Dog Diaries #4

After Two Long Months...

The first sentence says everything...two long months. September and October were two of the most stressful months of the whole year. My patience reached its tipping point several times. To keep my sanity, I'd go outside alone and just breathe. Rambler was just too much for us, and I was considering giving him up. But I didn't want to drop him off at the animal shelter. Even though the little bugger drove me crazy, I grew attached to him. I couldn't let him go. He was our dog. So, I decided I would win the puppy battle or die trying.

Turning the calendar page to November was like flipping a switch. Rambler turned four months old and became a completely different dog. He started listening and lost a lot of that crazy puppy syndrome.

Maybe it was my change in research. Instead of searching for puppy training tips, I looked into the breed more. I became more knowledgeable about the Cane Corso. A quick shout-out to Jason Corey on YouTube who has two Corso's. Watching his videos gave me hope. And maybe that's what changed in November...hope and plenty of determination.

During those two rocky months, we had to put everything away and out of reach. But last month, I was able to put the mats back in the kitchen and the dishtowels out. Rambler no longer smashes through the baby gates. He now sits patiently and waits to be allowed into a room. Maybe it was the baby teeth. He's doing a lot better since most of this baby teeth have fallen out.

He still bugs Keefer, but he's not as rough. This may be because Keefer now growls at Rambler when he has had enough of playing. It took Keefer a while to step up and let Rambler know that he couldn't push him around.

I think Rambler finally knows he's not the alpha dog in the house. He tried his best to gain that role, and there are times he still tries to be top dog, and I'm sure he'll keep trying.

I still have a lot of training to do with him, but he's at the point now where he's trainable. He's listening and learning. He's turning into a really good dog. But he's still a puppy and tries to get into mischief. He nips at my husband's slippers, jumps at the counter, jumps on us, steals Keefer's bed, or slips through a baby gate, but all of that is controllable. With patience and training, I'll rid him of those bad habits.

Rambler is extremely loveable and he loves to cuddle. His favourite spot is sitting on my feet, or on my lap if I'm sitting on the floor with him. I'm so happy I didn't give up on him...and me. He's bonded into our family. We love our little moose and he loves us.

But can a dog love you too much? Enter separation anxiety. The fun continues!

Dog Diaries #3

Let the games begin.

Don't let that cute face fool you, because that adorable little guy nearly drove me nuts for the first two months. He was a holy terror. I even called him the Devil's Span as I was sure he was brought here to test me.

Our Midnight Rambler had a sketchy first few weeks. He belonged to a fisherman, who we believe owned the female. He was adopted by a family who didn't have the right household for a puppy (see my first dog diaries post). We refer to Rambler as a rescue. He wasn't mistreated (not that we know of), but he wasn't being handled properly, so he had some nipping issues and didn't like to be corrected. There were many times he'd growl to force his point. Had we been his first owners, things may have been a lot different. But, he was now ours and we had to deal with the good and bad...and this boy had a lot of bad.

As all puppies do, they are curious and get into everything. They think everything is theirs and want to chew what's in their path. This included his dog bed, the carpet, the kitchen towels, shoes, slippers, and so much more. The worst was us and our five year old lab's ears. However, correcting Rambler wasn't easy. He was extremely stubborn and had slight aggressive tendencies. There were many rough days. I was up early with him (4:30am) and stayed up. Thankfully, I work from home, but my husband and daughter don't, so I couldn't leave Rambler cry and bark all night. I would sit on the floor with him and play until he fell back asleep. But as soon as I would get up, he'd whine. He wanted me in his sight 24 hours of the day. At this point, he was a bit of a bully toward us and Keefer, who is a kind and gentle soul, so he didn't growl at Rambler to put him in his place. Keefer preferred to just go into another room to avoid having his ears bitten. 

I like to think I have a lot of patience, but Rambler tested me every step of the way. I had the bruises from his sharp baby teeth to prove it. 

Is it easy raising a puppy? No it is not. And don't let those videos of dog whisperers fool you into thinking it is. 

I watched lots of videos and did research. The Cane Corso breed is very intelligent, so training him to go outside to do his business was thankfully easy. He never once pooped in the house (knock on wood). He had a few pee accidents inside, but that's to be excepted with a puppy.  He learned how to sit on command quite quickly and he has great manners when it comes to his meals.

I felt I was gaining points. My husband called me a dog whisperer and some days it would look as though that was true, but then other days were complete chaos. It seemed like everything I tried wasn't working. Rambler was beginning to be a nightmare I couldn't escape. I've raised and trained many dogs in my life, but I wasn't sure I was cut out for this dog. I'm not in my thirties or forties anymore. I'm actually closer to sixty. Maybe I'm too old, but I was attached to the little guy and he to me. 

Unfortunately, my patience was exhausted. I was exhausted. The chaos couldn't continue. It was hard on me and my family. I kept looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.

