Adopting a Senior Dog

[SunnyCait]

Tomorrow morning I'll be going to the Pasadena Humane Society and adopting a second dog... A little chihuahua named... Get this... Kris Kringle! He's 12 years old and has been at the shelter ever since October after he was found on the side of the road in a crate with two other chis. His "deadline" (the PHS is not a no-kill shelter) is this coming Wednesday. Now I wasn't looking for another dog (at all) but while looking for an Xpen on Craigslist, I saw an ad that I couldn't resist clicking on and saw this adorable buggy eyed old man staring back at me. His story was so sad that I went ahead and went against my better judgement and clicked on the video they had of him... A happy wriggly little guy who was just starving for affection! A volunteer had posted about him after she'd taken a special interest in him, and once I met him in person this past Sunday I understood why!

He was so endearing, and just wanted to cuddle and snuggle. Of course we took Karly in as well to meet him and while there weren't any sparks (not that I would count on Karly to truly LIKE another dog) she was friendly towards him and didn't seem to mind him, and he didn't seem to be frightened of her at all. I call Karly not hiding behind me and him not biting her or showing fear success so far! Karly (golden retriever/border collie mix) gets along fine with other dogs but is a bit insecure, she's DEFINITELY a mama's girl. I think since he is so small, she won't be too bothered. She may even think he's just another rabbit!

At first I wasn't so sure whether or not to actually adopt him... I've only fostered small dogs, and frankly they kind of scare me. And I've NEVER really liked chihuahuas and if you ever told me I'd own one I'd have told you you were crazy! His age wasn't much of a factor for me because all dogs get old, don't they?But he really was so sweet and he just hung over my head all the rest of the day Sunday and all day today. I'd been corresponding with the volunteer who posted his ad, and she was so helpful and nice about everything, answered all my questions about him. When I told her I'd finally made the decision to go ahead, she was escatic and told me how she'd been doing a supply donation drive... I'd had no idea but isn't that incredibly sweet?? Facebook has use after all!!!

Anyway I just wanted to share and kind of ramble... I'm very excited for tomorrow and hopefully we're the home he's been needing and he's a great fit for us.

And here is his video from the shelter... Where he's outside in an outdoor kennel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI_A9WgpMSU&feature=youtu.be

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Congrats Cait! And bless you for taking him in. I'm not a fan of Chihuahuas either, but his little smiley face in that picture just made me wanna give him a big ol' smooch! I can't wait till I have my own place and can start my own pet army

Congrats again

 

[shawnwk1]

congrats he is cute even though he is a chihuahua lol. don't be afraid of little dogs they aren't so bad. i never thought i'd have my 2 small dogs, but i gotta say they are fun and kinda cute (and they move out of the way most of the time so don't worry about tripping over them or hurting them and if they don't move they learn to real quick when you trip over them or step on their paws.....maybe not so good since he's older lol) congrats

 

[SunnyCait]

Thanks guys!!

I'm nervous and excited both... Is it weird that I'm afraid to pick him up?? I've only had bad experiences with handling REALLY small dogs, but I picked him up quite a few times at the shelter to see what would happen and he only fussed once but he didn't bite. I'm sure when he's more used to me that won't be a real issue, but I won't let the kids pick him up.

He's MUCH cuter in person, trust me. I didn't think he was much of a looker just from the picture but he's sooo adorable in real life. Plus he practically throws himself into your lap and the way he prances is just too much.

I *am* excited I'll finally be able to buy cute little dog things that my dog is always too big for! Why can't they make cute big dog things too. *sigh*

Oh I forgot to mention we'll probably be naming him Kristopher... Similar to his shelter name but less... seasonal. LOL!

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Good for you.
Small breeds are popular here. Our shelter had some shipped from California recently in a rescue cause.

 

[SunnyCait]

Yes the shelter here is basically half pits and half small dogs. Which is weird for me since in Iowa almost all the dogs in rescue were large breeds. But there's a LOT of BYBs for smaller dogs here, I'm sure.

 

[shawnwk1]

chihuahua's do tend to be more snippy then other small breeds so not letting your kids pick him up is a good idea. it may not hurt you, but he can do some serious damage to a small kids sensitive skin. just pay attention to his body language, small dogs use it more than big dogs. if he tenses up or his eyes go wide put him down he is scared and may bite. if he is looking around a lot neurotically with big eyes with his tail between his legs put him down he is scared and may bite. just take your cues from him and let him come to you instead of forcing him to come or be held right now. he is going to be scared anyway its a new home so you just wanna minimize that stress. bring him into one room first and give him a day there before introducing him to the rest of the house. as far as the other animals you really should isolate him for preferably 30 days as i'm sure you're aware just in case there is something he may have that their vet missed. you don't want him getting any of the others sick or vice versa.

 

[SunnyCait]

Because he is older he is missing some teeth (was told he had to have a few pulled when they did his dental) so I'm personally not afraid of the actual bites, but you're right, I am not letting my kids pick him up for a long time, until he has really settled. And even then my youngest won't be allowed (she's not allowed to pick up the bunnies for that matter). When he met the kids he seemed fine with them, wanted to cuddle with them as well and gave them kisses and didn't mind my youngest's squealing or quick movements. I would never even think about bringing him home if I thought they would be a danger to each other but nontheless they'll not be left alone unsupervised.

