[DJsMom]

Sat hubby & I adopted a mutt from the local weimaraner rescue. Beings she's a mix I think the rescue has been very lenient with us, allowing us to take her home with no home visit & without FIRST signing paperwork OR payment upfront. In fact, we've still not paid any money or signed any paperwork.
The foster mom is waiting for all the paperwork from the rescue.
Her name is Coco & she's a weim/german shorthair mix supposedly. I've never dealt with either breed before.
She is really a very good dog! BUT...

Hubby & I both went back to work this AM after spending Sat eve & all day Sun with her. I took her to work with me, but she didn't handle it well & hubby ended up taking her home after a couple of hours.
He put her in the washroom, which we figured was the safest place for her. He went back home a few hours later only to find blood all over the walks in the back yard, a shattered glass window above the sink in the washroom & NO Coco anywhere! PANIC!! Hubby & DJ literally followed the blood trail through the neighborhood & ended up spotting her in our next door neighbors yard at the back door.

O my goodness! Took her to the vet & got her paw pads cleaned up good. 2 of them were scraped pretty deeply, but no stitches were needed.

Yes, I will be keeping her in a crate from now on when we're not home. In fact, I brought 1 home from work just today, as I had planned to do, but realize now that I should never have not left her at home alone for even just a short time without having her crated
I'm going to work on slowly getting her acclimated to our grooming salon - it was just too much change too quickly for her. For now I guess I'll leave her in the crate in the mornings when I leave, then come home at lunch time & take her back to work with me in the afternoons when it's not quite as busy.

As I cleaned up the shards (daggers!) of glass, let alone think of her running loose, I absolutely shudder to think how much worse it could have been!

 

[pamperedpups]

Yikes. I'm thinking you might want to have a test run with the crate, too...

 

[Shaina]

Wow...yeah you might have to get one of the super sturdy crates just to be safe. Let us know how acclimatizing her goes.

 

[Katzyn]

Wow...Scary. =( Glad you guys found her.

 

[DJsMom]

Oh! I'm very, very nervous about leaving her alone at all now, even crated!
I called the foster mom right away & she said that she crated her whenever she had to leave the house for awhile - Coco didn't like it, but it kept her safe. She used one of the plastic crates with wire door. I've got a large wire crate that we use at the grooming salon.
Which does anyone think is safer? I don't know ... maybe I'll end up just taking her to work for the entire day with me until I at least know for certain how she'll be in the crate for several hours.

 

[FourIsCompany]

How scary! I think I'd take her to work and keep her in a back room or somthing where I could check on her frequently. I'm so glad she's ok!

 

[DJsMom]

Thank you! That's what I'm going to do.
I did try it today - we have a self dog wash room right behind the counter, right in my sight, that has a half gate that latches shut. This is where DJ hangs out during the day.
Coco jumped over the gate twice today! So I then put her in the large crate we keep in that room, but she barked & barked. I figured it was just a little too much for her too soon, not having had time to work with her much yet.
But I am too nervous to leave her at home alone now. At least I'll know if she's able to get out of the crate & will be right there to keep an eye on things.

 

[Xie]

Oh that is very scary!

I'd also say at least do a test run with the crate first before using it. The dogs I know who have trouble with crates tend to do better in the solid ones, less to get caught on and a cozier, safe feeling.

Best of luck with your new pups adjustment period!

 

[DJsMom]

Best of luck with your new pups adjustment period!

Thanks Xie! I will get a solid one if I need to.

I hope I've not bitten off more than I can chew with her! I'm willing to do all that I can to give her a great home & make her happy, but don't want it to be at her expense
She's 18 months old & I've just never had a dog quite like her, I know she's going to be a handful, but she's SO sweet & loving & has just been great while we're around, quite obedient & very good with DJ too, so I'm more than willing to put the effort into it.

 

[Independent George]

That sounds awful; you - and Coco - have my sympathies.

For what it's worth, the plastic airline crates are indeed sturdier than the metal ones, but the weak point is always the gate/latch. You may have to make some modifications yourself to secure it.

 

[melgrj7]

You may want to do Crate Games with her, it might make her more comfortable staying in a crate. Good luck with her

 

[flushdoggy]

Agree. Crate her or it's too dangerous for her.

 

[DJsMom]

I'm afraid I'm just not able to take her to work anymore, at least not until she is calmed down, maybe feeling more comfortable with us & the store.
It was pure insanity with her at work today! I'm just going to have to leave her in a crate at home alone. I'll be able to come home at lunch to check on her & let her out for awhile, but until she's more settled & accepting of all these new things, it's just not good for business, for me or hubby's sanity, & definitely not for Coco.
2 hours ago (while still at work with her) I was ready to call her foster home & tell her we were not going to go thru with the adoption. I've settled down, now that we're home, fed her in her crate & she's now resting comfortably (well ... semi comfortably) in it for a bit until we take her & DJ out for a nice long walk later this evening.

Hubby is on his way now to pick up one of the hard sided, solid plastic crates. I do think I'll feel much better keeping her in one of them than in a wire crate.

 

[DJsMom]

Yay! I'm feeling so much better about the whole situation than I did yesterday!
We went & got a solid plastic type crate last eve & right away she showed some interest in it. I tossed some treats in it off & on thru the evening & let her go in & get them, all the while leaving the door open for her to go in & out as she pleased. I also wouldn't allow her to jump up & curl up on the couch.
This morning I fed her breakfast in there, leaving the door open. Again, not allowing her to jump up & get comfy on the couch, she ended up going in the crate & curling up!! After taking her outdoors to potty 1 last time I threw a cookie in the crate & then shut the door, praised her lavishly & left for work.
Eeek ... I'm a bit apprehensive about what I'll go home to, but I'm going to run home at lunch time to check on her & let her out to potty. I just could NOT do another day at work with her like yesterday!

I do realize that it is my fault, for not having the time to properly crate "train" her. I basically had to throw her into it for safety sake.

I've also got to work on loose leash walking & possesion aggression toward DJ, which I've noticed a bit of.