New Puppy On the Block!!

GardenQuilts, I know those West Highland Terriers have a good following of fans, too. They are lovely dogs and very smart and companionable. Don't see how you could make out with a Pug post Tiffany (LOL!) Pugs are couch dogs, I think.

Fritzie has his "look" Buttoneer.

Ruby, post a pic of your dog. I don't think I saw it before. We can rate him on a terrier scale 1-10.





This message was edited May 23, 2011 2:01 PM

I have been working with a local rescue group to find a Westie. I had a few false hopes, but it hadn't worked out. In the meantime, there was a pug with skin problems that needed special help. My Westie had mild food allergies and sensitive skin. Anyway, poor Winston had earmites (don't see how the vet missed those) and lots of bald patches. He went right into the bathtub with special shampoo. He had two large bald patches on his behind. It looked like South America and Africa. When he walked, it looked like a map of the Southern hemisphere. The poor guy was so shy after being abandoned and bounced around several foster homes. He sat by the door, not eating for two days. The floor gets cold in winter, so I carried him upstairs a few times, but he returned to the door. The following day, I roasted chicken and let him have some. After that, he stopped watching the door and started following me around. I spent the winter working out his food allergies. With quality food, vitamins, skin supplements and special shampoos his hair is growing back. He is much more energetic.

Winston was already house trained, but he didn't know any commands. He didn't even seem to realize that words may mean something. He knows his name and a few words. I learned that pawing my leg meant he had to go out. I was used to barking at the door for that. I am also getting used to having a male dog. There is no such thing as a quick bathroom stop with him. We have to walk a while and hit the major shrubs and posts.

Anyway, Winston and I have bonded. He is great company. He is very sweet and loving. It was a tough winter. It was nice to have a furkid to keep my feet warm and make me laugh! I still need time to mourn Tiffany. It is probably good that Winston is so different.

I haven't met many other pugs. The neighbor has one that bounces off the walls and barks all day. That would drive me nuts! Tiffany was much smarter, also much more stubborn, than Winston. At some point, I may find a terrier to keep him company. It will have to be the right dog at the right time.

It is wonderful to have a canine gardening companion again!

Here is Winston stopping to smell the flowers.

Here is Winston in profile.

Ah, that's a touching story about Winston. He has really been helped by your kind heart. Yes, Pugs are so different from terriers. I just laghed when you said you thought he was disabled or something for not going after critters. I know Pugs are loftier, more laid back sorts. We had some friends who owned some Pugs. They always had two of them around. They have such intriguing appearances. Thanks for sharing!

Quinn was BAAAA--AAADDDDD today!!! He stole one of my pots of pansy seedlings!! He likes to steal my small pots of dirt when I have my back turned. I think he did his last trick on me today. I rubbed it in to him that it was absolutely unacceptable!! :-(

Winston the pug likes bone meal. I worked some into the ground around my irises. He couldn't resist rolling in it. He stopped when he heard "Winston...NO." Otherwise, he doesn't bother the garden. The only other problem is him knocking over pots with his lead while trying to get closer to me. Rearranging the pots solved that problem. He is getting happier and more at ease every day. I am glad that he likes gardening. I missed having a canine gardening companion last summer.

He must have had a tough life, but it is better now. I am considering getting him (and me) a terrier companion to deal with the chipmunks that are nibbling my strawberries.

Oh, my, it's nearly July already!! This summer has gone really fast, and I've not been checking in regularly.

GardenQuilts, it's so inspiring to hear how you saved Winston from disaster and how he's turned into a great friend for you. It's good he heeds you in the garden. I almost put Quinn in a tub of boiling oil for snatching up a new small potted rose and trying to play "keep-away" with me. He also tried to bury a bone in the rose garden but had problems digging because of a landscape cloth we laid under the mulch. That cloth foils the squirrels and chipmunks, too.

Hope you got some srawberries this summer. I just about lost all of the raspberries, chierries and blueberries to raiding critters, mostly birds and squirrels.

