Clyde's Great Escape

Today my mom and I went for a swim in the Atlantic, and the beach across the way. Clyde stayed home in his crate, which is in the room I'm staying in. Oh, did I mention we're in a house my grandparents own, not a hotel? Anyway, we went to the beach a couple times and Clyde had his own adventures while we were gone. The first time, he peed on the bed that is in his crate, and yes, it is his. When we got back, the bed was dragged up and folded against the side of the cage. When I went to fix it, well, you can guess what happened. The second time, when I went inside from the outdoor shower, which is there so sand and salt don't get tracked into the house, he greeted me at the door. Yes, this seems good, Yes, we left him IN the crate, and No, my mom did NOT let him out. Look at those phrases and I think you'll get what happened. Clyde, Clyde, Clyde.

Clyde's Child Charm

Today we completed our journey south and arrived at North Carolina. Clyde was good the rest of the trip in the car, although farts became more frequent. (P.U., Clyde!) But when we got there...

After we ate dinner, we took Clyde across the road to the beach, and walked him along it to a distant pier and back. When the waves came up and licked his paws, he backed up and sometimes almost ran. But, when we walked through still pools of water, he splashed right through like they didn't exsist. To come back to the title, "Child Charm", 5 people/kids/groups stopped because of him. The first time Clyde and I ran along the beach a bit, a young girl of about 3 or 4 stopped, stared, and said "Whoa...". The second time a little boy of the same age was crying and his mother was attempting tto comfort him. When Cyde went by, he was quiet and captivated. The third time, a teenager at the waters edge stopped when Clyde sniffed her and asked if he liked the water...you already know that answer. The fourth time, (I'm almost done), a family stopped to watch him go by and smiles lit up their faces. The last time it was a woman who passed and laughed and smiled and watched us walk by. Clyde's new nickname- Crowd Favorite. :)

Clyde's Longest Car Ride Yet

Today we embarked on the first portion of our trip to North Carolina. We stopped in Pennsylvania on the way. Clyde rode in the back seat with me the whole time, in and out of his crate. Eventually, we had to give him some food for his dinner. I took out the canned food- Alpo chicken and gravy. I fed it to him from my hand, keeping the can between my knees. When he finished what was in my hand, he went to lap up the gravy from the can. I put the re-usable lid on  and stood it up in the bag to get him some dry food. He knocked off the lid and had some more. Later on, we went to a place called Sheetz, so I could grab some quick dinner. Part of it was chicken strips and Clyde was going up, down and around to get his share. Nothing can stop a hungry Weiner Dog!
      On the walk to Sheetz, we had to cross a street with a bit of traffic. It took a while and all the noise was making Clyde a bit nervous. He let me pick him up and carry him across the street. Then when I went in to get the food and Clyde stayed with my mom by the door. When I came back out, my mom said he had been shaking like a leaf. That's Clyde's update for the day. Check out my mom's guest post about his time with out me yesterday.

Better Than the Wilderness

Guest Post from Mom:

I am not the love of his life, but I'll do in a pinch. Clyde realized this much Thursday when he and I went to my parents' house without Adella because she was off with her cousins for the day. When I let him out to do the biz, he slipped under a gap in my dad's fence and headed for the woods. I knew we would have to go through this. The moment had adolescence, or neurosis, written all over it. There was no way around it, so we had to get through it. I might have worried that the dog was gone, but I didn't. I stepped into the yard and called for the little dude. He came and darted into the garage. I was better than the great unknown of the woods, but not much. Next, I was better than the great unknown of all dad's treasures in the garage, but not much. Finally, he darted into the house and onto an easy chair when I held the door. He's slowly getting that he can relax. I am not the agent of doom he thought I was. I even gave him some of Buddy's nice cheese to thank him for his troubles.

Later that evening, as he waited for Dell to return, he pined away on her bed. It was the saddest of sights as well as a measure of true love and devotion. Clyde, you break my heart.

Better Than the Wilderness

Guest Post from Mom:

I am not the love of his life, but I'll do in a pinch. Clyde realized this much Thursday when he and I went to my parents' house without Adella because she was off with her cousins for the day. When I let him out to do the biz, he slipped under a gap in my dad's fence and headed for the woods. I knew we would have to go through this. The moment had adolescence, or neurosis, written all over it. There was no way around it, so we had to get through it. I might have worried that the dog was gone, but I didn't. I stepped into the yard and called for the little dude. He came and darted into the garage. I was better than the great unknown of the woods, but not much. Next, I was better than the great unknown of all dad's treasures in the garage, but not much. Finally, he darted into the house and onto an easy chair when I held the door. He's slowly getting that he can relax. I am not the agent of doom he thought I was. I even gave him some of Buddy's nice cheese to thank him for his troubles.

