Meet Cocodrie

Day 4 Tuesday the 14th No crying this morning. Dianne gets her up about 7, and Nancy gets up to start the fire. This dog is resetting our schedules! More clicker training. We start her on Down and Come and the pointer stick, but she doesn't understand those at all. She really needs something to chew on. What do we have? Thibodeaux didn't like chew toys after a year or two, so we got rid of them and his Nylabones. If we'd thought we were getting a young dog, we'd have bought some before we picked her up. At last we remember that we have a Kong toy and get it out for her. She is ecstatic and goes to town chewing it. That, of course, is the solution to the chewing problem. Next trip to town we will get more chewy toys and bones. Nancy has a haircut in Glide, so Dianne walks her through downtown Glide. Another experience with a barking, lunging dog behind fence. Cocodrie is terrified, but learns that her pack will take care of her. After a half dozen trips past that fence, she can ignore the dog. Back home, she gets a rawhide in her crate during lunch. After devouring it, she falls sound asleep. We wake her up to go outside, and Nancy discovers dribbles all the way to the laundry room. "Why is Cocodrie all wet?" There's a huge puddle in the crate. We are both very upset. We cannot handle having an incontinent dog. We spend hours on the computer researching canine incontinence. Did you know that 1 in 5 female dogs develop incontinence after spaying? But it's usually 3 to 5 years later, not 3 days!!

Day 5 Wednesday the 15th We move Cocodrie's vet checkup from next Monday to tomorrow. We want to get this incontinence checked ASAP. In the meantime, we're taking her outside every hour or two and keeping a log of every time she does her business, so we can (1) keep her bladder as empty as possible and (2) figure out her schedule, which is very different from Thibodeaux's. She loves clicker training (it means lots of pieces of hot dog), loves having her belly rubbed, loves having her ears massaged, loves being as close to us as possible. She's getting much better at sitting at the back door until given permission to go out or come in, and better about the towel on her feet, although she still thinks it's a bite toy. She's great at Off and Sit, so we're making her wait longer and longer.

Cocodrie The fur continues to fall at Long Shadows January, 2014 she Arrives!
We mourned the loss of Thibodeaux, but he left such a huge hole in our hearts that we just had to fill it. When we felt like the time was right, we headed to the animal shelter in Roseburg. Our requirements were very high. This dog was going to have to come at least very close to its predecessor's standards. A friend had already told us the key to picking a good dog at the shelter was to find one that was not barking. This first trip we felt certain was going to be the start of a long stretch of visiting the shelter looking for the perfect dog, but we were surprised. On the first trip we both immediately fell in love with the cutest little girl, and she wasn't barking or jumping. This dog was a stray that had been brought into the shelter January 2 and we adopted her on the 8th. There was no history what-so-ever on the dog, so it was anybody's guess as to how old she was or what breeds. The shelter had guessed a year old and a shepherd mix.
Who couldn't love a face like this?
Of course, you don't walk out with a dog when you go to the shelter. That day we signed the paper papers, paid the fee, and walked out empty handed. Friday she was spayed and we picked her up Saturday. That gave us 2 whole days to get ready. Had to pull the leashes and collars out. Find the water and food bowls. Pickup all the old stuff animals still piled in the baskets in the dinning room. Bring down the baby-gate. By Saturday we were hyped and ready. Day 1 Saturday the 11th We bring Cocodrie home. She is wild. Pulls so hard on the leash she almost pulled Nancy off her feet. We plan the return to the house carefully. We plan how she will enter - last. People are always first.
Humans first, dogs last! She goes nuts in the house when we unhitch the leash, so we have to put it on again.
She has run herself breathless in only a couple minutes.
