By: Revanche

Seamus has a sister (maybe)!

April 9, 2018

We recently took on a young lady rescue, to Seamus’s mild chagrin, and my heart’s delight. I’m pretty sure we needed a second dog but the first few months will be tough because no one gets Seamus AND an easy new dog in the same lifetime.

Even Seamus’s first months with us were hard. He was learning the ropes of our household and I was battling his allergies: hives, broken skin, rashes, bathing three times a week, steroids which means 6 walks a day, and one (terribly embarrassing for him) accident in the house because he couldn’t wake me for a walk in time. Those demanding weeks and all his maintenance since then has been totally worth because he’s a lovebug, has perfect manners, coparents JB, and protects zir from all comers. He was and still is a big help to me during my tough days, helping me get up and around during pregnancy and during flare ups, and supporting me through the days when people aren’t around. I don’t expect quite the same from her but it would be a good idea to train her like a helper dog as much as I’m able.

Suffice it to say, new pup has a tough act to follow. But we have lots of training planned, plus lots of patience and persistence. For my own sanity, I have told myself to give her two months to start showing real improvement and the ability to fit in. That’s about how long I can maintain all training all the time mode, and I need the reminder that a perfect dog isn’t achieved in 3 days.

Training so far

She’s settling in surprisingly well considering we just met!  She has a lovely temperament, very friendly and eager, and incredibly tolerant of JB’s rudeness of singing or leaning in close to her face. We don’t allow that of course but ze occasionally slips into exuberance before we can stop zir, and it’s a measure of how incredibly comfortable JB is around her. JB has been thoroughly traumatized by terrible dogs and owners in the old neighborhood and doesn’t trust them at all – but ze likes this pup enough to hang out with them both, even sitting on the ground nearby, and giving her a tour of the whole house.

Day One

She was a touch skittish, flinching when I reached down to pet her, so we were careful to get down closer to her level before extending a hand. Then she met a host of my family, romped with Seamus, patrolled the table perimeters hoping for food, and somewhere along that familiarizing process, 24 hours later, she stopped flinching instead accepting gentle pats as her due.

We gently but firmly discouraged licking and it seems to be taking a little bit, she just sneaks in a few licks occasionally rather than constantly.

We’re working on all basic commands (sits are reluctant or hovering, down is even more reluctant, stay is pretty bad), socializing with other dogs and not being distracted by them, not stealing Seamus’s bed or pushing him out of the way for water. We also need the slightly more advanced commands: off, down, back, leave it, drop it, inside, outside, go pee, go poo.

Day Two

She’s not food motivated. ARGH. I prefer food motivated dogs. Seamus would attempt a back flip for his Zuke’s Salmon treats, she’ll eat them but won’t work for them.

Her response to “inside” is now really good. I wonder if she already knows that one, or if she just really likes being inside.

The doorbell sends her into a bit of a barkfest but it does the same for Seamus, and she’s shown that she can stand by an open door without desperately darting out to disappear. She partly sticks by Seamus but even when I release him to walk out the front door alone and off leash to check the driveway, she still respects the “stay” with me there. TV noises don’t distress her, and she’s finally figured out that adults make noise when waking up and then JB does at some point too so she doesn’t burst into a flurry of barks over that.

I don’t think there’s anything we can do about her toxic farts. 🙁

I’ve been feeding the two of them one at a time but Seamus has never been food aggressive or protective and it doesn’t look like she is either so I’ll start feeding them at the same time.

Day Three

She’s learning to stay back when I set down their food – I hate it when dogs push and hover. She just stands patiently while I get the two bowls set up, drooling slightly and waiting her turn. After they eat, they inspect each other’s bowls at the same time. Silly dogs.

The bathroom is still a horrifying place for her, so we’re slowly coaxing her in for pets and loves just so she’s not terrified of two rooms in the house. Most of the day she hangs out by me, sleeping, occasionally dreaming and sleep barking.

I had to check a rash on her underside, and experimentally rolled her over on her side, then back, and she wasn’t panicked or upset. Even after spending months in a kennel situation, she hasn’t lost her trust in people or become incredibly anxious – we’ve lucked out!

