Huskies Take over Devonian

I got my usual huskies (who seem to be not so usual these days) back for a day or two, but seeing as Hudson (one of my usual) is unneuteured, I wanted to make sure he and Tine would get along before I agreed to board him.

Hudson put up a mean game of 'piss on everything, growl, put my hackles up and look really big' but after I made Tine smell is bum first, and then had Hudson smell Tine without any nose-to-nose contact Tine pawed his face a couple of times and they were instant best friends. Good, cause I'd like some board money :) So Thursday -my day off- will turn into Husky Day this week. Four huskies, (2 one year olds, one 1 3/4 year old, and Beckett the 6year old) one yard, and one hard momma.

Sometimes at daycare (we don't ANY huskies at the moment except Tine and Beckett) I get the feeling I'm really hard on my huskies -both boarding, foster and Beckett-. But truth is, most of the huskies don't do well at daycare because we aren't harsh (among other things). These huskies do what I want and they do it when I want them to, or else they aren't going to like the consequences. Its work to keep up to them, but they will walk all over you -and at times they've tried. I haven't had them in a bit, so I have the feeling it'll take me a good portion of the morning to reclaim that 'pack leader' spot (especially with Hudson).

My huskies:
Hudson -mr unneuterued, is king of 'its my way or the highway'. He has an attention span of about 20 seconds. You say no he says "Screw it." You tell him off and you're probably going to have to do it again five minutes later -if you're lucky.

Tia -is a super-rough player, and super hyperactive. Luckily Tia (unlike any of the other huskies) is super food motivated. She'll do anything for her kibble, so her supper becomes work. She has a reliable call-off providing she knows you have her kibble. She knows when you don't (she's a cheeky smarty pants). Although Tia can get in the most trouble, she's also the easiest to get out of trouble again -she's also the most easily distracted, which is both an advantage and a curse.

Beckett is easiest, but only cause he's older, mostly blind, and has a life where he doesn't get away with anything. When I mean business Beckett goes right into a down with that 'oh shit, I'm in trouble' look. He's the kind of husky you get when you consistently mean business (and when the dog has a higher attention span than a toothpick).

Which leaves foster Tine. Lovely Tine who listens to me at daycare (knows his name, will come, will sit, will shake, will 'leave it'), who doesn't listen to anyone else whatsoever -he will listen to Jerrad half of the time-. He does so well at daycare providing someone is there to give him the husky structure he needs. Providing he doesn't have play partners that are stupidly rowdy (and we have a few). Tine is amazing at mimicking his playmate's style. He is submissive in the way that he'll do whatever the leader does, and sometimes that is teaching him bad skills. I will have to make sure on Thursday my usuals aren't sharing their bad habits with him. There is a chance Tine will keep coming to daycare after he's adopted, and I might just have to install 'husky rules' for him. But for now, Tine is super well-balanced. But he also knows I mean business. He needs to keep super well-socialized until about 2 when he'll be (temperment wise) the dog he'll always be.

I blab though. The foursome of huskies and I -and Jerrad- headed out to Devonian today alongside Lindsey and Mark from island dogz with their two huskies and foster pup. I didn't manage to get a picture of all 7 dogs (cause you know, there's a lot of monitoring that is involved in seven husky dogs), but I managed this one of our crew near the end of the hike.

My photo skills are slowly getting better: From L-R Hudson, Tia, Tine, Beckett


Jerrad's: not so much (no patience + Tine was happy I had his leash again)


Tine has a two-week trial period starting this Friday. We'll miss the big guy, but hopefully everything works out (and I might still get to see him at daycare :) ). Best of both worlds, I think so :)

Hiking Trip

We headed out for our usual 1 1/2 hour Saturday hike to Devonian Park, one of our favourite hikes as there aren't very many dogs/people/noises/etc. Its a great place to work on leash skills, not be overly distracted (us or the dogs) and eventually work on off-leash skills. (Both Honey and May started off-leash here). Its about 1-2km of trail with a lot of ups and downs and then a big rocky beach.

I'm pretty sure it was Tine's first encounter with a beach! The waves made him jumpy, but he was curious about them too. It got rainy so we didn't stay at the beach long and got back under the protection of the trees.

