Shiloh has some night vision problems.  Taking her for a walk just before bedtime means watching her every step or she trips over curbs, falls into grates on storm drains, bumps into road signs - in daylight, these obstacles are not a problem.

She is fitting in well with the rest of the crew.  She does have to watch out for boistrous Eddie who tends to jump around and knock her off her feet.  As for the cat - I think they are at a draw.  The cat hisses at Shiloh, and Shiloh barks at the cat. Mostly they give each other a wide berth, though I'm sure Allie will take a swipe at Shiloh one of the days.  Turns out Shiloh is a lap dog - she loves to be lifted up to sleep on my lap, which until now has been pretty much Allie's private cushion. Allie jumps up on the side table and gives Shiloh the Royal Stink Eye, but Shiloh just says "nyah-nyah-nyah!"

Allie:  "Come in a little further you twerp.......

.....I've been reading up on how to get rid of you!"

Shiloh has decided to lay claim to every dog bed in the house, but NOT to the crates.  Although she slept beautifully in the crate the first night, night two was a different matter.  She howled.  Not a Northern dog sort of howl, more like a two-year-old-having-a-tantrum-in-a-grocery-store. She even lay right down, head and all, on the floor of the crate to do it.  It was heartbreaking and LOUD and incredibly funny, and I caved and let her out.  Ever since then, she has slept in a dog bed right next to my bed.  (Dogs are welcome to sleep on my bed, and I do bring her up for a cuddle each night, but I'm afraid she'll fall or walk off and break her frail little legs while I'm sleeping if I let her stay there).

I do like my dogs to be crate trained for travel, emergencies, and vet care so in another week or two we shall start the process of getting her more comfortable with crates by feeding her in there.  She loves her food so it shouldn't be a huge task to get her liking the crate.  For now, she is x-pened in the same room as the other dogs when I go out (so Sir Eddie doesn't accidently knock her over or jump on her), and she's fine with that.

She also likes to sleep under tables and desks (on a good memory foam cushion, of course), on Charley's old raised bed, in hard plastic beds with soft cushions, and in any dog bed that I might be thinking of removing for lack of space.

I'm just a recycled pet!

No, it's NOT too big for me.
Charley's old bed is Just Right - like all the other beds around here. 

Eddie never uses dog beds except for his crate; Mitzi uses just two - one in the mudroom and one in the bedroom; and Princess Shiloh makes use of  three in the living room, one in my office, one in the mud room, and two in the bedrooom. (Why so many, you ask?  Why, because on her first two days here, she couldn't settle anywhere so I kept pulling more and more beds out of storage to find one that she liked. Once they were all out - and I had even bought her a brand new one - she decided to adopt them all).   This Princess is not spoiled, oh no not much!

She has a new harness, a new bed, a new name tag, and a new family.  What more could she possibly want? I'm sure she'll think of something.

Treats?  More treats?