Rudy is a traumatised boy

and sometimes things are crappy.  And sometimes we get it wrong. Underestimate how difficult something will be for our new dog and put bluntly fuck it up and back to square one we go. Sometimes it is something smallish that we can't think what unsettled them and other times it is obvious.

So, for example,  Rudy eats at the entrance of the kitchen, except when for some unknown reason he won't come down the hall.  Then he eats half way up the hall.  My concession to going back completely to square one.  Then later that day he bounds down the hall to see what is going on in the kitchen - wtf?

Rudy had been clean in the house, until I wheeled my butchers block from the kitchen to the living room to iron on,  well that upset him very much.  I had figured he had been settled enough but no, we then started weeing in the house.  Having started, despite scrubbing it now smells nice and weeable in. Oh piddle!!  Guess I will iron in the kitchen 😐

Actually I have been amazed how clean in the house Rudy has been considering that he has been in a shelter for a year.  He was anxious wet in his crate the first night.  Other than that, until today, he has been dry in his crate.  Serious question:  How do I get him to willingly wee. Outside! I stand outside with him for as long as it takes and direct him and redirect him every so often saying toilet and I say toilet when he finally wees and tell him how good he is!!  But where he is so switched on to me when he is telling me about the person walking past the house, he has his ears firmly shut when he is outside pootling round the garden.  So he pootles round NOT weeing and then lies down.  I try and re interest him pretending to go for a walk around the garden with him.  I try very hard to not let him in until he has wee'd.  I then let him in straight away, hoping he will make a connection with having had a wee and getting back inside.  Right approach?  Wrong approach?  Or do I just need to learn the Romanian for toilet, wee wee, business etc in case that works......

Willow cat traumatised him one night as he ran down the hall towards her she belted up the hall to get past him and he turned tail and fled.  I have to say we near wet ourselves as it was very funny.  Rudy didn't agree.  Cue a nervous pee (Rudy that is).

And now my monunmental Fuck Up ( see capital letters - indicating doing it good style).

So, I had phoned to ask the vet if they have a scale out in the waiting room that I could weigh Rudy on and to register him.  I spoke to a lovely nurse Zoe who told me they run a free weight clinic which we were very welcome to take him to, As he is quite heavy and needs to be quite a bit lighter being a front leg tripawd, I booked him in for the Thursday.  This involved getting him to wear the harness.  Getting in the car and driving to the vet a couple of minutes away (but not walkable as Rudy hasn't done lead work and isn't happy about the lead or harness, he does a great sit or cling to the crate when it appears, even with chicken!) So I gave him a cuddle and put his harness on.  Grabbed the car keys and picked up a reluctant Rudy, unlocked the car and my old heap of a car decided the boot wouldn't open ( if anyone fancies sponsoring a nice car for Rudy to ride round in, in style, you would be so welcome, something quite modest would be a vast improvement). Fighting with a boot with one hand due to holding a dog in the other isn't easy.  After the air going blue I finally put Rudy back in the garden to figure out what to do.   At this point I probably could have just scrapped the outing!

 I didn't.  I clipped Rudy into the back seat via his harness and the car seat belt, so he was safe but not in the more familiar surrounds of the crate.  We arrived.  I got Rudy out and put him on the ground and he clung to it in the way that bath hating dogs appear to have suckers on their bellies.

 Ok I will carry you poor Rudy!  It was quite busy so we went and sat as far away from others having had lots of why are you carrying your dog looks, not that I was bothered.  Really Rudy had shut down.  He sat hunched in to the wall.  It was a sorry sight. 

The nurse took us through to a quieter place with scales.  Then into an examination room.  I put Rudy on the table and he was just there.  I chatted to the nurse.  The idea was to take his measurements but Rudy growled and growled and was snappy with the nurse. So we aborted that plan instead she spent time feeding him treats I had bought with me and stroking him and eventually he looked at her and was less growly. I brought Rudy home and he slept and slept he was so exhausted.  He wouldn't even trust me to go near him or get him out of his crate to go for a wee 😭

Later that day my sister was popping round.  She had already met him and they had been fine and she had given him cuddles and scritches, him asking for more when she stopped.  This time she walked into the room and Rudy growled angrily at her.  I asked her to sit down on the couch.  I sat on the floor with Rudy reassuring him.  Some time passed and my sister had been allowed to rub his head.  Then a while after she joined me on the floor and gave him a stroke.  As quickly as he had appeared to be ok he changed and launched at her to bite her.  It felt like he meant to bite but whether he really did or not I don't know.  We both got a fright and were very glad that Alice's quick reactions meant she got out of the way in time.  I prefer to think it was a warning but either way it was my fault because having known how stressed Rudy was I ought to have cancelled my sister coming round.  Having a dog like this requires for us to make the decisions, to save them from having to!!!!! So, I got it wrong. Alice's first reaction was to leave but very quickly she decided that she needed to stay so that he didn't think his behaviour had got rid of her!

With the nurse we had agreed that we wouldn't overly worry about Rudy's weight for a couple of weeks or so and concentrate on finding food he likes and, at the same time start taking Rudy in the car to the vets and sit outside with yummy treats while a nurse or vet or receptionist comes and feeds them to him so he gets used to the smells of the place and gradually work inside. 

It is going to be a slow process.  Not helped by having virtually no income and therefore being unable to mend the unreliable boot. I can't put an anxious dog in a boot I might not be able to open.  The seats don't go down completely flat so I am not sure that I could put the crate on the folded down seats down and for him to feel safe. I don't think he will feel secure enough.  Not to mention the bigger issue which is:

I can't get the bloody harness on him at the moment, even with chicken, as he is just sooooo scared.  I could sit him on my knee and pop it over his head I suppose which I have done before but that isn't teaching him that it is safe and means fun, especially not when the first place we go is the V.E.T  where he had his balls and his leg chopped off, not to mention being checked over just before going on a long journey.

So, we are a work in progress

Pahahahahahahahaha  understatement of the year lol

Giving it Zzzzzz's last night 💖

Any thoughts on any of my crazed ramblings are most welcome.  Feel free to share far and wide and feel free to post comments on the blog as well as on the fb page , otherwise I look like billy no mates.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