Oliver

Andrew and I were worried about leaving Oliver outside to fend for himself overnight because there's some mean packs of dogs around here. So, we decided to let him spend as much time as he likes inside, which happens to be most of his time. Of course, this means housebreaking is involved.

I don't think he's been indoors before, because the first few times we took him indoors, Andrew had to push or carry him in. Now he thinks he can go inside anywhere - the video store, the fast food place, the library - we have to be careful not to let him slip past us. He is beginning to learn where he must wait outside, and where he can enter. He seems to be a naturally at doing his business outside.

Our first night with him, his LOUD pudding like bowl movement woke us up at 2am. He was in obvious discomfort and not in control. The next day, he didn't poop all day, so we were prepared for another cleaning project the next night. But, he made it to the morning. We took him on a walk when we woke up, and after a little while, he pooped.

Here comes the awkward part. Every time Oliver does his business outside, we must coo and praise and celebrate his poop with him. This is kind of embarrassing to do in front of people in the U.S. - but absolutely humiliating in Pohnpei. Locals do not have indoor dogs here. They think it's weird that we let a dog follow us around, and unsanitary that we keep a dog in our house. Needless to say, we get some pretty strange looks when we cheer for Oliver's poop.

The following morning, Oliver woke me up with some whimpers. Was he begging to go outside because he had to poop? I stumbled to the front door and opened it. He darted out and did his business immediately. The fact that he even left the house without me impressed me. He hadn't gone more than 10 feet away from Andrew or me since he entered our home. Incredible, did he really learn and understand that fast? Well, it's been one week today since we met Oliver, and the only mess inside occurred that first night. My only guess is that he'd instinctively rather go outside for some reason. Whatever the reason... I'm amazed and pleased we don't have messes to clean.

Ok, enough potty talk. Let me brag some more about how great Oliver is. We don't use a leash. He just follows us everywhere like he did in the mountains. One of us does usually carry a stick to scare off all the dogs that hassle ours. He's calm, and well-behaved with the dogs that are nice to him. We did catch him flirting with Rocky's baby-mama. He was even nice to our friend's dog who wouldn't stop barking and growling at him. I take him to my high school English class with me, and he sleeps at the front of the room. He follows me to the grocery store, and waits outside the glass door, watching me until I return. I've notice other people have to dog-proof their house. The only changes we've made were finding a place for his food, and bowls. We haven't had to move anything out of his reach. He's good with kids too. There's a 6-year old that plays with him at school, and he's been calm when my 11th graders give him a hard time.

He does bark a couple times at night, so we have to figure out what to do about that. I'm hoping soon to start teaching him to stay, come, sit, etc.

Oliver spends most of his time sleeping. I think his body needs the rest to digest all the food and get healthy. If he's not sleeping, he's most likely scratching. He has fleas. Andrew's done an excellent job of picking off most of the ticks. He's most energetic early in the morning and in the evening. When he's feeling playful, he'll push is shoulder into you to push you around a bit, and sometimes he'll nip at your fingers or ankles. If I pet him and stop before he's satisfied, he'll give a little lick and then start nipping my fingers.

Lu, a Chinese teacher at the college told me today, "He will be a very good dog because you rescued him."