Sometimes I look around and can’t believe that we have three dogs. A friend was joking with me right after we rescued Wellie and said that even though we have three dogs, they are all so small that combined they really only make one big dog – kind of like those Transformers that combine into one big one. Sometimes I really notice we have three dogs, and sometimes it’s not really obvious at all. One will be sleeping while two play, or they will all be napping at once – or alternately, all playing at once. What I do know, is that Wellie belongs with us and it was the best decision to rescue her.
This week has had its ups and downs. Jane and Sonnet were here until Sunday and Sonnet and Wellie played a lot. Sonnet got braver and braver as the week went on and by last weekend she was launching herself on the other dogs and grabbing onto their hair in her mouth. They didn’t like it much and it only really worked on Wellie at actually getting her to play. Wellington was the only one who seemed to actually like Sonnet, whereas the other two just tolerated her. Jane left back to Kingston on Sunday and Wellie kept going in the basement looking for both of them.
Since Jane and Sonnet left, Wellington has been really testing our patience. I’m not sure if she’s angry that Jane isn’t home with her all day during the work-week, but she’s been having housetraining “accidents” all over the house so frequently now it’s not even funny. On Monday, while I was at work and Thomas was teaching, she peed all over her organic pet bed – so much pee. And this is the second time she’s done it! What is even worse about this is that because it’s organic, I can’t wash the stuffing and the cover isn’t waterproof, so the stuffing got pee in it too. Argh. The store told me to wash the cover and leave the cover and inside poof out in the sun and that should help – something about the sun getting the smell and stain out with UV rays. I’ll also be spraying it with pee stain and odour remover to see it that helps.
As If that wasn’t enough, Wellie then proceeded to poop and try to eat it right in the next room while I was doing laundry (washing the bedding she peed on!!) and then had three pee accidents later on in the evening. Then another pee accident overnight on Monday night – the first time in a few weeks! So many setbacks all at once!
It’s not that she can’t hold her bladder, because she has shown us she can. I really think now it’s behavioural. We have been urged to try to tether her to us so we can catch her in the act and correct her immediately by putting her outside, so we tried that last night for the first time and it seemed to work – no accidents yesterday! She doesn’t mind being on the leash either so that’s good. Wellie is also being, what my husband has been calling, meddlesome. She is getting into everything and it’s been trying our patience. I think that having her tied to us all the time will help with this as well…I hope!
I know that when we were raising Paddington and Corduroy from puppies, that the puppies learn quickly and then go through a “rebellion stage” where they test you (and their boundaries) like teenagers do. Do rescue dogs do the same? Even ones that are over 1 year old and should be done with their teenage stage? Wellie is really leading me to believe that yes, they do, but I’m not sure if that is just me rationalizing her behaviour.
Last night we went to the Small Fries Social at Bark & Fitz in Westboro and all three dogs had a great time. While there, they all got their nails trimmed and Wellie did MUCH better than the last time. Our vet showed me how to calm her and it worked so well. We have also been touching her paws a lot and I think that helped as well. I was so proud of her! She wasn’t perfect, but is well on her way to being ok with nail trims.
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Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,