A Fairly Calm Week

When everyone settles in, life goes back to normal. Usually after the first 3-5 days of a foster arriving, they get 'the drill'. They get that the morning pee is 5:45, that we go back to bed until 7:00 unless I work a morning shift, and that breakfast and supper is on my time schedule and not theirs -though they are allowed to complain loudly if it doesn't hit the floor by 8:00pm. They get when playtime is, when lounge time is, and most of them are smart enough to learn that 8:30pm onwards is "Emily's Time to not deal with any crap" or suffer the consequences. (No one has really suffered so far.)

So it is with the pack now. Even at 10 months, Evee has learnt that she can play her little heart out outside, at daycare, for hours a day if she so chooses, but inside is not run around like a nutter place. With the help of nylabones, good exercise, and lots of play, she's content to be lazy inside. That, and no one else plays with her inside, so she's a little S.O.L. :P

Enjoying quiet time inside:


Evee is an ideal catch for anyone who wants a dog young enjoy you can really train to do anything, with huge treat motivation, slender frame, and happy-go-lucky disposition, but without the messy 'puppy' stage. She's a great combination of playful and cuddly, and is good with everyone from tiny chi X to Great Dane. Actually, Jersey, who is boarding with me for the week, is her #1 friend. To the point where at daycare, she gets to play with both big and small dogs, or else she feels put out -the little dogs are too boring for her sometimes anyway and she knows how to tell the big guys off.

See Evee play with Jersey the Dane here:


Evee has such great dog-dog social skills, and is SO playful, the afternoon staff stole her on Thursday from me to use her for new dog evaluations at the daycare. She showed the newbies how to have a good time, how to relax, and how to play properly. For ten months, she knows very well what's good play behaviour, and what's just obnoxious. Her only downfall is that she LOVES to start the chase game, but when she starts it with the big dog group, suddenly she has 10 dogs quite a bit bigger than her wanting to play that game too! That's when she barrels on over to a staff member with the look like 'save me please!'. She just can't resist a good game of chase me. Although, just like Beckett used to do, she gets a little grumpy when someone is faster than her and catches her quickly!

As for Gio, he's also doing great. Without Buster around, both he and Beckett don't really know how to act around each other sometimes. They play, but its not the same kind of play they did when Buster was being the police force. They're the same size, both submissive boys, and without 'the bitch' around, they don't know where they stand in regards to each other. After all, Evee is a puppy, and Jersey is a bigger wimp than both of them. So they've been a little 'off' with each other now that one of them has to be the new 'dog leader'. (I'm still 'the top dog' and no one messes with me, but dogs still have an order amongst each other. Every dog in a 'pack' can -and should- be submissive/non-threatening to their human leader, but they don't show that same respect to every other dog. It's kind of like you listen to you mom, but that doesn't mean you listen to your siblings. There is an order amongst siblings when shit its the fan -it can shift depending on situation-, but there is always some sort of order. Both people and dogs need order to know what to do in a given situation.)

Either way, Gio and Becket show nothing that would ever be considered an issue -most people wouldn't catch it anyway-, but its very interesting to see how a female dog, no matter how submissive they are, is still higher than the boys :P I think they're trying to figure out who gets to give Evee shit if she needs it, and who runs the show between them (neither of them wants the position!) They kind of remind me of a father (Beckett) and a somewhat inept son (Gio) starting out on his own. IE: Beckett wants Gio just to take the damn position and be 'the man', but Gio won't man up, so Beckett's stuck in that annoying position of having an adult son at home who take the responsibility!

Boy bums: walking away from the 'top dog' position.


Gio's desired pack position is the lovebug:

Attention Hog


Looking smug after giving the camera a kiss!


Very handsome indeed!


Beckett's desired pack position is: Grand-daddy. He's the babysitter, the 'I'll teach you manners nicely', the play with the youngings, go out and be social, and all in all, be that kind of personality you expect from a sturdy older man that's still active and loving life. The one that knows he's not as strong as the young men anymore, but doesn't mind. He's also the one who deals very nicely and gently with dogs who don't have the greatest body language/manners. If there's a dog that'll play with the socially handicapped, it'll be Beckett.

In other news, Gio is PENDING! He will head to his new home in Van on the 5th and hang out with a pug, and a cat -and of course his new people! Gio is EXCELLENT with small dogs, so as long as his new house mate doesn't mind sharing all the attention, its going to be a great match.

Unfortunately, Gio will most likely be heading over to Van earlier to finish off his fostering with Benita. This is through absolutely 0 fault of his own. Unfortunately, Beckett has been quite a bit 'off' for the last week(ish). He's become stiffer than usual, is getting moody, and is losing weight. We've put him back on his usual food (we've been mixing his in with the foster food, so that we don't need two seperate bins -they're big! We have a small place!), and I've been bringing him with me to daycare and he's been getting a bit better (or at least happier), but we need to make sure he's okay and gets some extra loving, medical help if necessary. Gio's big head is everywhere your hand is, so not the best situation to get our boy back up to 100% so I won't feel guilty about continuing to foster 2-3 dogs at a time. So, for Beckett's sake, and for the sake of future fostering, its the best on all counts. Besides, Gio is one of the most easy-going dogs around. New places, no problem. New people, love it. Give him a floor to sleep on, two square meals a day, and a lot of affection and he's a very happy Rotti.

