10/15/09:Rudy is from the litter of puppies that Buddha presented us with last July. As you can see, he is mostly Golden Retriever, but nonetheless, we want him to have his very own home where he will be happy. Rudy will be neutered in February, he is current on vaccinations, on heartworm preventive and microchipped. He lives with other animals with his foster mom and loves to play with them. Rudy is house trained.

 

 

 

 

 

2/21/2010: Rudy is such a sweet boy. He walks great on leash, loves to ride in the car and loves everybody he meets. He's been waiting a long time for his own family.

 

5/23/2010: Last Sunday I drove Rudy up to East Tennessee to meet the first leg of his transport to New Hampshire. He's was a perfect boy in the car and was so gentle with Shannon's little girl, Olivia, when he met her. Shannon drove him to Kingsport where she met the folks who were taking him all the way to NH the next day. This picture of Rudy and Olivia tells it all. Olivia fell in love with "that big orange dog." She cried to keep him.

 

 

Anyway, Rudy's new owner, Alan, was out of town until Friday night, so he didn't get to meet Rudy until then. And it was a complete surprise to Alan. You see, Alan's son, Mike, had adopted Gus (Rudy's littermate) from us a few months back and Alan absolutely adores him. Alan's wife, Lyn, surprised Alan with Rudy and he saw him for the first time Friday night. Initially Alan thought he was greeting Gus, but little did he know that it was Rudy. He was so surprised. Later Rudy settled in and certainly realizes who is new owner is. This picture says it all.

Rudy will have a new name soon. Alan's still deciding.

 

5/22/2010: Hi Cindy- 
Mike took a bazzillion pictures of Rudy, Alan, myself, etc .I will have him send you some.  Here is how it went down.... We were all ready for Alan to get to N. Woodstock Friday evening.  He entered the house and sat down with myself and neighbor for a drink. Enter Mike with Rudy.  Alan thinks it is Gus and greets him with some kind words while petting him.  I comment to Mike that "Gus" has put on a little weight in the past week.  Alan still clueless that this is Rudy.  Enter Bri with Gus.  Now both dogs mosey around the kitchen island.  Mason the redbone mix - similar color to Rudy and Gus- lies quietly in the corner of the kitchen.  Takes Alan a few minutes before he realizes that he is not looking at Gus and Mason, but Rudy and Gus!  He comments to Mike... "you got Rudy!"... thinking that Mike adopted Rudy.  Mikes reply is "No... you got Rudy!"  Alan looks confused and then we tell him all about "Operation Rudy love Mike, Bri, Max and Amanda."  Max is other son and his fiance. Explain how this is early Fathers Day present.  Alan still confused but happy. We go across the street to Mike's yard and play retrieve the tennis ball, which Rudy excels in!  He and Gus have a blast chasing and bringing back tennis balls.  Make sure we use 2 balls since 1 ball the potential is possessive issue.  Rudy is fine sharing bones, toys, food with people. It is just with other dogs that possession is an issue. Hopefully we can reprogram him with intensive training to address this issue... still hasn't figured out his place in this pack order... but we will work on that.  Presently the order is Alan and meI, Mason, and Rudy will need to settle in next.  Biggest concern is keeping everyone safe until order is established!  Home crate is brought over from Mikes house, and Rudy settles in for a quiet night ... all tuckered out from chasing balls. 

Just took him out several times this morning but didn't do anything. Keeping him on lead in house until figure what his sign is to mean he has to go out. 
Alan not sure if keeping Rudy as name... (we have another Rudy dog on street...believe it or not!)  Not sure at this point if and what new name will be. Stay tuned.  All in all... good first evening and morning with this snuggly affectionate pup!  More later,   Lyn  Pics coming... stay tuned! 

 

5/28/2010: The whole story . . .

Hi Cindy,
Welcome the new four legged member of our family, Rudy, a Pei/Retriever mix, now called Pemi.  The name is short for a river that runs close to our house here in northern NH.  Brother Patrick and sister in law generously sidetracked their vacation to NC to pick him up in TN two weeks ago. We dubbed the mission "Operation Rudy" and it went off without a hitch thanks to the coordination from your end and family on this end. Michael (son) and Bri acclimated  Pemi for the first week while Alan and I tended to our responsibilities in southern NH. One week ago we surprised Alan with arrival of Pemi.  For the past several months Alan has been relentless in his pleading to adopt him. I was the one placing the roadblock. I wasnt sure about taking on a second dog since we have senior citizen redbone coonhound Mason to consider. 

