We have our new dog!!! Meet Spirit!

After several months of saving money & learning about different types of dogs, we finally found our own little friend to bring home & yesterday "Ivory" the American Eskimo became "Spirit" our little ghost-in-the-night. Our computer's hard drive is being restored at the moment while I borrow a 12GB drive from my dad to get online so I can't share digital photos yet but HERE are her adoption-site photos. We just finished sending an update to her foster family & the shelter she was at. They all but begged us to let us know how she was doing so I rewrote "War and Peace" for them. Here's just a bit more about our new friend for anyone that's interested:


Hello!

We just wanted to let you know how Ivory was settling into her new home. I'm afraid that until our hard-drive is back sometime next week we can't send photos, but here is how her first day has gone.

She went into the kennel to ride home just fine, and by the time we arrived at Chuck & Don's she was smiling & resting quietly. The trip through the store was tolerated while snuggled up against Daddy's shoulder and she helped us choose a few new toys to bring home along with everything else. When she got home she investigated the living areas thoroughly, but did not seem ready to check out the kids' rooms & instead climbed back into Daddy's lap & allowed the kids to pet her.

On Saturdays DH has to leave for work at 4pm, and she watched out the window to see if he'd come back for a few minutes before setting herself up so she could watch all three of us in his absence. She didn't seem ready for anyone else to pet her so we quietly went on about our typical lazy weekend evening. At about 8 I decided that she MUST have to go since she had been holding things literally since we left Faribault and it took a few minutes to get her on the leash, but then I was absolutely astounded by her beautiful leash-manners! We went on a somewhat brisk walk around the block, and she finally managed to relieve herself. When we got back in a bite of fresh turkey was gladly accepted as a treat. From then on, she was inseparable from me; I was followed everywhere, and anytime I sat down she was either in my lap or across my feet.

We did have two issues with snapping as she tried to inform the kids that she would be the second-in-command, (NOT biting and NO teeth touched skin) but after I told her "No" & showed her what acceptable looked like she was instantly fine. DD accidentally spooked her on our return to the house from our walk, (she had been in her bedroom & came back into the living room too quietly) and she barked to let us know something was upsetting her. We thanked her for letting us know, and I showed her that it had just been DD & she was fine again.

I generally wait up to welcome DH home on Saturdays, and she discovered that the loveseat is a wonderfully comfortable place to nap after the kids are in bed. When he got home, she was slightly unnerved by someone entering the house & warned me as he pulled in the driveway and again as he unlocked the door. I thanked her & told her it was okay and that it was Daddy, and the minute she saw & heard him she was a bundle of excited energy to see her new best friend again. They went on a short walk & played together for about 30 minutes before settling down. When it was time for bed, she very much still wanted to play and so we did end up coaxing her into the kennel for the night. She rattled the door for about 5 minutes before falling asleep.

DH woke up early this morning & she heard him and asked to be let out. Once they got back inside it was obvious that she was done sleeping for the night, and the three of us spend an excited morning together as she showed us that she was a "morning person." When the kids woke up, she was just as excited to see them, (much to the kids' delight) and has been running around with her tail & ears up all day. We did decide to give her a new name to accompany her new home, and after watching her silently follow us around like a little ghost, we have decided to call her "Spirit" in honor of her incredible nature and quiet habits. So far she knows that she is "Good Girl" and doesn't seem to mind what we call her, so long as she is still "Good."

She has already had two visitors - her "grandparents" who will pet-sit her when we go on vacations to Chicago, and whose house & large backyard she will be visiting frequently came to see our new little girl. Grandpa was accepted immediately as a champion chin-scratcher, and Grandmom was timidly allowed to pet her as well. We did have a bit of trouble getting her into the kennel so we could run out for a short shopping trip, but we came back to see her waiting patiently to be let her out again, and at the moment she is in Daddy's lap considering a nap.

We do have just a few questions, if you have the time. First, we have noticed every time she goes outside that she favors her front left paw. Do you know if she injured it, or if she just dislikes the cold ground? And if it's just the cold... do you think it might help to try fleece boots? Also, she is acting as if her stitches are itchy. She scratches at them & has tried nibbling at them a few times. Everything looks okay & she hasn't hurt them yet, but is there anything we could or should be doing to help her be more comfortable? And finally, do you know if she is partial to a specific treat? We picked up two flavors of "Mother Hubbard" snacks for her & while she does eventually eat them, they seem to be no more interesting than her kibble. She thoroughly enjoyed a "Greenie" treat this morning, but we'd love to find something she really enjoys to use as "good girl" treats before we run out of turkey leftovers. I don't mind feeding her fresh unseasoned meat, but we also need something nonperishable that can come with on cross-country & cross-state road trips.

Thank you so much! It has been a very fun first 24 hours with Spirit, and while she does seem to be just a tiny bit wary of DD unless she is also by either DH or myself, she seems to be settling in very well.