Good luck Gio-dude! Even though I'll manage to write these blogs in under half an hour again, we'll miss you.

Buster is ADOPTED!!!

Buster was officially adopted today, to a great home in Vancouver. Her new home buddy is Jack (a cat). Although she REALLY didn't want to leave, I loaded her up with a harness, a martingale, and two leashes, and off they went.

Just got word that: "Buster is now home and doing fine. Her and Jack are
giving each other distance but it seems they are going to be getting along just fine
in no time. We'll send pics soon."

So, from stray for 5+ years, to happy house pet. Buster was here a grand total of 6 days.

She was both my easiest and hardest foster to date. Easiest, because she was easily self content, cuddly, not afraid of anything on a leash, very flexible, and not needing a lot of 'work' to make living with her easy.

She was also my hardest as in: outdoors she was terrified for quite awhile. She was the first foster to do any sort of damage to us -although she didn't realize it was Jerrad. She gave me the slip once from her double collar, only to come home not quite half an hour later -pawing the glass door to let her back in! She needed things done very slowly, a routine, and a lot of the time her safety blanket of the leash.

Regardless, her funny prescence will be missed, and she was a great learning experience besides.

But, even though our time was short, I hope that some of the 'outside is good too' rubbed off on her. Some pictures from a session we were doing in the backyard, where Buster got more affection outside than inside. Notice: butt scratches are her FAVORITE.

Revolving Door of Dogs

Maybe I'm doing things weird, or odd, or just plain different, or maybe the blog is somehow fast-forwarding fosters, but lately I seem to be a revolving door of dogs.

Buster and Gio just arrived last weekend. Buster is now ADOPTED, and will be picked up on Sunday to go live in Vancouver near the beaches! She had another application in the wings too. From living as stray for 5+ years, to Turtle Gardens Foster Home Summer Camp, to one Vancouver foster, and now to here, she's got a lot of change under her cute little wiggle bum. Good luck Buster. You haven't beat my foster record of 4 days, but you came in under a week -tight race, and you're older, so you should win anyway!

Gio also has an application (or many, I'm not entirely sure, as they're Vancouver based so I haven't been doing the homechecks/telephone interviews, etc. Mostly because I know Gio is going to be a good fit in 95% of qualified homes. He's just that good.)

So, now I'm not feeling so guilty about taking Evee on.

Meet Evee


Evee is a Taiwanese dog. When asked awhile ago if I wanted to foster a Taiwanese for Island Dogz (who I fostered Tine for), I said sure. Through misshaps in plane flights (they only get out of Taiwan if they have someone to transport them), I didn't quite realize they'd be able to send one so quickly after I got my TG guys. But, knowing that there are over 1000 dogs in that Taiwanese shelter (TUAPA), and that the only hope for most of those dogs to be adopted is to come abroad, I said "Okay, send me somebody easy though, since I already have two." They sent me a list of 50 dogs that were ready to come over. I couldn't really pick -even with videos, bios, etc. So they sent me the two dogs they thought would suit me best, and I chose Evee. Videos and biography combiend to show she was: good with strangers when they have a treat, very playful, very dog social, 90% housetrained, crate-trained and a good smaller size (like most Taiwanese dogs).

I think I stepped on Jerrad a bit though, bringing a third home so quickly after Gio and Buster arrived. Thankfully he got over it fast since Evee is a fairly easy dog. She's still a puppy (9 months), and she's medium/high energy, but she isn't annoying with all that, and after a good run around the yard or daycare (which she LOVES) she's content to snuggle up with you and watch a movie. And isn't a dreaded teenager yet -she listens pretty darn well and isn't stubborn.

But really, you just want some mediocre pictures don't you :)
Some pics of the crew.

The whole kit and kaboodle. Beckett, Gio, Evee and Buster after a good romp in the yard.


Buster's in heaven on the couch. Why oh why would a girl want to be stray when she has THIS to look forward to!


Evee quite likes Gio. If Beckett gets too rough in his blind husky dance, she uses him as armour.


And a couple of Evee on her first night exploring the yard:

Won't Anyone Adopt Kenobi?

Kenobi has been in foster care with Meshum for nearly two months now! He came in with a big bundle of problems, mostly associated with becoming bored, but he and his foster mum have been working hard to overcome them.

The bare-bones info
10 months -TEENAGER!
30ish pounds, shouldn't hit forty full grown
Beagle X Cattle Dog Mix

Kenobi's Great Points
-Plays amazingly with other dogs, big, small or otherwise, although he can be a bit much for older or non-active dogs.
-People loving. With guidance Kenobi has learnt that strangers are good things. He might bark a couple of times, but if a stranger has a cookie, its got to be a good thing! (For whatever reason, he's still a little put off by men with quite a bit of facial hair.)
-Fun-loving. Kenobi is up for any physical activity you want to do with him. He's even done some agility.
-Fearless. Kenobi will try anything new if there's something tasty involved. Even if its kind of scary.
-Willing and wanting to cuddle after a good days exercise.
-Young, Trainable, and Eager to Learn. Any positive time spent with Kenobi is a joy to him. He loves learning new things, and being with his people. He has an active mind just like a sponge.

