New Addition to the Little Woods Homestead: Bob Barker

I’ve been lurking on petfinder.com since Jak passed. I’ve wanted a dog for so long and I was feeling a bit like fate sucker punched with me Jak – here’s this awesome super sweet dog…. who just happens to only have 9 months to live. I missed having a dog around. Dogs are like side kicks in my mind. And I was without a sidekick.

This last Friday I came across this odd listing for a greyhound husky mix. We were intrigued. Turns out he wasn’t, but he is super cute and instantly stole my heart. We were expecting a dog either greyhound or husky size and honestly, I missed his cage because he was so much smaller than I was thinking. Just standing 20″ high at the shoulder. I know a lot of people will tell you that you can’t tell a dog by a picture, maybe I’ve just been lucky with these last two guys. And then just like with Jak, when we went to see him, he stole Jason’s heart. I was all “I don’t know…..” and Jason was like “let’s get him!” Ha.

I have no clue what the mix is, but he’s husky something. Little floppy ears and a deer like back end because as some point his tail was docked. We are starting day 3 with him and so far he’s been pretty fun. Molly has full on accepted him into the family:

It’s funny because foreshortening makes him look about the same size as molly, but he’s actually a bit bigger. She just jumped up and flopped over and started purring. She’s also made a point to come up and meow in his face and head butt and rub on him until he chilled out and got used to cats being around.

We just brought him home Tuesday and I’m already having fantasies about him going camping, hiking and running with me. But I also know it will take a lot of hard work to get there. And I also know no dog is perfect and every dog has its issues. Hopefully we’ll be able to work past most – like his separation anxiety anytime I leave the room. Apparently I’m his superhero for picking him up from the shelter.

He can’t walk on a leash – pulls like you might imagine a husky pulling, but he’s sweet and a quick learner and we’ve been able to teach him the beginnings of: come, sit, down, wait, fetch and his walking is improving rapidly after just a few short lessons. We’re doing a combo of dog whisperer meets tons of youtube videos + dog obedience starting next month. I think it’s like kids, learn what you can and go with your gut.

The first Adventure

We’ve already had our first adventure. On the way home the car in front of my hit a huge chunk of debris and the whole underside of their car got messed up – gas tank was damaged and was pouring gas everywhere, the muffler was disconnected and they were pouring black smoke. The debis came flying back and almost hit my car too. Thankfully with my non-expert driving skills I was able to dodge it just in time. I pulled over to check on the other driver and was able to give her a ride home. Bob Barker was a pro and just sat in the back.

Yep, that’s his name. Jason thought it was hilarious and I’ll be honest, I did too. And there’s just something about this guy that makes Bob the perfect name for him. “Hey Bob” is probably what he thinks his name is really because that’s what we always say when we see him.

So he’s settling in nicely with us and after a rowsing game of fetch this morning, he’s pretty happy to act as a foot warmer down in the office. As I’m finishing up this post, he’s sleeping on my feet. It’s pretty cute. And it makes me really happy. 

That’s half my good news update. Tomorrow I’ll share the other good news update… I’ll give you a hint….. it has to do with Mend it Better!

Kristin