And then there were three

I am not 100% sure what we were thinking but, it is what it is. There are now three dogs in my house.

Saturday we drove down to Connecticut to get Gonzo from Aaron's mom and dad. It was a nice visit. He was very happy to see us.

He seemed to be looking for the dogs, and when Doug sat down he jumped up on the couch and cuddled with him.

This is something Aaron's dad says he's never done with him in the past 11 months or so that Gonzo's been with them. So he was amazed to see the affection.

We didn't bring the dogs with us because we didn't want them tied up all day at Aaron's parents' house while we went and had some fun beforehand. More on that later. The ride home was uneventful, filled with Guster and Geoff cuddling Gonzo while singing Mona Lisa. Very cute.

So we got home around 10pm, and unleashed the hounds...

and chaos ensued. Absolute, positive, unbridled chaos.

Jack was someone he already knew, so the two of them were cool as cats together. Brodie, on the other hand, was not well received.

There was biting, snarling, barking, growling... and all the while she's all like "Hi! How are you! I'm Brodie. Can I lick your eyeballs? That's my favorite thing to do!"

I unpacked some of his things, and when I picked up his food dish he went ballistic. He attacked Jack and Brodie, thinking I was going to feed him and that was HIS! Back Off! Go Away! MINE MINE MINE. So we Alpha Dogged him (grabbed by the throat and got in his face close) and he retreated.

I had never seen him do anything like that around food before, or even the thought of food. He was scary.

He hid under the dining table for the rest of the night, until it was bedtime. Then he found Geoff's bed, climbed up, and took a corner. He spent the night there. I didn't close the door or anything.

Monday morning dawned early. All I could hear was toenails clicking on the hardwood floor as two dogs paced the hallway in front of my bedroom. 6:50am? Sure, I'll get up on my day off and go on Dog Duty. I took them out, and set up food stations. One for Jack and Brodie, who have been used to grazing and eating whenever they feel like it... the other for Gonzo. Gonzo will eat an entire bag of dog food if you leave him unattended with it, so he gets fed about a cup in the morning, a cup in the afternoon. Aaron would prefer he eat less, but I'm noticing he does better if his belly is a little fuller and we are sure to get him out on a good walk.

The good thing is he won't eat unless his bowl is raised up a foot and a half or so. Jack and Brodie's dishes are flat on the floor, so he has all but ignored their food. That's good. It's when he gets fed his ration that I have to make sure the dogs are sequestered and apart. Good thing is, he inhales his food in about two seconds, so the process isn't long and drawn out.

They played in the yard, ate, ran, barked, peed on stuff, I brewed coffee and watched the wild rumpus. We sat down with my coffee and the morning news. I was incredibly shocked to hear of the death of Steve Irwin, and after the display of mad fangage the night before I actually thought of him and how he deals with the mad crocs. If he can do it, I can do it with a couple of dogs. And there he is, no more than 7 hours after my thoughts of him and his ability, and he's dead.

Wow. Sobering.

Doug woke up and was equally sad to hear the news of Irwin's death. We ate some breakfast and then we went for a long walk. One of our geocaches that we'd hidden had gone missing, according to a recent searcher. We confirmed that it was indeed gone, and took the dogs on a nice 2 mile circuit hike through that particular park. They also enjoyed a good swim, Gonzo and Jack out in the water while Brodie lost her little puppy mind trying to figure out how to get to them.

All dogs slept well last night. Gonzo is still baring his teeth at Brodie, especially if she comes close to his nose or paws. He's not liking that, but at least he's not eating her head.

And damnit if she just don't care none. Seriously. Dog just comes right back in for more. It so doesn't phase her. No fear.

Gonzo figured out last night how to jump our fence off the deck and run off, so he is not allowed up on the deck alone. We do not want to resort to leashing him when he goes out in the yard so this is a behavior we're going to have to change. Jess was out there throwing the tennis ball, and Jack and Brodie were all about going to get it. He sat on the deck, shifty eyed, waiting. And then he went.

So yeah. Fence? Taller. ASAP.

All told, when he is with just me he seems really happy. Same with Doug. Same with Jess. Same with Geoff. He is very used to being an only child. And that's all got to change. Hence, he does seem a bit mournful and sad. He's not running and playing like I always remembered him in Maine. But hopefully he'll come 'round and be the happy old dog I remember.

I have to go make dinner. I'll write again later on. I want to get this posted before we eat.

Hang tightly - I'll be right back.