Settling In

Thanks for the advice about bringing Sinatra home.  Since he had met the dogs a few times already, I wasn't overly concerned (other than his potential to hump Skye). 

He didn't love the car ride, but had a great time exploring the yard and testing to see if he could open the gate.  After about 10 minutes, Parker and Skye came out and showed their lack of excitement for the new guy.  Inside, Sinatra didn't even think about marking, was polite to my brother and mother, and left the other dogs alone when they told him to.

Oddly enough, Parker has been a better foster sibling.  Skye was very cranky the first day, growling any time Sinatra went over to her, but she's back to her normal self again today.  Parker seems to like having another boy around so that they can have peeing contests in the yard and out on walks.  I love boy dogs.

So far, the good is:

-Sinatra is taking his cue from Parker and Skye, and being very lazy around the house
-He goes in his crate when I tell him to, and doesn't make a sound the entire time he's there
-Out on walks, he is calm and curious.  A squirrel confused his poor little brain.
-He discovered toys.  He loves toys.

Where is Michael Vick's head?

The less than ideal:

-Sinatra gets a little too excited about Skye.  He hasn't tried to hump her yet, as Skye is excellent at evading capture, but he sure does want to.
-At one point he attempted to mount my brother, who isn't a dog person and had no clue what was going on.  I'm a huge fan of crated time-outs while establishing rules, so he went right in and hasn't tried it again.  But that's awkward even with dog people.
-Notice that these fall in a theme?  A balls are bad for boy dogs theme?  Well I still haven't found a vet willing to neuter Sinatra before his 5 month rabies shot.  Not. Cool.  But understandable.

Hahaha!  I win!!

Really, though, he's been great.  A little soft stool, but otherwise no signs of stress on his part.  He doesn't understand that shredding to toy ends the game, but he's learning.  One of the other big perks is that Parker and Skye seem to have a new appreciation for one another, and are keeping unusually close.

We love our new foster brother.  Really and truly.

As a final update, our little Miss Skye is going to the vet on Thursday to have her tooth pulled and the other ones cleaned.  My vet referred me to a specialist 2 hrs away, and then a friend mentioned a vet 10 minutes down the road.  I called, and they booked Skye to come in for a consult this morning, then fit her in on Thursday for the surgery (for $300 less).  My vet gave me a hard time when I called to have her records faxed, which ended up being that straw breaking my back. 

I've had a number of occurrences with this vet's receptionist where I feel belittled or made to feel like I'm wasting her time.  The vets are nice and seem knowledgeable, but I've spent A LOT of money there this year, and have seen no actual results.  I want a new set of eyes to look her over, and a person answering the phones that wants to help me.  This new hospital is modern, clean, and full of friendly staff, and so I've decided to switch to them for all my future vet care if this goes well.  So don't tell Skye, but her week is going from bad to worse, poor baby.  I'll break the news to her later, for now she's actually playing with Sinatra!  Hooray foster success!