Iris Update

Iris spent most of the trip home looking out of the window as the world went by, even when it got dark. Joyce was not sure that she wanted a second dog on her car seat. Every time Iris put her nose or her tail across the center of the seat, Joyce growled just a little. I gave them water at one of the stops and I had to bop Joyce's nose so she'd let Iris drink. I had put the bowl in the middle of the seat, so I shifted it to Iris's side and waited while I held Joyce's eyes. (Sometimes it helps to be the alpha.) After a few minutes, Iris drank some water.

 

We stopped for gas in Socorro. I held Iris's leash while Robert got out to pump gas, then he held the leash while Joyce and I got out to walk around and pee. Iris fell asleep while Robert made a McDonalds run, but she woke up the minute he walked out with drinks and food. It was funny how she sat up just as he walked out the door, as if she had a radar.

 

We got home about 8:30 pm. I held the leashes of the two dogs in the grandchildren's play room while Robert brought everything in. Then we made a trip out to the backyard before bedtime. We had had enough snacks in the car that I didn't want to feed them dinner, but I showed Iris the water dispenser before we got ready for bed. Iris found a spot halfway behind the recliner chair and halfway under the end table that we call the "batcave." She hid there despite our best efforts to lure her down the hall and into the bedroom. We weren't sure she'd climb on the bed with all of us the first night, but we put a small rug at the foot of the bed just in case she wanted to join us.

 

Over the first two hours, we were dozing with the TV on, so we woke up every time Iris tiptoed down the hall and stuck her nose in. She'd sniff around, then run back down the hall. Finally she stretched out on the blanket at the foot of the bed (one of the ones we'd had on the car backseat, so it already smelled familiar) and fell asleep. Robert whispered that we should leave the TV on, but mute, so we could check on her when we woke up. Usually Joyce gets up once or twice to pee during the night, but she was too tired from the trip. So was Robert. I got up about 3:30 am. Not only did Iris not flee when I stepped over her, but when I came back, I asked her to join us and she tried to jump on the bed. She even let me touch her to help her up. Then we had two dogs in the middle of the bed between us.

 

Close to the morning, Joyce shifted so she was up high between Robert and I at the chest level, and she shooed Iris to the foot of the bed. I thought it was good that she didn't chase Iris off. Iris slept in late, glad to have such a comfortable bed to herself. When she finally got up, she was afraid to eat her food. I had to feed it to her one bite at a time. (We are giving the girls Beneful.) I then taught her that it was okay to hop up on the futon in the living room beside me, since I spend most of my days off there. She can lay with me while I watch TV, read, or work on the computer.

 

We took her out to the backyard three times in the morning, but she didn't seem very interested in going pee. Finally about 11:30 am she relaxed enough to go in a corner. I was worried that she went most of a day without a potty break, but she wasn't drinking much water. I called my friend who teaches Science at the community college and she said that a young healthy animal should be okay. We tried her on the leash, on the leash with us not holding it, with Joyce in the yard and without.

 

At dinner time Robert hand-fed Iris, as he had done something to spook her and she had been shying away most of the day. She spent a lot of time sitting next to me or in the batcave. When Robert took Joyce for her evening walk, we took Iris along and made it a short turn, just around the block we live on. Iris seemed to really like the walk. She still hasn't pooped, but she sniffed where Joyce sniffed and checked out a lot of curb and sidewalk on her own. Whenever Joyce made a pee marker, Iris sniffed it afterward, and Iris sat down very politely when Joyce pooped. She seemed to understand that Daddy had to pick up the poop so we could throw away the waste in our own trashcan.

 

Iris already seems a lot more calm. She still flattens her ears when we play ball or tug-o-war with Joyce, but we are hoping that the girls will be playing together soon. I'll try to give you another note soon.