pondering a pup

Maybe the adoption people contacting her will help though!

yr landlady sounds like a piece of work

nah, she's actually a very nice and extremely fair person, she's just SUPER neurotic. like, signing our lease when we moved in took FOUR FUCKING HOURS because we had to go through the entire house and note the condition of every.single.thing. we also pay about $7-800 below market value for this place because she is so insistent on being fair. also she is planning to sell eventually and said that when she does, if we are still here, we'll have 6 months notice or as much time as we need to find a new place before it even goes on the market.

she totally adores jordan, though, which is why he is the one that deals with her 99% of the time.

joy is gonna be at another adoption fair on saturday, so the LL might come meet her. if she meets her in person, we'll have basically won bc no one could say no that adorable face.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151507675837050&l=63b796dcbd

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q71/s720x720/549479_10151507675837050_1176538601_n.jpg

<3

that's a lot of face

she is gorgeous, i hope the landlady goes to the fair.

decision?

still waiting :/

last time she said she would decide in "a few days" and we waited like 6 weeks so

this lady, ughh!

she has definitely got an aggravating streak.

i kinda feel a bit sorry for her - she was in a serious car accident 20 yrs ago, and it left her pretty fucked up. she walks kinda funny and she can't really open her mouth when she talks. apparently she has a whole bunch of plates in her body and can't ever fly again (my guess is the pressure would create swelling?? or something). she IS a nice person, just.... weird.

oh and jordan just got home and told me that she called and is meeting us at the adoption fair tomorrow!!!

oh yay, that is very promising. and I admire how kind and fair you are about her even though she has been difficult.

Basil's expensive dog trainer just left and I am feeling like I may be wasting my money? I feel like she has given us some good techniques but I might have been able to find those by researching on my own? She didn't actually work with b but instead talked to me the whole time, and at the first sign of excitement she had me put her n her crate, which I think just made her anxiety level skyrocket.

I don't wanna be one of those people who thinks they know better than the professional, but it feels weird for her to recommend x,y,z without working with her and seeing her behavior more.

ooh i read this thing about crate training - that you have to get the dog to WANT to be in the crate, so you put a treat in the crate and close it and let the dog try to get in there for a while, then finally let them in.

UPDATE:

so we got to the adoption fair and joy wasn't there, they told us that she'd been pretty much already adopted by an older couple with a lot of malamute experience. my heart just sank bc i figured the LL would just freak out, since we'd talked up this one particular dog. but then they introduced us to vivienne, who is waaay different but so pretty and friendly. she's a husky mix (brown eyes), more energy than elderly joy, but still v v well behaved and only 2 yrs old so we'd have her a lot longer.

LL showed up and we talked with the rescue group people for a while, who have been totally amazing and answered all her questions and were v supportive and encouraging. THEN we had to go have coffee with LL and talk even more, but it's looking pretty good?? she wants us to get liability insurance with our renter's insurance, which is fine, we'll make whatever concessions are necessary. there's some issues with the other tenants in our duplex, but she doesn't really like them, so she's not gonna let them sway her decision.

next up is a house inspection by the rescue people, then... hopefully it'll be finalized??

Oooh I'm glad things are looking up!

Xpost I never crate her without some treat or toy... Sometimes she just goes there and hangs out on her own (she napped there this afternoon), but she does not like it if she's crated and you're across the room and ignoring her. I don't know why this lady didn't just work with her to calm down or help me practice managing her.

yeah does she think you can just shove her in a crate when you're out walking her?? our rescue group hates caesar milan btw - idk much about him bc i've never actually watched his show, but i guess he focuses more on negative reinforcement?

No she's given lots of advice/ideas about walks, it just strikes me as odd that the trainer would rather put her away than interact with her and understand what makes her tick...

Caesar is ughhhhh. His techniques, if used on a dog like basil, would make things worse! He does a lot of dominance stuff and punishing. Negative reinforcement isn't always bad; it can include "good things go away when you misbehave" (ie, if you get overexcited and start acting out, a game stops). But his techniques seem more like he's physically dominating the dogs :(

it's all but a done deal, guys!!!

the only 0.9% chance of this falling through now is:

our neighbours - the other side of the duplex - are being dicks about us getting a dog. apparently the guy has "hyper sensitive" hearing, and there are neighbours behind us who have a yappy dog that they leave outside all day. so the guy had a shit fit at our LL and doesn't want her to let us get a dog. BUT the LL just wants to check the legal stuff and make sure they can't cause any trouble bc they signed a lease with the assumption that none us could get dogs.

