Zander's Story - Part Deaux

....so now we are on our way home and this poor scared Newfoundland is in a fabric mesh crate in the van....and whining and crying from time to time. I knew in my mind and heart this THIS was a dog clearly in need of someone to LOVE him and I was that person to do it !

I turned on the radio and also started talking to him and soon he settled down for the tad over an hour's ride home.

We got to the house and I put him on leash and took him to the pen so he could go potty and also so the other dogs could get introduced to him ....while I believe in the "total immersion" method of teaching fosters to learn to accept a new ( even temporary) home ( after all, there ARE rules ) and do well, introductions still have to be done very carefully and with a giant breed dog and my own size, one should take extra precautions.

Introductions went well so Zander and the others were brought into the house....wherein he immediately hiked his leg against a crate...OK...not unexpected so he was simply told NO and the accident cleaned up.

As with all my other fosters, Zander spent his first two days literally joined to my hip....leash on and clipped to my belt loop...where I went ...he went....no choice. My reasoning for this is that I have immediate control should an altercation even begin to brew between a foster and the "incumbents". Usually after the first day or so they begin to get a little more freedon....still leash on but looped into a shorter length....enough to safely grab ontlo and haul away from a potential situtation.

After the second day, I noticed that Zander was definitely bonding to old Gramma Dog ( Labrador Retriever ) and her story will come later. Seems that old Gramma decided this THIS was just the right time to come into full blown season....and OMG....here is the newly neutered male who STILL thinks he is a MAN and I know I have to get control of this at once.

Poor Zander....for the first few days and nights I am sure he thought his name was ": Dammit Zander go lie down and behave yourself your're neutered".....after the third night of little no sleep it was time to fix his little red wagon .....

I call the local vet and ascertain that although Zander is now neutered there might still be a miniscule chance of an accidental breeding and since Gramma was 13 years old I certainly did NOT want this to happen. Ken suggested I get a pair of doggy panties for Gramma and see if that would discourage my new boy....not really....so the next morning I put Zander in the pen and took my not so happy butt to the Dollar store and purchased the BIGGEST tube of Ben Gay ( yes...THAT Ben Gay )...and drove home. Took Gramma out to potty, put her panties back on and smeareda goodly portion of this noxious ointment all over the outside of the garment.

Gramma, you must understand, was NOT amused at having to wear clothes anyway and was even more disturbed at the odor now emanating from her hiney.

Brought Zander back in and he immediately put his tail up in the air....trotted very confidently over to Gramma dog....and sniffed....and backed CLEAR ACROSS the room with the most priceless puzzled expression on his face.....

Sheeeesh, Lady....you STINK !!!!

She shoots....she scores !!!! And back to bed for a well deserved nap....and Zander bothered Gramma very little after than....all I had to do was re-new the Ben Gay twice a day and his desires were soon quashed.....and soon Gramma exited her season ......

Now, as most of you know, life with a foster hardly ever is pure joy....there is the usual "honeymoon period" wherein they really, REALLY toe the line because everything is new and especially if now they finally know what it is like to be loved, they want to keep that.

Then, comes the test period and it came within less than 2 weeks....seems that the reidient male ( also neutered Lab ), Ox, decided that he was Supreme Male Being and this new male was NOT welcome and there were several altercations...nothing too serious in my mind....sometimes they just need to work out the pecking order thing on their own, but the altercations were causing some major strifes in an already shaky relationship and while I first caved and agreed that Zander would have to go.....and told Marty...I also wanted to work it through....it would NOT have been fair to Zander when Ox was clearly the instigator in these altercations. I stood fast on this.

Things soon worked themselves out and while several times the boys would eye each other with that " I'm gonna wipe up the floor with your butt" stare....they were also as quickly defused.

Time passed and soon Zander relaxed to become firmly ensconced in my home...it was claer he loved me and it was equally clear to him that I loved him back....Mlollie soon accepted her brother...Zander got some much needed training and grooming and I soon began to dread the day when I would get the call that a new family wanted to adopt him......

More to come......