Day 1: Bella's New Home
by Dawn
Well, I thought I would finally post an update on how Bella's first day went. John and I got up very early on Saturday (I think it was 6:30 a.m.) so that we could be quick and on the road early. We did the usual stuff to get ready - loaded up the gas tank, packed a few supplies and then grabbed breakfast on the run and then we were off to Woodstock to pick up our baby-to-be!
The drive there was fairly smooth with traffic being fairly light and the road condition was almost perfect. We were there well before noon and signed paperwork and all the fun stuff. As John was doing all that and going over instructions, Bella was running around the kitchen, climbing under the chairs and trying to eat the laptop cords. Already she was a little busy body! Once we took care of all the stuff that needed to be done, we snapped on the new collar and headed out the door and we were on the road yet again - this time headed for home.
You could tell that Bella was not liking the car ride very much. She was doing the nervous yawn on the drive, whimpering a bit, and had some nasal drip. It was a very windy day and consequently, there was a lot of noise in the car from the wind and I think that was probably quite loud for her. You could tell she was getting a bit stressed but continued to lay on my lap and look up with those sad, sweet eyes. I think it was around London where she started to have a gag reflex so I knew she'd be vomiting soon. I held her so that she did so on the floor of the car and dealt with the mess afterwards. Once she did that, it seemed to settle her tummy and she mostly laid home the rest of the way seeming much more content.
Then we headed to Maria's backyard where we would do the meet with Terk on neutral territory. Terk's hackles immediately went up and there was a little posturing but there was no huge confrontation at all. We headed into Maria's basement and let the dogs interact, play ball and Terk continued to put Bella in her place, but again, typical doggie social behaviour and not aggressiveness.
Once we got home, I was surprised to see that Callie immediately had her back up. I did not expect that reaction from our cat. Honestly, I never even considered that Callie would have any sort of issue at all as she just stays out of everyone's way! She made the weird howling noise as she did when we used to board her for camping - the same noise she makes when she's around other cats. I'm not sure if she thought that Bella was a cat? Weird. The noise from Callie happened only once and the back hackles are now down when she sees Bella so that is a good thing I think. They all have to get used to one another and we are just closely monitoring all our furry friends until we know they all can be trusted around one another.
We had visitors last night - Barry and Meaghan, Maria and my Mother who all wanted to check out the new pup. Despite that bit of commotion, Bella seemed no worse for the wear. She seems very easygoing by nature and seems to take everything totally in stride. At one point last night, Terk growled at Bella and Bella went over right onto her back into a submissive position. We can't believe it but so far it seems like Terk is going to "wear the pants" in this furry family!! I guess she learned from the best (Maggie!).
Bella is a very happy camper and seems eager to please and play. She's working on the "sit" command and seems to be picking it up quite quickly. She had no accidents in the house (partly due to our diligence with making sure she gets out every few hours!). She's very sweet and quite honestly, just GORGEOUS!!! John and I just can't believe that we have such a beautiful sweet-natured pup! Early that afternoon, when she got tired, I took a nap and so did she - right into her crate seeming none worse for the wear. We thought - wow!! This puppy is going to be a breeze!
The only really tough time was last night when we went to bed. It wasn't tough for her - just us. She made it very clear last night that she did not want to be crated. For probably 15-20 minutes she cried incessantly, at points it actually sounded like she was shouting "NO!!" (it was weird but we both "heard" it), whining and actually howling at a few points. That was tough to be honest - not for Bella - but for us - as we tried to not give in and take her out. Eventually she settled down for the night and that was a good thing! John wants me to add that this was not "tough" really but to be expected due to it being the first night in a new place, in a crate.
Dawn
by Dawn
Well, I thought I would finally post an update on how Bella's first day went. John and I got up very early on Saturday (I think it was 6:30 a.m.) so that we could be quick and on the road early. We did the usual stuff to get ready - loaded up the gas tank, packed a few supplies and then grabbed breakfast on the run and then we were off to Woodstock to pick up our baby-to-be!
The drive there was fairly smooth with traffic being fairly light and the road condition was almost perfect. We were there well before noon and signed paperwork and all the fun stuff. As John was doing all that and going over instructions, Bella was running around the kitchen, climbing under the chairs and trying to eat the laptop cords. Already she was a little busy body! Once we took care of all the stuff that needed to be done, we snapped on the new collar and headed out the door and we were on the road yet again - this time headed for home.
You could tell that Bella was not liking the car ride very much. She was doing the nervous yawn on the drive, whimpering a bit, and had some nasal drip. It was a very windy day and consequently, there was a lot of noise in the car from the wind and I think that was probably quite loud for her. You could tell she was getting a bit stressed but continued to lay on my lap and look up with those sad, sweet eyes. I think it was around London where she started to have a gag reflex so I knew she'd be vomiting soon. I held her so that she did so on the floor of the car and dealt with the mess afterwards. Once she did that, it seemed to settle her tummy and she mostly laid home the rest of the way seeming much more content.
Then we headed to Maria's backyard where we would do the meet with Terk on neutral territory. Terk's hackles immediately went up and there was a little posturing but there was no huge confrontation at all. We headed into Maria's basement and let the dogs interact, play ball and Terk continued to put Bella in her place, but again, typical doggie social behaviour and not aggressiveness.
Once we got home, I was surprised to see that Callie immediately had her back up. I did not expect that reaction from our cat. Honestly, I never even considered that Callie would have any sort of issue at all as she just stays out of everyone's way! She made the weird howling noise as she did when we used to board her for camping - the same noise she makes when she's around other cats. I'm not sure if she thought that Bella was a cat? Weird. The noise from Callie happened only once and the back hackles are now down when she sees Bella so that is a good thing I think. They all have to get used to one another and we are just closely monitoring all our furry friends until we know they all can be trusted around one another.
We had visitors last night - Barry and Meaghan, Maria and my Mother who all wanted to check out the new pup. Despite that bit of commotion, Bella seemed no worse for the wear. She seems very easygoing by nature and seems to take everything totally in stride. At one point last night, Terk growled at Bella and Bella went over right onto her back into a submissive position. We can't believe it but so far it seems like Terk is going to "wear the pants" in this furry family!! I guess she learned from the best (Maggie!).
Bella is a very happy camper and seems eager to please and play. She's working on the "sit" command and seems to be picking it up quite quickly. She had no accidents in the house (partly due to our diligence with making sure she gets out every few hours!). She's very sweet and quite honestly, just GORGEOUS!!! John and I just can't believe that we have such a beautiful sweet-natured pup! Early that afternoon, when she got tired, I took a nap and so did she - right into her crate seeming none worse for the wear. We thought - wow!! This puppy is going to be a breeze!
The only really tough time was last night when we went to bed. It wasn't tough for her - just us. She made it very clear last night that she did not want to be crated. For probably 15-20 minutes she cried incessantly, at points it actually sounded like she was shouting "NO!!" (it was weird but we both "heard" it), whining and actually howling at a few points. That was tough to be honest - not for Bella - but for us - as we tried to not give in and take her out. Eventually she settled down for the night and that was a good thing! John wants me to add that this was not "tough" really but to be expected due to it being the first night in a new place, in a crate.
Dawn
Hi
ReplyDeleteI'm Bonnie from Port Franks Ontario
I have Bella's sister Roma
She was Miss Pink
Please email me at
bfrost@execulink.com so we can stay in touch with the sisters
Bonnie Frost