Raising Ry
Animal shelters have the “Rule of three” that they tell you about when you adopt a rescue pup. They say in the first three days the new dog is trying to figure out their new home and family. After three weeks the dog is starting to settle in. After three months the dog is completely comfortable in his/her home.
This month marks 4 months since Ry came home so I thought to share a bit more about him now that he’s entirely himself cos he’s now completely comfortable in his home.
It’s a Saturday morning and I’m on the couch with him. He’s passed out by my feet on the couch. That’s his favorite spot on the couch. I’m listening to music while I write this. This is how we’ve spent most of our weekends since he came home. We love each other’s company so much that we look for any and every excuse to spend weekends together at home. Of late canceled weekend plans are my favorite cos that means I get to spend more time with my baby. Bliss!
I’ve been up since 5am. Ry has trained me. He wakes up anytime between 5 and 6am and he needs to go potty at that time. I’m not always able to go back to sleep hence me being up since 5am today. Between 5 and 9am we’d been out for him to potty three times already. I’d pay good money for someone to teach my son how to use the loo cos those morning potty trips are NOT fun when you’re trying to sleep in.
I’ve given up all hope of ever sleeping in with Ry. My baby is SUCH a morning person. He is very excited when we go for that first potty so much that he wants to RUN everywhere! Omg. I run after him when we are walking to his potty spot cos I don’t trust him to not get distracted and walk into someone’s yard. I don’t want to have to explain to any of my neighbors what I was doing by their door at 5am. LOL and it’s that running after him that gets me. I know once I run I can forget about going back to sleep. Running just wakes me up better than anything else hey.
When he’s done his business I just remove the leash and let him run back home. For some reason he’s not distracted when running back home. So I find him waiting for me by the door. Oh I didn’t explain how I know Ry is happy in the mornings. I take enough walks with Ry to know that he only runs when he’s happy. Yep, my baby just wakes up bursting with joy and wants to run everywhere. He did NOT get that from me!
I’m not a morning person at all. But I find that I’m up a lot earlier these days and I’m not falling apart. Way to go, Ry! Well done on training mommy.
When we get back from that first potty he stands by the couch. Listen, the couch is Ry’s favorite thing in all the world. I don’t even know what it is about it he loves so much but my boy loooooves it! He has no concept of time (I think) or at least he hasn’t figured out what time is couch time. So he will stand by the couch and look at me to check if he can sit on it. I then burst his bubble by telling him I want to go back to bed so that means we must go back to the bedroom. He will then zoom past me and go to the bedroom.
I’m telling you he runs everywhere!
I get into bed and find stuff to read on my phone until it’s an acceptable time to get out of bed. Today I got him on my bed for some snuggles for about an hour before we got up to start our day. We used to share my bed until we had two too many accidents in bed so he now sleeps alone on his bed. It took me a whole two months to learn his cues for when he needs to potty. I suppose you must have been wondering how I know he needs to potty. My little clever baby stands by the door when he needs to go outside. So when we are in the bedroom he goes to the door or just the other side of the bed which is closer to the door.
When we are in the lounge like now he will go to the kitchen door that leads to the outside. He doesn’t leave until I come to take him out. So he’s been doing that since he came home but silly me. I thought he was just checking out his new home so he’d end up relieving himself in the house. Yep, took me a full two months to learn. I also wasn’t paying enough attention to notice he’s gone to the door. But now we’ve built a relationship of trust. He knows I’ll always take him out whenever he needs to.
I surprised myself once when I heard him run to the bedroom door just after 1am. LOL that’s when I knew I had become a real mom! I’m usually dead asleep then but recently I heard him wake up at that time. The nice thing about him is that he loves his bed. So the only time he gets up from it is when he needs to go out. So the cues are very clear.
He’s also settled in well at daycare. I wouldn’t say it’s his favorite place cos home IS his favorite place. But he doesn’t cry for me anymore or linger by the small gate leading to their play area. Now when I drop him off he runs off to play. I’m so glad he’s settled in at daycare cos that place is a true godsend in our lives. I can relax when he’s there knowing he is safe and well taken care of. Besides I CANNOT get enough of his tail wags when I pick him up. He makes me feel like the best human being when he sees me at daycare. Oh my heart. I wish I could take that feeling and bottle it. He’s always SO excited to see me. He wags his tail until it’s like it will fall off. He’s ALWAYS so happy to see me and NOTHING tops that joy!
