Sad Dog
We are just over a week into our newly-found role as dog parents and things are going okay.
We don't have too much to complain about ...
Ophelia has destroyed just a handful of our belongings (especially jingly baby toys, which look all too like her own stash of doggie toys). She's a puppy, and she chews. And so, our house has never been more picked up, even Adelaide's getting in on the tidying!
As Joel mentioned, Ophelia comes from a long line of protectors and guardians, especially at night. After the sun goes down, Ophelia takes a short power nap and then is up from about 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. guarding her flock. Guarding includes lots of alert barking and posturing (if she's outside). I've learned to sleep through her loud barks, but she sometimes keeps Joel awake, so he's hoping that she grow out of the barking.
I think that she knows that we're her people now, and that has possibly led to a strange new turn-of-events.
Since last night, Ophelia is sad.
She wags her tail, but keeps her head low and down. She doesn't bark with the same vigor that she did earlier this week. She doesn't smile. She seems tired on her walks, including the one that we took in City Park this morning.
Why?
We have a couple of theories ...
A) Maybe she's realizing that she's here to stay. Maybe she misses her friends at the shelter? Is that anthropomorphizing things too much?
B) Joel took her for a mile-and-a-half run yesterday and while she jogged along, she was exhausted and pooped out when they came home after 20 minutes. Other than that workout, she's been getting at least two daily walks. Maybe she's not conditioned ...
C) At the recommendation of the people at the shelter, we've been feeding Ophelia easily digestible dog food because of her recent g.i. upset. Still, she's been certainly getting bits of fluff and plastic with all of the toys and shoes she's devoured. And yesterday, we gave her a rawhide chew to encourage her teething. Maybe she's sick again ...
Whether the realization, the activity, or the food, I'm a little worried.
Comments
To stop the barking just keep saying no barking two simple words everytime she does it and she will stop in three days. Nothing else just the same words. Vet recommended it to us and it really worked. As of the sadness guessing she misses her friends. shoe leather could have something to do it with also.
Posted by: Tammy | January 18, 2010 9:45 PM
I know what it is! She's just really sad that she hasn't met me yet--don't worry, Ophelia! I'll be there in just a few short weeks! :)
Posted by: Erin Wurzberger | January 18, 2010 9:53 PM
Maybe you should take her to the vet. Was she vet checked when you adopted her?
Molly
Posted by: molly | January 19, 2010 2:10 PM
Maybe you should get a second dog? You know, so she has a friend.
To be actually helpful...I have no idea what to tell you. Winnifred was really depressed for a few months shortly after Owen was born. It just took lots of attention and playing and she came out of it, but that was a different situation since she already knew us before she was depressed. Maybe a training class so she has some one on one time with one of you and learns that you are her Alpha?
Posted by: Kelli | January 19, 2010 2:23 PM
Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions, Toadsland.
I took Ophelia to the vet today. And $350.00 later, we have a diagnosis: tapeworms. The vet was not surprised considering Ophelia's recent afflictions; the parvovirus that she contracted at the shelter has caused her gastrointestinal tract to be a little sensitive and a little unarmed against invaders. After a healthy dose of medicine, the vet said that Ophelia should perk up in a couple of days. Unfortunately, her weight is down almost 10 pounds from her weight two Saturdays ago when we brought her home. Not unexpected given the combination of the virus and the tapeworms, but not good. Still, we'll keep plugging away at Ophelia's health until we get her into top notch condition ...
In the meantime, anyone looking to shed a few pounds? We've got tapeworms available! :)
Posted by: Aimee | January 19, 2010 4:18 PM