Did I see the light? Stay tuned to find out!

Dog Diaries #2

What is a Cane Corso?

The above photo is a typical cane corso. Dark colouring, clipped ears and tail, and very large. The first thing to know is that cane is not pronounced as in candy cane, though many people do say it that way. It's actually pronounced can-nay. This pronunciation derives from the breed which is part of the Italian Mastiff family.

The cane corso is a great protector and guard dog. A full grown adult male can weigh from 100-140 pounds. They have a short coat that can be black, grey, fawn, or a mixture. Corso's are intimidating dogs, but they are also affectionate and gentle. They are intelligent, eager to please, and intensely loyal to their family. However, they are also assertive, and stubborn.

This is our Midnight Rambler, at four months, experiencing his first snow. The look on his face says he didn't like it, lol. 

At four months, Rambler already weighed in at 40 pounds. At his current growing rate, we expect him to be near the average of 110-120. His colouring is a slate grey with lots of fawn ripples throughout. 

As growing puppies, they have very lanky legs. Our nickname for Rambler is Little Moose because that's exactly what he looks like, a baby moose trying to stand on stilts for legs. He loses balances easily so we have to watch that he doesn't run across the tiled floor or his legs will fall out from under him. He has already hurt himself once.

Though may people have their corso's ears and tail clipped, we will NOT be doing that. Rambler has the cutest face and those droopy ears are part of his charm. And he loves to chase his tail.

It is true what they say about the corso wanting to be the leader and will test his boundaries on a daily basis. Rambler doesn't like to be corrected, and while he is stubborn, he is also extremely affectionate. He loves to snuggle and nap with our five-year old lab, and he loves to cuddle next to us. His favourite thing is sitting on my lap or feet. He needs to constantly be near me, which is good and bad.

In this post I wanted to share a bit about the breed, but in my next post the fun begins...or not so much fun. Coming soon, I will go into the chaos of puppy behaviour.

Dog Diaries #1

The Beginning...

Welcome to the beginning of a new adventure in our house. It started on August 28, 2023, when I received a text from my daughter saying her boss brought a puppy into work. My daughter sent me pictures and asked if we could adopt him...

Let's roll back the tape a bit. 

We currently have a five year old Yellow Labrador named Keefer. Keefer was a busy puppy. He got into everything. He wanted to eat everything. He was a handful. He wasn't a bad dog, just a busy dog. He didn't like to be left alone and he would howl to the heavens at night. My daughter would sit in his pen with him at night until he fell asleep. He didn't like to go outside alone...and he still doesn't, lol. We thought Keefer would lose the 'puppyness' once he was neutered, but nope, he was still crazy. Keefer didn't actually mature until he turned three, and let me tell you, those were three long years. Don't get me wrong...I love Keefer and he's my baby, even at one-hundred pounds. He's a great dog. It was just a long process to get there.

I said I never wanted a puppy again. I love dogs and I would welcome another dog someday, but I would adopt one that was at least a year old.

Fast forward to August 28.

I told my daughter that puppies were a lot of work and a big responsibility. I tried my best to stay firm to not wanting a puppy. Then she told me his story. He was adopted from a man who we believe owned the mother. The family who adopted him had two young children who were mentally challenged. I'm not sure why this family thought a rambunctious puppy would be a good idea. The children were pulling and picking at the puppy and he started nipping at them, which dogs will do to defend themselves. It's their natural instinct as is with most animals. The family decided to get rid of the puppy. My daughter's boss is a friend of the family and took the puppy, but she wasn't able to keep him. As well, the man who owned the puppy was a fisherman and out fishing for the next several weeks. My daughter fell for this cute puppy, as did I. I couldn't see him go to a shelter or to someone who might mistreat him, but were we ready to go through the puppy stage all over again?

Fast forward a few days to August 30, 2023.

From the first photo above, it's obvious we adopted the puppy. And here he is.

This is Midnight Rambler, but we call him Rambler for short. 

When we got him, the family had called him Loki, but my daughter's boss called him Pugsley. We decided to stick with our Rolling Stones theme. Keefer is after Keith Richards (Keef is the nickname that Mick Jagger calls Keith). And we also had a Jagger (our yellow lab before Keefer). I wanted to call him Charlie Watts, but Midnight Rambler seemed a little more fitting for this little pup.

Rambler is a Cane Corso (pronounced Can-nay). The family didn't seem to know when he was born, only that he was seven weeks old when they got him. The fisherman was unreachable, so we are unsure of his actual date of birth. I did some research and judged his age by his baby teeth and according to when they fell out and his adult teeth came in, he was born the first week of July. I'm going to pick a date so that we have a day to celebrate his birthday.

There is so much more of Rambler's story to tell, but I'm going to pause and share our up-and-down journey in a series of posts. Coming soon will be a post about our first few days of being new puppy owners!