Tucker Test Drive!

[middleeye]

I went to see Tucker today. The wonderful woman at the rescue emailed me to ask if I could move it up from Saturday. We got along great at her house, so she asked me if I would like to take him home until tomorrow evening to see how we get on at my place.
He is the cutest little varlet. He has already whined at the door once to let me know he had to go potty. At first I thought maybe he was whining because he wanted to get away! But I figured I better take him for a walk and sure enough. I was worried that maybe he would be the type that can't poop while on a leash. Our last dog would look at you like you were nuts and just stand there if you were on the other end of a leash while he was trying to go. Ha. He would wait a long time too...Anyway, don't have that problem with Tuck.
Sure, he has only been here for a few hours...But I think I am in love. He is very friendly and alert, interested in everything and he will go off exploring, but if he hears me stand up he'll run and stick his head around the corner to see what I am doing. We live in the world's smallest condo, so even when he goes "across the house" he is only a few strides away.
Of course it will be impossible to tell how he is going to like it here in such a short period of time, but at least it will let me see if he's right for me.

[Michael Romanos]

This is all marvellous news. A lovely behaved gentleman of a Corgi who has been looking for a deserving home and a mum and family for a while. Guess he's got it.
Corgis are adaptable - that is one of their major traits. A small home is no problem as long as there is a big wide world out yonder and he gets to see and experience a little of it.
Yoi are fortunate to have a Corgi who tells you when he wants to go to the toilet. Taylor has never uttered a word about wanting to go nor made any appearance at a door leading to outside, but very occasionally he gets a little unsettled and restless which is a signal to me he wants to go on the toilet walk. Corgis are generally more at home being off leash and selecting a good place for them to go and poop. Some do not enjoy being stared at when they are in the toilet process.

[minnesotaCorgi]

After reading your first post explaining the history of your previous dog, it's very nice to hear that things are off to a positive start with Tucker. When challenges do present themselves, I think your prior experiences will serve you well. Keep us posted...and keep the lovely corgi pictures coming!

[Jane Austen]

How fortunate for all of us that we don't have the wait to see how you get along with Tucker. Each story of rescue is so exciting. I love to read about how we find our pets, and name them, etc... So if things continue along, are you keeping Tucker with you? Why did the woman say you were to keep him only until tomorrow evening? Are his eyes light?
I have some advice you may not need but thought I may as well say it anyway. While corgis bond well with their caregiver, they have the tendency to bolt after anything that runs. It would be good to let him off leash in a controlled situation but be sure he is safe before doing so. Do you have a dog park or large area where he can do some off leash exercising?
You didn't say what area of the world you live in? Can you give us a general idea of your surroundings?
Duchess and I live in a coastal town on the Mass/NH border. There are some places I can take her off leash, but more and more places leashes are required.
Duchess is also very concientious about letting me know when she has to go out. And she will potty while on the lead but likes to move as far from me as possible when she does.
best wishes to you and Tucker. Keep us posted, Jane

[middleeye]

Well, Tucker is here and very excited about everything. He is a lovely dog. His eyes are an odd color. They're brown, but a very light brown and very noticeable from far away.
I'll tell you what I know about his history before I continue. Tucker was bought at a puppy from an unknown source and then his owner injured his front somehow. They didn't want to pay the vet bills so they dropped him off at a dog "rescue". They picked just about the worst one they could and for the next few years Tucker lived in a cage outdoors with no medical attention given to his leg at all.
Somehow or another that "shelter" was shut down and Tucker went to the corgi rescue. The lady says that the vet has told her Tucker's leg isn't causing him any trouble, but that he'll probably develop arthritis in it as he ages.
Tucker does limp slightly, but his leg doesn't seem to hurt him. He runs up and down stairs and trots on walks, but when he's standing still he stands with that leg held up.
Being in the apartment made him very nervous last night. Our walls are annoyingly thin and almost every one of my neighbors is loud, so he was up most of the night growling and barking at everyone. Ha.
He is a great dog, but I am a little worried about his leg. Bingo (or Ringo. If you ever see me calling our old dog Ringo it's because he acquired two names through the years. My mom called him Ringo, but he answered better to Bingo which is what I called him) had a hip that was damaged somehow when he was a puppy and he had some bad arthritis with it when he was older. So I am already familiar with this problem, even though ole' Bing didn't limp or hold any of his legs off the ground...
I really love Tucker already, but I always hear "Pick a dog with your head, not your heart." and I am wondering if maybe it would be a mistake to adopt a dog that has a potentially serious medical problem...

