It's official! We are foster parents again!
I went to pick up Sam on Saturday in Portage. It had snowed a couple inches the night before so thank God the roads were mostly clear.
When I arrived in Portage, the people that were transporting Sam from Illinois had just arrived. Can't really time it any better!
On the ride back, Sam was antsy. He whined quite a bit but he never got out of control. When we got back home, I took Sam to the backyard and went inside to get Sadie. Sadie came running out and they joyfully greeted each other and ran around the yard a little bit and then it started.....the humping!
Every time Sam would get close to Sadie he would greet her and be all nice and then go to her backside and start humping. Sadie would snap at him and he would get the hint and walk away only to come back a few seconds later and try it again! Can we say typical male??
After their meet 'n greet in the back yard. I took them for a walk. Boy was that a challenge! First of all Sam is not accustomed to "Northwoods" weather and his paws kept freezing up on him. And then oh yeah...did I mention he likes to hump Sadie? Yes, that continued on our walk in between his paws freezing up. On top of all of this, Sam is a BIG boy. He weighs about 60 pounds (lost 10 already). He carries most of it in his shoulders (READ: almost immovable). Somehow, I managed to make it home without having to carry Sam home and without falling down.
After our walk it was time for supper. I thought it was going to be easy since most hounds like to eat. Well this guy really wasn't interested in his food. Okay no biggie. We'll try it again later.....
The rest of the evening went well except for the occasional humping.
He slept as well as can be expected for the first night. We took him out three times during the night. There were plenty of times were he would whine but we ignored him.
Sunday morning we tried feeding him again....no go! He would just spit out the food! We decided it was time to buy a brand he was more familiar with so he would at least eat a little.
With it being Sunday, we got ready to go to church. We put both dogs in their respective crates. We had a few stops to make...Petsmart to get Sam's dog food before church, and then Menards after church to look at some flooring for redoing our basement. When we arrived back home a few hours later, a dog came rushing to the door!! Yes Sam broke out of his crate! Thankfully the only damage he did was taking some garbage out of the bathroom garbage bins.
Sunday afternoon and night, Sam was much more relaxed. He actually laid down while I worked on some of my sewing projects. He also slept much better. Only getting up when Shaun came home late from work.
Monday, Shaun and I both had to work during the day. I took Sadie with me and we left Sam in his crate. I went home at Noon to let him out and take him for a quick walk. When I got home, he came running to do the door! He broke out of his crate AGAIN! When I left for work, I put him in his crate and bungee strapped the door shut! Crossed my fingers all afternoon that it would work. When I got home, he was still in his crate! Success!
So after you've read all this you probably want to see some pictures, right?
Well here you go!
Trying to "chill out" in the craft room
Sadie's mastered the "chill out"
Playing with his new favorite toy...a mini raccoon
He LOVES the couch!
So wish us luck as we venture on with Sam! It should be interesting to see how he adjusts in the coming months!