.

Now, if you could teach him to dig planting holes for you... :-)

The strawberries have spread under my "groundcover" rose. Both plants were gifts and I put them near each other. It is an odd combination, but it is working out. The bunnies and chipmunks stay away from the thorned canes, so I can lift them and get some strawberries.

The rose, Fire Meidland, has 6'canes spreading like an octopus. The canes root where they touch the ground. (Much bigger than the 2' high x 4' wide described). Any rose that survives the winter is great with me! This one is covered in blooms and disease free without chemicals. It would be perfect for growing on a hill. I don't have much garden space, so I will squeeze everything in for now. I am thinking of building a tuteur from branches or bamboo to raise the groundcover rose. I am not sure how well this will work.

Maybe if you sprinkle some bone meal where you want a hold dug, he will dig it? Or maybe he will just roll in it.

Hope everyone's doggies aren't too traumatized by the thunderstorms we are having. Winston snored thru them on his pillow in front of the fan. He woke up briefly when the power flickered on and off and the fan went out. He knows how to get comfortable.

LOL!! Quote: "Winston knows how to get comfortable." If your dog can sleep through a storm without waking and looking concerned, he probablyfeels safe with you, Gardenquilts. Quinn hasn't been too frenzied by the storms, but he did come and sit near me during one.

I think Quinn would roll in the bone meal rather than dig a hole. He has found something to roll in a few times this summer, requiring a bath. I think it was some kind of mushroom goo, or something "dead." Horrors! Rater than teach him to dig, I wanted him to be a frisbee dog. However, he will only go after the frisbee and chew it up at a distance. He will play keep-away until I quit in disgust.

We have bought a dozen toys for him and he has chewed them all up to bits and pieces. We currently have a rubber chicken that he is still having fun with for the past two weeks. It's kind of elongated so there's enough room for his mouth and to keep your fingers clear of his jaws. I have been bitten too many times playing with the tennis balls because you can't get it out of his mouth. We recently found a ball holder stick at Target. :-)

Winston won't touch plastic toys. He doesn't play catch, but loves tug of war. I cut strips from an old, ripped pair of jeans and braided them to make a tuggie toy.

Awaiting the hurricane at the moment. I have the potted and hanging plants in sheltered locations. I did my best with the tomato posts. Winston sometimes wakes up if the thunder is loud, looks at me to be sure I am alright and goes back to sleep. He gets a bit upset if the power goes out - he likes to lay in front of a fan. He "talks" to me if I forget to turn it on.

Winston likes his walks - good thing because he hates dieting. If I let him, he would become obese! He is beginning to keep guard when I garden. He barks at his "enemies" - certain men, cars with loud mufflers and all pomeranians. We are working on the "be quiet" command. He is a slow learner, but very eager to please. He is a wonderful dog and fabulous companion. I am glad that we found each other.

I hope the hurricane was merciful to everyone on here. We had minimal damage in comparison to what the folks in NC put up with and only had to go around picking up big limbs and twigs. There is still a pile out back that needs to go to the curb for pickup. But most of my garden stock was spared. All the roses had their buds blown off. Sigh*

Quinn was crazy with all the twigs out there. Kept dragging them back out of the pile to play with. Talk about stick crazy. I tried to get a pic of him dragging a big one but when I came back with the camera, he was into something else in the woods.

Quilts--that's a great idea of making a tuggie toy out of old jeans. Quinn loves to play tug of war. But he loves to run more, so we throw balls and sticks and he comes back to let us try to get them back. I wish I had taken pictures of all his cute toys and what he did to them. That would have made a good Toy Story 2."

Quinn is very thin but that's because he runs all day. He has increased his interest in table food, though. I am trying hard to keep from letting him sample things, but sometimes I slip him a morsel and you can see the registered "Zing!!" going on in his taste buds and brain storage activity.

I need to get my pics loaded. I am behind in that area. My PC either runs too slow or something goes crazy. I think I need a new one!!

