The first 72 hours.
Day 1 (April 9-10)
Thursday night, I cooked salmon burgers on the grill. After my wife prepared the sandwiches and placed our burgers on the coffee table, Sasha was quick to snatch one-half of one of the burgers. I caught her and she dropped it onto the floor. Five-second rule. We have to learn to keep the food on the kitchen counter until we are ready to eat. A "behavior modification" for us.
Up until the arrival of Sasha and Drake, my MIL's dog, Toby, was the Alpha male. He now has competition with Drake. Sasha wants to play with Toby, but Toby is not interested in either Drake or Sasha. He is constantly going around the backyard marking his territory.
Friday morning, we awaken to "puppy poop oops" and "puppy piddle puddle." Another behavior modification that "I" have to make is that it is, ahem, WILL BE my duty to clean it up and spray it down with Windex. Another behavior modification for me is that not only do I have to leave the toilet seat down for my wife, I will also have to keep the toilet LID down to prevent the dogs from drinking from the toilet.
While my wife had her hair done, I went to the store and purchased two 15-pound bags of puppy food. I am thinking to myself in the checkout line, the bigger they get the more we will have to buy.
Early Friday evening, after returning from work and the salon, we were greeted by tail wagging Sasha. She had another "accident" in the kitchen because she was so happy to see us.
During the day, my MIL and JayMI took all of the dogs for a walk around the house.
That night as we ate, Sasha was exhausted from being exhausted on the floor next to the sofa.
Day 2 (April 10-11)
Pretty uneventful day for all of us and the dogs. They played in the backyard while we worked on the renovations, and mowed and weedwhacked.
Sasha is my constant shadow. She goes where I go. Always curious as to what I will do next, especially when it comes to her water and food bowl.
Sasha has adapted well to her big bed. She didn't like it because of the noise it made due to the fabric cover on it. To get her on the bed, I placed a "chewy" on it that made her get on the bed to retrieve and enjoy the "chewys" of her labor. One day I witnessed the most "doggonedest" thing I ever saw a dog do. She pounced on her bed with her front paws which causeed the chewy to become airborne and she snatched with her jaws in midflight. She does this often. It amuses her I guess. Sometimes she misses her target and her chewy goes errant in another direction. She then lies on the bed waiting for her chewy to return. When she realizes the return is futile, she either gets it or finds something else to do.
Her bed also acts as an early warning system. Her bed makes a distinct sound when she gets on or off her bed. If I am semi-conscious, that alerts me that she is up and is wandering about. That tells me it is time for her to go outside. Sometimes, it alerts me, sometimes it does not. When it does not, my "doo-tees" are summoned.
Another behavior modification is I have a flashlight on my nightstand. Before getting out of bed, I flash the light down next to my bed to make sure Sasha isn't there and that there are no "surprises."
While my wife and I worked around the house, Sasha seemed bored probably thinking to herself, "You humans have weird habits. I wanna play, but all you want to do is work." An occasional, "Sasha good dog," and a pat on the head is all we think she needs to let her know all is well.
Drake has been a little shy towards me. Something may have happened to him at the shelter with one of the male volunteers. While I was sitting on the back porch with Sasha, he slowly came up to me with his tail betweeen his legs. After I let him smell and lick my hand, he came to me and I gave him a big hug. That tail of his started thumping on the deck boards. It will take some time. We have plenty of that.
Drake is also an escape artist. Twice. The first time he managed to squeeze through the baluster of the gate next to the front door. To remedy any further escape attempts, I placed a folding chair on the gate. Will see how good that will do. As he gets bigger it will very hard for him to squeeze through those balusters. For the second escape, he somehow got through the backgate. Another adjustment to the gate prevents that from ever happening again.
Their favorite hangout is now the Upper balcony. From that vantage point, they can see everything. At first, Drake didn't like coming down the Upper stairs. He would only descend so far and then run back up to the porch. After a few runs, he seems comfortable going up and down. Guess Sasha assisted with that.
Day 3 (April 11-12)
JayMi, my wife and I took the three dogs for a little stroll through our neck of the woods. Sasha is doing well with the leash. We purchase a short leash to keep her close and not to wander. She likes to be out in front of the others. Trailblazer she is.
Drake has an identity crisis. My wife wants to call him Jake. I correct her. Now, I am saying Jake. Both sound the same, but he is Drake.
Later that day, the four of us and the three dogs hop in the truck and we go to Bass Lake. After eating dinner at The Forks, we walk down to the lake and allow the dogs to get their feet wet. Sasha and Drake weren't allow to wade in the water due to their surgeries. They cannot be bathed for two whole weeks. Need to get doggie wipes...unscented.
Drake and Sasha love to play. Sometimes an occasional, "Yip," alerts us that they are little too rough. Sasha is the agressor during the playtime. It is a good thing we got both of them when we did. If we cannot keep them busy or occupied, they have each other.
Again, that night, Sasha was passed out next to the sofa.
During these 72 hours, they have seen what we hoped would be just the tip of the iceberg. As they recover from their surgeries, we will then take them on longer hikes. There is a perfect trail near Bass Lake that is level but has plenty of wilderness.
There has been plenty of smiles and laughter from their antics. Just two puppies growing up together and playing together. I guess it is their way of saying, "Thank you for bringing us home to you."
My wife made a great decision to get both of them.
It was a great first weekend with our dogs.
