Condo Blues: Meet Lacey

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Meet Lacey

Pitter patter pitter patter romp romp romp.

“BARK!”

Say hello to our new dog Lacey!

Lacey Condo Blues
Hello, my name is Lacey. 


She’s recycled :)

Lacey is an 11 month old fearful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Dachshund mix. Look at the long and luscious legs on this girl!

Her turns on are:

  • Playing ball
  • Any activity that burns off her never-ending energy
  • Chewing her toys (I’d rather her chew her toys than our shoes. It’s a good thing I know how to make braided chew toys! Get the tutorial here

It took Lacey seven days to make this toy an ex-duck. The girl has mad skillz.

  • Cuddling with her people on the sofa when she isn’t scared out of her mind about something
  • Food and earning treats
  • Jumping higher than we are used to and putting her paws on the kitchen table and places we didn’t know toy dogs could reach
  • Digging
  • Belly rubs and pets

Her turn offs are (and possibly more to follow):

  • Separation anxiety (we may never use the bathroom or shower alone again)
  • Men (she bit her former Dad and drew blood)
  • Other people
  • Other dogs
  • Sliding doors
  • The dishwasher
  • The dryer
  • Sudden noise
  • Boredom (any ideas to help with this are appreciated!)
  • The garage door
  • Garbage trucks
  • The sweeper and carpet cleaner

We have a lot to work on with Lacey but we have a lot to work with.

Lacey came to us through an amazing act of love.

Our spontaneous get away trip to Brigadoon with lederhosen (you can read about it on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef here) was what I needed to move forward after Blitzkrieg’s passing because I still felt adrift. Husband and I agreed to wait until after the holidays to look for a toy dog (small house) with behavioral issues we can help.  When we found out about Lacey Husband was ready to do any heavy lifting it will take to help Lacey with her fear of men.

We contacted her former family. This was a long process because they love Lacey so much. They were still trying to help her stop nipping her former Dad and biting her former dog brother’s back legs. Lacey made progress. 

We don’t know why Lacey is so fearful. Her former family adopted Lacey from a shelter as a puppy. She was shy. They had to teach her how to play with toys. They taught her how to sit and she sits like a champ (thank you.) If love could fix all of Lacey’s issues she would be a perfect dog because her former family loves her very much and tried as hard as they could to help her.

Unfortunately, Lacey went from nipping her former Dad to biting him and drawing blood. They made the agonizing decision to rehome Lacey with us for the safety of her former Dad and dog brother. We epathize with her. Husband and I were almost backed into that corner by someone with Blitzkrieg. Dog bites hurt. I have a scar from where I got stitches when Blitzkrieg bit me.

Fortunately, we found the help Blitzkrieg needed and had the means to do so ( read how in 12 Things I Do Not Spend Money On here.) Our pros made me realize dog behavioral rehabilitation is like the instructional design I do when creating an elearning course.  Our pros taught us how Dog World differs from Human World to help us help our boy. We also had unexpected help from our next door neighbor dog Alyiah. She helped Blitzkrieg with his fear of big dogs. It was amazing to watch dogs teach each other lessons only dogs can teach. We always hoped Blitzkrieg would be the Dog World teacher for the next troubled dog we brought into our home. Sadly he can't do it in person but we feel him here in spirt.

I have a feeling that somewhere, somehow Blitzkrieg 
had a hand in guiding us toward Lacey.

Lacey is a completely different dog from Blitzkrieg and that is what we need to help her. Her triggers are different and her motivation is different. Lacey likes different activities and rewards. The only thing that is the same is we now know helping Lacey with her fear is a marathon and not a sprint. We have to do this on Lacey’s schedule, not ours.

Lacey is doing well. Husband is thrilled he has a dog that likes to play ball and he gets to call us “my girls” the way I used to call him and Blitzkrieg “my boys.” I love the way Lacey leans into me (a sign of affection) at a moment’s notice. My nose is a little out of joint because she does not sleep on my side of the bedroom as Blitzkrieg did. It is funny how Lacey is afraid of men and sleeps on Husband’s side of the bedroom and Blitzkrieg was afraid of women and slept on my side of the bedroom.

We changed plans and gave ourselves a family Valentine’s Day gift – we called our dog behaviorist to start training! We took Lacey to the pet store for socialization and to buy the required buckle collar and six foot leash. Yep, even pet parents have to buy school supplies.

