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Our New Puppy, Nala

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On July 4th, my husband and I were driving through the rainforest in a heavy storm towards a farm fundraiser.  Our little island truck, Josie was already struggling through all the rocky, muddy patches and we were dealing with limited visibility when we slid down a hill and had the most difficult time trudging back up through the wet craters in the road made even more treacherous by the exposed rocks from the rain.  It was as we were nearing a clearing when J spotted a small, squirming body by the side of the road.  We turned around to investigate to realize that the tiny trembling body belonged to a scared and wet puppy.  At first, she refused to let us come closer, shrieking anytime we would inch up.  We were all getting soaked and you could see how hard she was shaking so J braved an encounter and she bit down hard on his fingers, twice.  However, once she was in our arms, she immediately melted and cuddled onto our laps.  We dried her off and gave her food and water.  Poor girl was so tired that she pretty much fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon, despite the crazy bumpy ride ahead.

We did finally make it to the fundraiser and after all the initial excitement, she was also introduced to some 25 new faces on the 4th of July, complete with banging fireworks in the background.  What a day!  It still wasn’t over.  When we arrived home, she was met by the loud welcome committee of 6 dogs.  We joked that having had a day like that would prepare her for anything that was to come.  One of our friends was nice enough to lend us a crate and when we put her in it, she pretty much howled for the rest of the night.  We didn’t get much sleep that first night but the second night, she barely made a peep.

She’s fine enough to be in the crate if we’re in the same house but the moment she can’t see or hear us, she freaks out.  So far, we’ve been scheduling “alone time” for her and I’ve   made a few simple toys to keep her company, our friends have given us a few raw hide pieces to stimulate her and we make sure she gets ton of exercise and hope that in time, her separation anxiety will dissipate.

So far, she has a sweet and gentle disposition, especially for being {what we think} is 6 months old and having been a wild dog.  But no matter how regularly we feed her, poor girl is constantly scanning the ground for food.  She’s taken to a collar and leash well and even allows us to bathe and handle her.  That first day, we spent a large part of it handpicking out all the dead fleas from her pink, battered body.  A combination of fresh lemon juice, raw apple cider vinegar and castile soap seemed to do the trick of killing off her fleas.  I followed it up with a rub down of coconut oil on her and she’s been flea free since.

Now, we’re just teaching her to eat proper food versus trash and acclimating her to the ocean.  She didn’t seem to like it at first but I think she’s coming around.  I’m a bit worried about her water intake.  In the last 2 days I’ve been monitoring her, her appetite has grown  but she barely drinks any water.  I was wondering if that was normal?

Let me know if you have any advice, I would love to know.

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2 thoughts on “Our New Puppy, Nala

  • brian says:

    it may take a week for the dog considering its’ previous circumstances to adjust because not used to getting fresher water ,or food is filling dog up if wetter food because not used to getting regular food. make sure it non-chlorinated water(spring). but usually it because nervous. if after a week and not drinking or starting to look dehydrated then take to a vet.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thanks for this, Brain! I’ve been watching her closely and though her appetite grows, she literally won’t take a sip from her water dish. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s only been like, 3 days. Thanks for the advice, Brain! I appreciate you =)

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