The FREE Puppy!

This is a new experience for us! I know that millions of other rv'rs wouldn't think of traveling without their pet, but for the past seven years we've not had a dog. We had lots of dogs before becoming RV'rs but not until now as RV'rs. We had a parakeet named Sunny that tolerated us fairly well but he passed on a couple of years back. We talked about getting another one and even visited every pet store that had them if we were close by. Well, we now have "Lucy Sue." a mixed breed of Dachshund (we know) and Cocker Spaniel (we think!). She is totally black with long wavy hair and is very mellow for a puppy. This is good for old people like us.

The dog was free! Yesterday we spent just about 100 dollars on the first vet visit, shots, harness, leash, toys, food, etc. A friend gave us a crate for her to sleep in (yeah, right!) and now we need to figure out where the crate will go as well as how to get her to sleep in it.

Lucy is still training us and we are working hard to learn her lessons. Even though she is only 9 weeks old, she knows to go outside from time to time to eliminate what needs to be eliminated. To teach us when it is time for this, she goes to the door and then looks back to see if we're coming. If we're not, she paw's and nips at a nearby shoe which we remove on entering our home and keep by the doorway for quick access when we want to go out. If we haven't figured out by then that she wants out, the next sign is unmistakable and she no longer needs to go outdoors.

She likes to take lots of naps now, which is well and good because we do too. She is napping by my foot as I write this, but she doesn't seem to want to sleep at night. At least not in the crate. Have you ever seen a dog that doesn't go nuts over peanut butter? We bought a small Kong and I put peanut butter inside and placed the Kong in the crate. This is what the vet and others said to do to encourage the puppy to begin liking the crate as a sleeping space. This dog doesn't care for either peanut butter or the crate. We feed her there though and she will go in for treats I place inside to entice her in there. She just brings the treats, food, or toys back out to eat or play with on the carpet.

I'm sure we have many more lessons to learn form our new friend, and hopefully we will be good students. For now though I think I'll take advantage of Lucy's down time by attempting to sneak her in the crate in her blanket and see how long it lasts. She's still sleeping by my foot so there's a chance it might work, wish me luck!