Some pics from the hike. I'm trying to get more outdoor pictures as I find most of the ones I get are at home/the backyard. Which is nice and all, but with all the nice places we go hiking, I figure I should just take the camera (even if Jerrad finds it annoying :P)

So here are a few of them. I have an album on facebook for anyone to view if you're at all interested in more of my sub-par photography.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150197616018671.309346.729918670#!/media/set/?set=a.10150197616018671.309346.729918670






In other news, wrote up Kenobi's petfinder bio. Any pointers on how to write one would be helpful. I'm also thinking I might try to convince Meshum (Kenobi's foster mum) she should take his brother too :P

And, just for fun, since Tine will shake, I taught him to 'drive'. Tine's driving shots:

The "Drunk Driver" Look


The "Hey, what's shaking Lady?" Look


The "I'm such a cool dude" Look


Have a great weekend!
Emily

Tine's First Day at Daycare

Tine went with me for his first day of daycare today. Knowing a lot of huskies don't do well in daycare in general (they're roamers, runners, get-in-trouble-with-other-breed-ers, barkers and whiners, and all that loveable husky stuff that really wants to go pull something.) So I was a little hesitant bringing Tine in, but I knew that he played well, so as long as he didn't mind staying with the other dogs, he was going to be fine.

And he was SUPER. He's beaten Beckett for best husky at daycare (Beckett marks, his fatal lost points). He is a puppy in many ways, but a wise old man in other ways. He knew to play gentle with smaller dogs, and that he could play rougher with the dogs would will do the all-important 'pause' for 5-10 seconds to make sure their playmate is still playing. All the ladies LOVED him, and Turtle, our HuskyXSheppard that's been at the daycare since puppyhood, LOVED him so much his goal for the morning was to get Tine to play with him, even if that meant mounting him to get his attention. Oh that Turtle, he does the same thing to Beckett when they get together, but Beckett's around the same age, so Beckett will tell him off. Tine just looked confused as Turtle tried his darndest to be a gay middle-aged dog.

Tine did okay in the crate for rest periods -I'm slightly worried too much play might mean he overexerts himself (he needs to build muscle in his rear legs from being tied up on a chain for most of his life), but became anxious when I left to go to odd office work. When he was in the room with the other dogs and Cheryl, the other caregiver this morning, he was completely fine without me. No want to jump a fence, no want to hide, and he was very good about hanging in the office with me over nap-time. Just slept by my feet. Doesn't bark when people come in. Played VERY nicely with the little dogs that came in for the second part of the day. He was loved up by a Jack Russell Terrier/Whippet mix. Even the snooty ones joined Tine for some fun.

He's really the kind of husky that makes huskies look good -which, yet again, is proved by A SLED DOG! He also got a good brush out, but needs a second (third and fourth?) helping. He's got so much clumped by his butt its almost matted.

A few pictures of Tine -I'd take some at daycare, but we aren't really supposed to be doing that! I did manage to get one of him snoozing on the nice rubberized floor that keeps both our staff's feet and the dogs feet mostly stress-free. Please dog, don't ever make me go back to non-rubberized floor when I stand/run/walk/kneel all day.









And although they aren't really fostered, here are my two 'rescues' enjoying the second bedroom. Jerrad: rescued from harsh Saskatchewan weather, and of course, Beckett. :)

Picking up Kenobi, Beckett's Third Rescue Birthday and New Foster Tine

What an interesting couple of days I've had. First Meshum -my good friend and dog trainer- and I headed up to the ferries to pick up Kenobi whose adoption fell through.

Lisa said: "Do you have room", and basically I said "Yes, but let me see if I can find him a more suitable foster home". I don't mind young dogs (10+ months) but Kenobi is really still a puppy, and a Beagle puppy to boot. He's BUSY!

When I posted Kenobi's picture


on facebook Meshum instantly said "I'll foster him", which is awesome on all counts. a) I have two shy TG foster girls that are coming in when the flooding is dealt with, and b) Meshum has the better home environment for him and c) Kenobi LOVES kids and Meshum has an 8 year old and 12 year old. Meshum also has tons of hours under her belt training puppies and used to foster litters of puppies for Hug-a-Bull!

Talking back and forth with Lisa, and Lisa with Kenobi's old people, we've realized Kenobi has a lot of things to work on, but as Meshum reports "Kenobi is an 8 month old puppy that's had no boundaries. He's basically a five year old kid whose mother has never told him no. I'm told him no, and he's getting it."

So Kenobi's having a blast with the kids, cats, is learning to be more accepting of male strangers, and not be protective over his person. He's easily redirected, and so people-loving that if denied affection or closeness for being bad, he's going to get smart real quick. That, and any person with food quickly becomes his best friend!