Later that evening, as he waited for Dell to return, he pined away on her bed. It was the saddest of sights as well as a measure of true love and devotion. Clyde, you break my heart.

Clyde's Personality Coming Through

Two big things happened to Clyde today. I'll start from the begining- yet again at my grandma and grandpa's house. Clyde found a way out of the fenced in yard. My grandparents have two red sheds, and a small length of larger re fence between them. My grandpa recently rebuilt the fence on a lime of bricks so it wouldn't rot in the ground. Clyde found a gap in the corner where he slipped out. I called him back to the patio, not knowing where he was and he came in from under the fence. Clyde, Clyde, Clyde. Today's good event was Clyde met one of my BFFs Kiernan, her mom Sid, and her sister Brenna. Kiernan came over for dinner and Brenna dropped her off. Clyde was shy, but eventually he warmed to her. We walked outside, Kiernan saw him run a bit, and we let him jang out with us in my room. He slept through dinner and some of oir wacky conversations, (Kiernan, if you read this, think about this day and laugh because you are the only one who knows what I'm talking about). Good boy, well...

Clyde- An Official CT Resident

Early today, Clyde found out he had a new bed and crate at my grandparents, sat in the pachysandra with Buddy, and went to the park again for a walk. The biggest thing that happened to Clyde today was he became a legal resident of Woodbury. My mom went to town hall and got him licensed with a new tag and all. We replaced the tag with the shelter info on it with his own, and bada-bing, bada-boom, Woodbury, welcome your new member.

Bones and Parks

Clyde seems to be all about chewing bones- so long as they aren't his. Like I've mentioned before, Clyde decided to chew Buddy's bone. We brought home some for him, but he didn't touch them. When we went back to my grandparents house, he chewed Buddy's again. Today I was cleaning out my closet and I found a plastic bone that belonged to my robotic dog. I put it on the floor and next thing I knew it was in his mouth. Later, we took him to the park and took off his leash. Today, the only thing that could get him to run was my mom's whistle. And that was Clyde's story for today! :)

Going Solo

This morning, my mom took Clyde out for a walk. When they got back, she took off his leash on the porch. We had done it before and he had gone right in. This time, he froze and backed away from the door. My mom called me to come out. I managed to get him away from the door so I could come open it. However next he walked around to the backyard. When we followed him, he was just waiting at the back door to be let in. We think he may have been abandoned that way- let off the leash and left, and he wasn't going to let it happen this time. Later: Once again, we were at my grandparents house with Clyde. I was in the pool and my mom was reading her book. When I climbed out, I asked where he was. He wasn't on the patio so we called his name and he came running- right through the pachysandra. The next time I went in, he walked over and just sat down in it, looking very pleased with himself. He also finally felt comfortable enough to go off in the yard on his own. Go, Clyde!

Madness and Mayhem

Today Clyde was being quite bold with everyone. Begging, climbing, jumping, stealing. But I'll start at the beginning. We went to our friends' house, (the Lundwalls) and he was begging at the lunch table. He doesn't usually do that at home. Then he was biting at the spider plant and cactus in the corner. After some running outside, he calmed down and laid on the floor, soon falling asleep. Oh, and did I mention he was putting up his front paws on my chair in the hope of food? Then we took him to my grandparents and put him in the playpen. When I went in to change into my bathing suit, he hopped out of it and wouldn't let my grandpa near him. After that we kept him out on the leash. Soon after, he decided to jump up on the small wooden table my grandpa built. Oh Clyde. Now lets move inside. We took him in and both he and Buddy, (the other dog), were both loose. It went well- and then Clyde took Buddy's bone. Just picked it up, walked to the other side of the room, and sat down to chew it. On the upside, the dogs definitely got along. We also learned earlier today, (before any of this) he could be let off his leash in the park. We took him for a nice long walk and took the leash off for some of it. He likes to run- he'll almost keep up with me when I run in front of him. He also listens well when told to sit or come. Speaking of sit, when we stopped home in between the park and the visits, I was trying to towel off his wet paws and my mom was helping me find an easier way to do it. She said to sit, hint hint, 'Indian style', so he could lean on me. Upon hearing the word sit, he st right down. Good boy Clyde! :)

Clyde Hatches!

Today at my grandparents house, with my eight and eleven year old boy cousins, Clyde finally let loose and came out of his shell. My grandparents have a huge yard- part fenced in and part open. My cousins and I (With me holding Clyde on his leash), began to scope out places all over the yard that we found enjoyable. Together we can get a little crazy, but Clyde didn't seem to mind. He walked with us, ran, sniffed, sat, let them pet him, and even let Adam hold his leash. He didn't hide behind me, or cower around them. Later this streek continued when both my mom and dad sat next to him on the couch at different times. My dad even held his leash a bit on his later walk. Way to go, Clyde! :)

Laughs Caused By Clyde

Have you ever heard of how a bird thinks the first living thing it sees after it hatches is its mother? Well dogs must be that way when it comes to the person they first get used to in a new home. After sitting next to me for the whole ride home from the shelter, Clyde now follows me everywhere I go in the house. Today we came in from his walk and I sat on the hearth next to his bed and crate. He walked over and hopped right in. I stood up, walked to the couch, and sat down. He followed me and hopped up. When I returned to the hearth he looked at my mom like 'What, is she nuts?' Nuts, maybe I am, but he followed me anyway and hopped back in. Imagine this from a little wiener dog, who, yes, can have skeptical looks on his face.

