Introducing a new pet into the family

I have been quiet here on my blog and with good reason! We have a new furry family member, and we have been devoting a good chunk of our time to getting her settled.

Introducing Mia. 

Mia is ten months old, and is 3/4 kelpie and 1/4 border collie. She started her life on a large sheep property, but for a variety of reasons, she didn't take to the herding life. A major factor would be that she is super timid around other creatures and gives them a very wide berth whenever she can - not a great personality trait for a working dog, but perfect for a couple of humans looking for a companion to share their home and the wide open spaces at Bountiful. 

We prayed long and hard into the acquisition of a dog. Pets are a lifetime commitment, and we needed to be certain we could provide a loving, permanent home. We both wanted a dog that would be happy with car travel, as we do such a lot of it between our work in Sydney and Bountiful. If we could find one that would love to go on lots of walks, but would also be content to chill out indoors with us, we would be happy.

Mia is perfect for us. She's not too big, not too small. Just right.

It has certainly been an adventure so far. As she came from the land and was used to the outside life, absolutely everything in our life was new to her. To ride inside a car. To be inside a house. To walk on carpet, tiles or laminate floor - the latter proving to be a slippery challenge if she moved too quickly. The biggest change though, is human companionship. Working dogs are bred to work, and whilst they hold enormous value in the eyes of their owners for the job they do, it isn't the done thing to show them affection. In that respect, they aren't pets, they're workers. It has taken Mia some time to realise that we want her company, and to shower her with affection is going to be her new normal.

I have always had dogs, but for the most part they have been male, and the one female we did have came to us already desexed from the RSPCA. So, my experience with fertile female dogs is definitely light on. Imagine my surprise when my son Andrew came and asked me whether female dogs had periods?

"No!" I scoffed. "That's a human thing".

Well, little did I know! As Mia continued to drop blood, we consulted Professor Google and discovered that this is a normal occurrence in female dogs when they come into heat, their fertile time for breeding. It's not a period as we gals would know it, but it is similar, and only lasts a few weeks until the next time of heat, which in a dog Mia's size could be another year away. We had planned to have her desexed, but we have since consulted our vet and that has to be put off for a little while until this season for her is done. In the meantime, I have been doing lots of washing to ensure she has clean bedding. She is such a gentle sweetheart, it's a labour of love for me.

The property we work on is 54 acres, so each morning we're up and out of bed to take Mia for a walk. We began on a lead, but as we all got used to each other, it wasn't long before we could take her off lead and it gives us such pleasure to see her run freely. She never goes out of our sight, and when there is a group of us, she is constantly coming back to those at the rear and making sure they aren't falling behind - probably her herding instinct at work. In our efforts to keep fit over the past eighteen months, we have been keeping track of our steps each day. The physio tells me that motion is lotion for my back, and since Mia came along, we sure are moving, and blitzing our previous step counts as a result. 

High on my list of considerations when thinking about having a pet dog was that my resident furbaby, my cat Zara would not be displaced by a new addition. Zara has been my constant companion and mouse-catcher since our move to more rural surroundings - she came to us as a tiny four week old kitten, rescued by my softie son Andrew, and is now eight years old. It was very much my heart that having a dog wouldn't ruin our special relationship, but the early interactions between Mia and Zara did give me cause for concern. As they would eyeball each other, I wasn't sure which of the two was the more fearful and skittish. Cam laughs that he now has two neurotic females to deal with - and if I'm having a bad day, he makes it three!

It has taken some time but there are hopeful signs their relationship might be thawing. I knew Zara's food bowl would be easy pickings for Mia, so I moved it and her water bowl into my study, the room where she spends most of her time when she is inside. We have put a chair in the doorway which she can freely go under to get in and out, and the chair and the regular use of 'no' have ensured so far that Mia has stayed away. As Zara hates car travel, she stays home when we travel to Bountiful and this gives her a break from having the dog around, and also allows her to have Andrew to herself - which suits her just fine.

Mia has taken well to sleeping on her bed at night without moving, and given she has had to get used to routines in two different houses, she is doing really well, with no inside accidents. She is a cluey girl, with the smarts that kelpies are reknowned for. We are yet to hear her bark, but she will whine to let us know she isn't happy - and if she sees us head off to work or go out in the car without her, she does howl. We're hoping that will settle down as she becomes more secure with us, and knows we will always come back.

I am sure that as long as this blog continues, Mia will feature as prominently as she now does within our little family unit.

To share your life with pets is the best.

Do you have pets that give you joy? Please share 😸🐶

The song for this post? Love Me, Love My Dog by Pete Shelley. This gem is from the mid 1970's and I chose this particular clip because it brought back so many memories of that time - television, fashion, hairstyles ... awkward, but honest 💗

Tracey

With thanks to the YouTube channel of fritz51175 for Love Me, Love My Dog 1974 by Pete Shelley.