I am really enjoying this thread. We found our first JRT @ 10 years ago, and he is snuggled up against me as I write this. My husband and I are truly in love with this breed. Tiger is a big dog in a little body, and true love in brown and white. People are amazed at "how calm he is" compared to "other JR's they've seen"! LOL - a lot at that. I hope Quinn's heart is as strong as his busy body needs it to be. I know they will literally go until they can't . Tiger has surprised me on many trips to the vet. He is jumping like a puppy when he sees his friends - regardless of how sick he felt 5 minutes ago.
Anyway. I'll stop myself and just wish you all well. We have a key to happiness with these little friends, I think!

Hello, there, LJWalker & Tiger! Good to know we have lots of friends to share with. I'm happy that Tiger is a good Jack--he's in the right place. I've had people come to me and say their roommate has a JRT and they want to get rid of it because the dog drives them crazy in the apartment. I just tell them the dog needs to be outside chasing critters. If they don't want the dog, give it to me!!

Oh, today, we took Quinn to a local "dog park." It is right outside the Metro stop. It is fenced in, for good measure, and had a gravel and dirt bed play area. There were a lot of big, black dogs, including an athletic Doberman Pinscher. This was Quinn's first experience in a pen full of big dogs, and they all rushed to the gate to check him out. He was yapping or yelping while still in the car like he was scared and excited at the same time. He really surprised me by behaving himself. He knew better than to snap at or try to provoke those big dogs. They tried to get him to run so they could chase him, but he didn't give them a chance to catch him. Boy, is he a tired dog now. Hard day's night, been working like a dog...

Cute lil Quinn. Yes those big dogs can sure be intimidating, and they often do want a chase-ee. We've found that Boxers and pitbulls often make able chase-ee dogs and don't mind it. And whippets and greyhounds because no one can catch them ever! Problems arise when puppies or more skittish dogs get chased and mobbed and scared.
Our dog park has separate big and little dog areas. Owner discretion based on the dogs personality LOL.

LJ- our neighbor has a young JR. WHat a handful, though she never lets us get our hands ON her! When she gets off the rope she's the cutest nutcase I ever saw.

Here's Alfie after his spa day! Ric

This message was edited Dec 9, 2011 7:59 PM

aw! I hope he likes hugs! Cuz he's gettin one from me whenever I get to meet him.

We love him!! Joyanna said, "Is he smiling at me?" Yes, I think he is. :-)

Morning Ric. Alfie is certainly a charmer all spiffed up! What kind of a dog is he? Was he a rescue? What is one of the cutest things he has done since you got him? Bet the kids love him, too.

Our friend Amy brought her new puppy-girl over when she came to clean last week... teeny thing, absolutely adorable, and no bigger than a minute. She's a yorkie/pomeranian mix, looks mostly yorkie with the sweetest face, and the vet said she'll be about 5 pounds when full grown. That's less than 1/3 Eliot's size. *blink blink* Joyanna had the best time playing very sweetly with her! :-)

Sounds incredibly cute-
LOL blinking! Eliot's not fat he's fluffy! Big boned !

"Joyanna had the best time playing very sweetly with her! :-)" Guess the puppy teeth are still tender! Haha, she cleans for you,. she gets free puppy sitting meanwhile- good deal!

Joyanna is a sweetie, Very gentle she would be careful with a puppy

Yes, Joyanna was very careful with this tiny sweetie... I did stick with them like glue, of course, mostly because I didn't want Joyanna getting excited and moving too quickly around her. "Aunt Amy" actually took a break and played with us while they were here, as she has recently added a 3rd person (3 plus her) to their team, so they were still done in no time. Joyanna and I are hoping the puppy will visit again soon! We'll definitely be arranging some "play dates." Amy starts out most days in an office building just down the road, so drop-offs would be easy to arrange.

Eliot stayed upstairs while the puppy was visiting, so I don't know what he'll make of the little creature! And Sally is right, Eliot weighs maybe a pound more than he should... he's just a big cat. It's just hard to get my head around the idea that it could take 3 grown dogs to equal the size of a housecat.