Fortunately, she also crashes and sleeps soundly numerous times. Mouths and nips at hands and clothes whenever we try to pet her, so we essentially can't. Pees twice in the house, once while she was sound asleep (finally) in the library. So eager to get to her food dish that we have to restrain her in order to set it on the ground. It's cold and rainy all day, so every time we take her outside we have to don raincoats and boots and gloves. By now, we've got Thibodeaux's pinch collar on her, so at least the pulling at the leash is greatly reduced. After each walk we have to dry her off. All she wants to do is bite at the towel and our hands. She does not poop after dinner, despite two long walks outside. Finally, we lure her into her crate with milk bones and shut the door behind her. She cries and whines for an hour and a half. We're exhausted, so we both go upstairs early, hoping the sound won't carry. Nancy asks Dianne, "Did we make a big mistake?" Day 2 Sunday the 12th She's awake and crying in her (dry) crate at 6:50. Dianne gets morning duty, so she heads downstairs to get her. Small dribble in crate, but that might have been excitement. Nancy's up when they get back. Cocodrie is bouncing off the walls she's so wired. So Nancy takes her for a power walk. Forced march all around her 5 acres: down to the lower meadow and back, around the meadow, to the tree house, into the grove, back to the garden, then walking around and around in the garden, all the paths she'll be allowed on. Did we mention it's still raining? 25 minutes later we come back in and Cocodrie crashes. The whole day goes like that: Every couple hours we take turns taking her out for long walks. In between, she crashes into sound sleep, then wakes up wired.
She has never been fed from the table, yeah! She snoozes while we eat supper, waiting for her time to come.
She's not the only one who crashed in between walks that day! We start on clicker training. By the third session, she understands "Sit." She also clearly knows and responds to her name. At lunchtime, she wanders from dining room into kitchen but there's too much quiet and Nancy goes to see what she's doing. No dog! We have the opening to the living room blocked with the bar stools, but she apparently slipped right through them, because we find her in the foyer. We were careless -- the baby-gate goes back. A little later, we leave her alone in the kitchen as an experiment. She put her paws up on the range-side counter to try to see us. (When Thibodeaux was this untrained, he was so little that he could be easily restrained, and he was never big enough to reach the counters.) At 8:25, she goes to the back door and stands there. Wonderful! She IS housebroken! We put the cushy dog bed into her crate and lure her in. She cries for only 7 minutes. Until the phone wakes her up, when she cries for another 7 minutes. Day 3 Monday the 13th She's awake and crying at 6:30. But it is obvious she woke much earlier and found a way to entertain herself.
That darn dog!
She'll be sleeping without the cushy bed for a while. More clicker training. She is getting better and better on Sit. She has "Off" and "Take it" down pat. Town day. And yay - The rain is over!!! What an experience for a dog! Every appointment or store, one of us would walk her or sit with her outside while the other went inside. She walks calmly beside us now, which is a joy. She experiences noisy shopping carts, lots of cars, other dogs, a meter reader, dogs barking from inside fences, dogs barking inside cars, people getting out of cars, stairs, sidewalks, cross streets, and, of course, lots of wonderful new smells. The only problem we observe is that she is really skittish when cars whiz by. She's really well-behaved all day. And she's still a great car dog - quiet and well-behaved in her car, even when someone speaks to us through the car window, which always set off Thibodeaux barking. Back home, then I return to Glide for a meeting. Dianne thinks Cocodrie is asleep, turns around, and she's chewing the corner of a pillow.
This dog is NOT a year old. She has to be much younger! We thought we were getting to skip all this part.
