been away so long - an update

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Hello fellow doodle lovers. It has been many moons since I have been online - full time work, part time school, and house renovations have taken up so much of my time, Ive barely had chance to think about DK. Cooper of course was not neglected, and had lots of play time in the yard, long walks, and even a trip to a cabin on a lake (will post pics of that in a blog later)

As many of you know, I have always said Cooper will always be an only dog (not counting when we doggy-sit the inlaws akbash Abbey). We have considered another dog on multiple occasions, but I cant do the grooming of 2 dogs (DH is no help there!), and I honestly could not imagine having any other "breed" of dog than a doodle.

On saturday morning, DH got a text from his friend Ron. Would we take in his dog? He is travelling a lot with his job right now. His Dad currently watches his dog for him, but hes having to travel more and more, and its not fair on his dog. Plus he is moving 4 hours away for work, so wouldnt have his Dad to rely upon. The thought of taking his dog to the humane society breaks his heart, you never know how long they will  be there or who he will end up with, and he has to move within 2 weeks so doesnt have the time to re-home him and be picky.

We thought about it for 1 day. Researched the breed. Asked questions. The next day, the dog was at our house, being introduced to Cooper and the cats. It went extremely well. The dogs played really nicely in the yard. (Cooper is submissive so we were a bit concerned the other dog would be overly dominant as it is a dominant breed, but all went well). Our big concern was how the dog and cats would react.The dog came inside, sniffed the cats then walked away from them. The cats didnt freak out either.

We though some more for another day. Checked our finances - it will cost $40 month to feed the dog his current food Atrium from walmart), $50-60 a month if we switch to raw (we plan too, if he wont eat it then he will get a grain free kibble). Pet insurance is $60 month.

Yesterday we told Ron we would take the dog. If it doesnt work out, we will rehome him, and be very picky about who gets him.

so, who is this honory doodle I hear you ask? His name right now is Runkle, which we plan on changing (I like Rumple, as in Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon a Time, or Gimli form Lord of the Rings) - name suggestions welcome. He is a pure bred shar pei. Here he is, all tuckered out after a play with Cooper

He comes home to us on sunday. He isnt fixed, so hes booked in for neutering on tuesday. Any advice would be much appreciated. We have booked some time off work to help him settle and for after surgery - Sunday to Wednesday -  but thats all we could get.

he is 2 years old, house trained, good off leash, can do some tricks, very obedient to his master, doesnt destroy stuff other than stuffed toys. He doesnt bark for the most part. He does have some anxiety when being left, he crys, but im hoping that having Cooper around will help that. He is not crate trained - Ron tried but he hates it. We plan on working on that too.

Any advice anyone can give us on any of these topics is much appreciated (names*, settling him in, keeping him calm after surgery and not licking, crate training an older dog, separation anxiety, humping if he does that)

* currentlky we have Cooper (my maiden name), and Merry, Pippin and Legolas the cats

edit - hes from a "breeder" ron saw both parents and has papers, though i know that means nothing for health, so im assuming a back yard breeder of some kind

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It sounds like you've really done your "homework" and he will be a good addition to the family.  I'm so glad you were able to give him a home....can't wait to hear more.

[Adrienne]

I like rumple too.  Kudos to you for taking him in.  He is lucky indeed.

[Stella]

Rumple would be good if you decide to change his name, tit is similar to his existing name and I think would be less likely to confuse him. For crate training, I highly recommend Susan Garrett's Crate Games DVD. It is a fun way to introduce the crate to the dog, and builds value for them to be in the crate. It worked well for us with Chase, who wouldn't even go in a crate!!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thanks for posting. You've been missed! Rumple seems like a good fit with Cooper. Hope things go smoothly for all of you.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Kaitlyn ~ Rumple is a great name and he is so cute.  Just think minimal grooming too!!  He is a lucky boy.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I think Rumple is cute, as he will hardly notice the difference for Runkle to Rumple, so no retraining there. Good luck and kiddos to you and DH for taking this guy in.

[DJ & Chance]

Congrats!  I love Rumple as his name.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I love the name, and he is adorable!!! Please keep us updated! It sounds like you have all of your bases covered! I'm glad that you have done research on the breed too, the Sharpei is not a beginner dog! :-) They are adorable and loyal though, and it sounds like he fits in!

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Congratulations! Love the name Rumple!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

He is adorable !!!!!  The name Rumple is perfect for him :)   I would let him settle in for a week or two, get to know they dynamics of the house and pets.  But I also would not let him do what ever he wants either.  I think with him having canine companionship his separation anxiety might go away.  If he does not destroy anything and is house trained why put him in a crate?  I trained my doodles via a crate but after they were a year and half I slowly worked away from the crates by leaving them loose at night, then every other day while I was at work and when everything went well for a couple of weeks the crates were gone.  My Ollie humps Sasha every so often but my Sasha humps me !!!  I just say no.  After Ollie was neutered he really did not lick much and he was back to normal in no time.  I think he only wore the cone the first night.  Rumple will be on meds and tired and will probably sleep when you bring him home.  I would keep both dogs separate for a couple of days, no running or playing rough.  I hope Rumple fits into your home its so wonderful that you took him in and will provide a loving home :)

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

the main reason i want to crate train him is just in case its ever needed. We never shut cooper in her crate, but she likes to go in there to nap and "have her own space". you never know when crating is neccessary (injury, travel, emergency etc) so I want him to be comfortable in there if it is ever needed.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

First of all, since you know his name and he knows his name, I would only slightly change it to something you like better, so I vote for Rumple or something similar.  Second, I always wanted a Shar pei - they are adorable.  I have heard that you need to be alert to skin problems. My thoughts are that if he isn't crate trained and is housebroken etc,  why would you need to crate him?  If necessary, I would just block a doorway or use and ex-pen.  I just read your reasoning for wanting to crate.  That is a good reason.  Ned was crate trained and we don't even have his crate any more, but I guess if he needed to be crated, we could.  Gordie, our Springer was a crate failure so we used and ex-pen and a hallway when he had surgery and we needed to confine him.  Clancy came to us at age two and we haven't ever confined him - other than restricting access to house parts as we were re-housebreaking him.