Another friend got a toy poodle a year ago... we've seen then but not at their house, so Joyanna hasn't met "Fezzik" yet. (Yes, they named their teeny tiny puppy after the character in The Princess Bride played by Andre the Giant.)

Fezzik? Wow, that might be the best name ever for a poodle!

(I'm hoping it's a chocolate poodle, with brown curls that match Andre's.)

No puppy or dog here but enjoying this thread. Thought some of you might like a calender I saw called "Yoga Dogs and Puppies"

yoga dogs? Now I'm *blink blink*

I do beleive Eliot is just big. People have called my cats big, they run 11- 13 pounds healthy, and must just be large framed.
Now, we did see a cat named Mae West at the county pound once. She was well over 20 lbs...
I also find it really funny to think of dogs smaller than cats.

Saw a cat in Petsmart the other day this thing was HUGE!!!!! Guy standing there said"oh he's small compared to mine, mine is 38lbs!!!"

You mean like this?

Holey moley!!!!
Part Lynx????

Jen, it is a picture of a large Maine Coon cat. They can be 48 inches long and weigh up to 35 lbs and be healthy. They are big boned cats. Sally, is that what you have?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.verismocat.com/images/lrgimg/susan-holding-cisco_t.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.verismocat.com/htmscripts/lrgimg.htm&usg=__OehAbtgO0M9952X7OXajOluZsu4=&h=300&w=456&sz=15&hl=en&start=12&zoom=1&tbnid=0OKN_F8NsTKyIM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=128&ei=mbTqTs_2L8KugwerzYnrCA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlargest%2Bmaine%2Bcoon%2Bcat%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1

No. Heck, no! THat is a seriously big cat! Mine's just regular tallish.

Maine Coon, I'd guess.

there are a couple of "domestic" breeds (Bengals, Savannahs, etc) that are wild types crossed with domestic... several generations out, they can make wonderful pets.

geez a loo

Yes, definitely Maine Coon, but way on the very large end of the spectrum, most wiegh in at 13 to 18 pounds. Maine Coons have a different personality from most cats; I find them to be more dog like. They are great with children, dogs and other cats. They are very loyal, alert and zany! Also, laid back. I used to call one of mine my "watch cat" as he would alert me when something wasn't right or someone was entering the yard. Lots of other good characteristics and, they use a litter box and don't have to be taken for walks! Great if you go out of town...no pet sitter needed. My life is too irregular right now to keep a dog friend, so a Maine Coon fills in nicely.

Well I don't have a new puppy but I do have 2 new granddogs. My son and his fiance adopted 2 rescue pit-mixes this weekend. I haven't gotten to meet them yet. They are 1 and 2 years olds so no surprises as to how big they will get.

Looks like they are great pals already!

Hi Catbird!
Congrats! The pits and pit mixes we have met at the dog park all seem to be happy, easygoing, good dogs- Usually with knowledgeable owners , maybe since their reputation scares off most cautious owners.

Wow-those are huge felines! I imagine they would make uinn cautious. We too him to the vet a couple of months ago and he was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. He was on anti-biotics and no seems to ave gotten through it. He weighs 18 lbs, and I belileve he has reached his growth potential. He is a parson Russell, which is about the size of a fox.

HollyAnn & Ric--did you get a new pup, too? Alfie is adorable!! Catbird--congrats on the granddogs. Wonder if you'll be dog=sitting some? Ha.

Quinn doesn't like the snow much. He's been in front of the fire chewing his bone lately. I am anxious for spring to get back so we can take him to the dog park again. That really blew his socks off.

Yes Foxy, That is our new dog Alfie he is just the nicest dog. Came from a rescue group, likes people and other dogs. Well housebroken but he is an escape artist and will run if he gets the chance. He has led Ric and I on a few chases. He loves the snow.

I can just see Alphie coming up from a good snow-snuffle wearing a Santa beard!