See Kenobi in action with his good friend Jeannie, a sheppardX puppy (about 55-60 pounds). Note: the purple thing is a bellyband, usually used for dogs that mark. Kenobi doesn't mark in the daycare, he just doesn't like to pee in the outside area and dribbles! At home he's completely housetrained.



Kenobi has a few difficult points too (as do most teenage boys)
-Kenobi can be destructive if left unsupervised, or not given enough exercise. That said, he is crate-trained, and if you throw a solid toy in there while you're out, he'll happily amuse himself for a few hours.

-Kenobi is a fairly bad guarder of his crate (when inside his crate). That said, he used to guard almost anything he thought was 'his' when he first came into foster care, but with patience and training, he's learnt to share with people. His foster mum is more than glad to spend some time showing Kenobi's new family how to deal with his guarding behaviour most effectively if it does present itself again. The easiest and most effective method is to 'trade' the item he has for something tasty that he'd rather have.

-Kenobi is not a very good passenger in the car. As a herding dog mix, he wants to chase the cars going by, or can get guardy of his vehicle (similiar to his crate). For safety, Kenobi would do best in a crate in the car, or in a seperate cabin. This can definitely be worked on!

Most importantly, Kenobi is a soft dog. He does not like to be handled roughly, and benefits most of positive experiences. With too much pressure (or a Cesar like approach) he can get very defensive and becomes your typical 'teenager'. With love, patience, and most of all TIME Kenobi is going to be a fantastic companion for an active home that will provide him with structure, boundaries, and EXERCISE, EXCERCISE, EXCERSISE. He is a well-rounded boy who is still a big, fat teenager, and can have his big, bratty moments, but overall he is sweet, loving and HIGH-ENERGY. Kenobi is more than ready to meet his new family.

We Have Video!

Just a quick video of fosters hanging with Jerrad -who thought I was taking pictures not video.
Note the impressive background music (provided by a movie in the background, definitely not my inept computer abilities!)

Affectionate Much?

I'm pleased to report, despite yesterday's setback, Buster is progressing faster that I expected. After YEARS as a stray, as a mum in the bush, and working 24/7 just to survive, I'm amazed at the girl Buster is.

Buster is a lovebug. As I write this she's taping her head against my elbow like 'come on, just pet me already'. It doesn't help that big Rottie Gio is on the other side literally lifting my hand up to do the same. (He's a very good (big) influence!)

You talking about me?



Buster follows me (or Jerrad if I close the door to the computer room) around the house. She'll stand by his legs when he cleans the kitchen, lay down beside him when he's on the couch, and all in all, is wherever your legs happen to be. She'll even push her way in if Gio is hogging the attention to get a piece of it herself. I find it kind of amusing that both the fosters follow us around a little bit like fan-girls, when Beckett couldn't give a shit (I'll forgive him though :P).

She also gets a wee bit whiny without her daily walk -since yesterday I walked to an from work (an hour each way) and did my shift. My feet just weren't up to another hour, much to Beckett and Buster's dismay. Gio -eh, he'll run a few laps around the backyard and get back inside for some loving. He really likes to spin circles around you playbowing like a looney when he's all excited though. So after this blog, Buster will be getting her walk :P

The "I'm not too Impressed about Not Getting my Walk" Look


I'm also happy to report, that despite the fact it was only about 12 hours later, yesterday evening also showed improvement in the department of the backyard. Gio and Beckett started playing, (well, more Beckett thought Gio was playing with him, but they were off in their own little worlds. For the record, blind dogs are easily amused) and despite the fact that I'd promised to take things very slowly, I dropped Buster's leash so she could play too. And dang it all, I forgot my camera. After a good mannered, fairly slow, and fairly comical play session, (imagine one Rotti playbowing in funny circles, one Sharpei sans wrinkles play-mounting the boys to get them to wrestle her, and one blind husky playing with air -who you can tell he believes is Gio and you kind of get the picture of a looney bin) they decided to have a cuddle together.



But I did some collar work and decided to see if Buster showed any interest in playing with a human.

Much to my surprise, Buster LOVES chase games that involve her chasing a person. That funny little girl got her nose right up my bum! I didn't even have to grab the leash when we headed inside. Didn't have to coax her in, didn't have to shadow her/slowly herd her back that way. I called Gio and in he went, I called Beckett and in he went, and Buster just followed, leash dragging all the way. I'm sure there will be times when I still have to put some pressure on her to get her inside, but seeing the shift so quickly is amazing. And what does she do when she gets inside. She runs over to Jerrad to take her leash off! I think its safe to say Buster quite enjoys being apart of a family :P

As we're exploring her boundaries and fears, I think we might have come to the source of the bite yesterday. Gio, regardless what time we decide to go to bed, gets up at 4:30am on the nose and wants out for his morning pee (thank goodness he'll go back to bed for an hour or two afterwards). Its still fairly dark out at the point, and you can see Buster get a little tense on the leash when she goes out. Yvette mentioned she might be afraid of the dark, or possibly have some night blindness. It was starting to get light outside when Jerrad took them out, but the trees we have here are placed east/south ish, so we don't start getting really light out until about 6:30-7:00.

