January 30, 2006
Long Walks And Scary Situations
On Sunday morning Tom and Timber walked me down to the rat bridge and back. That was about 3 miles round trip and I was a little bit tired afterward. They also practiced running with me at times on the trail to see how I would work out as a running partner. Of course I kept up with them, but they probably couldn't keep up with me. It was fun until we saw a scary looking guy jumping over the fence by the pond. I wanted to go bark at him but Tom got me back on the trail heading back home before I got a chance. Later in the day we ran errands and I got to go into Pet Club and get an engraved name tag. The name tag had my name and both Tom and Timber's phone numbers. Then we went to Timber's parents' house where I got to meet my (cousins or uncles?) Toby and Fuzzy. Toby was cautious and Fuzzy wanted to play. He kept poking me with his nose and it got really annoying. I wanted to play with him too, but Dionicio was around, so they kept me on the leash. I snapped at Fuzzy a few times to show him that he shouldn't mess wit me. That showed him! Later on in the evening, Timber's brother showed up, and he was big and scary looking. From the moment I saw him I started growling and stiffening my body. Then he came right for me and I started barking at him. All during that time Tom was holding my leash and trying to get me to not bark and not be scared of Timber's brother. But he approached me the wrong way and I felt threatened so I barked and lunged for him. When Tom realized that he couldn't calm me down he took me outside and walked me around. At one point he was stopped and talking to Timber, and then he looked down and realized that I was peeing on his foot. Hee Hee. He walked me around the back yard some more, and once I had calmed down and forgot about the stress he tried to bring me back in the house. But even when I saw Timber's brother through the sliding glass door I started barking at him again. Because of that Tom put me in my crate which was in the back of Timber's car. Then they went back inside for a few minutes to say their goodbyes and then we all went home. I was really happy to get home, and once we got everything out of the car Tom took me for my customary before bed time walk. Then it was off my bed (laying next to their bed). I'm really starting to get used to this place. :-)
January 28, 2006
Dog Park and Grooming
Tom and Timber took me to a dog park today. When we first got there, there was another dog in the dog park, and I was introduced to it slowly, but I wasn't all that interested in playing with it. The owners an the dog left, and then Tom and Timber let me off the leash so I could run around a little. Not long after I was let off the leash some other dogs showed up. Tom and Timber quickly leashed me back up and then introduced me to the other dogs. The other dogs got off their leashes, but I was still on my leash. At some point Tom decided to let me off and then I got to play! It was awesome! I got to run around, chase the other dogs, and get chased. I even got tackled by a big black lab a couple of times. That was a big dog. More and more dogs kept coming to the park. Eventually there were 9 of us playing and running around together. And by the way, when I'm running around I can really haul ass. Once I got tired Tom and Timber took me back home, and then they took me to the groomer. The groomer worked on me for a long time but eventually did a pretty good job. I look and smell pretty good right now. Now I'm back at home with Tom and Timber and will be going to bed soon. Woof!
Barf Fest
I wasn't feeling well on Friday (1/27) morning, and as a result I thew up in the bedroom right around 5 AM. Tom heard me throw up, got up, and cleaned up the mess. Then he checked me to make sure I was ok, and then got on his computer for some reason. While this was going on he was talking to Timber. After a little while he closed his laptop and left. Around 6 AM he came back with some stuff (resolve) and cleaned up the stain in the carpet. Then he took me for a walk and fed me. Then he got ready for work, hung out with me for a little while, and then ran off to work. I think he was a little tired later in the day from getting up so early.
January 26, 2006
Got A Bed
Tom & Timber got me a bed yesterday and I got to sleep upstairs with them for the first time. It was nice to sleep outside the crate, but Timber kept checking on my and as result I didn't go to sleep until really late.
January 24, 2006
My First Few Workdays
On Monday Tom and Timber had to go to work, which meant that they had to put me in the crate while they were away. The workdays started with Tom taking me for a walk, then feeding me breakfast, and then getting ready for work. Then he tried to get me into the crate, but I'm not letting him trick me anymore. I know that the treats and other good stuff he does to get me into the crate is just a trick, and I'm not falling for it anymore. :-) He did finally get me in the crate, with a little more coercion than he would have liked, and then he headed off to work. Around noon he came back, took me for a walk, played with me, ate lunch, got me back in the crate, and then headed back to work again. After his workday was done he came home, took me for a walk, played with me, trained me, and then ate dinner before he had me lay down by his side while he did some more work on his laptop. Then, just before bedtime, he and Timber took me for another walk. I'm peeing and pooping on a consistent basis and I'm eating food now. I'm starting to get worked into a regular routine and I'm looking forward to a nice long hike this weekend. Hopefully tonight (Tuesday), they will be able to find a bed for me so that I can sleep in the bedroom with them. Up to this point I haven't even been upstairs yet since they want to get me acclimated to their house slowly. But I haven't had any accidents in the house and I've been really well behaved thus far. As I continue to work with them I'll train them to be good dog owners. :-)
My First Weekend
Tom and Timber were starting to get concerned about me because on all of my walks up to this point I hadn't peed or pooped. But this morning I finally had to take a leak. They congratulated me for my good deed. I also wasn't that interested in eating, and I would only eat treats. They spent time training me and taking me for walks before getting me into my crate so they could go run a few errands. When they came back they took me for another walk when they got back and then I hung out in the house watching the NFL playoffs. Out of the teams that made it to the Superbowl (Seattle/Pittsburgh), I think I'm going to cheer for Seattle. Finally, in my last walk of the evening I did poop. Huray, things are starting to look up.
