2022/03/02

It’s a Boy!

Da Goddess @ 18:56

In the past week, while I’ve been cursing the slow progress toward recovery from the dreaded Covid, Mr H got himself another dog.

He got drunk one night and, while on Facebook, looked at the local lost and found pets page, saw a dog he couldn’t resist (this is actually the second one; the first was with a woman who wouldn’t deliver*), and agreed to take if the rescuers could bring the dog to the house. They agreed. And the very next day, voila! Another dog.

It’s a boy.

His current name is Duke. Or Juke. He answers to both (because they sound the same). He briefly answered to Rex. He was also temporarily Billy Joe, after Billy Joe Shaver — he seemed to really like “Live Forever” and so we tried that. Prior to that was Bubba. H calls him Buddy more often than not. He also refers to him as “her” because he’s used to having a female dog around. He’ll be paying for DJuke’s therapy for years.

This beastie is young. He’s totally untrained and, boy oh boy, he’s doing his best to resist learning the basics! I think he was abused before he was abandoned because of the way he reacts to a hand placed on his rump. If you slide a hand down while petting him, he’s okay. Try touching his hind end otherwise? He’s jumpy and he tries to squirm away. So, teaching him to sit is a very slow work in progress. I’m doing my best to capture the behavior and reward him for it while repeating the word “sit”. It’s pretty much the only way to get there from here. I’ve also resorted to asking Cookie to sit and rewarding her for doing so in front of DJuke.

I haven’t worked with many abused/abandoned dogs in the past, but I’m willing to put in the work while I can because I really love this goofball. Already. Yeah, it’s a sickness. I fall for animals very quickly.

DJuke fell in love with the Mr Piggy toy. The weird, deep squeal it had turned into a a funny, higher pitched squeal. Then it went silent. The pig has lost some of its appeal without the sound. According to the dogs, that is. Maybe according to the humans, too. Maybe. Maaaaaayyyybeeee. Possibly.

Now it’s time for me to go slather purple dye on my head again. I have errands tomorrow afternoon with H’s sister and I’d like to look presentable. Ish.

* H’s car has died again and he needed to have the first dog dropped off. The woman agreed to it, but flaked. I was secretly relieved because the dog looked less-than-healthy. With DJuke, the young couple who found him had taken him to the vet for a once over and a chip check. He was deemed healthy and unchipped. And thus he was posted to the Facebook group. The couple also delivered.

6 Comments

  1. Welcome, DJuke!!

    Both Daisy and Badger were mistreated. Badly. For years I couldn’t put my hand near Badge’s rear end. What are people doing to dogs???

    Good luck with Buddy. It will all have been worth it in a couple of years. (That’s what I wrote!) :D

    Comment by pam — 2022/03/06 @ 09:36

  2. He will respond to “down” and from there he’ll eventually go into “sit”. He’s such a big dope.

    Our adventures have taken on a whole nother dimension as he’s decided to try to eat the sofa in the living room. Yeah, you read it right. This dog is really challenging in the craziest way.

    I don’t know how long I have here with him, so I’m doing my best to train him to the point where he’s no longer a destructive beast. I don’t want H to get frustrated with Duke and then want to get rid of him. This dog needs us.

    Comment by Da Goddess — 2022/03/08 @ 03:34

  3. I don’t know if you remember our tri color collie Tess? When she was young she tore apart a brand new sofa and chair. Very expensive set.

    I discovered crate training and had the set recovered. Ta da!

    She was a very good girl, but puppies are maniacs.

    And… where are you going??

    Comment by pam — 2022/03/08 @ 14:59

  4. He’s finally responded to basic training! It took H getting involved for it to sink in. As it should have always been.

    I’m sorry, I only remember Tess from posts after she was gone. I would have laughed about the destruction, but only because I wasn’t the one going through it.

    The beautiful idiot has so much to learn still. I’m hopeful he’ll get there sooner rather than later. I’ll post about another incident we had. One that isn’t easy to write.

    It looks like I may be heading to Phoenix to help a friend. Lots still up in the air, though.

    Comment by Da Goddess — 2022/03/18 @ 14:53

  5. You’re a very good friend, Goddess!

    Comment by pam — 2022/03/18 @ 15:11

  6. It benefits us both.

    I should’ve been there already, but Covid has really gummed up the works.

    Comment by Da Goddess — 2022/03/18 @ 15:21

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