Well, Moose arrived Saturday evening, and he's a nice dog overall. He weighs about 20 lbs more than he should, I'm guessing, and he needs grooming very badly. As often happens, our first evening was very challenging, and the next day too, but we are figuring things out...I hope.

There are many issues to deal with for this poor guy, but the biggest is that he not only chases our cats, but he corners them, gets on top of them, and is very threatening. Even our one cat who has never had a single qualm about swatting a dog in the face if they misbehave is scared of him. Then Moose started going after Bodhi the next day..sigh. He has never lived with other animals, and it shows.

Moose came from our local Humane Society, where he was turned in by his family for "not being good with kids." Interestingly enough, he was transported to us with a seven year old and he seemed just fine with her. My guess is that the family just didn't want him anymore and they made up an excuse. Whatever the situation, he was a wreck at the shelter, and he was a shaking, terrified mess when he got here, and it took nearly 24 hours for him to stop panting non-stop and settle a bit.

(Moose looks more like a sheep dog than a cocker spaniel at the moment!)

Because we'd only had him a few hours before bedtime, and I wasn't feeling super confident about his relationship to Gracie yet he got crated the first night in our bedroom, which definitely didn't suit him. He panted, barked, and howled for about 1 1/2 hours and periodically during the night. He did sleep some. I know because he snores. A restful night was not had by anyone. Luckily, by the second night, he went into his crate, protested briefly, and then slept through the whole night with no problem. Phew.

He was tethered in the living room this morning for breakfast, and Hiro was too scared to walk across the other end of the room to go upstairs to his food station, so Marley carried him up there. Moose wasn't at all interested in the kibble served, but once I added a little bit of canned food to it, he ate his food, thankfully. He was too nervous the night before to even take a treat, so I was glad to see him eat.

He and Gracie walk fine together, which is good, and he's a decent walker on leash. He wouldn't win any obedience awards for a good heel, but he doesn't pull much and is perfectly manageable. As of late Sunday afternoon, he is calming down, no longer panting endlessly, and is actually sleeping comfortably on the sofa and elsewhere.

(I really want to trim the hair in front of his eyes!)

But his going after Bodhi Sunday evening was very worrisome. I don't think he understands that Bodhi is blind, and Bodhi does not need any more difficulties in his life right now. Bodhi solved part of the problem by moving into the kitchen, were he often sleeps anyway, and I added a bed there for him, so he is out of sight and mind for Moose. We are also borrowing a 48" crate for Moose, so his current choices will be the crate during the day, or tethered to the couch if we can be around and supervise, or in my office as long as he doesn't bother Gracie, or out for walks. He's 11 years old and he sleeps a large portion of the day anyway, so I think that combo of things will work for him. He can walk around the block basically, and that's about it with his age and extra weight, but I'm trying to get him out to do that 3-4 times a day, and limiting his food intake as well, so he can slowly start to shed some of that excess weight. It will probably take 6 months or more to lose all of that, but we can get him started. He will also be getting a full physical to make sure that the weight isn't the result of a medical concern.

Once he gets more settled, I'm going to work on a little basic training for him...not sure if he any or much yet. But I want to work on a few things with impulse control in mind. I suspect he also has a tendency to resource guard a bit, so will be watching that carefully and seeing what we need to do. Currently he thinks the couch and water bowl are his, and that's not real helpful. Much to do for Moose, but we are on the path.

And just in case you need a little dose of cute, these little ones, who are being bottle fed, and just starting to eat, will be coming my way in a week...can't wait! They were found in a building being renovated and the contractor called us for help. They were about 2 weeks in this photo.

And here they are today, a little over 4 weeks old. They will be the Donald Duck kittens: Huey, Louie, Dewey, and Daisy.