Most of all, he has other dogs and a busy (but structured) household to keep him busy. He's an 8 month old beagle mix -he has the potential to get himself into oodles of trouble! And he's now in a setting where he can become the best beagle-mix he can be! I'm so grateful that Meshum wanted to foster him. He's not a bad guy, he is just a busy guy who has been let to make his own decisions over things. Not everyone can keep up to this kind of dog, so when he goes up on Petfinder and we starting looking for a home for him, it'll be someone whose up to the challenge.

Another important thing to note: I have not met a Turtle Gardens dog who isn't some sort of good-looking! Kenobi is cute stuff! And he's not as big as his picture makes him look. He'll probably be around 35 pound when he's fully-grown.



After and around dealing with Kenobi I've been cleaning out my second bedroom, making it more and more foster-friendly -and you know, organized :S. Now the housetrained fosters can come into the carpeted room -and Tine, my current foster, is loving it in here!



My second bedroom:


Beckett is still content on his own bed. He's really not a people's dog -he doesn't mind people petting him, hanging with him, etc, but when it comes right down to it, he'd rather hang out with dogs. Even with the best bed in the house right beside the computer now, he'd rather 'the usual' spot. Mostly-blind dogs and their routines I guess. The only people he's socialize with oodles are young, good-looking girls (especially if they're wearing bikinis). Then he's right in there lapping it up. Maybe -haha, I wish- that its because they're like his mama, but you know, I think that's probably more my fantasy than his! Who wants to hang out with a bunch of woman who look like their mom!

Which brings me to interesting part #2 of the long weekend. Monday was Beckett's third rescue birthday. He was almost 3 years old when he came to us, which we figure that makes him an early six now. We spent part of the day before hanging out with Sarah and her dogs Charlie (beagle) and Allie (who was actually adopted on the same bus run as Beckett). Crazy, no? She's also a foster-mum here in Vcitoria too! For being a mellow dude, Beckett is insanely confident in his own social skills, which is fine cause he has amazing dog-to-dog social skills. Allie, usually a pushy huskyX became a follower instantly and Charlie, the older beagle was IN LOVE. We had to leave before Beckett gave him a poor heart attack from running after him for so long.

Haha, I think I've made Sarah want fosters like Beckett. But he's a weird mix of confident, tolerant, and a push-over. A good mix it seems, but I haven't met a lot of other dogs with that same combination of traits. Basically he has amazing energy that easily wins over other dogs (even the picky ones play with him at daycare). He isn't submissive, but he doesn't react either. He'll just ignore bad energy, which has been super helpful in fostering. Once the shy dogs are ignored for long enough they eventually want to join his group :P. Once the naughty dogs figure out being naughty isn't get them anywhere, they learn to play correctly. Beckett is far from perfect, but he has such a good skill-set that he can be of help to a lot of dogs that need work.

So what did Beckett get for his birthday? Well, although we could have thrown him a party today at the daycare with birthday hats and such, he got a new foster dog -a new reject sled-dog type husky foster dog.

Meet Tine:


Tine is really a great boy. Playful, people-loving, super friendly, not necessarily easy-to-please, but he really wants direction. He's easy to walk on a leash and is quiet (indoors) and housetrained. And what do you know, he's also a reject sled-dog. You know, one of those hard-to-place, non-adoptable types. Bah, he's so much easier than any of the purebred huskies I know. Sled-dog over purebred anyday I say.

At not quite one year old, he sure is a nice boy. Nice enough that its a good thing he's got two homes already interested. If he stayed here for a month he might not go :P. But then again, I have my eye on somebody down the road to possibly join us full-time. For inquiring minds, you'll just have to keep reading. Lisa might have a hunch :P

The huskies: looking good together


And for good measure (and because it feels like a really long time since I've posted anything worth watching), a video of the boys playing in the backyard.


Holding tight for my foster girls from TG, but going to enjoy my week or so with Tine before he finds his forever family. Thanks for reading!

Best wishes,
Emily + Crew

Sometimes You Fail

So, back before I started fostering in March, I had this 'great' idea to set up adoption events through the daycare I work at. I knew there would be a lot of organizing/writing/public interation involved, but I didn't think for a minute of all the rescue politics, crazy foster drama and most surprising, the real occurence of rescues not wanting to showcase their dogs to the public.

The long and short comes down to not all rescues are built the same.

