Getting Into The Routine

We are coming up on two weeks since Rayzr has joined our home. He is starting to fall into the routine quite nicely. He is eating and drinking more regularly as he has settled in. He has even learned to use the adapter on the faucet outside. He has found not only is it good for a fresh drink, it is also good for a quick shower. He will often go over to the faucet and lean on it until he gets wet.

When he is inside, he is pretty good. We are still working with the begging, but he is learning, if he doesn't beg, he will get a treat after dinner. This method worked with breaking Sid of the begging. Though with Rayzr begging, Sid has become a bit more of a beggar lately as well. They are slowly calming down, depending on what is for dinner. I guess I can understand. There are certain foods I can't resist by the smell, so I guess they have their foods they really want because of the smell.

They are still improving greatly with chew toys and treats. They now know they are both getting the same, so they leave each other alone instead of investigating.

Rayzr relaxing with the tug rope

Rayzr is still finding which toys he likes to play with. He is happy if he has a chewy or a toy he can chew on. He seems to really like the one tug rope, but he still doesn't want to play tug. He has a thing about taking any toy to either the dog bed or under the table next to my chair. Sid has learned if he has a toy in one of those spots, it means that Rayzr wants to play by himself, and is getting better at leaving Rayzr alone. Now that they are getting into a routine and learning each other a bit better, it is making life pretty simple with them.

They do love to play outside together. They do their running and wrestling outside. I am not sure how my neighbors feel about it, however, since Rayzr can be a talkative dog. He has made Sid a bit more vocal, and both like to howl and bark when they are playing. Because of this, they can't play much outside at night. While husky howling is music to my ears, I understand that not everyone else feels the same way. They get talkative inside too. Rayzr is actually pretty easy to get talking. He has a beautiful singing voice.

As part of falling into the routine, I took Rayzr out for his first outing this past week. Sid had a vet appointment and had to be left for tests. When it was time to pick Sid up, Rayzr rode along. He does very well on car rides. He likes to lay down and prefers if the window is cracked so he can get some fresh air. We stopped at the pet store on the way home, and then by my parents' house. Rayzr was very well behaved at the store. When we walked past the bunnies, Sid wanted to climb in with them. Rayzr ignored them.

Rayzr working my Dad for a furever home

Rayzr has taken quite a liking to my Dad. Once we got there, we opened up the screen doors to the porch so the dogs could come and go. Rayzr investigated the back yard for a few minutes, then went straight to my father for attention. After getting pet for awhile, he laid at his feet for most of the visit. When my parents come here, he usually stays pretty close to my father. While Rayzr loves everyone, he does seem to take to males very quickly. I think one day my father will accept that he is a husky person. All I wanted in life was to have a husky companion. Every husky in my life has always attached themselves to him when he is around. I think the breed chose him and he just hasn't realized it yet.

While at my parents, we did a small animal test with Rayzr. My sister's two birds were still there, so we took him inside on the leash to see how he would react. He ignored them. Once we were confident he wasn't going to go nuts, we took him pretty close to the cages. Even with the African Grey growling at him (he growls at all dogs, and brooms, and mops....), Rayzr had absolutely no interest.

Dief searching for Snowball

I know from my experiences with Dief, this is a huge deal. I use to keep small animals when I lived in VA. I could never leave Dief unattended, even with them in their cages. I used to put the cages up high and in a room I could shut off from her to get her to leave them alone. The ferret's cage was taller then me, so the ferret could get away from her. Dief would often sniff at the cage and then lick the ferret as if she was tasting it. Snowball was smart enough to avoid her. I had a carrier for Snowball that I left below her cage. One time after using it, Dief went exploring and got her head stuck in it. The picture was not staged. Most husky lovers know that they often have a high prey drive. Some can be taught to respect other animals as members of the pack. Dief was ok with cats because she was raised with one. However, she was also raised with small animals. She always seemed to think of them as dancing chicken nuggets and hot dogs. It is a breath of fresh air to see Rayzr with the smaller animals. He really just has no interest in them what so ever, whether they are in a cage or running through the backyard. He even ignores the squirrels. If someone wants a laid back husky with no prey drive, I don't think they will do much better then Rayzr. He truly is a great dog.

I know there are some dog friendly events coming up that I would normally take Sid to. Rayzr will be coming with as well. And both events, the rescue has on their schedule. Once I lock in the plans for sure, I will be notifying them that I will be there with Rayzr. Hopefully, he will be able to meet more people and show them just what a great dog he is.

Rayzr relaxing and showing off his good looks