New Year, New Dog

Everyone, meet Rita, our new two year-old Great Dane/Lab mystery mix. Since we got Rita right before Christmas, not much has been happening except for adjusting to life with our new furry horse child. Ski season here is off to an abysmal start due to no snow. The world at large is as big a dumpster fire as there ever was. Ian did get a promotion at work, so that’s something positive. Otherwise, our life is now all about being new dog parents.

We don’t know much about Rita’s history. The rescue we adopted her from got her from another shelter in New Mexico earlier in December. She got hit by a car in New Mexico in October, got spayed in December, and was with her foster mom for about three weeks before we picked her up on 12/20. Someone must’ve taken care of her at some point because she’s already house trained, crate trained, and walks well on the leash. She’s the epitome of a gentle giant. She’s so sweet and likes other dogs, people, and little kids. Sometimes she does bark at men walking at night, which I must both applaud from a safety standpoint but also don’t love from an unwanted dog behavior standpoint.

She doesn’t quite understand what to do with toys and has more fun playing fetch with herself than bringing the ball back to us. She was underweight when we first got her but is filling out nicely on her journey to gain about 15 pounds. She was at about 85 pounds and should be closer to 100.

She’s doing well with her training, learning commands, and recall. When she’s got a scent she’s after she becomes the world’s worst listener. If she sees a car driving by or a dog across the street, she also forgets everything she’s ever learned. It’s a work in progress.

Let’s see, what else is there to know about Rita? She loves blueberry flavored things but is a bit confused by actual blueberries. She doesn’t drool or shed much, except right before a meal where she creates a river of drool around the kitchen island while she waits for us to feed her. I was not anticipating my budget for mop fluid to increase so much as a result of getting a dog.

She’s a good egg, and we’re excited to help her learn and grow and adventure with us!

Adoption day. The rescue did not post our picture from the adoption event despite all three of us clearly being so photogenic.

She came with the Christmas sweater from her foster mom.

She’s too smart for all her treat puzzles and has solved them all already.

I have been relegated to the other corner of the couch, which sometimes she also hogs. Also, I do not recommend the book on the coffee table.

She likes to cuddle and she does not care how big she is.

Yes, she is taller than me if she’s standing up on her hind legs.

Such a dainty lady with her paws crossed.

Sunrise dog walks, not featuring her getting bored wondering why we stopped.

She prefers to play fetch with herself than bring the ball back to us.

Rita also comes to work with me! She likes to sleep with her head wedged between the wheels of my office mate’s chair and box her in. Fortunately, everyone in the office loves Rita so they accept her for all her quirks.

She LOVES her snuffle ball. You can hide treats and kibble in all the felt folds and she has to sniff them out. It’s great to keep her busy at the office.

She is fully laying on top of me while I’m trying to read.

She’s currently kicking me on the couch while I write this.

That was one of maybe three times she’s ever played with a toy like that.

She LOVES to romp in the snow. Too bad we don’t have any this year. Seriously, though, it’s a big environmental problem. We have the worst air quality in the country right now, and we’ll have no water next year. But look how cute the dog is!

Here she is going full velociraptor. It’s actually just a yawn.

She looks grumpy here, but she was actually having a lot of fun using the skateboarding rails as agility drills.

I know it’s been a while since my last post, but you truly haven’t missed much. We haven’t gone anywhere or done anything. Over Thanksgiving, we stayed at home and deep cleaned our whole house. Over Christmas, we cancelled the trip we had planned because we adopted Rita. We weren’t originally planning on getting a dog until the new year, but we found our diamond in the rough dog a little earlier than anticipated.

It’s funny because I told Ian before we went to a couple adoption events that our dog wouldn’t be with all the others that everyone else would be crowding over. There’d be a dog somewhere off the beaten path that no one was paying attention to, and that would be the one for us. That’s exactly how it happened too. We weren’t even sure at first if she was an adoptable dog or if she was there with her foster mom to adopt another dog. Fortunately, we got very lucky with this one. She definitely needs more training and a little more confidence, but her temperament and quirks make for the foundations of a good dog. Welcome to the family, Rita!

Hopefully something interesting will happen in the next month or so. Otherwise, it’ll be another blog full of dog photos and updates on Ian’s adventures in middle management. Love and miss you all, and I look forward to seeing many of you in March for Katie’s upcoming nuptials!

Road Trip Recap