Getting Supplies
I sat in Tom's lap for the ride back to San Jose. After we back to Timber's parents' house I got into Timber's car and we headed for Pet Food Express. Tom and Timber got a 20 % off coupon from the SPCA for Pet Food Express. We went to the one off of Capital Expressway and I went into the store with them. We ended up getting a collar, a leash, two different types of food, a Kong, lots of different treats, some greenies, a crate, a bed for the crate, and two little bags for treats (that attaches to the pants of my owners). It was an expensive trip, but hey, I'm worth it. Then we went back to Tom and Timber's house. Tom stood with me outside while Timber brought stuff into the house, and then he took me on a long walk while Timber got my crate and other stuff ready. Once the walk was over I came in the house through the front door. Tom wiped me feet and carefully guided me into and around the house. He also worked on training me to sit, lay down, and come over to him. They kept me from going upstairs and put me in the crate a few times before putting me in the crate of the evening and going to bed.
Being Adopted
Tom and Timber did not come back for me on Friday, but they did come for me on Saturday. They showed up with Timber's parents and nephew. They got me out of the kennel and spent some time walking me around and showing me to Timber's parents. They asked for opinions on me and spent some time thinking about adopting me. It didn't take them too long to decide that they wanted to adopt me. So they took me back inside and started the process. First, one of the trainers took them (and me) into a room and talked to them about me for a while. She asked why they wanted me and what a typical Wookie day would be like. They explained that they had done a lot of research and had decided that they wanted a Tibetan Terrier and that they had been looking for a long time. Then they went on to describe a typical day in my life. That is waking up in the morning, going for a walk, then eating breakfast. Then Tom puts me in the crate and goes to work. Then he comes home at lunch (his work is a 10 minute drive away) to take me for a walk and spend some time for me, and then he puts me in the crate and goes back to work. Then he comes back home after work and takes me for another walk. Then he plays with me, brushes me, and then feeds me. Then I hang out with him and Timber until bedtime. Just before bedtime they take me for another walk and then we all go to sleep. All weekdays are like this. But the weekends are fun. In the summer time I go camping and fishing with them, and go for long hikes on the weekend. In the wintertime I go snowshoeing and snow camping with them. After they were done talking to the trainer about this and my two issues (not liking strangers and possessiveness) we went up to the front counter and they started the paperwork. After they filled out and signed all the papers, paid the $225 fee ($150 adoption fee & $75 training fee), and signed up for training classes, they were done. I got a temporary collar and leash and they took me out of the kennel and whisked me away. Huray!
First Meeting Continued
Tom & Timber came to see me on Thursday, 1/19, and they were sure surprised by what they saw. When they saw me in the kennel I was as cute as they expected, but when Tom got close to me I stiffened up, slowed showed my teeth, and growled quietly. But when Tom didn't move away fast enough I jumped up and started barking at him. That showed him! Then when Timber got close to me I didn't have any problems with her. Tom tried getting close a few more times and he even tried offering me a treat but that didn't change my opinion of him. Tom and Timber left the kennel and went to talk to the trainers while I waited in the kennel. A short time later one of the trainers came to get me and take me out to the main visitation area. When I went out there Tom was sitting on a bench looking off to the side. The trainer walked me past him a few times and then had me walk over to him. He had a piece of hot dog in his hand (I really like hot dogs) and I ate it, and then I associated him with the goodness of hot dogs. From that point on we were the best of friends. After that transformation I let Tom and Timber pet me, roll me over, rub my belly, handle me in any way. Then they took me for a walk outside and I got to sniff around and check things out. Then they took me back inside and I went back to my kennel. I was hoping that I would see them again the next day.
First Meeting
Hi, my name is Wookie and I'm a Tibetan Terrier. My parents (Tom & Timber) found me at the Oakland SPCA and came to visit me on 1/19. They were sent a link to this page from Timber's friend and colleague Diane.