So far I've been super happy with my foster placements through all the rescues I've dealt with. I've always trusted Turtle Gardens to do great placement testing, and I've had the great fortune of having spent time with both Tucker and Honey's people before they left the nest. I did their home checks, we spent two-three hour+ visits together between their places and our places, and got to know the people, the environment and the commitment level. Yes, it took more time from my end, but I let my babies go knowing they were in capable hands. This is what TG does to ensure the least amount of returns, as well as satisfaction on everyone's part -the rescue, the foster, the adopters. This is no first come first serve line. This is -to every part of my understanding- for the dogs.

With May I lucked into her being adopted by a good friend's father, and with Yayis she was lucky enough to be adopted by the owners of a small dog daycare up-island who obviously knew how to approach a shy/slightly fearful girl. Even the young girl -maybe 10- had great body language. Although I didn't get to meet them for as long as my TG families, I was consulted with by Laura before making the adoption final. I had a say. I was allowed to say 'well, lets think about it, or lets go for a walk to try her out first, etc, etc.' The foster mum and not the rescue knows the dog better (which unfortunately doesn't seem to be the viewpoint of all rescues). The foster-parents knows what they need and what is a no-go. You don't settle for 'good-enough', you don't settle for the first applicant even if its been months since you've got an application. You don't accept anything but the best home for your foster dogs. As Lisa so aptly puts in her own blog: you need the right mental energy. After all, they've got a solid place in your pack. They don't have an expiry date with you. What's the hurry?

People have asked me how I can foster, and for these first few fosters I achknowledged that I knew where they were going, that they would be well cared for, have the money available for vet services, and were with committed people. I felt like I knew these people and that I was leaving my foster-pups in capable loving hands. With Honey we spent a lot of time talking about different ways to confidence build, with Tucker the need to keep him social (he lives with a Vet and goes with her everywhere! A real ambassadog!). To be fair I didn't worry as much about May since she's so totally fearless and outgoing and Yayis' people were already well-versed in what she needed and how to do it.

But recently one of my co-workers came across an unfortunate circumstance. Her foster dog was being viewed by multiple homes, but due to computer/e-mail issues, (and rescue issues) she didn't get the home that was best for her by any means.

The short summary of events:
The lady who adopted her -without any house visit I should add-, came, took her for a short walk, in which she totally coddled the poor dog (who REALLY didn't need any coddling), cut a cheque for her and took her home. In between, co-worker is trying to get on the phone with rescue, trying to say that another family -a family that had brought pictures of their home, that took the foster for a walk and didn't baby her one bit, a family who's young daughter began to bond with the dog, that took her for over an hour to get to know her- was the better fit and that she wasn't comfortable sending the dog home with this person. (Quite obviously) But the rescue decided they wanted the cheque for the dog, and thus the foster -through the decision of the rescue- went to a home that she was obviously unsuited for. The rescue failed the foster-parent, who had to watch her young girl go to an unsuitable home, but most importantly, the rescue failed their dog. When a rescue can not manage to send their dog to a good home, I believe a rescue has failed. I just hope that the foster dog, now an adopted dog, is not going to suffer.

Isn't it sad that that's what you hope for sending your baby off. That they're not going to suffer emotionally, physically or mentally. Shouldn't you be hoping they have a blast of a new life and get to explore all the things the big, wide world has to offer for them. Unfortunately, for this dog, that's not the case.

And I suppose this leads to my ultimate decision about Adoption Events and that I can not, emotionally or mentally, work with people who do not listen or respect their foster parents, that would take money and not even meet the person their sending the dog to. To me this is at the same level as backyard breeders. Yes they didn't bring new dogs into the world, but they didn't do what they're supposed to do either. What if the application was all roses. What if the person lied? What if, what if, what if? Do they even know this person exists? Is who they say they are? Would you send your child somewhere you didn't screen first? Do you hire based solely on a resume?

Maybe I'm getting a bit ranty, but as a foster-mum (and a proud one at that), I couldn't bare the thought of sending one of my pack out into the world without knowing where they're going. Without talking to someone on the phone, looking at their home environment, meeting them with the foster for at least an hour or two. So, I will be more careful with who I associate myself with to foster for, keeping mainly with Turtle Gardens as I both respect and trust them to send me dogs I can handle, and potential adopters that can handle them as well. And to anyone considering fostering: ask a lot of questions of your rescue. Ask them if you have any say in adoption, and definitely ask them about their adoption procedures. Fostering is truly an amazing experience, but you need to find someone who you trust to work with, or else you might just end up failing -and really, being failed.

