I know. I know. This update is LONG overdue. You'll have to forgive me. I have this aversion to blogging... actually, to anything that means sharing my writing. But that's another blog. Anyway...
Foxy is acclimating nicely to life in my house. She's got her quirks, but who doesn't, right? Don't worry; I plan to outline them in some detail for you. Before I do that, I want to point out a few interesting things.
When I brought Foxy home, I was given some very specific information about her behavior, health, and habits. A lot of those things have turned out to be inaccurate at best. Now, I’m not blaming the Bideawee folks. I think they knew Foxy as well as she allowed them to know her, but I get to see her true colors. This isn’t a bad thing, either. I mean, it’s not like the dog turned into a raving lunatic the moment I got her in the house or anything. No – she’s as sweet as she can be; they were right about that. It’s the other stuff they told me…
1. Foxy has a condition called luxating patella (dislocating kneecaps, and yes, dogs have knees.) It wasn’t bothering her so they left it alone. (My research has shown me that was the best choice.) They told me she wasn’t a big jumper because of it. Disproven after about 20 minutes at home.
2. Foxy is territorial. Not in a bad way, just in a way most small dogs tend to be. When she feels threatened, she will retreat to her safe spot and bark incessantly until she feels safe again. This is very true. What they failed to mention is the huge range of things that make her feel threatened… doorbells, doors creaking, thumps, squeaks, other dogs, any of those things on television, my brother. This is not to say she’s a noisy dog, because she isn’t really. You just have to know when something is going to make her bark and be preemptive.
3. Foxy is mostly housebroken, and not a huge fan of taking walks. The volunteers were carrying her to a tree, setting her down to do her business, and carrying her back to the shelter. She preferred to use a wee-wee pad. Partly correct – Foxy insisted upon a walk around the block on her first night home. She likes at least one long walk a day. She uses the wee-wee pad when she can’t get outside, but prefers the outdoors for her toileting needs. I suspect she was overwhelmed by the scent of the other dogs at the shelter and chose not to be outside where she felt vulnerable. (See point 2.)
4. Foxy is finicky. They were feeding her rotisserie chicken breast and turkey. Finicky is the understatement of the year. Though chicken is Foxy’s hands-down favorite food, she will eat a lot of other meats and dog-friendly snacks. But not dog food, most dog treats, and anything that looks like it might be dog food unless it’s mixed very well with stuff she does like.
5. Foxy doesn’t know any tricks. She knows “sit”, “stay”, “paw”, “come”.
6. Foxy likes to dance. She does indeed. Her “dancing” involves her jumping, spinning in circles, and occasionally barking. I’ve tried to get video of this, but she is camera shy.
Please understand, I am not complaining about any of the above things. To the contrary, all of Foxy’s little quirks make me love her more. Let’s be clear, I love this little dog and am very, very glad I brought her home.
