I attempted to stick to Pyper's old walking schedule - once in
the morning, and once in the evening, 12 hours apart. (It's
amazing that dogs can hold in their waste for that long!)
In the first few days, however, we spent a lot of time outside,
just walking around the neighbourhood, the
several parks in this area.
Within just a day or two, Pyper was cheerful again. We have met a gang of dog owners in the area with similar walking schedules. Pyper, still restrained on a leash, behaved himself almost always well with the other dogs. One area cat has come by to play with Pyper too. The days were warm, sunny - great for introductions.
From the second night on, Pyper slept on the main floor of the house. We have trusted him not to rip the place to shreds overnight. I'm happy to report that there has been only one small, um, incident over his second night, and nothing since.
It was a little overwhelming to have this big furry creature in the house with us. I did not know how much to try to keep the dog entertained, as I would not be at home with him during most days. I did not know how much he sleeps (a lot!), how it is possible to get work done without him getting in the way (while he sleeps!). I got some calming advice from family, and the remarkably level-headed Juimiin.
Since Juimiin is more sensitive to animal smells and hair than I, we decided to give Pyper a bath. Back at Ennismoor, Pyper was groomed by means of powders and lots of brushing, but full baths were very infrequent. I was worried about how he would react to this, so we called in an expert, my middle brother.
On Monday, the weather was warm enough to use a gentle stream of
ordinary hose water, plus a lot of ordinary shampoo, to give Pyper
a good wash. We forgot to take photographs, though it was quite
a scene. He put up with washing and rinsing quite well, and was
only getting a little whinny once. Treats, hand-toweling, and the
sunshine cheered him up quickly. He dried within an hour. And he
looked so beautiful freshly washed! Collie fur can settle
and get wrinkly, but after the wash, it was sparkling, straight,
well, just wow.
A few days later, I cut my own hair, paling even further in comparison.
During the week, Juimiin and I, with help from her mom, made Pyper a cool big 2'x4' dog pillow, filled with cedar chips. This is one of his favorite beds now, and it gives a nice smell to the whole main floor. He also has a few new chewing toys, so he can gnaw on proper things instead of improper ones.
During the latter part of the first week, we have started to leave Pyper
alone in the house, for a few hours at a time. He has behaved very well,
and each time we finally returned, he greeted us with super-enthusiastic
full-body wags and tummy-scratching rolls, and singing - the same thing
he does when we see him the first time each morning!
Finally, we have spent some effort obedience training Pyper. While not in formal classes yet, we are trying to apply some lessons properly. In just one week, he's come a long way in obeying basic commands like "come" and "sit" - he is a very quick learner. He even impresses Juimiin.
