Turbo is adjusting well..
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
April 27, 2013 9:05am CST
We brought Turbo home yesterday afternoon from a shelter. You really never know what you're getting when you get a new dog. We knew he was hyper. He did well when he met the kids on Thursday. They did introduce him to a cat at the shelter because I told them we had cats at home and he did fine with that. Still, little meetings here and there aren't enough to give you an idea of how a dog is going to act in your home. I had worries and fears..
But Turbo is doing just fine!
After some running around yesterday, he was perfectly content to lounge on the sofa letting the kids love him. He likes being near the kids, he doesn't like letting them out of his sight.
He had 1 accident in the house when we first got him here. Since then he has gone everytime we take him out. House breaking may not be as hard as I thought.. but so far we've been taking him out a lot.. so time will tell if he can hold it when he's inside for longer than a few minutes! LOL
The kids adore having him, haven't left him alone at all. And they like taking him outside. In the hour I've been awake the dog has been outside most of the time. Each kid wants a turn walking him. And when hubby gets home from work he'll want to walk him too! The puppy is getting a lot of exercise! I'm sure this will calm down once everyone gets used to having him around.
The cats aren't quite sure what to think. They've spent most of their time upstairs avoiding the dog. They'll come down to eat or use their litter but won't take their eyes off the dog. 2 of the cats have tried to get a sniff of him, but they're very cautious. The dog pretty much just sits there watching them. He doesn't run after them so that's good. One of the cats did get a little too close for his liking and he growled a bit, but didn't snap or move. Then he got a quick sniff of the cat's tail. In time I'm sure they'll all be good friends.
We put the dog in a crate when we went to bed. He didn't make a single sound. He was content in his crate overnight and probably slept off all the excitement of the day. Then when the kids woke up they took him out and have been playing with him and loving him up ever since.
He's a quite dog.. doesn't bark at much. When we took him out yesterday he did whimper when he couldn't reach the kids.. but he hasn't made a single sound at all inside the house (minus the growl at the cat).
I think we got lucky with Turbo.. he's a great fit to our family.
We all just need some time to adjust!
When was the last time you got a new pet? How long did it take for everyone to adjust?
4 people like this
9 responses
@AmbiePam (93831)
• United States
29 Apr 13
That is absolutely wonderful! For most of my life I got all my pets from shelters. And hopefully someday when I can get an additional dog I'll be going to our local shelter again. It is so cool that Turbo is so protective to your children. He sounds like a winner. I hope the "newness" of the dog doesn't wear off. You'll probably be stuck with a lot of the walking and feeding. But then again, you have older kids and they are at an age when they actually respond better to responsibility. I hope you take a lot of pictures and post them here!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
29 Apr 13
I've been posting a bunch on Facebook and Bubblews.. and as soon as Gather is up and running again they'll all be up there!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Apr 13
Oh I just remembered a funny story I'll have to share!
@GardenGerty (160933)
• United States
27 Apr 13
It has been many years since we have gotten a new pet. I think Turbo slept well in the crate because he got to play hard all day, and perhaps he is used to something like that because of the shelter. I can just imagine all the fun he is having with your family and your family is having with him. It does sound like a really good fit.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
27 Apr 13
Yes he did have a very exciting day yesterday! So far it is a very good fit.
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
28 Apr 13
Fantastic!! I checked your profile to see if you had discussions up about Turbo coming home and, sure enough, there they were! I'm really happy for you and your family 
Sounds like he will be a great dog with your children and that's so important. I hope the kids will keep up their enthusiasm for walking him and giving him lots of exercise... because a tired dog is a well-behaved dog, for sure! Awesome news! Keep us posted on how it's going too! 
Sounds like he will be a great dog with your children and that's so important. I hope the kids will keep up their enthusiasm for walking him and giving him lots of exercise... because a tired dog is a well-behaved dog, for sure! Awesome news! Keep us posted on how it's going too! @katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Apr 13
So far the kids love having him around! He's great inside the house.. doesn't get hyper inside at all. He generally just hangs out on the sofa.. outside is another story. I don't know what's up with him out there.. if he needs a longer leash, needs to run more or what? We've gotta work on that!
