Rondo update

[furtech]

Rondo arrived last Wednesday afternoon filled with anxiety and was pretty upset. For the second time in his short life, he was taken from his family-pack. Fortunately he's a pretty resilient dog: within a day he'd settled down and started to relax. He found a spot in the yard he likes to do his business in and likes the dog-door. There were a couple of accidents the first day, but fortunately dealing with Frieda in her dotage got me used to such things. I still had the supplies-- soda water, a bristly brush and a wet/dry shop vac are all you need. The enzyme stuff too. He was a lot more nervous about strangers, but exposure to a lot of friendly people has caused him to relax a lot more.



Thursday Rondo got to walk with KC (John's dog) and while they pretty much ignored each other for the duration, they played at John's apartment. KC is a robust female and made Rondo a bit nervous, but he would chase and be chased, only hiding behind me when she got too big for him (at least in his eyes).

Yesterday Rondo got two exciting bits of enrichment: he discovered with a pool is and met a Great Dane/St. Bernard mix. If he thought KC was too much dog for him, Rondo got a new benchmark with Sophie: she's the size of a horse, the energy of a class-4 tornado and the manners of a very young puppy. She reduced Rondo to a quivering pile of scared puppy with her exuberance in a matter of minutes, so Kim held her while Rondo explored and played with her 8yr old (who loves to run). With familiarity, I'm sure they'll be all right, but that was enough for Rondo last night!

The pool was something I had planned to introduce him to at some point. Groomer/bath, too. Last night he solved both problems for me-- clever dog! While exploring another friend's backyard last night, he literally walked off the edge into the water! I know two things about him now: he can swim and he doesn't blind-panic in such situations. He made it to the edge with much splashing and came to me when I called (to guide him to the steps). Much dog-shaking ensued. Testimony to his personality is that he wasn't afraid of the pool afterwards-- he was *fascinated*! He spent the next half hour running around it, sniffing and testing to see that it was -all- water, then running around it more. Rondo was very excited at this discovery! And thanks to the Santa Anna winds (like, 0% humidity), he was completely dry in no time.

Some more pics of Rondo settling in:

Good Morning, Rondo!
http://www.akela.com/RONDO/Rbkyd1105/R-bedjumpsm.jpg

Discovering gophers! Go, dog, go!
http://www.akela.com/RONDO/Rbkyd1105/R-goph01sm.jpg


Agility pre-training!
http://www.akela.com/RONDO/Rbkyd1105/R-jumpwalldet2sm.jpg

Comments

Beautiful dog

[space-wolf.livejournal.com]

He's got a hard act to follow but this one may well do it!

Re: Beautiful dog

[furtech.livejournal.com]

At least Charlie doesn't have anything to worry about...

[mistahbojangles.livejournal.com]

Neat, neat, neat! Can't wait to meet him at some point! Think you'll be bringing him to San Jose in January?

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure...not to the con, but I may drive up and leave him with my sister. You're more likely to see him if I come up to Seattle in late December or early January. I'll keep you posted.

[iisaw.livejournal.com]

Absitively, posilutely adorable! Sounds like you're socializing him really well.

BTW, I've got more acorns for you. Unfortunately, only two more White Oak acorns (it really has been a bad year for them) but I've got tons of Live Oak acorns. You might want to consider them: They grow fast and if you thin out the shoots after a couple of years they can get pretty big. (40-50ft)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I'm doing my best to socialize him and correct some of his original family's doings. Tay is a perfect example of a puppy that was acquired by people who knew what they were doing, had the right situation for him and raised him well. Tay is perfectly social, brilliant and with no baggage that I could see. We've still got a long way to go before he's even in the same league with Tay (Rondo's KC Royals to Tay's NY Yankees), but we'll work on it! The biggest hurdle so far is to convince Rondo that this is, indeed, his "forever" home.

He is beautiful!

[toraneko.livejournal.com]

What a happy look! Congratulations on your new family member.

Re: He is beautiful!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[cooner.livejournal.com]

Looks like Rondo is already doing terrifically with you. Glad Casey got a chance to meet him the other night!

Casey is terrified of swimming pools. When she was a younger dog she almost drowned, not once but twice, in the creek running along my parent's neighborhood. Fortunately she was rescued both times, but she no longer wants truck with any body of liquid larger than her water bowl.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Rondo seemed more excited/curious about the pool than anything. He -was- overly cautious when crossing streams on the hike, tho'. That must have been some creek! Here, a "creek" is such a trickle that only a hamster or -maybe- a guinea pig would have anything to worry about.

