We’re growing more and more attached to this silly dog. He is so different from any dog I’ve ever had before. He is the most inactive dog I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t lick, doesn’t bark, unless he asleep and dreaming… then I might hear a whimper from him. He doesn’t run around the house. He won’t play with you. He won’t play with dog toys, but he does like to chew on rawhide toys. We got him a squeaky ball. He’s has nothing to do with that. It seems that he only wags his tail when he’s outside going for a walk and then not too much, though I’m seeing signs of that changing a little. Once in a while his tail will crawl out from under his rear end and wag just a little. His hobby is laying on the floor…. and he’s very good at it. He hasn’t had any accidents inside the house.
When you take him for a walk he doesn’t need to be on a leash. We live near the end of a dead end street, so there is very little traffic. Besides he won’t get more than a few feet away from you.
He just refuses to go through doorways. With some patience, every now and then, we can coax him enough to sneak through. But most of the time he just freezes like in the picture at right. He’s very skittish. Unexpected noises make him jump.
We have a 2 story house and I spend most of my time on the upper level and that’s his favorite place. He almost never goes downstairs. We have to carry him down the steps. And if we don’t put a gate up he’ll shoot right back upstairs. When we’re going to be downstairs we put a gate up so he has to stay down with us. He’s a little clumsy on steps too. I don’t think he had to deal with steps in his previous adventures.
He is crate trained and sleeps in the kitchen. Only 2 times in the three weeks or so we’ve had him have I heard anything from him after we put him in the crate at night. And that was very little. In the morning when we let him out, he won’t leave the crate. He just sits in there. Sometimes he’ll take a step or two outside, but it takes him a long time to explore.
We usually have to carry him outside and then he’s fine. He’ll go about doing his business and all is well, until it’s time to go back through the door.
I have been thinking about letting him sleep upstairs in the bedroom instead of in his crate, but haven’t yet.
We’re getting used to each others strange habits. I think this relationship might last. But he is strange. I wonder what he thinks about me. 🙂
Let him into the bed at night. When I first got my dog home as a puppy, it stayed in a basket by my bed but clawed its way up the duvet, under the clothes, then pissed on my legs.
Thanks for that vision Joanne. Something to look forward to. lol
Aww. Gus just needs time. He’s in a new place with new smells, sights and sounds. He’ll come around eventually. Things are still new.b Before you know it, he’ll be flying through the door ways and all over the house. Just love him. Oh, he probably thinks you’re just as strange as you think he is… lol. Good luck with the little fella.
Dear New Owner…
I appreciate you bringing me into your home and giving me this awesome crate to sleep in every night. I feel very safe in it. I wonder why you are so perplexed when I don’t want out right away in the morning. I mean I don’t see you running out your front door right after you wake up either. And while we are on the subject, lets talk about the whole door thing. One too many times I have made a bad decision about the age ol question ‘is that a window or an open door?’ and after that happens to you a few 100 times, you kinda get skiddish of doorways. Just sayin. I might have some issues there. And I notice how you are expecting me to do MORE. I mean I would, I could….but I just don’t want to. I just wanna hang out, lay down and take it easy. You know. Island life. Come to think of it, I would love a hammock. Can you make that happen?
Any who, thanks for all the toys…but those take some effort too. Of course if you got a little kitten I could be into that. I mean THAT would be entertaining.
Your pal,
GUS
I wonder if whoever had him before was very strict with him.
He thinks you’re batsh1t crazy every time he sees you doing that stupid “walking through doors on two legs” thing you do.
He sounds confused and scared. He’s probably trying really hard not to mess up, lest you get rid of him too. He’s just trying to be good, but doesn’t know what you think “good” is meant to be. Give him lots of time and love and encouragement and he’ll get better.
Awww can we get him some puppy prozac already.
Having taken in a lot of “pound puppies”, I feel like I know Gus. He is just a dog with his own personality who has to get used to the oddities of a new best friend. He may have had issues in the past with going out of a doorway and getting wacked in the butt by the door (or the owner!). One of our current pound friends, Jake, is a beagle/shepard mix who is content to sleep all day in a spare bedroom. He only comes out to pee and has to be encourgaged to eat. But when he does go outside he will bark at anything moving within his sight. Jake is nothing but a sweet older dog.
