New dog

I've been wanting a new dog for a long time, and I finally was able to convince Eric that we needed one. ;) So, over the weekend, Eric and I went to the local humane society and looked at two dogs we really liked. One was a 2-4 year old Catahoula mix named Brandie. She had a brindle look to her, with light brown eyes--gorgeous! The other one was a 10-month-old Carolina dog named Kleo, and when I saw her on the website, I thought she looked exactly like Jaiden, just with a little black around her nose. She ended up being a LOT smaller than I thought she was. We let Jaiden meet both, and Brandie's hair immediately raised up. I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I already have one dog who gets really excited about meeting other dogs... I was kind of hesitant about having two of those. When Kleo saw Jaiden, she yelped and hid behind Eric, but kept tugging at the leash to go meet him. It was weird and funny at the same time. But now I had a hard decision, because Jaiden seemed to get along with both really well.

I went back the next day (yesterday) to decide. Brandie was in one of the runs, and another dog was in the next run. I watched how she acted... she seemed fairly intent at times on wanting to say "hi" to the other dog. That was pretty much my deciding point. It's a pretty weak one, but it was all I had. So, I took Kleo home. Well, actually, I took her to the vet. She has kennel cough, and I figured while I had her in the car, I might as well take her straight to the vet. She peed in my car before I even got out of the shelter parking lot. Trying to look on the bright side, I figured maybe she just didn't want to get her kennel all messy and had held it for so long. Anyway, the vet gave Kleo an antibiotic/steroid shot, gave us some meds, and we went home.

I let her wander the house a bit, following her if she wandered where I couldn't see her. Eventually she wandered into Eric's man cave, I followed, and before I knew it, she was peeing on Eric's underwear (LOL). I took her straight outside. About an hour later, she peed in the house again--after she had just been out not too long ago, and did nothing. I was hoping that maybe it was just the steroids she had been given. At that point, though, I decided some crate training was in order, like NOW. I put her in Jaiden's kennel (hers will be here tomorrow). She whined a bit, but mostly just slept. Perfect! She didn't have another accident, and hasn't since.

That night, we kept her in our room with us and Jaiden, and she slept in the kennel. I didn't hear too much out of her. We did hear her reverse sneezing right around 3:30AM, and we figured we should probably take her out. After coming back in and putting her in her kennel, she whined for probably 10 minutes, but eventually settled down.

This morning, after Eric left, I put her in her kennel again. She began whining, but this time she didn't stop... and in fact, the whining turned into downright yelping. I put a blanket over her kennel, hoping that would calm her a bit, but no dice. So I went into the bedroom (the kennel was out in the living room at this point), left the TV on for her, and hoped she would just settle down. Nope. She got even louder. I took Jaiden outside, and I could hear her yelping out there. Ugh. Her yelps are deafening. She really learned how to make herself heard in that kennel. On the one hand, I want her to be loud so that she can maybe scare off intruders (all 30 pounds of her, lol), but on the other... OMG, the yelps make me want to rip my hair right out. It's enough to make Jaiden leave the room, giving me a dirty look on the way out. I had read that when you put a dog into a kennel, you leave her there until she calms down, and don't give her any attention (good or bad) until she calms. I tried to ignore her, I really did. When I took the blanket off, she began digging. She dug so fervently that she ripped the corner of the foam bedding to pieces. I yelled at her, she dug harder, started getting into the carpet, and I threw a slipper at her kennel. I know, that sounds bad. I was just so frustrated. The yelping, the digging... I'm not used to that much noise and destruction, and my brain was on total overload.

I gave up and let her out. I mean, I couldn't let her ruin the carpet. I was on the verge of tears, thinking I'd have to take her back. I've never had to deal with a destructive dog, and I didn't know how I was supposed to keep her contained without hurting the house or herself. So I took her and Jaiden on a 30-minute walk, on the verge of tears the whole time, thinking I'd have to take her back.

Every time I put her in the crate, I make sure to make it a positive experience... I give her toys (not interested) and food, but once the food/treats are gone, the yelping begins. For now, I've taken a break from the crate training. My brain (and Jaiden's, I'm sure) just can't handle that much yelping. I've ordered a new kennel with a plastic tray, and I'll be getting a plastic floor protector to put under the kennel in case she manages to destroy the tray. If we're going to keep her, she's going to HAVE to deal with being crated, because there's no way I trust her enough to leave her out. Unfortunately, that means Jaiden will have to deal with her. :(

I brought Jaiden up to be an upstanding citizen (I get compliments on his manners all the time), so I'm no dummy when it comes to dog training. I didn't expect to get a well-trained dog or anything, but I wasn't expecting such high maintenance. It's really taken the joy out of getting a new dog, and a small part of me regrets this decision. I know that sounds awful, but I'm finding it very hard to bond with her. In the meantime, we'll just keep working on things.

She'll definitely need some car training. When I first got Jaiden, he'd happily ride in the back seat, but as soon as I stopped the car and opened my door, into my lap he'd come, all 70 pounds of him. Kleo does the same thing, but at least she's only 30 pounds. I've trained Jaiden to be patient and wait in the back seat, and he's a champ about it. Kleo will eventually have to learn to do the same.

Of course, she'll need the crate training, and for now, she's being pretty good about doing her business outside. She's fairly good on the leash. She tends to jump up and grab treats out of my hand, and she's tried counter-surfing a couple of times.

She does have some really cute personality quirks. She occasionally watches TV, especially when there's a barking dog, and she chases bugs. When we're on walks, she really likes to stop and watch the cars go by, and she gets distracted by birds flying overhead. All in all, she's a really cute dog, and I haven't given up on her yet... but if she doesn't start behaving in the kennel and/or if she starts yelping at night... well, I don't know what we'll do. :(