[fuzzytoedcollie.livejournal.com]

Wow! Rondo appears to be quite a wonderful dog! Looks like you've a real winner there.
Thank you for sharing the pictures and the excitement of living with a new dog with us :)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Half the excitement of a new dog (especially a rescue) is getting to know them! He's young and pretty resilient, so he's adapting well!

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

I see Rondo's making himself at home on the bed already. Such a pretty boy. He looks very soft and fluffy.

Are there pictures of Sophie somewhere? a Great Dane/St Bernard mix sounds insane!

We've got a pond in the front yard and Mana's never showed any interest in it unless there was a duck in it. Much like the cat. She doesn't fuss over getting a bath, but not going to voluntarily go in the water herself.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Bed: I have a very dog-friendly home (and workplace, too!). Rondo has apparently what border collie people call a "semi-rough" coat. It's surprisingly silky, but without the thick, double coat that some collies have. Not nearly the efficient coat that Mana has, but still pretty easy to care for. Hopefully it won't be a burr-magnet come summer...

I'll try to get a pic of Sophie: she looks like a huge, black dane, but with a thicker chest and more robust bones. About 150 pounds and all muscle!

[waynekaa.livejournal.com]

Wow, pool already?
Bright dog!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Yep! Very bright! Hardly thought about it at all: a quick right turn, and *sploosh!*

[moonstone-wind.livejournal.com]

followed fm Lacy's LJ is that an aussie!??! ^__^ or is he a border :)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Hi! Rondo's a full border collie.

[moonstone-wind.livejournal.com]

^_^ mind if I add you I love aussies and borders *hugs her aussie medical pup n pet one to* :)

[brokkentwolf.livejournal.com]

That's a puppy? He'll be bigger than your house when he's fully grown then! :)

Congrats on the new family member. :)

[furtech.livejournal.com]

He's just nine months old, but that's about as big as he'll get. Mostly it's a case of puppy-mind and maturity. And thanks!

[diadexxus.livejournal.com]

YAY FOR BORDER COLLIES!!!
Ace wants a pic with Rondo!
-J

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Rondo and Ace would be cute!

[kyubikitsy.livejournal.com]

Hi Lance! I probably should have posted this in your last Rondo update, but I just wanted to thank you for your advice regarding my bf's border collie! She's super smart, but apparently loves her treats. XD; I can't look her in the eyes yet and pretty much act as if I can't see her, but with my bf's help, I can get her to roll around, chase her tail, sit, and lie on the floor... with a doggy jerky snack as her reward. XD;

I get the occasional growl now and again... and she prefers to ignore me, but it's definitely a start. At least I was able to lightly pet her back. ^^;

I'm happy to see things are going well with Rondo!
-Kitsy

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Good to hear! If a dog's treat-oriented, there's always a way! Dogs, especially border collies, see eye-contact as a challenge, so as long as you don't mind that you'll do well. It already sounds like you've make incredible progress! Ignoring you (especially on purpose) is a first step and a good sign, actually. It means she isn't seeing you as a direct threat, but something to be tolerated.

And it will help is you randomly drop little bits of jerky treat (like, fingernail size) whenever you're near her. This doesn't have to happen often, just a couple of times each trip. Don't be obvious (like going to the treat bag or reaching into your pocket): have it ready or planted (like leave a few pieces on a counter that she can't see). She should think you have beef-jerky dandruff just falling off you! That's the next step from ignoring you: being curious/interested in you.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Rondo is gonna make a LOT of good icon pix!!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I need to get a faster-shooting camera...

[millencolinf0x.livejournal.com]

Heh, the story about Rondo and the pool reminded me a lot of my border collie, Charlie.

I never thought about using a shop vac to clean up messes. Interesting.

Oh, and I enjoyed the pictures!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Shop vac+soda water=clean! The soda water brings up the mess with its bubbling, then the shop vac (I got a small but powerful 5hp one) sucks it all up. The carpet is nearly dry with the vacuum and there's no residue for dirt to be attracted to (like soap and other cleaners tend to do). My only problem is that now I have several very *clean* spots on my carpet which show how dirty the rest of it is.

I'll try to get together with you and Roxy next time I'm up north with Rondo! She'll love him!