Dizzie's first couple of weeks have been a whole series of new things and adventures. Her ride down from Odessa was long, and she was a nervous wreck for the first few hours. Mom and dad got her out of the truck a few times at some rest stops, but she was always ready to get back in. She did perk up some on their last stop, though, but was nervous when they all arrived at my house. Something new...again.
As soon as we fed her that night, she sort of settled in, but then we encountered our first major obstacle: the stairs. She didn't want to have anything to do with them at all. Several subsequent attempts at the stairs have been unsuccessful, and I've tried just about everything I know to try, from trying to lead her up the stairs on the leash after a long walk, to baiting her with treats, to carrying her part of the way up. She'll come down the stairs just fine, but she won't go up them right now. As a result of her fear of the stairs, I ended up "camping" downstairs with her the first two nights (all bedrooms in this house are upstairs) on my blow-up mattress so she wouldn't feel abandoned. The third night, I carried her all the way up - and all the way down the next morning. Let me tell you - she's HEAVY!!! But so far she seems content to sleep downstairs, especially since she's discovered the couch!
I've also had her out on regular walks. The first day was just a short walk around the block and to the mailbox just to see how she would do on the leash. She did great, so I began upping the distance we walked every day. We're currently at 2.3 miles per day, and we are both really enjoying the walks. Dizzie also draws a lot of attention from the neighbors that happen to be out and about when we're walking.
After the first week, it was time for a visit to the vet. She was about a month or so past due on her shots anyway, so she needed to go. I also found out that the previous owners didn't have her on heartworm preventative. Down here, it is imperative to have dogs on heartworm medicine because of all the mosquitos - even if they're mostly inside dogs. Her trip to the vet was mostly uneventful. She was cranky about getting on the scale, but she finally got up there, and she tipped the scales at 135 pounds. She got up to date on all of her shots, and thank goodness her heartworm test was negative. One more visit in 6 months to double-check the heartworm test, and then we can declare her heartworm-free. Oh, the other thing we did while there: I had a HomeAgain microchip implanted.
Dizzie also made a trip with me to Petco. She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, and I thought she was going to balk at the door. But I led her right in with only a minor hesitation, and once inside she started checking everything out. She even helped me pick out a couple of toys and some treats. She's also been taking regular truck rides with me when I head over to the folks' house. Getting in the truck can be a little challenging for her, so I bought her a ramp. She's still not too sure about that, either, but it has helped her get in easier, even though she doesn't start at the bottom and walk up - she hops her front legs on the top of the ramp, then hops her back legs up, taking a single step into the back seat. Kind of funny, but better than her wrecking by slipping on the nerf bar or something. She has no trouble hopping down, though.
Her other new experience of the first couple of weeks were the maids. They showed up yesterday and got busy doing their thing. She especially didn't like it when they started running the vaccuum. She was hiding under my desk and shaking like she was trying to pass a peach seed! 
I took her outside until they were done with the sweeper, then tried to bring her inside. She just stood there looking at me like I was some sort of lunatic, and she finally decided it was OK to come back inside when the maids left.
Hopefully I'll have more to post in the near future regarding progress on the stairs. Until then...enjoy these pictures of Dizzie's first couple of weeks.
