I think you did the best thing for her giving her the best day ever while she was feeling great. My next door neighbor had the biggest German Shepherd I've ever seen. His name was Moses. I hope someday she will get another. I loved his giant bark.
It was sad for sure. The house isn't the same. The other two are working out their dynamics. Older Jett 11, Beetle 3. They miss her, as we do too. She was the action here, in the middle of it all, the leader. They seem lost. Beetle is more skittish then he's been. He still has fear issues, still working with him. I feel this was setback like he thinks maybe he will go away too.
It takes a long time to adjust for us when they're gone. I can't imagine for some animals the difficulty. One of my heart dogs was a German shorthair pointer, my dad's dog but he lived with me because my dad wasn't great at keeping a dog safe ( contained in a yard). We named him "Tallahassee Quick Step" after my brother ... it was his CB handle back in the mid 70's - he died in a car wreck in '78. Tally was a great dog. We had to put him to sleep when he was 12 and suffering from lung cancer. I was really struck by your mention of Cuda having the osteosarcoma in her leg. I just think it odd for a dog to have that disease in their leg and wouldn't have guessed it in a million years that our Jesse had cancer in his leg until the X-rays. Cancer has no bounds and such a sneaky disease.
Thank you, Beetle had it rough as a puppy. He grew up into a loving dig, but still carries these fears. Yup, fears with somethings enough to snap even at me. A warning, a hey!!! Stop that, but nonetheless I leave him to decompress and come back when he wants the attention again.
Totally horrible! Beautiful and active on the outside, sick on the inside. Very hard to take!
Any loss is sad. Loss to an aged senior, sad but a life long and well lived. Losing a vibrant dog, active, happy as if nothing is wrong is so hard.
Such a shame for Beetle. There are dogs with feelings and some dogs... just don't seem to care about anything. The dogs who show their shame for shredding the house and those that wag their tails and almost smile from ear to ear as if to say... "Look!!! Look what I did!!! I had a great time!" I've never spent any time around any herding breeds. Though some shepherds were used as herd guards... Moses would drag poor little Jane over to see me when they went for walks. He would sit between us usually with a foot or his butt on my foot. That was his way of guarding her so I never moved my arms around in talking so he wouldn't think I would touch her. As friendly as he was outside of his fence I found out one day when we were talking through her wrought iron fence that you should never reach through to pet the dog. Inside that line was his space.... he snapped at me. I never wanted to go in her house.
Yes! Beetle tried to herd Cuda. She was larger but a herder herself. She had patience for him and even though he annoyed her, she was still nice to him.Such a shame for Beetle. There are dogs with feelings and some dogs... just don't seem to care about anything. The dogs who show their shame for shredding the house and those that wag their tails and almost smile from ear to ear as if to say... "Look!!! Look what I did!!! I had a great time!" I've never spent any time around any herding breeds. Though some shepherds were used as herd guards... Moses would drag poor little Jane over to see me when they went for walks. He would sit between us usually with a foot or his butt on my foot. That was his way of guarding her so I never moved my arms around in talking so he wouldn't think I would touch her. As friendly as he was outside of his fence I found out one day when we were talking through her wrought iron fence that you should never reach through to pet the dog. Inside that line was his space.... he snapped at me. I never wanted to go in her house.
Much like Beetle our little male yorkie ( now 12) can't stand to be babied in my arms and God forbid I should want to kiss his little head. Lord help me Jesus there's a demon in that little dog. He even gets bent out of shape if I try to look for a flea on him. Nasty little critter jumps off my lap snarling like a wild wolf. Such a piece of work and quite the little weirdo.. He loves me when it's time to eat. Bugger.
Did Beetle herd Cuda around at all? He's still a young boy. He'll learn his place with Jett. Wishing those two furries blessings over their loss.
since she's been gone.
Hopefully Beetle will adjust in a shorter period of time. It's good you have the calming treats to take the edge off of the anticipation he must be feeling waiting on her to show up. As a human, I think I can understand the thought process of expecting to see them come in or think you will see them in their usual spot. I know that feeling too well and there is no time limit on how long it takes to adjust to them being gone. It brings back the memory for me of how my yorkie Briggs loved stealing food from Tally the GSP. When Tally was gone we removed his bed and x-pen in the kitchen. Briggs never once went over and sniffed around Tally's area.... he did't miss him one bit.Yes! Beetle tried to herd Cuda. She was larger but a herder herself. She had patience for him and even though he annoyed her, she was still nice to him.
They are lost alittle. Still figuring it all out. She was a huge presence here, center of it all. Active, on the go, go, go. That action has us all like geez
Beetle took a few backstopping, but I started giving him a calming treats and they are working, taking that edge off. We will use them for both as they learn this new norm that stinks!
And the jekyll and Hyde, yes, the fear of the partial whale eye, stare is sad to see. Someone was mean to him as a tiny puppy I am sure. Nothing here but positive reinforcement is all I can do. And let him go off to chill and shake it off after he's snappy.
This has been a tough one. Like no other loss before with other dogs. I mean for the dogs. Sensitive they both are, bonded they all were.