There were several events that created the "perfect storm" to change my mind. First was the arrival of Mike and Bri's adoption,Gus, Rudy's(Pemi's) adorable littermate. What a little snake charmer he is!  Love at first site!  Second was Alans persistant suggestion that we adopt Gus's brother Rudy. Third was son Mike calmly reminding me "dad never asks for anything!" (He is so right about that!)  Lastly,  I thought long and hard about how to handle the logistics of senior Mason and introduction of  juvenile Pemi to our household. Once I crossed that hurdle it was all systems "go!"

Feels like ages since I have had to train a new dog.  Monks of New Skete was my favorite reference for doggie training/psychology in my greyhound foster/placement days.  I have been so out of the loop that I didnt even know who Cesar Millan was!  Bri generously gave me her Millan books, and I have bought the dvds for Alan and myself to watch.  Pemi is so smart and want both of us to be on the same page in his training. 

Speaking of Pemi... of course he is adorable and so eager to please!  Kudos to your dog walkers!  Soooo easy on lead!  Nice job!  He has settled in quite nicely after figuring out his place in the pack here.  As you stated, he is food/bone/toy possessive... only with other dogs.  We have been working on this and it is already a bit better (though not to be trusted without supervision) after he has figured his place in the pack order... from alpha descending-Alan and myself, Mike and Bri, Mason, Gus, then Pemi.  It surprised me that Gus took the upperhand in the pack order but clearly looks like it from observing them in playtime "puppy studio wrestling" I call it.  Gus..... what a pip he is!  We have affectionately dubbed him the "punk!"  Perfect fit for Mike and Bri with his high energy level!  Always the instigator for rough and tumble play time :-)  He and Pemi are best buddies already...gee... think it has something to do with being brothers! 

Always had short hair dogs, but Pemi's coat is definitely longer than Gus's coat... must have gotten more of dads genes, not pei mom genes :-)  I know you bathed him, but he got another brushing, bath, and brushing again when he arrived in NH.  Shedding blade removed the majority of the downy puppy fur, and now he is just one big super silky coat... and surprisingly very little shedding!  He is doing well with food- you mentioned he can eat too fast and "lose his cookies" by doing so.  Havnt had any incidence of this...but I did take your suggestion of the rock in the bowl to slow him down.  Have started taking him for walks on daily basis and gets play time with Gus Friday thru Monday.  Shows signs of protecting his people already... that must be the Pei in him?  Not aggressive...just assertive ... right now to the funniest things... a lump of scary blankets on the bed will put him in grumbly protective state... too funny! Gus did the same with idle lawnmower in yard... thought it was a threat and "assumed the position" to guard and protect  ;-)   People are no issue- both are very friendly with all folks!  Both show signs of wanting to protect against the occasional car that passes the house...but we are already on that to decondition that behavior! 
Sleep time is going well... very quiet, even when we have him in crate overnight the first week. Just the past few days we have given him the option to sleep in the cushy dog beds in living room or on hard floor in bedroom. Looks like we have a new bedfellow! 

What did I forget?  Not sure... but if you have any questions please feel free to email me.  Got to do take the doggies for a walk. 
Regards, Lyn

 

7/2/2010: Hi Cindy,
Needless to say, there is a  new love of our life with four legs. Rudy is now called Pemi, short for the river that runs close to our house here in
northern NH.  There is also another Rudy on the quiet little street and I was afraid there would be confusion with the duplicate names.

As I type, both pei/mix adoption brothers, Pemi (Rudy) and Gus (son Mike and Bri's dog) are all tuckered out from some serious canine studio wrestling.
Gus has lots more energy than Pemi and instigates all the dog play. we have nicknamed Gus affectionately "the punk."   They carry on for 30-45 min
before tuckering out and taking a doggie nap.   They get along well and the possessive issue of Pemi is mellowing now that he is figuring out the pack
order.  From my observations it is Alan and I, then Mason (our redbone coonhound), then Gus, then Pemi.  Pheww.. I am so glad that was all settled
without injury to anyone  J   It has been awhile since I did rescue/foster/placement, so I am going back to square one on training.  Bri
has Gus in private obedience classes and has just given me her latest reads- three Cesar Millans books.  Cesar will be my new doggie guru.   (Gee. shows
you how long it has been. Monks of New Skete was the hot canine psych/training books when I was doing greyhound foster/placement years ago.)
Anyhow..Alan isn't much of a reader but will watch videos, so I have lined up the Millan series to put us both on the same page for raising Pemi. Lyn