I have a new dog! His name is Todd (after Todd Haynes), he is a nine week old mini dachshund. He is VERY busy and likes to play and is friendly and brave but I keep having to separate him from Posey because he gets all in her face and she wants to tune him up. So far no big fights, just some snaps in his face. Last night was stressful because he came home just after nine pm and was really scared and Posey was pretty aggravated that he was with us. I alternated having one of them in a kennel and the other loose until finally putting Posey on the bed tied to the headboard with a short leash and Todd on the bed in another leash so I could pull him to safety if it went sideways. This was around 11pm and she was panting a lot because she was stressed, but finally had chilled out enough that I felt they could both be off leash together. They even played on the bed just before we went to sleep, which seemed like a good sign.
He’s wanted to play with her again today, but she was NOT interested. I think she still needs to warm up to him. She was doing some resource guarding so I had to take things away while they get used to each other. I’m super concerned about not setting Posey up to fail, so any time she seemed to need space I would pull Todd away or put him on the floor or otherwise get him out of her face. So far so good. She did snap at him a few times but they were warning snaps. He still doesn’t totally get it.
He’s a baby so he has terrible manners. Was trying to chew wires, my t shirt, all kinds of things. He’s also really distractible which is nice, I can get him away to play with pieces of paper and new toys and stuff. He’s got four toys out right now and I bought a box of little dog toys so I’m slowly bringing them out over the next few days. He wants his mouth on everything!
BUT some good things about him include him knowing exactly what a pee pad is for, and that he’s a friendly and sociable little guy, and also very funny. His personality is very similar to my old dog Little Mister. Little Mister was hilarious and sweet and that seems to be the way this fellow is. I haven’t introduced him to many friends except for my pal who took me to go get him. So I don’t know how he will be with them, hopefully better than Posey is with my friends. Posey is fine if we go for a walk first. But she’s old and particular.
I took her to an overdue vet appointment today and she has a heart murmur! A bad one too. I’m hoping she’ll be ok. She needs an echocardiogram to see what is going on with her little heart and then might go on some medication for it. They said it could result in heart failure so I have to watch out for different signs. Like a sudden disinterest in exercise, or her breathing changing. She does have loud breathing. Last time she was at the vet and I said she breathed funny they said she needed to lose weight. And then she did. And still breathed weird! So that’s probably it. She’s a bit chubby again now tho. BUT ANYWAY ahh I love Posey I don’t want to lose her prematurely. Especially now that she has a friend again.
Posey was an only dog from 2021 to 2024. She had a nice time being an only dog. So I do feel kind of bad that now there’s a new dog she has to learn to love. I hope her heart is not broken from it. I’m trying to give her lots of attention but also puppies need TONS of attention and I’m aware there’s an imbalance when one dog is trustworthy and can do what she pleases and the other one is a cute terror who wants to bite everything.
What I love about Todd is that he is calm and friendly and generally happy although he is a bit of a cry baby. He’s adorable and I think his personality will end up helping Posey take things more in stride. Also when I took her to the vet today I put him in a crate so he couldn’t hurt himself while we were gone, and when I came back he was in the back of the crate totally sleeping and unbothered. He didn’t even notice us come home right away because he was so sleepy. When I leave Posey she sometimes barks out of anxiety. So having one dog be totally cool with some alone time might rub off on her. Also they can snuggle each other when I’m out when I can trust him more that he won’t chew wires.
I have things to get him used to. Like, my sex life alone and with other people because I don’t want him crying around while I’m trying to get off. I honestly probably can’t have lovers or hook ups come over for a while because he’s just too little and too demanding right now. Maybe in a month I can re-evaluate his capacity to be in a crate while I’m having sex with someone. But then also like, puppies are so calm when they tire themselves out.
Next week he goes to the vet and gets some more shots. I think soon he can go to dog areas. I’m waiting until he gets the right shots for parvo and stuff. I think he has one parvo shot now but I’m not sure if he needs more before he can be in areas with dogs.
Aside from that he’s so cute and adorable. Definitely a winning personality. I love watching him play and discover the world. I’m happy my family got bigger again. Also though taking care of a senior and a baby animal at the same time is a LOT of work. But I love them and they love me and that makes it worth it.