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Meet Rusty

Ooh, welcome Rusty. He looks and sounds like a nice, well balanced dog, and he's going to fit in just right.

He has struck oil, hasn't he!

Do you know much about his background?
 
Ooh, I do like him. Can't wait to hear more as his personality develops.
 
Aww, how lovely! Really pleased to hear he's now with you:) Also looking forward to hearing more about him as he settles and you settle with him. Good luck!
 
Thanks all :)

JoanneF said:
Do you know much about his background?
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He was found wondering in a Romanian village with another dog and brought into a shelter. Lived there ever since, I don't know how long that is without asking. He's about one and a half years old. Apparently friendly with other dogs, but we've yet to test that, friendly with people, although my son visited today and Rusty was initially a bit wary but soon overcame that. He's seen next door's cats, he just stares at them, but early this morning one came into our garden, and after staring at one another, he slowly approached it, got within about 4', then barked! It ran off ;)

He loves being outside, he's used to it I guess, and we've just had some messing around with treats just for fun. As I said earlier, he's an affectionate soul, and if I crouch down and hold my arms out towards him, he will coming running over for a snuggle (I love it!).

He doesn't seem to wee much, is that a thing with younger dogs? He does go, but not as often or in as great a volume as Jimmy did. He seems to drink little and often and obviously has free access to drinking water. I've also noticed the pads on his paws are very pink. Not in an inflamed way, just the colour of human skin I suppose, but one or two or grey/dark grey. Again, is this a younger dog thing? He has no trouble walking/running about, perhaps it's just because he's a different dog to our beloved Jimmy.

Anyway, we're loving it, I just hope he continues sleeping in the nights for long periods so that we can! :D
 
At a guess, I'd say the pads are maybe more accustomed to walking on grass or sand than paved roads. But it's only a guess.

Maybe the drinking thing is because water wasn't as fresh so he developed the habit of only drinking what he needed? Again, pure guesswork.
 
Thanks @JoanneF. He'll be registered at our local vets soon so I'll be mentioning these things then.
 
He's absolutely scrumptious - what a delightful character he sounds! Enjoy yourselves in his company.
 
Yes, an absolute charmer. What changes he’s been through! A really lucky chap. Good on you all. Christmas everyday now.
 
I just had a thought - if you want Rusty to drink more, I find adding about a tablespoonful of water from a can of tuna in spring water (not brine) to around a litre of water is enough to tempt T, if I want him to hydrate.
 
Thanks all for your kind words :)

@JoanneF - that's a good tip thanks. I'll see how it goes, he seems to be drinking a bit more now but that's a good thing to have in the toolkit ;)

It was fun night last night. He has inherited some of Jimmy's toys and was going mad with them, running after a ball in the garden and zooming around with it. Lovely to see him let loose a bit and feel relaxed enough to play.

First proper walk this morning and it went surprisingly well. We bumped into someone I used to see when out at this time with Jimmy who we hadn't seen for several months, so I had a sad story to recount :( His dog is a mad (in a good way) spaniel, who is very bouncy and friendly. Rusty was not perturbed by this, although did back off initially.

Rusty was surprisingly happy to accept his harness and lead. He does tend to wonder and pull a bit when we were out, but more often than not went where I indicated and wasn't outwardly disturbed by the light traffic at this time (probably 4 or 5 cars over a slow walk of about 45-60 minutes). No doubt things will get even smoother once he's used to it all.

He did keep us busy until late last night, then I woke him up when I visited the loo at about 05.30 (it's my age!). My wife and I are feeling very tired today, so fingers crossed he'll want to sleep tonight! It's very hot here, and I don't think that's helping.

Anyway, happy days, although tinged with sadness as we remember Rusty's older, bigger brother (I introduced them today, letting Rusty sniff Jimmy's collar and urn and, God, that brought a lump to my throat).
 
JoanneF said:
I just had a thought - if you want Rusty to drink more, I find adding about a tablespoonful of water from a can of tuna in spring water (not brine) to around a litre of water is enough to tempt T, if I want him to hydrate.
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Just tried this with some tuna with spring water. He seemed to love it and drank a fair amount! Thanks again for the tip. I’ve kept a litre of this tuna water for use over the next day or so (should I refrigerate it?). I also gave him a couple of tuna chunks which he wolfed down so we at least know he likes that. Another food question will follow shortly
 
JoanneF said:
At a guess, I'd say the pads are maybe more accustomed to walking on grass or sand than paved roads. But it's only a guess.
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I think you're right with this, has pads are now darkening (we take him to local fields but have to walk on pavement to get there). Any idea why this happens? My interest was piqued as we had it in reverse with Jimmy - his dark pads went pink when he was on chemotherapy :(:(:(
 
Something reminded me of a concern you might want to check out. A few dogs from abroad are bringing in something called brucellosis. You might want to ask your vet to test Rusty, if he hasn't already been cleared.
 
JoanneF said:
Something reminded me of a concern you might want to check out. A few dogs from abroad are bringing in something called brucellosis. You might want to ask your vet to test Rusty, if he hasn't already been cleared.
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Thanks. I *think* he's been tested for this as part of the pre-adoption check, but will follow it up again. When Jimmy was having his treatment and it was looing like we might have to pay a visit to a specialist surgeon, he had to have this test then regardless of any previous testing history (it was negative).
 
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