With this in mind I think if I couldn't see very well/at all, it was dark, and I felt someone slowly stalking me around an unfamiliar terrain, I would most likely strike out too. Imagine a horror show where the bad guy grabs you around the neck. Are you just going to let him? I doubt you would :P. Live and learn. So any Gio induced 4:30am pee break, Buster will go out on a leash. Like those old stories where you follow the string to get from the house to the barn, the leash acts as a safety blanket -she's attached to a person she semi-trusts. Nothing bad comes from the leash.

I'm hoping to remember my camera the next time a play session breaks out, and to get some of Buster just being a generally happy girl. She's a wee bit camera shy. IE: there's only one hand for petting, and Gio's definitely got his big head in there already.

I'm looking forward to Buster being able to shine more and more. I'm quite glad she isn't really like a sharpei. Affectionate dogs are so much easier to make progress with. Aloofness combined with fears is a hard combination to work through, as building a relationship with the dog is so much more time consuming. IE: Its hard to work with a dog that doesn't have ANY interest in you. (although I guess we somehow managed with Beckett :P -but he's affectionate in his own way, he just isn't a follow-you-around, always in your business dog. He's the wallflower that's usually paying attention even when you don't realize it.)

Oh, and my 'reserve dogs' decide to get sneaky last night and managed to quietly head-butt the computer room door open. Much to their credit, they just hung out and didn't try to pester me. Actually, Buster looked kind of guilty -like it was all Gio's idea (it probably was!)

Velcro dogs much?

Learning Process

The crew is home safe and sound and by the time I went to bed I thought we "well, that was too easy". Both Buster and Gio settled well (and fast) in the house, Buster loves to go for a walk, and has the flirty ears out for Beckett. Both dogs love to lay at our feet. So far Gio takes my feet and Buster has taken Jerrad feet. Or, Gio decides to try out the couch!

Wooo... I love not having teenagers in the house!

Buster and Gio make themselves at home :)







In a nutshell, Gio is a huge mush puppy. Our backyard has at times been a marking competition for Beckett and Sam (the upstairs dog), but when Gio tried to mark, I growled loud at him -something that usually just makes them look up, pay attention, and maybe think twice about doing the action- and he nearly ran for cover. Kind of spineless, but a huge lover. He's the kind of dog that will probably do well just about anywhere (except for maybe some die-hard Caesar fans).

Buster is an interesting girl for sure. Inside and outside she's totally different. Inside she's a follow-you around, wag her tail like a machine, make flirty ears at Beckett and get dancy when the food comes out kind of dog. She's kissy, kind of cuddly, and a very happy dog. However, when she's in the backyard, something flips in her. She paces, becomes scared of her own shadow, and suddenly, the people whose feet she'll gladly sleep on, become untrusted. With the knowledge that she can be a bit of an escape artist, she's double collared, and drags her leash in the yard.

This morning saw an unfortunate moment. I took the dogs out at five cause I could hear Gio dancing to go out, and even in my sleepiness, I remembered to hook the leash on Buster. I managed to get her back in, but it took me nearly half an hour, in the dark, of slowly stalking her and giving her space at the same time. Although last night I could get close enough to grab the leash, without enough light I could hear Buster nervous whining. It was obvious I was a threat to her at that moment. Eventually I herded her back inside. Once inside, bang, back to the same happy dog, eager for her breakfast, completely over her ordeal.

But just an hour later, since Jerrad always lets the dogs out at six -just part of the routine-, everyone went out again, and Jerrad forgot to put the leash on. Jerrad's not stupid, nor is he dog-inept, but in a combination of sleepiness and the dark, Jerrad made the mistake and tried to grab Buster's collar to bring her in. Buster, moving backwards (AKA, out of fear) snapped and it landed. It wasn't a really bad bite, but he did get two pretty good punctures and a smattering of ticks. So, I come out of the bedroom to find Jerrad on the couch with a towel around his elbow, Gio looking very sad, and Buster sitting right at Jerrad's feet as if to say: "OMG, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Her poor little face couldn't have got any sorrier. For safety, I shipped Jerrad off by taxi to the hospital, just in case, and mostly to do with placement of the bite (you don't want to run the chance of hitting something in your elbow), but I'm pretty much 100% sure he's fine.

UPDATE: Jerrad is just fine. Just a thorough cleaning, and three days that he's not allowed to work since he's a dishwasher over the summer. He was shipped back home within an hour.

Jerrad, I give him credit was like: "She didn't mean to get me at all. It was dark, I probably moved too quick." So, even to the dog that just bit him, he was sitting there petting her, saying he was sorry. At least ten times I heard: "It's not your fault."

Mostly, I think he didn't quite realize Buster's inside/outside personalities, as just last night Buster was his personal foot warmer, he was scratching her neck and she was giving him kisses on the hand. But we learn. And now we know to take the outside VERY slowly (sometimes a big backyard isn't a blessing). Buster loves walks and we live in a fairly quiet neighbourhood, so she'll love all the trees and trails and quiet. When she's connected to people, she's a people dog, and when she's not, she's scared. She's a little bit like Xena was, but to a more extreme. (Outside Xena was a wild-dog who never listened to anything, whereas inside you could tell her to do anything she knew how to and she'd listen every time).

At this point, I think Buster would make a fantastic apartment/townhouse dog. Without the element of a backyard or being offleash, she's so far wonderful. For now the plan is to make sure we only use the long line with Buster in the backyard, and, if necessary, we'll move a step backwards to walking her in the yard on leash. And anytime there's a pee and its even a bit dark out, she'll be on a leash.