A stray cat adopted me, she wouldn’t go thru the door into the kitchen because I have one of those “fan/light” things, the fan on the ceiling scared her. Now she thinks she owns the house, and pisses off the other 2 cats. Time.
Critters have memories (esp. if they are bad ones) and take a while to adjust and trust to a new situation.
It’s prob not the “door” that scares him, it’s going from one situation (outside) to a new one (inside) that a previous situation gives him troubles.
Lots of love and “treats” will get Gus out of his funk.
Letting him sleep on your bed is a good idea, gives them a sense of security and bonding.
This is one very loyal dog.
And he is confused. Does he act skittish around loud noises?
He was not the alpha dog whereever he came from.
He will come around.
Dave
Thanks for all the nice comments. Gus is cool. He’s just different than other dogs I’ve had, but we’re gonna do just fine.
What a sad and lonely puppy he must feel. Bring him ino your life and let him sleep with you, he needs love, not seperation. Let him become comfortable then things will be much better. I don’t believe in crates period, That’s puppy mill issues. My blue heeler loves to be outdoors, but when hubby is gone on business/road construction trips, I have ‘Dakota’s’ own cover for the bed. He comes in with mum and sleeps next to me. I feel for your Gus, he’s hurting and just doesn’t know what you will allow him to do.
Good luck bud, have a safe and fun holiday,
Chris
MN
He looks like a cool dog, if ya don’t want him I’ll take him off your hands..lol
I agree that he may be scared, and uncertain how to act under new circumstances. He also might be deaf. By all means, take him into your bed. Let him truly feel loved and part of the family. BTW, he’s adorable!
Congrats on the new family member! Having pets is very rewarding experience for most of us. I have two scraggly felines — one thinks I’m his father and one thinks I’m his captor. Go figure. They alternate between being adorable and getting into mischief, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Dogs are simple creatures/ Love them, entertain them, feed them, and no matter the bumps in the road, they will love you back,and think you’re a god.
Lucas is my third rescue dog in my current pack. He’s destroyed everything he can reach, and is vexing the older dogs without mercy.
There is no way I would trade him for any other mutt right now.
I like that he is quirky! My Grandpa had a cat that was feaked out by plastic bags. My sister-in-law has a cat that fetches a ball and another that licks adhesive of envelopes!
We had a sheep dog that used to wee on the path and then bark at it as it ran towards the house. Crazy! It just makes life more interesting! Gotta love Gus!
Jonco… Congrats on the new pooch! Before you know it your dog will be sleeping (along side you) like a baby! See “Haley” below as proof!
I adopted a rescue dog 7 years ago. He was somewhere between 3-4 years old at that time. When I got him home, I found he was pretty much clueless as to what he was supposed to do. I got the impression that while no one had physically abused him, no one had spent any time at all with him teaching him what he was supposed to do. Talk about a clean slate! I had another dog at the time who was the picture of obedience and manners. She had a laidback approach to life, and was the polar opposite of the new terrier mix who’d suddenly appeared in HER house. Fast forward: my older dog has since died and the terrier and I have been on our own for three years now. He has blossomed from the clueless, bumbling, socially inept crazy dog to a smart, alert, tuned-in, funny, loving, crazy dog. Time, love and patience work miracles.
Gus is gonna’ be great.
Wow, what is the back story on this pooch?
Also, I think that letting the dog sleep upstairs with you is a good idea. It will give him time to be close to you, rather than alone all night. Even if you are sleeping you are still “there”.
I love having my cats in or near my bed. In the morning I can hit the snooze bar and then roll over and pet them
Gus spent last night in the bedroom. He did fine.
observe him and let him observe you. let him teach you how to communicate with him by his body language. my cat has taught me many things i didn’t know that i inately knew. we are so ovewhelmed by human communication, spoken and written language that we tend to ignore the nonverbal.
What kind of terrier is this? I just found one and kind of adopted her and she looks just like yours.
garrett,
He’s a Westie
I agree with everyone else, time. We adopted a pound dog. Fancy, she had been abused, evidently by a man, she was, and still is skittish around them. Thankfully at the time my son was young enough that his voice hadn’t changed yet. Now that it has, she knows him, and loves him like no other.He’s away at college now , but whenever he comes home, she’s ecstatic to see him. She was only 6 months when we got her, she’s now 11 years.