I got a call last week from a woman in the Pittsburgh area who needed to rehome the family Weim. His prey drive with small animals in the home was causing problems with not only the small animals, but her young sons, who didn't understand the concept of nature and prey drives.
Before I picked Harley up on Wednesday I had seen a photo of him and knew he was overweight and the family said he weighed 110 pounds, but I still wasn't prepared for what I saw when I met him. This was one fat Weim. The saddest part for me is that he is a young dog, his 3rd birthday will be tomorrow, January 30th.
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| Here is one of the photos we were send of Harley. In time I will take some photos to post. |
Thank goodness we took a ramp with us when we picked him up, as we were able to load Harley into our SUV and into the crate with very little trouble. He was a good traveler and didn't complain about being crated. He loves to ride in the car.
Once we got Harley home we introduced him to Rigby outside and then took him into the house to get familiar with his new surroundings. Then we brought Rigby in and let them see each other in the house. Things went well and later that night the two of them played together nicely with lots of play bows and silly Weim games.
Harley was re-introduced to being crated and is spending his nights in the crate. He has had some separation issues in the past, and we're hoping this renewed crate training will help him adjust to being alone and able to tolerate distance from people in a healthier fashion.
To also aid in combating his anxieties when away from people, we have decided that he won't be allowed on the couch with us. He is very clingy to Dan and I already and can be a bit obnoxious. When he lays on the couch he wants to lay on top of you and "hold on to you" with his paw. By training him to lay on a dog bed on the floor we're hoping to help him to start being a bit more independent.
Today Harley went to the vet for a checkup. He was very well behaved and greeted several strangers and the vet staff in a nice way and the staff commented on what a nice Weim he is. He was brave and tolerated his examination very well. He got on the scale without too much trouble and we found out that he weighs 123.7 pounds! Otherwise, he seems to be healthy and just needs to lose weight.
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| Harley's measurements are girth 40 inches and waist 36 inches. |
On our way home from the vet we drove through the local McDonald's because Dan wanted a fish sandwich, as he had not yet eaten lunch. When we got to the window to get our food, the woman working there was so happy to see the Weim in the crate in our SUV. She told us that she used to have a Weim, Chance, who she lost when he was 15 years old. She got so excited when I told her that Harley was a rescue and would be up for adoption in time. I gave her the name of the rescue and suggested she check it out.
I pulled out of the drive-thru, not wanting to hold up the people behind me and drove away. Then I realized I had one of my rescue cards on me and that I should give her the information in case she really was interested, so we turned around and went back to the McDonald's. I went inside and I was able to speak with the lady (she was the manager) and give her the card. She was still quite interested and had to show me a photo of her Weim on her cell phone.
Don't know if she'll follow through with an application, but it really seemed so coincidental that we went to a restaurant we rarely frequent and at that moment she was the person at the drive-thru window to see Harley in our car.
Well, time for me to get Harley out of the crate and work on his new behavior of staying off the couch and laying on the dog bed. I'll give more updates on Harley as his time here goes on.
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