***** I thought for awhile before I posted a blog with a bite in it. For the record, its the first of our fosters to ever do any sort of damage. However, I hope any potential adopters or other foster-mums reading this, see that even though Buster obviously has the potential to bite, she in no way seeks to do so. Fear makes a dog reactive to the stimulus. Even the most gentle dog, if facing something they fear, has large potential to fight.

Foster care and transition is a learning process. Especially in the first few days. When you deal with shy, or fearful dogs, (or almost any dog actually) there's always the potential to be bitten, but its not the bite that determines the dog's personality. Look for what the dog does afterwards too, and what happened to trigger the bite.

Buster is a sweet girl. She has weaknesses, and fears, but she'll flee a lot (he was out for 15 minutes of herding her before he tried to grab her collar) before trying to do anything about it. Hopefully we'll help her slowly overcome at least some of them. But she's also very loveable, and inside the home a very affectionate girl. She'd much rather be inside snoozing than outside anyway!

Honestly, so far, any potential adopter that doesn't have a backyard, or would take Buster everywhere on leash, she'd be just fine. That said, we'll still work on the troubled spots.

And Gio -well, he'd be fine just about anywhere :P

Falling asleep standing up, just so he can get some loving:

Oh Fosterly Whining

Ahh, the TG bus run. A mountain of planning (I do as little as possible when directions, distance and timing are involved, so I hate to see what the brown-nosers do :P ), a dozen to twenty dogs, and a few new faces landing in the house. The process of choosing who should come, who shouldn't come, who will be easy, hard, shy, annoyingly teenaged, etc and what kind of mood I see myself in for the next month or so. (Usually its not up to the teenagers or the outright puppies. Actually, scratch that, I am not up for brats. PERIOD.) No busy bee, high-strung, high-energy, no brain-cell goofusses out this way -as much as Yvette would LOVE to see a few of them gone :P.

But regardless I've come to the point where: "Yvette knows best."

Of course we have back and forth e-mail of who I think I want, and who she thinks I'd do well with by not get too stressed by, and then I always seem to ask about somebody I shouldn't have, (I think I actually asked about one of the old, permenant resident dogs at one point :S) and really, it mostly comes down to 3 days before the bus run I suddenly have a foster or two that I didn't really expect to have, but am more than happy with. Actually, the only TG foster that was 'planned' was Tucker -and they actually tried to sneak me Kenobi last minute! Haha, no puppies for me! This is a 'young, good-natured medium-energy dog' or 'nice relaxed, medium-energy over the teenage hump dog' kind of place.

Honey was kind of just shipped down with not even two days notice. She was awesome though so no complaints.

Toast had a previous adoption that fell through and was only known about a few days before. Xena was sent because she was being picked on -I don't actually remember who we had lined up instead of her!

So, needless to say, tomorrow -when I go get my fosters- I will post exactly who they are :P and I will refrain from posting my fosters until they actually ARRIVE from now on.

But for now, I just wanted a small whine about how I really, really dislike the first 2-3 days of new foster dogs. They're restless, I'm restless, everyone is trying to figure out where they fit, I'm trying to figure out how much exercise they need, what I need/want to work on with them, and how to best go about those needs. Its like making a plan on the fly, and when it comes to dogs, I'm a little bit of a control freak. I'm one of those "PLAN" people. It's a good thing Jerrad doesn't mind not being 'in control' (I guess if he stays with me, he's used to it :P), cause I can be a real big pain in the butt until those 2-3 (sometimes the longest days in the world I'm sure) are over.

But, after those 2-3 days suddenly everyone starts being normal and relaxed, I shake out the stress and we carry on with life in the "Fostering is Fun" lane. Of course there are the dogs that come in and feel like they've been there all along, but most of them its 2-3 days. Out of the dogs so far in Victoria, only little May was an instant fit.

So, here's to my new fosters, my lovely husband in training for putting up with me in my "I've lost control" mode, and most of all, to trying to enjoy the few CRABBY days that lead to the true -good- experience of fostering.

Oh, and just for chuckles, I got a good pic of Dorie before she headed back to Sarah's:

Dorie makes a sad face after the wii fit program says: "That's Overweight".

Straw that Breaks the Camel's Back

On Tuesday I started an adoption trial with Toscana. Today, I decided she isn't to stay.

There are SO many checkboxes that need to be checked off to be able to stay full-time here, but Toscana breezed through nearly all of them.

1. No shyness/fearfulness with people (since I take a lot of shy fosters, I need a full-timer to be outgoing with humans. They need to be good 'role models' for how to live in our modern world. Toscana passed the moment we entered the house to meet her. Wagging tail, very social, laid down beside us within a minute or two. CHECK.

2. Needs to be able to get along with all good-natured dogs. Toscana is fearful around bigger dogs, but with Beckett at her side, she's made a lot of progress, and she did great at daycare, even with some bigger dogs mixed in the bunch. She's defensive, but not aggressive, and once she doesn't feel in danger, she's outgoing with other dogs. CHECK.

3. Got to be cuddly.
4. Has to have the potential to go off-leash. IE: no prey drive. Check, and check.
5. Has to win Jerrad over the 'I just want to foster' attitude. Check.

