Poodle Problems

I guess some of you have been wondering why the lack of blogging? Let me explain...

I've tried to be honest with the Gypsy/Rim situation in the house. Gypsy is a quirky old gal and has had difficulty adjusting to having a big playful guy around like Rim. I was hoping maybe when we got him a maternal side of Gypsy would come out but that never happened. She would have periods of time where she would seem to like having him around but, as he grew older she really didn't want much to do with him. She would be depressed for days at a time. She would refuse to eat, lost weight, and she lost some hair in spots we think from stress. Please know that none of this was due to anything Rim was doing with bad intent. He is just a big, playful boy that wanted to be close to both me and Sandi. The problem was Gypsy is used to being close to us and she would just lower her head and go off by herself and get depressed further. I could give you many examples of the things that caused Gypsy to stress out with the presence of Rim. None of them with malicious intent on the part of Rim.

So Sandi and I began the discussion of what would be the best thing for all concerned. We came to the conclusion that probably the best thing for both Gyp and Rim would be if we could find another home for Rim. I had mixed feelings about this at first. Rim was not behaving bad, he was actually being the normal dog and Gypsy is the one that was being difficult. Sandi met with our Vet and discussed the situation and the Vet confirmed that sometimes rehoming a dog can be the best thing to do. The problem was, where could he go? We had to make sure he would go into a perfect situation.

Several weeks ago, while attending a funeral, Sandi was talking to her cousin (aka: Cuz) about the Gypsy/Rim dilemma. Cuz lives in North Carolina and has an older female Standard Poodle. A big gal that unlike Gypsy, is very Alfa. The more they discussed the Rim issue, the more Cuz thought it would be a great idea for she and her family to adopt Rim. In addition to the big white Standard she has a few young boys that were excited beyond belief about getting another dog. One of the problems with Gypsy was that she never tried to be the Alfa dog with Rim. She didn't want Rim to be Alpha but couldn't be Alph herself. I think we had a dysfunctional pack. In NC Cuz felt that her dog would make it quite clear to Rim that she was the queen of the house. So Sandi and I agreed that having Rim move in with Cuz was a great idea and the best thing for all concerned. Cuz has plans on continuing training with Rim and get him into being a therapy dog. He will excel at just about anything Cuz throws his way.

Sandi and Cuz met in Virginia a few days ago and made the Rim hand off. It was a sad day for me but I kept telling myself that it was the best thing for Rim and Gypsy. Cuz took a picture of Rim laying in the back seat with his head propped on her sons lap on the drive to his new home. That made me feel better. Cuz and her family are thrilled with Rim and he is adjusting with ease. Gypsy is wagging her tail again. Believe me, we had not seen the tail wag much for the last few months. She is still a picky eater but I am working on that. We took a walk by ourselves this morning. Something that Gypsy and I hadn't been dong much of lately. Gypsy had the spring in her step again, smile back on her face during the entire walk. She is happy again.

We will see Rim from time to time. Cuz and Sandi are talking about a poodle reunion in a few months. We've been swamped with video and pictures of Rim playing in his new yard and making new friends. I'll keep you posted on Rim (aka: Meatloaf)