Over the last week Rue and I took quite the adventure around Southern MN and let's just say I've learned a bit about her traveling personality.
First off, the morning before we left we made an impromptu visit to the Vet so she could get her first Rabies shot, her first Bordatella (a.k.a. kennel cough), and her booster distemper shot. We also had her EU microchip inserted. I got mine from the AKC website which is incredibly reasonable and my Vet injected it for free. This 15-digit microchip is a NECESSITY for traveling throughout Europe next year and is just a great thing to have for your pet regardless if you're traveling or not.
Secondly, Rue is apparently really bad at recognizing social queues from other animals. We spent five days with my girlfriend, A, who has 2 cats and let's just say they were way less interested in her than she was in them. Apparently when cats hiss and claw at you means "let's play more" in Rue's mind. Silly dog.
Lastly, we spent another day with a different girlfriend who had a 1 year old lab who was more than happy to play with Rue but was a bit aggressive right away and to be honest, I've never seen Rue be so rude or bratty to another dog. I've pin-pointed her attitude problem to 3 hours of driving in the car, not being home for 5 days, and being jostled into a noisy environment of a bunch of girls at a bridal shower/bachelorette party.
Silly idea on my part? Yes, a little. But was I really going to leave my dog for a week when I wasn't even doing anything that I couldn't do without her? No. I also brought her kennel along in case she needed a safe house and it's my firm belief that if she is to live the "hockey lifestyle" of constant travel and unknown, she needs to be acclimated into it at an early age. Overall, I think the experience was good for both of us; I learned Rue's limits and she learned how to quickly adjust. Not once over the course of our impromptu vacay did she stop eating, act naughty, or have an accident in the house. To the contrary, I believe all the traveling helped solidify Rue's progress in potty training. I can't pinpoint what exactly helped, but we didn't have one single accident over the last 8 days.
Anyway, just thought I would update you on how baby girl is doing. I'll keep posting products that work for us. We're still on Blue Buffalo food which is still going well and I've actually purchased a new collar and I.D. tag from Etsy that I can't wait to post pictures of when they arrive in the mail.
Love&Luck
Louie has the same problem with other animals, particularly cats but also other dogs! They make it very clear that they don't like him and he thinks that they're playing, then pounces at them to initiate more. Basically he thinks everyone is his friend, he's such a big lug!
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