Clyde Unleashed

Imagine a little wiener dog with a long body, short legs, and floppy ears. Now imagine that dog running- back and forth, his tongue lolling sideways out of his mouth, and his ears both flopped back against his head. Well this is Clyde, unleashed in my grandparents fenced in back yard.

After spending another few hours in his shaded playpen, Clyde let loose and ran- not being leashed or enclosed by anything.

Speaking of him being enclosed, Clyde is beginning his crate training. In preparation for a family vacation (different family members arriving throughout for a while), my mom bought him a crate so he would have his own place, and somewhere safe to go in a house with 2 - 5 - 6 (plus a bigger dog) - 7. He is beginning to understand that it isn't a bad thing to be in it. Once again, Clyde has proven he is a smart, gentle, loving dog.

Clyde's Family Meeting

Two Grandparents, One Aunt, Two Cousins, One Friend, and One Bigger Dog. This was what met Clyde at his first outing besides walks since he arrived. My mom and I coaxed him into the car, though he was shaking and his tail was between his legs once he got there. It was as if he thought he was going to be returned to his shelter. With some gentle pets and strokes along his back he relaxed and we were on our way.

When we walked in through the garage, the two younger boys were playing in the pool. Sitting/standing around on the patio, was my other cousin, my grandparents, and my aunt. Oh, and I can't forget Newtown's Alpha Dog, Buddy. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Buddy's first reaction to us walking in with another dog. After a little while, I was in the pool and Clyde was safely being smelled through the holes of a small section of playpen. He calmly took in his surroundings and got comfortable in his little area.

Getting him into the car to go home was much easier than the first time. He hopped in himself and got up on the seat. Long live Clyde!

The Beginning of Clyde's Training

Today I began attempting to train Clyde to sit. The method I learned to use was having a treat in my hand and drawing it back over his head in the hope that his nose would follow it and he would sit at the same time. He is a very smart dog and did a very good job. He also knew when enough was enough, and walked off when he was done. It is a multiple day project- I still have to add the word sit, add distractions, and soon have him get used to doing it in different situations and places.

We also took him on a longer walk than usual today, and he really came out of his shyness shell, and began to lead me on his leash. The way he acted so shy at the shelter indicated that it could take weeks or months for him to adjust to a new home, but he is already doing great.

Clyde's Story

This is a blog about an adorable Dachshund named Clyde. On Saturday July 17, we adopted him from the Monroe Animal Shelter in Monroe, CT. The plan was to get a spaniel mix named Brownie, but when that didn't work, Clyde stole our hearts. He was living in the kennel with a group of small, jumpy, excitable, Jack-Russel Terriers. When the woman walked in to take a dog, they jumped all over her, begging to be taken out. Gentle Clyde simply sat down behind her and looked up patiently. The second time she went in, he was closer to the fencing keeping them in. As she moved towards him, Clyde's bouncy roommates jumped all over, and Clyde was pushed against the fence. He took it like a gentleman and never complained. My mom whispered to me, "We're taking him home." Once finally taken out of the kennel, Clyde hid behind her legs. As a group we walked over to a tree and sat in the shade. Clyde was shaking, shy and nervous. Eventually he allowed us to pet him, and began to relax. We decided to adopt him.

After that, we had to go through all the paperwork-where we learned Clyde had been a stray, and had been moved from South Carolina to New Jersey and finally to Connecticut,- but finally, Clyde was settled in the car next to me, on the way to is new home. Before we got there, Clyde was taken on a detour to meet my grandparents. We put him on the leash and took him to the large yard they had in front of the house. He pulled toward the road and barked, not liking the mail lady very much. Out came Grandma, Grandpa, and their dog Buddy. Bud was about twice the size of Clyde. He sniffed all over him, but no one got hurt. After some time alone, Clyde calmed down and it was time for him to see where he would spend the rest of his doggy years.

Arriving at my house, we took him into the back yard, just in case. He met my dad and sniffed around, but not much more than that. We took him in got him settled. Over the course of that day, he went on a few walks, ate his dinner, and decided he liked laying on the hearth-bed or no bed.

Thats the story of the day I adopted a dog named Clyde. Keep an eye out for more of his adventures.