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
28 Apr 13
I'm glad to hear things are going well!
The last time my family got a new pet was a baby chick. It didn't take long for the family to adjust to it, but then again we hardly consider it a pet! LOL
The last time we got a pet that needed time to adjust to had to be our current dog. My husband, our youngest, and myself took to her quickly. However, our oldest, who is autistic, did not. I don't remember how long it took him, maybe a week or two before he finally accepted her as part of the family. It was worth the wait though. They are really good friends now! 
Happy mylotting!
Happy mylotting!
@Firestorm0122 (735)
• United States
27 Apr 13
Congratulations on Turbo! I'm sure in time he will adjust to your home and to the cats. When I was a teenager, my mother surprised me with a visit to the animal shelter and we adopted a Siberian/Collie mix who was scheduled to be euthanized that same day. It took Lassie three months to adjust to the house, and one year to adjust to life outside. She had a fear of other dogs. When she turned two, someone stole her from our fenced in property. We never found her and back at that time, Craigslist wasn't even thought of. I miss her very much to this day, even though it's been well over fifteen years ago.
Today I own three dogs, one another I rescued as a tiny pup and had to bottle feed, the second who my cousin gave to me, and the third I inherited from my dad when he passed away. I also have four cats, three rescues, and one who was born in this house.
I believe Turbo will be just fine. He'll get accustomed to the cats, and before you know it they'll be rubbing up against him, sleeping next to him, and more. He may even come to protect them like my dogs do with my cats.
We have several animal shelters around here too, but I really do wish they were able to give the dogs more of a chance. Maybe even do a rent a dog a day with people who are feeling lonely. A girl did this experiment with rent a dog and it worked. Several dogs were adopted at her local shelter. Now we do have a pet stores that sell puppies. But these facilities are always clean, the pups groomed and vaccinated, and there are signs that warn people to not touch the pups for fear of getting them sick. But I detest pet shelters that do not keep clean facilities, and do not care for their animals.
Quite happy for you and Turbo!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
28 Apr 13
That is so sad about your first dog :(
I'm glad your mother introduced you to adopted pets though.. I'm so happy yours have gotten a 2nd chance!
@ctryhnny (3460)
• United States
27 Apr 13
I"ve had my cats for about 2 years and I got them from a woman who was going to have them put to sleep. They are 7 & 8 years old but full of spunk! I'm happy that you got him at a shelter. I don't understand why people buy pets at pet stores when there are so many that need a good home. I wish you luck with Turbo. He sounds like an awesome dog.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
27 Apr 13
I saw a documentary on pet store pets and they generally come with so many health problems, they'll cost you thousands in the long run. By getting a pet from a shelter you know it's been checked by a vet, usually comes with shots, might come already fixed. My dog came chipped and the shelter covers the chip for the first year. Plus the shelters try to place the pets in appropriate homes.. they know if the animals are okay around small kids, smaller pets, cats, dogs.. etc so they can tell you if it's the right fit for you based on what you already have at home. My dog had to be tested with cats because I have 3 cats at home.
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
27 Apr 13
Sounds as if everything is going great. The cats will become accustomed to him over time and the same goes for him. It is great that he is settling in so well. I am sure glad he does not cry when you put him in the carrier overnight. That would not be a good thing. Nothing worse than a crying puppy. I wonder how much trouble you will have with Turbo when the kids go to school on Monday?
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
27 Apr 13
He doesn't seem to do too bad when we leave the house, as long as he's inside the house. When we left last night to pickup my daughter from a school dance, my oldest had the dog outside, and he whined when we left him. But this morning I had to run to the store and took the kids with me, and he did fine. My oldest stayed home with him to keep an eye on things, and when I walked out the door the dog was just sitting on the sofa watching me leave. Didn't whine, bark, or move.
Hubby says at one point in the night the dog did flip out while in his crate, so hubby let him out, and the dog went to the door and pooped. So he must already be crate trained! That's great!