Fiddling with Picture Albums

Since being out of school and thus out of 30hours of week or stuff to do, I've found boredom is coming down on me like a bunch of bees. But of course, without structured activity I usually get around to doing absolutely nothing producitve.

But I'm sure in a few weeks time I'll be up to my eyeballs in work (whopppiieeee!!!) so I decided to start doing some picture stuff so when the time comes and I have enough fosters to really fill a nice frame on the wall, I'll be ready.

Playing, snoozing, snuggling, this collection is just a peek at what life is like when the pack is here.

Including:
Tucker -the black beagle mix. From shy to happy-go-lucky. Now enjoying life in Cobble Hill.

Yayis -the foxhound X that looks like a giant beagle. From dump dog to man's loyal shadow. Now living with the owners of a dog daycare in Parksville.

May -the chi mix. About to be euthanized to helping a shy terrier find her confidence. Now spoiled rotten diva living it up here in Victoria where she has a chi sibling and a 30 foot flexi-leash. This week she's heading to the cabin with her new dad!

and Honey: the scruffy black terrierX. From shut down terrified of everything feral pup to living up to her 'terrier' name. Now three blocks from the beach with a sister terrier and people who couldn't have asked for a better girl.

And of course Beckett -resident husky cross, who is glum about not having any buddies around, but enjoying being able to jog with tripping over extra leashes.

Hope you enjoy.

Honey's New Home and Fosterless

Honey went home this week, and Hani, the current dog at the residence couldn't seem to get happier. For a family that wanted to make sure their older dog had a 'best friend' Honey was exactly what they ordered.

I must say Honey is my favourite foster thus far. I'm not usually a fan of crazy terriers, but Honey mixed it up with cuddles, cuteness and absolute loyalty. Sure she managed to destroy a few pairs of underwear, was almost obsessed about destroying feminine pads when we would leave her at home (how she managed to get into them everytime is still a mystery), but to see her blossom from terrified fuzzball to confident, outgoing, curious little-bugger (I mean terrier) has really put a smile on my face. Underneath her past she's quite the charmer. She'll go up to people for pats, sniff almost any passing dog, and her little tail is nearly always on the go. I'm hoping someday to get some video of her trying out agility.

Lucky girl, only blocks from the beach, nice big house, nice big sister. Sometimes I wish I could be put up for adoption!

Now that its been a few days without a foster I can see Beckett is somewhat of a mess. He wanders around the small suite trying to find something to do, and failing returns to his bed. He longers plays with the nylabones he loved when the other dogs were here, and he's become quite a suck -laying near my feet as a type or curling up on the other side of the couch. Inside he's always been the epitomy of a lazy couch potato, but having the other dogs around you could see some life brought into him beyond going for a walk. There were days the dogs played in the afternoon for hours and a walk wasn't actually needed.

Although I rent, and its hard enough to do so with one dog, I'm going to put myself out there to possibly get a second once I renew my lease. I know my 'real' second dog is medium/large, is medium-high energy and is stubborn yet most likely submissive. A "Beckett" if you will. Until August though, hopefully I'll manage to have fosters around to keep my boy happy.

May Goes Home

On Friday May was officially adopted and headed off to my good friend Cathy's parents place (which is right on top of where Cathy herself lives). May ran in and you could hear London (Cathy's rescued ChiX) whining from the basement. London is like May's groupie. Wherever May is London wants to be right in there too!

That sassy May never even turned around to say goodbye! But what do you expect from an overly outgoing party animal. Maybe I'm starting to feel how my own mother felt when she dropped me off in Regina before I headed to the west coast.

Me/May: "SEE YOU LATER!!!!!!" Mum/Me: snuffle, snuffle.

Sorry mum. Haha, I doubt May's thinking that as she's off to her new life though. She got what she wanted/needed, and at the same time I'll be able to see her now and again.

I have to say I both miss her and am at the same time glad she's gone. No more silly zoomies, no more trying to figure out where she's dug herself inside all the blankets, no more tug-toy partner, no more shredded kleenex. But at the same time its left the house a lot more mellow and Beckett has his play partner back in Honey.

A couple of things I've learned from May:
a) There are some things that you will probably never shut down in a breed.
b) That although you're six and a half pounds you can wrestle with the big boys

and most importantly, that chihuahuas can (at least sometimes :P) be normal. If I ever were to have a tiny dog, it would have to be a dog like May.

A couple of pictures of May the morning before she left.





In other news, Honey has her homecheck on Tuesday. Fingers crossed all goes well -even though that leaves me with no more fosters for a bit.