Favorite moments

• She’s shorter than Seamus and thinks nothing of going under him just as often as she goes around him.
• Excited about a pitch of grass, she went into zoom-zoom mode and bounced 3 feet straight up in the air at PiC. AGILITY dog!
• PiC’s taking a lot of the heavy lifting on early and late day walks so that I can focus on the less physically rigorous training, and on one walk, both dogs pooped simultaneously. A stranger pulled over and asked him incredulously – did you train them to do that??? He laughed. We’re not that good! 😉

My hope is that she learns good manners like Seamus did and that we all grow to love her. Especially Seamus because this was as much for him as it was for me and right now I’m feeling awfully guilty about gifting him with a second sibling he looks at with those eyebrows inquiringly: and when is THIS one going home? Why is she still here? Is there a reason she’s still sleeping on my bed?

I know that we have to give her time, and him time to decide if he’s going to accept her, but I hope it all works out. I especially hope that he’s not allergic to her, he’s been alarmingly itchy since we brought her back.

She also still needs a blog name but we need to get to know her better before I can pick one.

The Money

Seamus’s food costs $72 for 6 weeks of food, or $1.71 per day, plus $.50 of carrots, $0.70 of sardines, and a $3.30 chew per day. Prescription meds are $0.24, vitamins are $0.24, supplements are $.40, OTC meds (Benadryl) are $0.06 a day.

His basic costs are $7.15, average of $214.50 a month or a total of $2,609.75 a year.

He gets bathed every few weeks at $12 a pop ($144 total), and veterinary care 2-3 times a year depending on how he’s doing. Those visits will vary but I budget for about $1200 a year in care and supplies. We don’t always go up to the limit, some years we spend way less, but I mentally earmark that much anyway. The license fee each year is about $20.

Average annual cost: $3974

New pup will be duplicating a few of his costs. She’s convinced the carrots are a hoax so she won’t eat them, and she’s apparently healthy so she’s only getting some of the same supplements:

Food: $1.71 per day, $0.70 of sardines, a $3.30 chew, $0.24 vitamins for a total of $5.95 in basic costs, average of $179 per month, and $2148 a year.

She’ll need to be bathed as well but with some luck and a lot of training, they can both be done in the same 45 minute session so we’ll increase that budget only by 50% ($72) until she’s trained. Cross your fingers for us!

Her vet budget will be $800 a year for now until I know what she’s really going to cost (I think a dental is in her future) but she was fully vaccinated and microchipped when we picked her up so we just need to pay for her license.

Expected annual cost: $3040

Well, I’ve never said they were cheap but it’s really interesting to see the dogs aren’t THAT expensive overall. They’re definitely still a luxury (no one in my family keeps pets, forget pampering their dogs like I do) but the kind that I simply cannot live without. They are, like my human family, integral to my mental health and happiness.

I did forget to calculate boarding costs but that also varies so much that I can’t quite estimate it. In any case, boarding generally only happens because we’re traveling so I calculate it as part of our travel budget rather than the dogs’ budget.

Ways to save

I am in search of a cheaper supplier of good quality bully sticks. Those are new to us but they really help with Seamus’s dental health as he ages – fighting off plaque feels like a full time job.

I just get a written prescription for his medications from the vet and buy large quantities direct from 1-800-PetMeds. They only charge a per pill cost so 420 pills at $0.12 is $50.40, and I can always find some kind of coupon to take $5-15 off that cost, and get free shipping. If I were to get it direct from the vet for the same per pill price, they would tack on a $12 pharmacy fee. Typically, people also refill every 2-3 months, so I’d be paying an extra $12 every refill.

Thanks to Tanja for the reminder: depending on the dose, you could always ask for a prescription for double the dose of the medication and split the pills in half to save a bit more. For us, that would save $36 a year.

We could buy pet insurance but premiums for her are $600 a year, I’d rather save that over the next few years and have the cash on hand in case anything does happen. It’s always a bit of a gamble but the math usually seems to point to self insuring since she’s older, though not nearly as old as some dogs we’ve adopted.

:: Tell me about your beloved pets and how you spend or save?

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