The plan was to get up early Saturday morning and drive down to Damascus OR (just outside Portland) and pick up our little Ellie! but Friday Derek sent me a text saying, why dont we just leave after work? So we got home, loaded the camper and headed on down the road, just us and the Russ. We had contemplated staying at a campground, but we wouldnt get down in time to check in, then we thought about finding a Walmart to stay at but because we dont have a potty in our camper, figured it was best to stay at a rest stop, so we pulled over at Milepost 11 rest area in WA and slept there.. it was a mini adventure and it was actually kinda fun! We woke at 6am (not really intentionally), it was only 40 minutes to our destination and we couldnt show up til 9, so we stopped for a big breakfast and tried to relax the anticipation of getting our dog!
The lady we got our pup from, Denise, she has a lot of Aussie's and had a few other females available too.. one was a red female that was going to be smaller than Ellie. We contemplated for a few seconds, but both realized we had our hearts set on Ellie and that's who we wanted to take home with us. She's a little pudge ball with fur! :)
The ride home was great, she slept up on my chest/neck the entire way, we stopped often for potty breaks and had no car sickness issues with her. Because of her ball of fur and since she's been raised outside, we had to keep the cold air on her to keep her from panting, she is really cute when she pants though! lol
After we got home, we rested for a while then headed out to the Scherrer's for the horse club Ice Cream social and potluck dinner. It was delicious and fun. We had Ellie in her crate most of the time in the shade, she was content to just sleep. Poor girl was tuckered out, but I was happy to see her so comfortable in her crate.
Every time for the rest of that day, whenever she would start to fall asleep, I would make her walk into her crate so she learns that is her safe zone to be quiet and calm. Saturday night in her crate was a completely different story though! She slept just fine in her crate for an hour or so and then she would whine.. so I'd get up, take her out to potty and then put her back.. an hour later she would wake up and we'd do the same routine.. well after a couple hours, she figured out that if she whined, she would get taken out so then she just wanted to be held.. so i'd take her out, hold her til she fell asleep then put her back in the crate and again an hour later, she'd wake up.. on and on and on, til I just gave in and got up for the day much earlier than I wanted to. :)
Sunday we went to my parents for breakfast and she did good, again we used the crate for her to sleep in while we ate and she did great.. we'd then take her outside to play.. the first time my parents Aussie dog ran up to her, she screamed like she was under attack! Sarge didnt even touch her, he was just looking at her and she sat there and screamed bloody murder and didnt stop until I picked her up, she acted like he was eating her.. :) A little later we reintroduced him to her and she was just fine.. I think the initial shock of him running past her, just scared the shit out of her! lol
I spent the afternoon on Sunday doing some of that long-lost cleaning that I've procrastinated on.. not sure what burr climbed up my behind, but I got windows washed, dusting done, vaccuuming.. Ellie sat in her crate as I vaccuumed and was not phased one bit by the machine... She really started coming out of her shell yesterday, she was doing a lot more playing and running around.. She LOVES the grass! Ever since we put her on grass on our drive home from OR, she just loves the feel of it and rubs her head in it, rolls in it.. She has figured out how to go up/down the front steps, she's slowly starting to come in/out of the house on her own, she is doing great with potty (no accidents as we are very good about getting her outside). She is definately a much different dog right now when she is inside vs outside. Outside, she runs and spins circles, rolls in the grass, growls, chases Russell, explores.. In the house, she plays a little bit but is more reserved and tends to want to hang out by me. I am really glad she likes it outside considering that when we are gone, she is out there all day.
Last night we put Russell in the crate with her (a little snug for the 2 of them) but it worked well because she slept solid from 10pm - 5am! She had to potty real bad when I took her out at 5, we came in the house and I put her back in the crate.. Russell had jumped out as soon as I opened the door.. he was not really okay with being forced to sleep with her, I would say he tolerated it very well.. :) But she slept solid and when I put her back in at 5, she whined and cried, so of course I caved and put her in the bed, she fell asleep between us until it was time to get up for the day.
Russell doesnt yet love her, he likes her okay.. he growls at her a tiny bit if she gets too close for comfort, but he's slowly tolerating more and more from her.. she tries to bite him and runs up to him all the time and he's coming around.. she follows him all around in the yard. We have to keep reminding him to not get grumpy with her, I think in a couple days it will be a different story. Russell has never been a puppy fan but he's also a good boy and since we are now going to make him sleep with her, he'll just have to learn to love her!!
I think it's only a matter of a few days before Russell stops feeling butt hurt and starts realizing she is going to be his next best friend! :) It is tough though with her... trying to figure out how to cook, clean, get ready in the mornings, work around the place.. we are wanting to keep our eyes on her a lot for 1) she is so darn cute! and for 2) because we want to be sure she is not going potty in the house or chewing up things she is not supposed to! I think as the week progresses we will find a way to balance this out a bit, but for now, our day (aside from being at work) is consumed with how to work around our little Ellie bean!
No comments:
Post a Comment