Friday, March 21, 2008

From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog (Entry 3)

Karen, one of CPCRN's foster mentors, has graciously allowed us access to her diary documenting the journey of Flopsy, also known as Rusty, from the puppy mill to her forever home. The diary will be broken up into short sections and posted. Check back for new entries in the series entitled "From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog". (Previous Journal Entries: Entry One, Entry Two)

4/19/07
Well, new day and we are back at square one. Rusty seemed to forget what trust she gained yesterday.

She still didn’t mess in her pen when we were at work. After work, we got out the x-pen and set it up in the grass again. We laid in there for over an hour, then we took “walks” around the yard. I put Rusty back in the pen and groomed Holly, while she watched.

I forgot to mention that before I went in the pen with Rusty, I was in the house changing and checking emails. Rusty was whining and jumped over the x-pen! I think she could be a potential escape artist.

When we went back into the house, I put Rusty in her x-pen and she went to sleep in her bed.

I think the x-pen in the grass is going to have to be a part of our daily routine for quite a while. Whatever was done to Rusty in the mill had to be pretty bad, because she seems to have the spirit knocked out of her. She carries around a blank expression on her face and doesn’t wag her tail at anything.

One more note; I took cheese into the x-pen and Rusty would turn her head if I tried to give her a piece, so I put it on the towel and she ate it. I gave her a few pieces this way and she seemed to acquire a taste for it. I tried to hand feed her again, she looked away, then turned back, licked the cheese then gently took it and dropped it on the ground before eating it. It seems as though she doesn’t know how to manipulate the cheese in her mouth to eat it right after taking it from me. She repeated this a few times, before we ran out of cheese.

4/21/07
Rusty woke me early this a.m. When she wants out of the crate, she wants out. She went out and did her business. I was still tired, so I went back to bed. Rusty was upset and wanted to come in the room with me. I brought Starry, McDuffy, and Rusty back into the room and we all went back to sleep.

We took a drive to the vet’s office to have the buttons removed from her ear. Rusty did really well in the truck. She mainly sat and looked out of the window. She seemed to enjoy the ride. Dr. S. didn’t remove the buttons yet. She said it was too soon, so we will go back in a couple of weeks.

Back home, Rusty is still doing her pacing in the yard and kitchen, but it doesn’t appear as frantic. I think we are beginning to make real progress with trust. I believe spending all of the time with her in the x-pen has helped.

When Rusty was doing her trotting around the kitchen island, I called her as I approached. She ran the other way, so I turned and met her on the other side and spoke gently to her. She stopped and dropped to her belly and let me approach! I gave her lots of praise and scritches, then turned and walked away. I repeated this several times throughout the day. I am so pleased that she is finally stopping for me, even thought it’s not immediate.

Rusty is also continuing to reluctantly take treats from me. She really likes the cheese and bits of boiled chicken breast.

Rusty still hasn’t had a potty accident in the house! This may change as she develops more confidence, or maybe not!


To Be Continued ...

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please feel free to share your thoughts and stories with us!