About isolating him it's a bit late for that, as the shelter requires you to bring in current dogs/cats to meet the prospective adoptee. He will have a vet appointment within the week to double check the shelter's vets, but isolation is not really doable at this point. I don't plan on letting him "meet" the rabbits any time soon, though, simply because I don't know how he'd react. This means the dining room and kitchen are off limits to him already, as that's where the rabbits' cages are and where Holly ranges during the day ever since she decided she just needs to burrow INTO the couch, haha. Like my other dog he'll be crated when we're away and at night to prevent any "accidental" meetings.

I read that it will be helpful to have him on a leash inside the house (and in the yard) until he is really used to everything, and to limit his access / chances of house accidents. Thoughts?

Also am I foolish for thinking he can be fully potty trained? I've never met a small dog who went 100% outside. Are puppy pads a good idea or should we skip em?

 

[shawnwk1]

you can use the leash inside but really it's not necessary. i would however bring him in alone without the kids or other animals there and let him look around first before bringing everyone in...just lessens the overwhelming a little bit.

both of my dogs go 100% outside. they may have an accident every once in awhile in their crate overnight, but never actually around the house.smaller dogs do tend to be a little more difficult (i like to think it's cause they are more stubborn then even the most stubborn big dog). yes it's possible to house break him though. maybe you'll get lucky and he's already housebroken lol.

i'll let you decide on the puppy pads, but i'll put it like this. if you decide to use the puppy pads then you are teaching him that it is okay to use the bathroom inside. i've never used them, i don't want them to have any reason to go inside.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:clapping: We wouldn't know what to do with a Chihuahua--our small dog is a Great Dane.

 

[MiniLopHop]

How wonderful of you to adopt an older animal! My Dad has always had small dogs and they never went in the house unless they were sick, then they were embaressed by it. If you can't train him to be 100% outside, then I would go with a litter box. Small dogs can also be litter box trained.

 

[SunnyCait]

I have him home and so far so good... He's very laid back and just wants to snuggle and sleep. Also I'm not afraid of picking him up now!!! Yay! He was only neutered a month ago so he still tries to mark things but I've been watching him a hawk and every time he lifts his leg I yell NO! and then take him out, and so far that seems to be working though I know marking is different than peeing but I don't want either in the house!!

I'm at work right now but when I get home I'll load some new pictures of him.

 

[shawnwk1]

can't wait to see more pics. glad he's doing well and settling in nicely. small dogs do seem to spray more or maybe it's just that big dogs are well.....bigger lol so you can't really miss seeing them lifting their leg i'm sure as he settles into the house more and the testosterone gets outta his system from his neuter then he will stop as long as you stick with the training right now to show him that it's wrong to go in the house. small dogs usually learn pretty quickly and are more apt to wanting to please you so they will try their hardest not to mess up........sometimes. other times they're just extremely hard headed (like me so they fit in well here lol). glad to hear you're not scared of the little runt anymore

 

[SunnyCait]

And one with Karly, who is still less than thrilled but tolerating her new brother very well.

So far so good!! We're enjoying him immensely... He's very mellow and doing great on potty training. He must have been someone's house dog, as he's relatively well behaved inside and not afraid of our hustle and bustle or household noises.

Best of all, he cares not one iota about the rabbits. He sniffed Hugh's cage earlier on his way upstairsthough and KARLY sure cared (they're HER rabbits, you know!) But that wasn't even a big issue. Still not actually "meeting" the rabbits, if ever that even happens.

 

[BertNErnie]

congratulations on your new addition

 

[MiniLopHop]

What a cootie patootie!

 

[Sweetie]

Congrats on your new addition. He is cute.

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Oh he's adorable, I love his permanent grin

 

[SunnyCait]

Thanks guys.

He had a wellness check up today and we found out he has a heart murmur (both sides) but it's not too severe, we just have to keep an eye on him and be on the look out for heart failure, etc. He also has arthritus in his lower spine and in one of his front legs, one that looks as though he's had some sort of trauma to it before (he has a funny gait because of the leg injury, but he gets around very well). So he's on glucosamine for maintenance of that, and if it doesn't seem to make him comfortable enough we'll take him back for actual medication. His hips look fine though, and his lungs are super clear. We'll be taking him for a blood panel, x-ray, and fecal in February since he seems in working order, but we want to see how his internal organs are holding up.

Aside from the medical stuff, he's fitting in very well here. He's learning the rules very easily and he's doing great with his crate... I expected this to be a LOT harder... He's even stopped attempting to mark inside the house. If he does something he's not supposed to do it only takes correcting him once or twice before he gets it and better yet, REMEMBERS... We don't have the leash on him in the house any more, and I've started letting him be off leash in the yard (it's fenced in, though). He's doing really well. Karly went with me to CVS while he stayed home, and when we came back home and let Kristopher out of his crate she tried to play with him, but he didn't care, he just wanted his people to pet him! He's so goofy.

I want to work on his recall because I remember that being a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE issue with Karly (she now has perfect recall) but I'm not sure even how I got Karly to be as good as she is now... And I guess I don't even know how his recall is, because he's always near us and doesn't run off, but of course I've never given him the chance to, so who knows. ... Maybe we should start with "sit".

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Congrats on the new addition! Soo adorable! I never was a huge chihuahua fan until I met one my neighbor had. That changed it for me forever. lol