Later, we catch her just before chewing a corner of the kitchen cabinet. All the mouthing and chewing convinces us she is a lot younger than the year estimated by the shelter. Darn - how much bigger might she get?? During dinner, she pees in the dining room again. Maybe we were over-confident and waited too long between trips outside. Less than 10 minutes crying in her crate tonight. Day 4 Tuesday the 14th No crying this morning. Dianne gets her up about 7, and Nancy gets up to start the fire. This dog is resetting our schedules! More clicker training. We start her on Down and Come and the pointer stick, but she doesn't understand those at all. She really needs something to chew on. What do we have? Thibodeaux didn't like chew toys after a year or two, so we got rid of them and his Nylabones. If we'd thought we were getting a young dog, we'd have bought some before we picked her up. At last we remember that we have a Kong toy and get it out for her. She is ecstatic and goes to town chewing it. That, of course, is the solution to the chewing problem. Next trip to town we will get more chewy toys and bones. Nancy has a haircut in Glide, so Dianne walks her through downtown Glide. Another experience with a barking, lunging dog behind fence. Cocodrie is terrified, but learns that her pack will take care of her. After a half dozen trips past that fence, she can ignore the dog. Back home, she gets a rawhide in her crate during lunch. After devouring it, she falls sound asleep. We wake her up to go outside, and Nancy discovers dribbles all the way to the laundry room. "Why is Cocodrie all wet?" There's a huge puddle in the crate. We are both very upset. We cannot handle having an incontinent dog. We spend hours on the computer researching canine incontinence. Did you know that 1 in 5 female dogs develop incontinence after spaying? But it's usually 3 to 5 years later, not 3 days!! Day 5 Wednesday the 15th We move Cocodrie's vet checkup from next Monday to tomorrow. We want to get this incontinence checked ASAP. In the meantime, we're taking her outside every hour or two and keeping a log of every time she does her business, so we can (1) keep her bladder as empty as possible and (2) figure out her schedule, which is very different from Thibodeaux's. She loves clicker training (it means lots of pieces of hot dog), loves having her belly rubbed, loves having her ears massaged, loves being as close to us as possible. She's getting much better at sitting at the back door until given permission to go out or come in, and better about the towel on her feet, although she still thinks it's a bite toy. She's great at Off and Sit, so we're making her wait longer and longer.
OFF.	TOUCH IT Pointer stick is used to teach all kinds of things - like GIVE IT A WHIRL!	School is soooooooo tiring.
But Dianne heads upstairs, Nancy turns around two seconds later, and - no dog. She dashs to the library door in time to see her hit the stairs. By the time Nancy catchs up to her, Cocodrie is at the top. No dog has ever been up there before! How did she slip past the barstool blockade without a sound? We have an evening meeting in Glide, so we have to leave her alone in the car for the first time. We're worried about the upholstery! (Remember Turner and Hooch?) We head down early to walk her for a half hour so she'll be tired and sleep. She never cries, sleeps right through our meeting. Afterwards, she's introduced to our friends, and her sweetness wins their hearts instantly. She is quiet in her crate tonight ~ first time ~ until Dianne starts laughing hysterically over a video and wakes her up. But she only manages to stay awake crying for about 45 seconds. Day 6 Thursday the 16th She's quiet every morning now, at least till 6:30 when Dianne gets her up. At the vet's for 9. After 10 years of experiencing the vet as a major ordeal, what a joy she is! She loves the tech and the vet, bellies up for him, a perfect position for checking her incision. Eats treats blissfully unaware that her temperature is being taken rectally and, later, that she's being given a shot. We don't see them draw blood from her, but we don't hear any yelping from back there. The vet tells us she could be incontinent because of bladder bruising during her spaying, which would heal. Then he sees that her white blood count is low, so she could have a UTI. She gets an Rx for antibiotics. She's also given permission to run, but no jumping for another week. When we ask what breed he thinks she might be, he says, "There are so many kinds of shepherds." Maybe Australian, he guesses. He doesn't think Border Collie - they're very fine-boned, and she's not. He guesses she's 8 or 9 months old, but he assures us she won't get bigger, just fill out. The rest of the day around town, more walking, more sights, more sounds, more exposure to that scary traffic, which is starting to be not so scary. She goes inside her first store: Mini Pet Mart, where we stock up on chew toys and Nylabones. She is as good as gold. We also buy mousetraps (different store!). We'll set them under newspaper on the counter, to break her of jumping up (which she's done several times on several different counters). Back at home, she loves her new toys. So do we, because she doesn't pester us so much anymore! Cocodrie does not like to be confined. Initially we used standing bar stools to contain her. Slipped right through. Added bungees to the mix, slips right under that. Turn the stools sideways and that seems to work. But she still tries to squeeze through every now and then.

Now it's time to play! We put her on a long lead and throw the ball. Remember, this is a ball-dog.
Which way will it go?	I see it!	I'm ready!
Lots of thing to chew on!	Clicking is fun.	I love this place.
I've found my fur-ever home.	Not the softest pillow, but . . .	Walking the line, Learning the fence.