twiglet's heir

so...there's a Paddles in the house. Fetched him from the rescue centre on Thursday, introduced him to the boys, which went well, and am now trying to learn how to handle an abused dog.

He's called Paddles, because the tendons in his legs aren't strong enough to hold his paws in the right position, due to malnutrition. About a year old, and from the sounds of it, spent most of that chained so tightly that he had to defecate where he lay. How do you housetrain a dog that has never had a house? There have been a few accidents so far, and all I'm doing is saying 'no' gently, if I see him. And conversely, praising him and playing with him when he does something outside. He has already picked up quite a bit of weight since his rescue, and learned to trust the clinic manager. Now he's starting to trust me - just a bit. I can't give him a dog chew, because the twig-shape scares him. I have to call them all, let him see the others take theirs and then toss his gently towards him, and once he knows he can't be hit with it, he'll take it. Often he'll hide in a corner, or in the fireplace. He and CJ are almost always together which I'm sure will help, although CJ keeps knocking him over by mistake. I'm hoping that he'll see that CJ is happy, secure and knows he is loved - although that was dubious this morning when a half-chewed, soggy cow hoof was dropped in the bath with me, because he'd just eaten the last tennis ball.....

Meds and mood are so nowhere at the moment. Not sure whether it's a Ket reaction or just getting new meds into system, but I am either sleepy, anxious or irritable. Or all 3. Only good thing is that the anxiety bit means I have been doing things around the house and garden to try and stop myself from pacing or sleeping all day. I'm still so disappointed about the Ket - just about all the results have shown positive effects for everyone, even if only short-lived. Guess alien is leading the pack on the options for my genotype.