[middleeye]

Oh and the area where we live is a very nice part of Houston called The Woodlands. There are a lot of parks around, but I think all of them are "leash-on" parks. I'm not really sure how I feel about dog parks. They were not too big of a thing when Bingo was young and I have actually never even seen one. A place where a lot of people release a lot of dogs no one knows into a park together just sounds like a recipe for disaster. I'm not sure that I would feel comfortable turning my dog loose in one. I know that Bingo would have gotten into at least one fight if I had ever taken him to one. For some reason we never figured out Bingo absolutely hated dark colored dogs.
Anyway, there are lots of places around to walk a dog, but I don't think there's anywhere he could run free.

[Jane Austen]

Duchess snarls and growls at dogs that come too too close to her, but she doesn't get into fights or nip. Most of the dogs at the park are socialized fairly well. In fact they do better off lead than on as far as being friendly to each other.
It does bother me that Tucker will not have a chance to run free in the outdoors, at least occasionally.
You would be wise to "pick a dog with your head, and not your heart" but again that is not something I could do. From what you have said of Tucker I would take him if I could adopt another dog with Duchess in the house. But if he is not going to be comfortable with the noise in your building that is one reason not to keep him.
Do a seach on this website of Twinkie? I think that was the name. She has one foot missing. Nice dog that got a second chance for a happy home.
Thank you for the story and the location. There are other gocorgi members from Houston. Maybe some are near enough to you to arrange a playdate and they may know some dog friendly parks.
I believe you will make the right choice for both you and Tucker. Jane

[middleeye]

Thanks Jane! I'll have to make a thread to try to find some corgi people in Houston.
I think I am going to move ahead with adopting Tucker. I am not so much worried about me being able to care for him with his bad leg, but he doesn't seem to enjoy the stairs at our building. He doesn't have any trouble with the stairs in his foster home, but our stairs are open-backed concrete ones and they seem to cause him some aggravation. He pretty much runs up them sideways on three legs. I'll have to ask her if he climbs her stairs the same way. Maybe it is normal for him. I've noticed he does start to limp fairly badly after about a ten minute walk. I'll have to talk to her about that too.
Well, I am going to go watch the Preakness now and see if Street Sense or Hard Spun win.
More soon!

[middleeye]

Oh and thank you Minnesota and Michael! I forgot to thank you in my earlier replies for your input.
The death of our chow was hard, but it was time for him to go and I think that since he had the same problem just in a different leg I am probably the most qualified person to take on Tucker. At least I have already been there with another dog. It didn't effect ole Bing any except that he couldn't go running or on a very long walk without coming back limping severely and he needed medication in his older years.

[Michael Romanos]

Tucker's bad leg is a problem - perhaps a fairly major one, but you have undertaken to take Tucker in and give him the best treatment that you can afford. There is a marvellous natural remedial medication for arthritis that only comes from New Zealand. I have temporally lost the name of it - but it contains green mussel extract, shark cartilage and deer velvet. A pet shop, pharmacist or vet clinic in the USA may be able to access the capsules. If you want more info let me know. It sounds like Tucker has some cartilage and/or ligament damage to one of his front legs and it wasn't properly treated. So he will have a limp whenever he extends himself and he will get arthritis in the next few years.

[middleeye]

Thanks Michael. I'll keep you all posted on what happens next!

[Philbiker]

You are doing a wonderful thing by adopting Tucker. Both my dogs are adopted, one resuced from a local pound one adopted from friends. It's a great way to get a great dog and give them the great life they deserve. However, it can come with health problems. Our Newman has his share of them. But it's so worth it. The corgi in my avatar is a Tucker, too.