Since Lacey is still adjusting to her new home and we aren't sure if we can trust her alone in the house just yet, Husband and I stayed in instead of going out for dinner. We sat on the sofa sipping Riesling to toast Lacey’s half dachshund side. Lacey snuggled between us on the sofa. We chatted and said we didn’t realize just how sad this house and family had become without a dog.

We are thankful for this amazing gift and ready to take the long journey to her recovery. We are grateful her former family was brave enough to do what’s best for Lacey even though it broke their hearts. We are in your debt. We will love her. We will take care of your girl.


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18 comments :

DownDoggin in MN said...

Yea! She needs you and you need her, a perfect combination. Congratulations to you all!

Traci said...

Awwww she's beautiful! I love her dachshund face! I'm so glad you guys found each other.

Fluster Buster said...

Hi Lacey - I'm so happy that you found a home with people who love you! I'm following you via GFC. I host Fluster Creative Muster Party on Wednesdays and I would love it if you would come by and party with us. Hope to see you there!

Hugs, Smiles, and Blessings,

Robin
Fluster Buster

Kristi said...

Congrats and good luck with your new puppy ( they are all puppies to me).
Look forward to more puppy posts.
Kristi

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

Lacey is 11 months old. She's technically still a puppy :)

Scrapin'Sue said...

Congrats on the new family member and you seem to have your work cut out for you. She is gorgeous and will come around with your love and attention. King Kong tuffy with peanut butter in is a usually a good distraction for dogs that need to keep busy. Best wishes and I look forward to reading about Lacey's antics.

Robj98168 said...

Lacey I am so happy for you- Lisa and Roy are special folk who have a lotta love and patience. So don't be scared. My boys Rimeo and Buddy and I send all our best wishes to you.

Robj98168 said...

that should read Romeo not Rimeo

Unknown said...

What a great "recycling" project and story. Need more caring people like you in the world! Keep us posted on her progress.

Leisa @ Day by Day said...

Awwwww, poor girl! Best of luck to you all in the road ahead with Lacey--love and patience will bring her around! Bless you! :-)

Donna Wilkes said...

Beautiful dog - I am glad she found you!

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

This is a beautiful story. I hope Lacey makes steady progress.

Anonymous said...

My biggest advice to anyone who has dogs is to watch the Dog Whisperer he's in reruns now. Also a treadmill : )

Unknown said...

We have a new dog,too, who is a rescue. I liked reading how you are helping your dog adjust as we are in the same boat. Both your dog and our dog are lucky to have new families and we just have to understand if it takes them awhile to warm up to us. Good luck!!

~ Janis said...

Congrats on your new family member! I have adopted all my dogs in the past and my present dog has been a long term project. She also had fear of men especially with hats. I had the men in the house hand feed her every meal and it was a nice slow progression of trust for 2 weeks, 3 times a day. The hat issue was a lot harder. I also left a leash on her to drag around the house for a solid 6 months so she could be corrected or trained in a spontaneous second. It works wonders. I never let my dogs UP on any furniture while they are in their first 6 months of training. it sets the rules better. The dogs place is "all 4 on the floor" and our place is NOT on the floor. At 10 years of age this May, Mavis is a wonderful companion and farm dog. Come visit when you have a chance:
www.tailgait.blogspot.com

My Eclectic Loft said...

What heartwarming story for a beautiful little lady!

Jenny said...

I live in Columbus, too. Who do you use for training? We have an adult Pekingese who is getting more jumpy and nippy lately, especially when we have people over to the house.

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

We use Greg from Bark Busters http://www.barkbusters.com/ for behavioral training. He helped us with our Peke Blitzkrieg.

For obedience training we went to classes at Capital Area Humane Society http://www.cahs-pets.org/programs/behavior.htm. The group setting is great for socialization. They really know their stuff. You do not have to have a shelter dog to take their classes. I want to sign up for CAHS class with Lacey too.

I'm not a pro dog trainer, but both Lacey and Blitzkrieg jumped and nipped (and bit too.) One of the things we do is when Lacey nips the person yips like a puppy, THE FUN STOPS, and we ignore her for awhile. The last part is hard but very important. After about 3 weeks Lacey understands nipping is not a thing to do in our house.

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