I'm sure there are a few things I've missed, but Toscana -through no fault of her own- couldn't hit one HUGE checkbox.

Beckett and Toscana have to play. They don't need to be soulmates, they don't need to be madly in love and play every second of the day. But they do have to be friends. And Beckett, for one reason or another, has decided he'd rather just ignore miss Toscana. She's tried oodles of times to befriend him, she cuddles up beside him, she gives him submisive kisses. But, most regrettably, there is no dog chemistry from Beckett. He runs away from her or ignores her.

Beckett -not very happy- with his possible little sister:


This is one thing I didn't actually factor in right away. Beckett gets along with everyone -he gets along with her too-, and he plays with nearly everyone too. In all my 'checkboxes' I never thought the straw that broke the camel's back would involve Beckett.

But, he's the first, he's getting older, and he's getting blinder, and I won't get a second dog that he doesn't enjoy having around. He puts up with anything -Dorie's bitchiest to him included :P-, but he's not happy. He's not the way he was when Tucker was here, or when Tine was here, or even with Honey and Toast were here. Beckett needs a 'buddy', and whether I like to admit it or not since Toscana has hit every other checkbox with flying colors, that means she can't stay long term.

To my dearest Toscana: it was a short time, and it was a good time. You will make someone VERY, VERY happy, and I look forward to seeing you blossom.

To the whippet-mix from Mexico that stole my heart. I will miss you.

A Week with Dorie

Dorie's foster mum is headed off to the states, so Dorie is hanging here for a week. This ten year old "senior" dog thinks she's still a teenager sometimes. She's still quite active, fairly playful, and has a lot of spunk. She's also got some attitude!



Dorie is an 'elder' dog that makes sure the others respect her -which is quite comical. She's hillarious to have around, but, like most dogs, she needed to be put in her place pretty quickly. -This is my house, my rules, and it's my way or the highway.

So it was yesterday (before I got stung by a wasp on our morning walk :S) when Dorie decided to test the boundaries. We have a sliding glass door, and Dorie decided she wanted to bark her head off/possibly tell off Sam, our upstairs dog who always comes to the door for us to let Beckett (his bestest friend in the whole world!) out.

Now, I have a system for these things.

1) I call-off. Call "Dorie" once, twice, three times. No response, moved to.

2) A "This is Mine" stomp out of the second bedroom and towards the door. IE: move away
from the door or I'm going to do something about it you're not going to like. Still barking/charging the window. Moved to.

3) Firm tap on the butt. Nothing. Did a second one to see if I just didn't get a sensitive enough spot. Nothing. Moved to.

4) Pressure. This is non-physical gestures that get a dog to back away from you -with the end being direct eye contact in a submissive position. Some effect (usually there's at least some effect if you're doing it right). Got her away from the window/stop charging. Less barking, but in no way respectful. So, move to

5) Repeat pressure 2-3 times when she returns to the window. Repetition is the key to training anything. You let the pressure off when she does what you want: IE: in this case, pay no attention to Sam whose outside (and whose probably run away with his tail between his legs at this point). (in a situation where there isn't a barrier and two dogs start something, don't repeat it if its not working.)

6) Add voice to the pressure. A stern "Hey" or even growling yourself. Save 'the voice' for when you really need it, or it loses its validity VERY quickly.

7) When heavy pressure + "the voice" is not working as you want it to, move to the "I mean business" which is usually, for me, a "Scruff", pulling on the scruff of her neck until the front paws lift off the ground. None of my foster dogs so far have gotten to a "Scruff", but if you mean business, you go to it -providing you know how to do one without getting bitten.

So, I grabbed Dorie's scruff and pulled, but not enough to hurt her by any means. A squeak (don't drop right when they squeak as this means next time they know they can get out of it just by squeaking), suddenly direct eye contact. Held for about 2 seconds and let her go. She redirected a snap at Beckett -normal of dogs that are used to getting their way- but with one "hey" instant recognition -submissive body position with head low, direct, non-wavering eye-contact.

So, I beat Dorie at her own door game. I didn't shut her down, I didn't 'break her spirit', I just said "You're not going to do that" and backed it up.

Dorie is obviously still happy, just acknowledging she's not the biggest bitch anymore.
(This is a submissive posture. Head in line with the back, tail in the middle, good eye contact.)


Since then, Sam has come near the door a few times, and she'll go up to the door, but not bark/charge. This is the behaviour I wanted to get rid of. I don't really care if she's by the door -I just had to claim that area before I could stop the behaviour-. And when Sam isn't out there, she's no where near the sliding door anyway. Luckily, most dogs who you go through the steps with and get to 'the scruff' they understand it very fast. I highly doubt I'll have to do it again with Dorie. She's a tough old bird set in her ways, but I'm also a tough young bird who rents this place out.


For anyone who wants to know a little bit more about the process:

If a scruff doesn't work -which usually means you're not doing it properly- this is when the 'down' eventually comes in. I've NEVER had to go as far as downing a dog physically. (I've downed Beckett a few times for being a complete retard, but never in this approach.)

With heavy pressure, a dog who knows you mean business will usually sit or down themselves into a submissive pose. This is true 'dominance' anyway. The truly dominant dogs don't need to touch another dog to get them to submit. Beckett's told a few teenagers off over the last few months, and he's never made direct contact, but left them in a down position going "What now?". This is the response you want anyway. Realization that their current behaviour is unacceptable.

