Doggie update - help!

Jun 25, 2007 09:43

Well, I've survived the first weekend with my doggie, Sasha. She's a pretty good dog for being a stray from the humane society. She's still sick and coughing a lot. Her favorite thing is to shake her head and blow snot everywhere. Yum. I thought she was doing good with not going potty in the house, but last night I found a mystery wet spot. Hard to see with dark carpet. I left her alone for about 6 hrs on Saturday night cuz I had to go to a wedding reception. I let her out 3 times that day before I left at 4:30 and Rick let her out when he came back from work at 10ish. I thought she could hold it; that wasn't a long time. But, she's still new to my place. She's still really pathetic and sad looking. I feel bad when I have to leave her... it makes me sad and I want to cry. Rick doesn't have to work today, so she's with him right now... probably sleeping in my bed and getting doggie hair and snot everywhere. But, she hasn't destroyed anything and seems to like people and doesn't bark.
I felt really overwhelmed yesterday with this whole owning a pet thing. I was alone all day with the dog and didn't go out. I felt bad leaving her, so I just stayed in, even though it was nice out. Talked to my mom for an hour on the phone, called my friend Amanda and she was going to stop by, but then she ditched me. Sasha's not used to being on a leash for a long time, so her walks only last between 5-20 minutes. I was hoping she could go on long walks with me, maybe in a few months. I hardly ate anything yesterday and cried a few times. I must be going through post-canine depression. I thought this dog would make me happy, but right now, I just worry about her all the time and it makes me sad. Maybe when she's not sick anymore, I'll feel better.

I have some questions for anyone that has or did own a dog:
1. Is a harness a good idea for walking? Better than a regular leash?
2. Sasha's afraid to walk down my stairs. Any ideas on how to teach her to walk down the stairs? She'll walk up them by herself.
3. Because she's afraid to walk down the stairs, how can I help her let me know she has to go potty? When she was at my mom's, she just stood by the outside door, but you have to go down the stairs to get to my door. I thought about leaving the leash somewhere so she can stand by that, but I don't know if that works.
4. Is it really important to feed her once a day, or can a leave food in her dish all day, but not refill it all the time?
5. She can't jump on my bed cuz it's too tall. Is buying some doggie stairs a good idea? I saw some advertised on tv and it looked okay; made from foam or something.
6. When will it be a good time to start taking her places... like other friend's houses that have dogs. She rides in the car okay.

I hope I feel happy soon about this dog. She's really nice and likes people. I'll be up for bar night next week on July 3rd. I'm bringing the dog with me and dropping her off at my mom's house beforehand. On the 4th, my mom and grandma are having some family over, so that will be a good test for Sasha. I can see how she is with lots of people.

If anyone can help me with cooping with a new dog or answer any of my questions, it would make me feel a ton better.
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