The new baby

[silverkat]

I adopted a new baby this weekend. Slade and I drove all the way to Stuart, VA 7 hours away (see map).
http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/map2.jpg

His name is Charlie Paco but Paco for short. His foster mom didn't know much about him or his parents but he was advertised as a Miniature Pinscher/Beagle mix. The vet says he's probably a Lab/Shepherd mix. He's 4 months old and the best dog I've ever known. He was awesome the whole car ride home. My car was busted and I can't drive Slade's car :rolleyes: so we borrowed my parents' Explorer which was cool. He's my doggy but I'm pretty sure it's more like "our" dog. Slade really wanted me to post pics, so here.
http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/1paco1.jpg

http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/5paco5.jpg

http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/pacohome2.jpg

He fits right in my backseat among all the junk.
http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/attachments/1pacocar1.jpg

[Sled]

Yeah Paco is pretty much a badass. He has already made the sheepdog his b!tch and solidified that by biting his um...sack (can I say that?). I think the terrier is due for a beatdown as soon as Paco gets a lil bigger. Hey Jeff, as soon as he is good and house trained we'll bring him over to see your new addition. He's getting better but still peeing inside sometimes. Makes me really hesitant to get my pet anytime soon. (and not going to be a dog or cat ;) ) Ill give a hint; they only give birth once a year in March. And they are omnivores and are really smart. Oh, and they are super amazing badass too.

[Madcat]

BadAss!!! Dude I wanna play with it! Not like that either you sicko's!
But for real thats awesome, :) Hope we can get together sometime soon, but schedules busy like usual with pledging starting in a week...

[imgeorge78]

Paco Sanchez is soooooooooo cute, Congrats to you and Slade yeah I met Jeff and Beckys new addition the other night too.... and he is so f'ing cute.

So slade your still planning on that other pet then, I'll have to admit definitely is an interesting choice

[gyger]

Very cute dog. Definetly part lab look at those eyes. Labs have the sad eyes.

very cool congrats you guys!

[Sled]

Yeah George- actually I may be going out to see some lil stinkers tomorrow or this weekend. I emailed the woman a minute ago- weather is gonna suck though. Grrrrr. Honestly though- this (Paco) is reminding me how much hard work it is at first with a new pet- house training, attention, lack of sleep, etc. I dunno if now is the best time to get a high maintenance pet- and skunks are very high maintenance at least for the first year or so. I dont think I am home enough to give a pet the proper attention and I wont stand for a neglected animal. Either way, Ill get some pics this weekend :biggrin:

[Bexcat]

Super cute!! We'll have to make a play date with Tucker and him! Becky

[LinkMan]

So the closest dog in need of a home was seven hours away? There wasn't one in the state of Ohio? :shrug:
Or is there more to the story?

Either way, he's cute. Congrats on the addition to the family.

[JAMallott]

you better lock your door tonight, or you might wake up and little Paco Taco will be gone.

[Tygerr]

i never used to be a dog person but ever since my room mate got one i like em a lot more than cats now, they're so obedient.... if i ever get a dog it's def. gonna be @ least half lab

[silverkat]

John - You can come see the dog anytime. Granted you can get away for a bit.

Becky - We will have a play date as soon as he doesn't pee inside. My house has hardwood floors so it's not so bad, but you guys have carpet. And I feel bad when my dog pees in other people's houses.

Mark - There were plenty of dogs in Ohio. I know you all probably think I'm nuts for going so far. I was limited due to the fact that my mom had to like the breed/look of the dog before I could bring it into her house. I filled out some applications with people in the state, but they never got back to me. Besides, I felt like we needed a road trip or something anyway. As soon as i saw Paco's picture on Petfinder, I fell in love.

Aaron - :disgust: Bring it on, BUT you'll have to go through Slade.

Tygerr - I know every parent says this about their kids, but he really is intelligent. He just looks at you like he wants guidance from you. He's so attentive and he's always watching what you do. I never thought I wanted a lab but with only these few days with him, I would recommend one.

My only complaint is that work should give you maternity leave when you get a new puppy. I'm sooooo tired.

[imgeorge78]

Originally posted by: silverkatMy only complaint is that work should give you maternity leave when you get a new puppy. I'm sooooo tired.

OH NO!!! I guess thats gonna cut into your Pogo time too!!! :cover: :rofl:

[gyger]

Diane, now I'm gonna come to your house and complain about dog poo in the yard:rofl:

Kase (our dog) sleeps next to our bed on a pillow as long as she is by us she doesn't make a peep.
And the only thing she ever chewed on besides her chewys was Brooke's one slipper and that
never happened again. Maybe Paco will be less of a hassle at night if he's in the same room
with you. Our field is fenced in if Paco ever needs to run for a bit stop on out.

[OSUStallion]

Yeah we had the same problem with Enzo.

He cried and cried at night the frist 2 nights we had him. So we decided to let him chill with us in the bed room in a comfy box. He cried in the box! We picked him up, set him on the bed next to us to watch tv. .... he passed out INSTANTLY. Never had a hard night after that!

Potty training tip that really worked... take the dog out 5-10 minutes after EVERY meal. And take him out everytime te dog wakes up from a nap. This will teach the dog to go outside, and more importantly what door leads to the outside where its ok to pee/poop. Also take him out immediately after an accident.

Baths can be a snap too! Leash him up in the tub, then put some "cheese in can" stuff on the tub wall. The dog will pay no attention to the bath and just happily eat the cheese. Sooner or later he will associate baths with treats/cheese and will enjoy them.