For example: all of a sudden, Sadie, a one year old black lab who likes to side-tackle dogs when they aren't looking, won't do that anymore (at least to any older dog, and most definitely not to Beckett). Now she'll only practice that behaviour with dogs who do the same to her. IE: when the other dogs says. "Sure, lets play like that."

In one tell-off a dog gets the message across crystal clear "DON'T DO THAT!" We can do it too, but sometimes you were you were a dog to get them to just 'stop'. Now if only Beckett could teach all those teens some manners. He either completely tolerates it, or goes into complete tell-off. So much for him doing my job for me :S

But I get off the point. After the first tell off, with the "checklist" in place, they'll remember the order. So now, when they start the unacceptable behaviour again, they'll stop sooner because they remember the signs. Ideally, you get to the point where you can call the dog's name and the behaviour stops (what we strive for in daycare). At daycare, we are trained to never go past heavy pressure unless someone is actually starting a fight -and then they get kenneled for a few minutes to destress. Stubborn/too-smart for their own good dogs will usually continue until the point before their 'breaking point'. Collies are notorious for nudging the line but not crossing it.

But in Dorie's case, if she starts at the window again, I don't go directly to a scruff. I start the process over again, in that EXACT order. Most likely, she'll stop 2-3 steps before the scruffing. This is similiar to the process I used to off-leash train Beckett. He isn't 'motivated' by food, toys, treats, people, but he is motivated by freedom (to be off-leash) and he is motivated to NOT get shit by his mother. Its kind of a case of parenting "You be good, or ELSE". Pressure works great on him as well.

Some things that I've done a similiar process with, with regards to foster dogs.

Tucker: liked to bark at the birds outside. By the time "Firm Tap" (I had voice with that too -the process is flexible for individual dog) came around he was at his "I really don't like this" point. So, with only a few tries, when I said "Tucker" he understood he should stop (and come to me if he wanted some petting or a treat). He'd still bark at birds, but he would stop when I asked. Any kind of heavy pressure would make Tucker shut down -this is not what you want. You're don't want the dog scared of the process, you want them to understand to stop behaviour when you ask "nicely".

Xena: Liked to be grumpy over her toys. Pressure made her drop them. From the first time chasing her around the yard with her toy and using lots of pressure, we got to the point where stepping towards her after she snarked/growled with the toy in her mouth, she'd drop it. IE: if you're not going to share, you don't get it.

Tine (the husky): Tine was a needy, needy boy. Its a little bit different when you are asking behaviour to stop when they're craving attention -because how effectively do you reward without giving them what they wanted in the first place. So with Tine, I NEVER used his name and skipped step one altogether. Then, when the desired behaviour (IE: out of the room for a bit, or go lay down on your bed for awhile) happened, I would call his name and he would get what he wanted -AFTER I achieved what I wanted.

***If there aren't many -or any- steps between when a dog will stop the behaviour you modify. For example, at daycare we had a few dogs that would get themselves into trouble so that we would call their name -cause coming to your name usually means you get a cookie. These 'smart cookie' dogs don't get step one in their "I mean business" program.

So, Dorie knows I'm the boss, which is good, but she's still funny and a little on the snarky side with Beckett. He's mostly blind, and he gives her a WIDE birth, but she's decided his dog bed is the comfiest one, so Beckett's been shafted to wherever I am -he has a hard time finding the other dog beds on a permenant basis :S.

Either way, Dorie is an awesome dog, she's just your typical grandma. She also means business, is in no way aggressive, but likes to have her way -she has her fosters siblings wrapped around her paw :P She's going to make someone a great companion though -and she's the best sort of dog for teaching unruly teenagers boundaries!

Anyone want to adopt a cool, hip, Grandma dog that doesn't think she's a grandma?

Dorie on Beckett's bed -and NOT sharing :P


One thing's for sure, she definitely knows how to make you smile :)

Reflections, Goals, and Getting Ready for My New Foster(s)

With Jerrad back to full-time work for the first time in over a year, it feels weird to have all this time to myself. Or at least, solid 8-9 hour chunks. Its like it used to be, when I wrote for 3-4 hours a day non-stop without the prescence of another human creature in the house. Its a GREAT feeling. Combine that with no current fosters, and only working part-time, and I suddenly have all this 'free-time' that I should do something with. But I'm kind of an old dog kind of person, and I don't do well with change in general. Sometimes people say your dog is like you, and this is where Beckett and I are exactly the same. We don't do well when the routine suddenly vanishes. We don't know what to do with ourselves. I mean, there's so many things I could be doing, that I'd like to be doing, but my brain and body just haven't moved past 'now what?' expecting things to go back to normal.

But having the couple of days just to 'think' (and hang with my board dog Jersey the Great Dane) has given me a little bit of insight only time can give.

First off, is the fact that if and when I ever get a purebred dog, I am getting a female Great Dane. Secondly, I do not have a lazy couch-potato brain and I'm going to go nutty if I don't start doing anything soon. I'm kind of like a collie in that way. STRUCTURE. Give me STRUCTURE.

