Red made it to his FUR-ever Home.
Red is a Dogue De Bordeaux AKA French Mastiff. If you have ever seen the movie Turner and Hooch….Hooch was the dog in that movie and that is this breed. They are smaller than an English mastiff…but a little more muscular and bulky. But so far from what I can tell…many of the same characteristics. Very loyal, love being with their people, sweet and cuddly.
Red is home. This became a bigger deal than we originally thought. We thought he could make a quick 2 hour flight from my brother’s house to ours…and that is no longer the case because this breed has been put on the no fly list. They have a short snout and it poses problems…usually in hot temps. Which is not the case currently …but it was a hassle. So my Brother and Sister in law drove him up and delivered him. I am so grateful. :)
We named him Red for several reasons…..1. Rob and I can’t agree on names and it was at least a month long discussion….ask everyone around us. LOL 2. Dogue DeBordeaux’s are classified as red in color. 3. We have Elvis….Elvis ( the singer) had a bodyguard -manager named Red. We also have Gracie= Graceland. So we have a whole theme happening and we didn’t even plan it.
I am not a HUGE fan of the name Red…but it’s growing on me. However, I am a HUGE fan of my dogue. :)
He has the sweetest. Very calm personality. Elvis is almost a year old now and for those that have little dogs…I guess you are aware of how high maintenance they are, they think they know everything…they aren’t very loyal. LOL That’s what I have been dealing with. All of my big dogs are loyal, sweet, obedient and low maintenance. Well Red is also shaping up to be that way as well. What I love about my Gracie ( she is an English Mastiff) is that she completely and totally trusts me…she will let me pet any where on her face…I will also lift up her face and press my face into her big squishy face and kiss her and love on her..and she totally relishes in that. Red lets me do that same thing. It’s those wrinkly faces that make me want to do that to them. None of my other dogs will let me do that.
So far he is learning the command “sit.” We are potty training and he is doing OK. He and Elvis are typical brothers. They play all the time..and get into little scuffles every now and again. Over bones or territory. But Elvis shockingly enough brought a bone onto the dog bed for them to share…they each had a side and spent time working on it together. Which was adorable. The biggest struggle I have is that his sleep patterns are off. Like any baby…we have to sleep train him. I struggle with sleeping anyway..and when I am finally in a deep sleep is when he decides to wake up in his kennel. Which we keep right next to our bed. So it hasn’t been pleasant. That’s at 4 am. So we are learning bad habits. I don’t typically let dogs sleep in our bed. But I have learned that if I take him out to go potty and put him on the bed with us he will sleep until I wake up. Desperate times call for desperate measures. LOL.
He has picked up on breakfast time….I make the dogs a hot breakfast in the morning along with canned food. I also take them on walks…and the minute I get up in the morning they are all in a flurry waiting for breakfast ect. He has picked up on that …he is crazy about his treats and breakfast.
He pretty much just likes to see me ..and he will just lay around and wait for me to move to another room….unless he is playing with Elvis or sitting in front of the fire with Rob….(when Rob is home) he is watching me, following me and waiting for any love.
It’s very distracting because I just want to kiss his little face.
I admit that 4 dogs is a bit much. But Gracie is at the end of her life and she will feel good having someone to take the reigns for her. Gracie is my protector and she would absolutely lay down her life for me. I appreciate that so much. She is very loyal and protective of me especially…..and I am hoping Red will grow up to learn those things.
I get so much love and therapy from each of these dogs in their own way. They are keeping me sane, happy and they brighten my days so much. I pretty much can’t imagine how I would be getting along without them. I get to nurture them, love them, spoil them and laugh at all of their funny antics. What I have learned about myself is that I need to be nurturing something…whether it was my children, a garden, my animals….ect. So it seems only natural for me to be doing this in this stage of my life. I won’t be the crazy dog lady…and we aren’t getting any more…this is enough. But this transition in our lives has been devastating and these dogs are easing that pain for all of us. They give me something to look forward to each day. I get fresh air when I take them on their walks, I get to cook somebody a meal, and I get those precious cuddles that mean so much. Dogs can never be overrated. Seriously.
I hope you all have a good day! I gotta go squish that wrinkly face for a few minutes before I start another quilt.
xoxox
