We've had our Ruger for one week now. Whew! If there was a song to go with this week, it would be the William Tell Overture. Listen
here if you'd like to be reminded of how it goes... (music starts at :15)
"Ruger!" I yell as I see him take off after an orange streak, his big feet thundering down the hall. I'll grab a squeaky play toy and as soon as he hears that, he bounds towards the toy. He plays with it about three minutes, then he's off the lick/bite on the dry wall. (We haven't gotten the trim put up around our house yet.) "Ruger, No," I say as I lift him up and bring him his toy chicken that Aaron got him yesterday. Tail going 100 mph, he chews on that for about five minutes then he's off to get a drink of water. Mid drink, Thea walks by, which ensures a second chase. She makes a bee-line downstairs and since Ruger isn't allowed downstairs, he watches from above and then makes his way towards his blanket. I see him stop and start to sniff and as soon as I see him plant his back feet and lower his back a bit, I grab him in a flurry and whisk him outside. He goes, gets praised to high heaven, and then we play outside. I run from corner to corner of our front yard with him chasing me, until he gets distracted by a dandelion or leaf, which he eats, and after 15 more minutes of play time and sniff time, we head inside.
Back in the house, repeat the above paragraph about 10 times an hour, and you'll see how our afternoon goes! No joke, I've lost 7 pounds since we've got him and I don't know a time when I was more tired.
But oh, when we're outside and he gets scared, he'll come right up to me and when I lift him up, he'll snuggle into my neck and stay there for awhile, cuddling. And then before I put him in his crate for the night, after he's been sleeping for about an hour in the house, he'll cuddle again into my neck and we sit on the couch like that. My heart melts and I just love him like crazy, crazy!
He knows "sit" and "stay", he can hold his bladder 6 hours in the crate at night now, and we are currently working on his chewing/biting of hands and feet. As I mentioned in the earlier post, he loves to chew and that includes hands. His little teeth are sharp! He had his first vet check up on Tuesday and he did exceptionally well. (Or so I think he did anyways!) We go on walks every morning, afternoon, and evening. Just down the block and back, but that little bit of exercise really helps! He enjoys playing with my kindergarten kids when they stop by, and they love playing with him. And those stinker cats. If they wouldn't run, he wouldn't chase. The three of them do just fine when the cats are laying around but the second a cat takes off, a chase ensures.