Jersey says: "How bout a nice couch please"


Another boot up the arse alongside all the free-time was a nice swift beating from the Saskatchewan job market. Jeepers Murphy is there a lot of opportunity for me there. First of all, I found a great opportunity to write for TV, but after tossing the idea around in my head, I know I want to stay in BC for awhile yet, and keep working with dogs, and all in all, not really 'grow-up'. I want to concentrate on writing for my masters program, and not writing for money right yet. I love fostering, I love boarding, and I love writing, and although money is pretty tight there's always a way to make it work and we never go hungry or without any fun. And truly, I don't know if I ever want to 'write' with the goal of a paycheck, and 5-10 years down the road I might just open my own daycare in Regina. But for now, I'm not going to think of 'the plan'. Right now, I am still living the plan through Masters in September -just the five year plan kind of got away from me in the last couple of years :P

So, after two full days of Jerrad leaving, I'm made myself a goal sheet for this year.

1. I will finally buy myself a new laptop and quit using Jerrad's desktop. SOON.
2. I will write at least two full novels and, beginning in August, maintain two dedicated hours per day (dogs permitting) to devote to my writing.
3. I will continue and 'finish' both my Saskatchewan suite of poems, and my "Muse" suite of poems, if they don't merge first.
4. I will begin work on my already plotted young adult novel about the life of dogs if humans suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.
5. I will finish my novel "M" and get it ready for publication.
6. I will read everyday while the dogs are napping instead of throwing on a movie.
7. I will take time to take Beckett and Beckett only for at least one nice long walk once a week to remember that he is mine one, my soul-dog, my best friend. That without him in my life, I would neither be fostering, nor working with dogs at all.
8. I will continue to foster and do the best that I can do -including hopefully growing the TG foster network alongside helping out Laura and the Mexican dogs, and Island Dogz (and possibly others).
9. I will save some money to go on a vacation either in the States or Mexico, and go to a high-kill shelter where I can pick a few dogs to bring back to rescue in Canada.
10. I will FINALLY make it to a TG reunion!

I'm going to print it out and tape it to the wall so that when I'm feeling like I have nothing to do, I see that I do really have a lot I want to accomplish.

And, in other news, Trunk will be my next foster:


Puggle/Collie mix -strange. She'll be my "Puggie".
I might be getting a second TG foster, but we'll see a little closer to the bus run (which is scheduled for next weekend!!!)

Thanks for reading my rambling (or skipping it to get to the good part :P)
Emily

Fosterless -But Maybe a New Addition?

Xena headed to her new digs today. Although she was initially a little put off by a 'stranger' by the time Linda was set to leave Xena was right alongside her out the gate and into the great new beyond. A couple of days to make sure she's the perfect match, and we're in the clear.

Meaning, I'm fosterless and it just feels plain weird. Beckett came home after Xena left and has been moping around without any friends already. Like not even 20 minutes home moping. Boy needs a regular housemate.

So, although I would very much like that second dog to be a TG dog, (I'm sorry, I've been cheating on and off) I've had my eye on another for awhile.



You might remember Toscana from previous posts. The long and short is that she was brought up from Mexico where she was living on a dump. I fostered her sister Yayis when they first arrived. Toscana's first Canadian home unfortunately hasn't worked out and she's been fostering with Laura for a few weeks now.

Laura tempts me with pictures:


The truth is when the dogs were all brought up from Mexico Toscana's picture was the one I gravitated towards, and she truly is a gorgeous dog with great energy, smaller than Beckett, but not by much, but with that greyhound/whippet thing about her. She's young (not quite 2), playful, loyal and eager to please. So, as long as I can convince Jerrad, she's going to come into foster for about a week (providing Xena doesn't come back) and she might just end up becoming our forever second dog. And if she doesn't, no harm no foul and Beckett will have a playmate while we're technically fosterless for near two weeks.

Not to worry though, even if she's #2 we'll still keep fostering. Maybe not as many at a time, but we'll definitely keep fostering -besides, what better to keep a teenage dog busy than other dogs to play with :)

And for inquiring minds that want to know my next foster, you're as clueless as I am :)
Best,
Emily

Updates from New Homes

First off: Nervous Yayis (now Lily) from a dump in Mexico, living the good-life in Parksville has obviously been having a ton of fun with her new family. Noticed the relaxed posture in picture 2!





Tucker and his mum have headed into Victoria from Cobble Hill, but he's having a blast with everyone and everything. Mr. Social!




Honey (now Daisy) is rocking out in Oak Bay with her big sister Hani (don't they look a wee bit like mad scientists?) Honey definitely isn't shy anymore!





Husky mix Tine (now Tye) is loving life with his cat buddies, lots of walks, and comes to daycare once or twice a week for social get togethers. He is one of the most playful, yet well-mannered boys we have and his paw-rents report he can even go off-leash! Hopefully pictures soon :)

Chi-diva May (now Mae) has been riding shotgun to the cabin with her new dad and being a spoiled little princess -with gusto. Pictures when they're not vacationing!

Toast (now Cree) is everything her four-legged sister Noon wanted in a playmate. She's still getting used to her new digs and is still on the cautious side, but is warming up quickly.

And Xena heads to her huge acreage today. There might be a trial to make sure she can get along with all of the livestock, or there might be a straight-up adoption. Either way, Xena's going to love it -and in the next bus run, get her new sister Annie as well!

Which means, I might be fosterless for a little bit, but you never know ;)