 

Okay, please bear with me... I edited these using a new program called GIMP on the Linux system so I'm not 100% sure that I did the resizing right. But if I got this right, here are 5 photos of our little girl. (fingers crossed)

Spirit with Daddy - apparently we are all rather interchangeable as humans & cushions.

Spirit - watching Red Green with everyone.

 

I think we wore her out, but at least we know she likes her bed!

She's a little ham... we get the camera & she looks right at us. Candids may be difficult with this one.

And finally my favorite - this is what she's doing right now:

 

Oh my gawd!!!! What a beatiful pup!!!Congrats

 

she looks wonderful! im glad you found a suitable dog.
i dont know the first thing about the breed but shes really lovely.
if she keeps worrying the stitches, you might need a cone (always amusing/pathetic).
you could certainly try booties, but my dog would rip them off instantly (after the initial sulking and assumption that im punishing him that is) but my guy really hates clothes.
good luck with her

 

Aww, thanks so much!

She seems to be leaving the stitches alone now - apparently that was just bothering her that first day. Everything seems to be doing really well - no heat, swelling or redness, and the stitches come out this coming Wednesday. So far we've found that she prefers the soft, squishy treats... and her beloved Greenies, over the hard treats. And turkey, she LOVES turkey.

She adores DH & me, (she likes DH more though... she's definitely a Daddy's girl) and is learning to roughhouse with my son (whom she seems to see as a big-brother rather than a full "master") right now. DD is a bit afraid of her because she snapped (NOT bit, but still...) at her a few times, so rather than Spirit not accepting DD we're trying to get DD to accept the dog now. Spirit likes her well enough... she follows her everywhere, walks on-leash for her, takes food from her hand & climbs into her lap - but DD won't pet her unless prompted because she's afraid of being snapped at. Just this morning, we seem to be making some headway with that. Spirit seems to want to be loved by one & only one person today, and DD is shyly complying.

We are having a minor problem with going potty outside... it appears to be a combination of not liking the cold on her shaved tummy & an incomplete training. She is MOSTLY potty-trained, so we are setting timers right now to try and bring her out BEFORE any accidents happen. When we do find a "gift" we immediately get her on-leash, take her to it & bring her with to place it outside... and then let her see it & give her time to finish anything that might still be in there. Also, we've figured out that when she gently paws at us - or tugs at the hem of my skirt, that's her way of saying "Hey! I've gotta GO!" She hasn't had an accident in 3 days now, and while I doubt we've seen the absolute last of this - at least we know how what to look for & seem to have found a way to let her know what we want of her.

When she's not in someone's lap, she's on my feet keeping them warm. She follows me & the kids everywhere, and MUST know where we ALL are at all times. We put her in the crate that first night, but have decided to let her sleep with us because she HATES it. She curls up on our feet, and doesn't move until 5:30 when she walks up to our faces to let us know it's time for a trip outside. (paws in the face are not exactly comfortable, but at least she's gentle & seems to understand that "OW!" means "please be MORE gentle!") We are still crating her when we leave the house... Wednesday night was the 3rd time she's needed to be crated, and the longest at 2 1/2 hours. We "tricked" her into the crate by showing her a nibble of turkey & then setting it inside - that seemed nicer than forcing her in, but she was NOT fooled. She did go in on her own, but she very much let us know that she was only doing so because we asked it of her.

We took her on a short car trip two nights ago, to try & start working on her fear of cars. The kids wanted to pick something up for each other for St. Nicholas Day so we all hopped in the car & 2 of us stayed in the car with her while the other 2 went in at each store. She shook for the first 15 minutes, but while she wasn't happy she had at least settled down enough to start peeking out the window after that. When we got home though, she bolted from the car. I think this is gonna be one of our biggest challenges. Well, that and female visitors to the house.

The kids & I are taking her on a 15 minute run each afternoon, and DH is takes her on another 15 minute walk each evening. (I've already lost 4 pounds... holy COW!) She is absolutely perfect on-leash, and will take cues even from DD unless a truck goes by - she feels the need to sit down & wait for them to pass before continuing. A friend said that some trainers do this on purpose to keep certain breeds from chasing cars?!? Not seeing how it was a problem, we had been allowing it nonetheless. She is quiet unless someone goes by on the sidewalk or the neighbors dog is outside, but is definitely capable of letting us know if she feels something needs our attention. And she hugs us. I read about "eskie hugs" before bringing her home, but it's a whole 'nother thing to be petting her and have her little feet wrap around our arm & pull us close.

We're still learning... I had to take 28 photos of our Christmas tree last night & this morning to finally get one WITHOUT bits of puppy in the frame, and the kids found out that a shoelace not fully tucked into the shoe-basket WILL be soggy & chewed-up. But she's learning, we're learning, and we're all absolutely delirious.
love,
mom

 

I found my dog on petfinder too!!!!!

Nice little doggy.

 

A very cool looking dog you have there in "Spirit" and it appears she has found the perfect family too! One can only hope the best for all of you forever and always!