Tony

[Cat88Extreme]

Easy cheese works great for giving your dog pills. Diamond loves regular pills but can't stand the caplet type. Put a little easy cheese on the caplet and she gulps it right up. We also swear by using a harness for attaching your leash rather than the dog's collar. It is much easier on your dog's kneck if they are prone to pulling. Alpo Chew-eez also stopped diamond from chewing on things. We give Diamond 2 a night when we eat dinner, she loves them, and the vet always comments on how good her teeth are because of them. Good luck with your new addition.

[Sled]

Well Paco doesnt do too bad with leashes- as long as you dont pull cuz then he pulls back. The really strange thing is he doesnt want to run around smelling stuff all day long. He literally stays right by your side (I hope the trend continues). He's learning his name pretty well now too. Oh, no whinning at night cuz the first night he slept between us and since then he sleeps with Diane on the bed. Hes really good about going to sleep whenever you lay down with him...any time of the day.

(George- going to see the skunks tonight at 7. Ill try to get some pics. Whoohooo) Anybody on here ever had a pet skunk?

[Pyro81]

Uh...why in the world are you getting a skunk for a pet?
I hope it's at least descented...






I miss my ferrets...:cry:

[OSUStallion]

Home defense? If I was a burgular and I saw a skunk I would run!

[silverkat]

Man, you guys are full of tips. I think I might try the Easy cheese for pills. I have to give him fish oil pills cuz of his dry skin. And Paco doesn't keep me up at nite either. I go to bed around 9pm - 10pm and he wakes me up about 1:30am to pee, then again at 4:30am. I think it's the interrupted sleep that's messing with me. But yeah, he is so awesome at going to sleep whenever you want him to.

Thanks for the potty training tips Tony. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. He has the bladder of a 90-year-old.

Mike, did I complain about poop in your yard? I was probably joking though. Thanks for the invite.

As far as this skunk business, you can trust that plenty of research is going into this. Slade doesn't have enough time for himself let alone an animal. I think it would be a great pet but I'm afraind of smell issues. In my experience, anything that poops in a litter box smells. Excepts ferrets cuz you can give them baths.

edit: And yes George, with lack of sleep, Pogo is quite blury and I'm having a hard time playing.

[Sled]

Well, for one, skunks dont spray just to spray. Many people have pets skunks and dont get them descented. Most, however, are descented. The woman I am going to see tonight (with Diane) has over a dozen inside that are all descented. She has a bunch outside in some shed or something that are not descented though (Im gonna be brave and see if I can pet one that is still packin I think ). Anyway, like any animal, if they are treated right at an early age they make wonderful pets...but if they are mistreated they will bite and be a total pain in the a$$. Supposedly they dont stink but Ill find out tonight. I hate ferret smell and wouldnt stand for that type smell in my place. You can give them baths and stuff just like a dog or ferret too. The do have really shart teeth though so if you make one mad you can lose a finger pretty easy from what ive read. They are really smart too- kinda like raccoons sometimes cuz of the way they can pretty much open anything including refridgerator doors (child locks are a must on all drawers/cabinets). Ill report back on my findings and post a pic or two. If you want some info or are just bored there is tons of info at Skunk Haven (http://www.skunkhaven.net)

[Bexcat]

Maybe you should look into praire dogs for something different.
Skunks sound like alot of work.

[LittleB]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how cute :)
Congrats on the new addition :)

[B3NN3TT]

My cousin had a pet skunk when I was little. It was de-scented.

Although any pet who merits a whole page on "RECTAL PROLAPSE" is not something I'd like to have in my house... :ugh:

[LinkMan]

:rofl:

[silverkat]

Originally posted by: Bennett9000 Although any pet who merits a whole page on "RECTAL PROLAPSE" is not something I'd like to have in my house... :ugh:
:rofl: Actually we stopped by her house on Friday. IMO anything that poops in a litter box is going to stink up your living quarters. I told him that if you could walk in her house and it doesn't smell, then awesome. As soon as we walked in, it had that faint oder, but the rest of the house was fine. Come to find out that the stink was coming from 2 skunks that may not have been descented. They're not able to be handled, so she couldn't check. We weren't allowed to pet them unless she said it was OK for fear of them biting. If they bite someone, the state has the right to take your skunk away, cut it's head off, and examine the brain for rabies. There's no skunk rabies vaccine yet. It was a learning experience. We were there for like 1.5 hours. I think he's decided it's not a good idea at this time.

[Sled]

Yeah- skunks are seriously high maintenance and I dont have that kinda time. They are pretty badass though. Some were sorta friendly. She seriously had at least 20 skunks in the house! It smelled a lil but 20 cats or dogs would have been waaaaaay worse regardless of how clean they were. Think I might just support one of the skunks financially a bit once I get my raise in a couple weeks. Deborah did have a lil display jar with a removed scent sac in some liquid- wow, that thing stuck clear through the jar and it had a lid and had a ton of tape on it too. That might have been part of the problem. She was on the news the day we stopped by actually if anyone up here in the Cleveland area happened to catch it. I guess it was on channel 43 ( a pretty big cleveland channel). They filmed the skunks and stuff for a news story- I didnt see it though.

[gyger]

I always wondered if skunks were soft, are they?
It's funny how when they walk they kinda waddle like a racoon.

[Sled]

Mike- well, on the softness, it varies. Some are nearly soft as rabbits, and they get pretty coarse from there. Still, I didnt seem to see anything really rough. The two we got to pet were fairly soft...hard to say what it felt like but their fur is really really thick. Dunno if color has anything to do with it or not.