We’ve now had our new family member, “Noizy”, the street dog from Kosovo, for a week. Every day, he pushes his boundaries and explores new territories. Every day, he makes progress toward integrating with Bill, Arran, and me. And every day, he does something really cute and funny.

So far, Noizy has learned what a glass door is. When we brought him into the house last week, he bonked his head on the door several times before he realized that he can’t walk through it. He’s also learned that he can walk through the bug screen on the other door.

Noizy still hasn’t left the living room, but every day, his safe space gets bigger. He’s moved from the corner to two of the rugs. Today, he almost came into the dining area.

A couple of days ago, Noizy’s bed arrived. As soon as I set it up for him and put his favorite sheet on it, he claimed the bed. He has piled several toys on it. He doesn’t play with the toys. He just stacks them on the bed like they’re his friends. It’s so cute!

Noizy is terrified of the leash. Yesterday, he had his second lesson in our backyard. He peed on himself when he saw me with it. But once I put it on him, he did okay. He only reared up a couple of times. I felt like I was halter breaking a foal again. Haven’t done that in decades! I look forward to the day when he’s less terrified of the leash and we can take him for a walk. He needs the exercise, and so do I.

He was also afraid of the brush, although he did let me brush him and seemed to enjoy the process. We’re not quite ready to bathe him yet, since he won’t willingly leave the living room except to go outside. We don’t want to traumatize him further by forcing him to have a bath. But the brushing does help and I even noticed that he doesn’t smell as bad as he did a week ago. Being inside probably helps.

Last night, Bill made homemade dog food in the Instant Pot with chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and green beans. He used to do that all the time when we still had Zane. Zane had mast cell cancer and needed a lot of protein. This time, he decided to make the food as a treat. Noizy is still afraid of Bill, although he’s getting better. I think the homemade food will go a long way in winning over his trust. He loved it! So did Arran, who has really been missing that special treat. Noizy was a bit reluctant to eat earlier in the week, but now he chows down with gusto.

One thing I’ve also noticed and really appreciated is that Noizy naturally seems to prefer doing his business outside. In the mornings, he goes out and squats down by the garden and takes a long whiz. He also drops his logs outside.

Yesterday, we used the robot mower to cut the grass. Noizy wasn’t too afraid of it, unlike our dearly departed Zane, who barked at it for hours before he finally realized it wasn’t an alien. The robot mower is good to have, because it’s very quiet, runs on clean energy, and has tiny blades. It’s very safe to use because if it bumps against something, it just changes direction.

I’m sure this could be the calm before the storm, but I have to admit this first week hasn’t been bad at all… I was expecting a lot more drama, especially from Arran. Incidentally, Arran went down to the living room over night and slept on the loveseat. I think he’s getting used to the new dog. They may even be friends soon. I hope I can take an adorable picture of them snuggling someday.

Above all, Noizy is just a sweet dog. He’s so loving and friendly, and it’s really been fun to watch him over the week. I think being an indoor pet suits him well.