I’ve had moments of just pausing to take in how much Ry loves me. It’s so heartwarming. He really makes me feel like the best human being even on my worst days because, how is he ALWAYS so happy to see me?! You guys. Dogs are just so precious. Sometimes I’ll go into the bathroom and then when I walk out he wags his tail like he just won the dog lottery. Oh my heart. I actually can’t take it. It’s way TOO precious!!
Also Ry is so forgiving! I’m not always able to pet him as much as he’d like cos I have to work. He doesn’t hold that against me. When I finally pet him it’s like I’m the best human all over again. Never mind that I had to pretend I can’t see him to get through the work day. He always welcomes me back and accepts me like nothing happened. Oh my sweet!
Ry also grunts a lot. LOL my baby is just perpetually grumpy. I get it. He’s seven years old so he is really an old man in dog years. He’s my grumpy old man. He hates it when I disturb him while he’s lying down. He grunts whenever I try to fix his blankies while he’s lying down cos that means he must move. He hates it when I try to take off his harness while he’s sleeping. OMG he’s also SO stubborn. On our walks he wants to go where he wants to go. I let him lead until he tries to go into people’s yards and that’s when the stubbornness comes out. This boy!
Oh and whenever we walk there are 3 dogs in the complex that like to bark at him. Ry doesn’t respond to other dogs’ barking. I’ve seen dogs bark back. Just not my Ry. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think he’s also a dog. Hahaha. Ry only barks at human beings. Human beings he doesn’t like or strangers. Even at daycare I’ve caught Ry looking at other dogs like, “what is this?!” He doesn’t think he’s also a dog hahaha!
And omg. This boy is diabolical! You know how dogs use their pee to mark their territory? Ry pees on other dogs’ poo! It cracks me up all the damn time! Like just how domineering is this boy’s spirit! One of my friends said it’s giving, “these bitches is my sons” energy and I couldn’t agree more! DIABOLICAL!!! LOOOL
He hates kisses. I will hold him and give him lots of kisses. He just looks away. Grumpy old man I told you. He also hates selfies. I take lots of pics of him just fine but when it’s a selfie he’ll hide his face. Okay Mr Celebrity, excuse us.
Oh and he LOVES the car!! The door leading to the garage from our house is just before our bedroom door. So when he sees me going in that general direction he runs to the garage door. He’s always hoping we’re going to the car! He just about loses his mind when he sees we are going in the car. I can’t even imagine what car rides feel like for him but I know he’s happy and content when he’s in the car. Sometimes I legit crack up at how happy he is to be going to the car.
He also strangely likes smelling car tyres. I don’t get it. He’s never peed on my car’s tyres and I think it’s because we park in the garage and he just doesn’t pee indoors. Whenever he sees a car he wants to smell all four wheels. I have no idea why. But it’s an obsession. Whenever we take the trash out he disappears among the cars that park close to where the dustbins are. It frustrates me when he does that at 5am cos dude, I need to get back to sleep please. During the day I let him sniff them to his heart’s content. I think in another life he was an F1 driver. LOL or car dealership owner. I don’t know. The possibilities are endless!
Oh and he does this cute thing where he comes to check on me when I’m in the shower. It took him a while to understand why he couldn’t see me when I was in the shower. He’d come and stand by the door while I was showering. Now he comes to the bathroom door, sees the shower door is closed then goes back to his bed. I imagine him peeping, seeing the shower door is closed and going, “oh she’s doing that weird thing hoomans do” then walks back to his bed. It’s really cute. He just likes knowing where I am all the time. He seems content just knowing where I am.
He does the same when I’m working during the day. He’ll decide he needs a break from the study then come and sit on the couch. He’ll still come back to the study to check on me. It is super cute!!
I am so in love with this little baby it’s so unreal! Prior to this I had never imagined myself being a dog mom. My late boyfriend and I were on the same page about not having human kids and we were most likely going to raise dogs together. He didn’t want me to get a dog while I still lived alone though cos he was convinced the dog would end up being his problem. But look at me now. This is easily one of my best decisions ever!
I feel like in loving Ry I have learnt to love myself better. Something about prioritizing his joy makes me feel like I’m prioritizing my joy. By loving him I have learnt to love myself better and I am just so grateful for that! He is the light of my life and I’m so glad we get to do life together!
