Yes, he can woof!

Finn has been a remarkably silent dog. We have had a couple of woofs, in the backyard, at night, but no other noise from him. This has taken some getting used to. I have never had a constant barker, but all of my dogs would bark at a knock on the door, other dogs, etc.

Not Finn. Well, until tonight. I had gone to bed, and my husband was still on his computer. (It's set up in an office area of the bedroom) Finn came to check me in bed, resting his chin on my hand for a bit, then curled up on his bed. We had been letting him sleep in the room with us for a few weeks now, much to his joy.

I reminded my husband it was late, got a 'yes dear' and more tic tic ticking on the computer keys. I then heard Finn stand up and go over to my husband at his computer and Woof! I sat up in bed, and Finn was crouched down in front, looking up at my husband. He slapped a paw at him and woofed again, obviously reminding him it was late and I needed my beauty sleep!

I started laughing, and encouraged Finn. "Woof at him Finn!" This got a few more paw slaps and barks until my husband gave up and turned his computer off. Finn went out with him for a final tinkle, then happily went to bed.

So, strangers at the door, and odd noises don't get Finn barking, but staying up late on the computer and keeping your wife up will.

Good dog Finn!

FYI

Just so you know, we do have the perfect dog.

We have some dear friends, who have a dog. Their dog, like most dogs, rolls in, eats and plays with horse manure. Since they have horses in their back yard, she does this often. Their dog also jumps on people, and jabs her nose into crotches. She begs at the table, etc. etc. We have given these friends a hard time about their dog's habits, and they have been delighted ever since we announced we were adopting a dog. They couldn't wait until WE had to deal with typical disgusting dog habits.

Except for one problem, Finn doesn't do any of them. He sniffed horse manure once, I said no, end of interest. He only rolls on carpet and the grass in our back yard (although he will lie in cool freshly planted dirt with flowers in it, or mulch) He doesn't jump, ever. I finally after much encouraging can get some hops when we do 'Happy Dance.'

Finn has occasionally bumped into people, and if his nose is crotch level that's what he hits, but he doesn't deliberately go for that. He quickly learned 'back off' when we are at the table, or will lie down if we tell him to.

So no, not dealing with any of those annoying behaviors.

Nya, Nya!

Dog food, the verdict

After over two months of trial, and upset tummies, we have a verdict on dog food. Finn's stomach likes Eukanuba. It can be Lamb and Rice or Chicken, as long as it is large breed. We tried several special organic human grade ingredient dog foods. Nope, Finn's tummy likes Eukanuba, and his tummy rules the purchasing decisions.

We are just thrilled to finally find something he can eat without stomach ache and runny stools. (TMI, I know) During all our tummy tribulations, often the only thing he could keep down was yogurt, which he loves. We also discovered several kinds of dog cookies and treats we can't buy. (Snausages Apple and Peanut Butter, very bad effect) His favorite dog treat? Beggin Strips. LOVES THEM! I think they are kind of stinky, but whatever. Meaty Bones also go down well, as do the peanut butter Glucosimine cookies for his joints.

Of course people food will always be acceptable, according to Finn. Unfortunately we, as the adults, must do what is best for him, and he must eat kibble. Although he does get tidbits in his evening meal, and the occasional bit of cheese, biscuit, and ice cream.

Dog cannot live on kibble alone, you know.

Back to the vet

Our vet finally got the vet records of Finn's past. We scheduled an appt to check his Lymes titer as well as test him for heartworms. You can't start a dog on the heartworm prevention, unless you first insure he doesn't have them. Taking the preventative when they do have them can do irreperable damage to the heart. The test is a simple blood pull, and you wait 15 minutes for the results.

Finn was negative, and in good shape otherwise. Now up to 105 pounds. He wasn't thrilled about being at the vet, but he was more accepting of it. Of course, he made lots of new friends, and everyone loved him except for a cat in a carrier.

Since wolfhounds are so large, you will end up doubling or combining doses of meds. Finn takes two heartworm pills to accomodate his weight. Also since wolfhounds have a deep chest, and are more of a 'primitive' breed, you have to be very careful administering sedatives. We are lucky that our vet has several wolfhound patients, so is experienced.

Finn's 'Happy Dance'

Every morning when I get up, I take Finn for a walk. We do the 'short block,' a loop around a triangular block in front of our house. (The long block is twice as far, and is the rectangle behind our house.) Finn is pretty enthused about the walk, and does some hopping and running around me in circles. I think this is pretty funny, so I encourage him a bit, rubbing his neck and playing with him.

However, this dance takes place right over the bedroom of my son, who last night complained about the fact we wake him up every morning. My son is 20, works in a deli and is going to college. He tends to not be up before noon, not because of work, but because he plays games on-line and chats until the wee hours of the morning.

So today I taught Finn 'Happy Dance.' Now he really puts some energy into the dance, leaping up and down, and whirling around me as I shout 'Happy Dance, happy dance!'

Yes, I am a rather cruel mom.

Finn helps in the garden

We decided to start working on trimming and cleaning up the back yard, including putting in the missing section of fence. We had to take Finn out every time he needed to go, if we fenced the yard we hoped he would start going out on his own. Once the weather warmed up we could leave the doors open so he could go in and out during the day as he wanted. hopefully not as boring as sitting in the house waiting for us to get home. Even though with our mixed schedules he was going out at least every three hours, it still was a long boring day for him. Plus we really wanted him to have the experience of his own yard.

Finn quickly discovered the bird bath was a perfect water dish. He also discovered we had bumble bees, and spent lot of time trying to catch one.

He carefully watched me planting bulbs, and alternated between lying where I had dug the dirt up, and nosing the bulbs back out of the ground.

I mulched a bed I dug up, and he delightedly laid and rolled in the mulch.

So helpful. But by the end of the day the yard was fenced, and Finn had his yard. As it got dark, he was standing with me on the deck, and we got our first woof. Very quiet, just a couple as he looked at the shed. I think it was at a ground hog. I was delighted, finally he was gaining some confidence. I thought there were a few more woofs in there..