Hmmm if the dog behind you makes noise (something completely out of the control of ll) then i don't think there's any prior expectation of no dog noises. I hope this works out!!!

Also his assumption that neither of you could get dogs...is his assumption, right? He hasn't seen your lease... He doesn't know for certain that your lease says no dogs...

I just really want you to get this dog!!!!

me too!!!! it's so close!!!

so we found out some more info about neko (that's what we're calling her, it's the only name we could agree on): she once peed in the car of her original owner (fyi she was just a PUPPY) and he beat her so badly that she sustained a broken back, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. the only good thing to come of it was that it happened in a public parking lot and some good citizens called the cops on him.

Ugh horrible, horrible person. You will give her such a nice home!

We finally got a home inspection scheduled by the rescue group, but now the LL says that she has been too tired to look into pet leases this week AND she has to give us 30 days notice for any lease amendments?? I mean, seriously?? So I don't even know of neko will still be available :/

Also they don't have enough foster homes available so she is being kenneled right new which is really bumming me out :(

OMG JUST GIVE ME MY DOG ALREADY

Ughhh this is ridiculous. 30 days? Why? I think that's to protect tenants which obviously isn't an issue here. Seriously i called my landlord and asked him and he said "you go get yourself a dog, miss tehresa!" Done. Do you want me to have him talk to her?

http://i41.tinypic.com/2v8ondj.jpg

only good thing about today!

j show us a picture please

Tomorrow!.definitely taking my camera and getting a million glamor shots of her.

We are gonna pay her boarding costs between now and adoption, so they will hold her for us!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5525/9482437732_9bb0d66ce4_z.jpg

we spent about 2 hours with her today, she was such a good girl, really well behaved and we have yet to hear her bark, even when she saw squirrels she wanted to chase. she has the softest, loveliest fur, and she's very trusting and affectionate for such an abused dog.

Awww j looks so happy!

it was the best! we're going to spend another couple hours with her tomorrow too!

j&j she is so beautiful and she looks perfect for you both and so loved already. i'm so glad she has won the puppy lottery after that horrible beginning.

and basil is as beguiling and beautiful as ever.

<3

can't help sharing this one from this afternoon!

http://i44.tinypic.com/5vvp85.jpg

I bought her a backpack because I think she should start carrying her own weight when we hike, but i have no idea if it fits properly. I guess i will find out tomorrow!

love her.

her new backpack reminds me of that tv show called 'dogs with jobs'.

i like neko. i'd like a dog like that but it's too hot here i think. dog backpack seems like it could make a dog feel very useful.

They like to have jobs. I think it makes them happier. Basil also likes to herd people when we're hiking!

Neko looks so sweet! I can't wait for her to come home!

harbl their coats are good at keeping them cool or warm - they have a weird double coat. they only thing they say is to not exercise them during the hotter hours, and to esp beware of hot pavement (if it's too hot for your bare feet, it's too hot for their paws). but they also need tons of human attention and can't really be left alone much - we are lucky with our schedules/jobs, so she will only be alone probably 6-7 hrs 2-3 times a week at the most.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/9483952566_43e72bee70.jpg

she looks really wolf-y in this pic, but irl she is super friendly-looking!

she is so great :)

she is beautiful, she looks a bit like f's dad's dog (rip) who was part tundra wolf/ part malamute and who was very beautiful and gentle and liked to sit squashed up in an armchair with a droll look in his eye.

ominous voicemail from LL

can't get hold of her

99% sure she is going to renege on this whole thing

wtf are we gonna do, we're already totally emotionally committed

Nooo! If she does you should just put in your 30 days notice and find a new place so you can have neko next month like planned (wishful thinking, i know).

omg

LL is legit nutso!~ she has been on ph with poor ytth for like an hour, STILL unclear if it's yay or nay

she is mad that we are paying the boarding fees at the kennel - we have BETRAYED HER TRUST... but it has nothing to do with her! we haven't taken ownnership/guardianship of neko, we just made a donation to n0rsled in order for them to take a good faith commitment. LL is claiming that she never actually said yes we are moving forward, which is a lie.

j looks like he's about to have a breakdown, is pacing entire house

i might throw up

j is a hero - so calm and diplomatic. if i had to speak to her i would be losing my shit right now. she talks nonstop for about 15mins at a time, letting j get in about 10 words.