29 Fosters in 2012

So, looking back on the blog since Jan 1st, 2012, it's been 29 fosters this year!

From Upper Left to Lower Right:

Urchin (now Steve) -6 month old Schnauzer mix with Ocean Dog Rescue, originally from a kill shelter in Taiwan. Adopted to a great home in Vancouver with K9 sibling, doting parents and teenage girls to play with. Remembered for: Running squealing from the chickens the first time they met.

Emmett (Gary) -4 month old Great Pyrenese x from Turtle Gardnes. Living with his dad and 9 year old in Langford. Remembered for: Be considered as a working therapy dog/seeing eye dog. (Turtle Gardens was asked if they would consider allowing him to go that program.) Stunning temperment.

Allie -2 year old very fearful Spaniel x saved last minute from Devore shelter, California. Living with three confident malteses and a patient mum in rural Cobble Hill. Remembered for: never thinking we could adopt her out. Her transformation from scared, fearful dog to silly family pet.

DimSum (Lucy) -7 month old Irish Terrier x from Turtle Gardens. Living it up in Metchosin on a neat little acreage with young active parents. Remembered for: always comparing her to her sister. Ironically getting the same adopted name as her sister, therefore becoming 'Lucy-Sum'.

Rupee (Nixie) -2 year old Miniature Pinscher x Chihuahua from California. Came as a last minute foster that a previous rescue had abandoned on transport! Now living the spoiled rotten life in Victoria with great parents. Remembered for: Changing my mind on MinPin mixes. Being Jerrad's constant companion.

Freddie - 4 year old Maltese x Poodle from Turtle Gardens. Dumped from a puppymill in Northern BC. Remembered for: being the nicest dog going. Doing the silly poodle dance.

Kahlua (Tucker) -6 month old Formosan Mountain Dog x from Ocean Dog Rescue (Taiwan). Now living with two police officers in Victoria. Remembered for: being labeled shy, but actually just being completely aloof.

Buckwheat (Skye) -4 month old Golden Retriever x from Turtle Gardens. Now living with TG alumni Tegan and smashing parents; living the good life. Remembered for: Dropping him off with Sheila and David knowing full well I wouldn't have to look at any other applications ;). Seeing him at daycare on Tuesdays :)

Alphie - 3 year old Chihuahua x from Devore shelter in California. Now living in beautiful Tofino. Remembered for: being quite sick when he came. Hating Alvin who was fostering here with him.

Megan (Maddie) -6 month old Border Collie x from Turtle Gardens. Now living with adoring parents in Sooke. Remembered for: Being close to a foster fail. Being quite a mellow/lazy border collie.

Suzie -10 month old Formosan Mountain dog x from Ocean Dog rescue in Taiwan. Recently adopted to a great home in Vancouver. Remembered for: preparing for a shy dog, and within 5 minutes having her in my lap. Her kicking me with those huge kangaroo legs!

Jasmine: 7-8 year old Formosan Dog Rescue, from Taiwan. Adopted with Zephyr to a home in northern BC. Poor girl had been through the ringer in Taiwan. Remembered for: Being totally uncomfortable being a house pet. The odd moments of sheer happiness she could have that unfortunately were far and few between at times. A truly 'special project' dog.

Chowmein (Lucy): 7-8 month old Irish Terrier x from Turtle Gardens. Adopted to a stunning family with an amazing acreage property in Sooke. Remembered for: Being a big couch potato. Wrestling with Lemon. The 3 homechecks we did in one day for her!

Onyx-Vudu (Captain): 7-8 month old Shiba Inu X from Turtle Gardens. Adopted to a great couple and their son. Living the good life in Esquimalt. Remembered for: Being off-leashable within a week, being just so darn cute.

Josh (Jake): 4-5 year old Golden Retriever from Ocean Dog Rescue (Taiwan). Adopted to a single lady in Vancouver who has the time to work with him. Remembered for: Being kind of a jerk, needing a firm hand, but having awesome aptitude for being a sports prospect. Reminded me that the kindest, best looking face isn't usually the best dog.

Truffle (Abby): 18 month old Flat Coat Retriever x from Ocean Dog Rescue (Taiwan). Adopted to a great family with a golden retriever named Hunter. Having a blast running the beaches and doing lots of swimming in Victoria. Remembered for: Having off-leash day 2. Being so close to adopting her myself, but knowing she was too easy a dog for me, and at the same time, knowing she needed more than us anyway. But soooooo close!

Migo: 1 1/2 year old Formosan Mountain Dog x from Ocean Dog Rescue (Taiwan). Adopted to a great single man in Duncan who bikes him everyday and takes him to work. Remembered for: Being my first Ocean Dog rescue, taking a lot longer than usual to get adopted for such a good dog, taking a few weeks to become an ideal dog in the house. A real handful, but a real sweetie once he learnt the rules.

Twist (Lita): 10 month old Border Collie in 11 pounds from Cozumel Humane Society (Mexico). My own save, and adopted to my co-worker Meshum and her partner. Remembered for: Being a right little spitfire, just not able to say no to saving her.

Momo: 2 year old Pug from Ocean Dog Rescue (Taiwan). Living in a nice big house with great parents and canine brother in North Saanich. Remembered for: Being the only dog so far in foster care that hasn't been able to be housetrained by the 'no pee, no play' method. Also, annoying the heck out of all the other dogs. SNORING!!!!

Hanna: 4 year old Chihuahua from California. Fostered between TG bus runs for the same people I fostered Rupee for. Now living in downtown Victoria and loving the busy lifestyle. Helps her mum study for her law degree with lots of cuddles. Remembered for: Guarding the couch and not being able to have couch priviledges. Being goofy when we'd go to the big field for everyone to play in.

Pika: 18 month old Pug x Mastiff from Turtle Gardens. Originally adopted in Sooke, but the family have sinced moved to Calgary, so she's now a Calgary resident. Remembered for: Being so silly looking, having the best face to photograph and shredding whatever paper she could get her paws on.

Alvin: 2 year old Chihuahua from California. Living downtown Victoria with his mum that treats him like a big dog despite his size of 5 pounds. Remembered for: having to teach to be a 'real dog'. Dancing for his water dish, growing on me like a weed.

Ginger: 2 year old Great Pyrenese x. Living with great parents and their cats in Sooke. Spoiled rotten indeed! Remembered for: Being my biggest foster at 90 pounds. Her manly bark and leaning her big sweet face in my lap.

Barley (Mika): 4 month old Golden Retriever x from Turtle Gardens. Fostered with her brother Buckwheat. Now living with great parents and canine brother Kobi. I get to see her at the daycare twice a week and she has grown into a fantastic dog. Remembered for: Always being asked if she was a golden retriever puppy, having applications out the wazoo.

Helen (Simone): 4-5 year old Formosan Mountain dog cross from TUAPA (Taiwan). Helen was held back to come to a foster home as she was apparently snarky with other dogs. After seeing some videos I could tell she was all bark and decided to take her on. She is now living happily with great parents and canine brother Pierre. Remembered for: Being the cutest dog going, always wanting the love.

Dickory (Hovey): 8 month old Husky x Corgi x Shiba Inu. A true Heinz 57. Fostered for Turtle Gardens after she failed an adoption in Vancouver. Now living with active single dad in Victoria. Hitting up the trails and dog parks every day, and being a social butterfly. Remembered for: Being a totally goof, and the happy-go-luckiest dog probably ever in foster here.

Luma (Luna): 8 month old Alaskan Husky x from Turtle Gardens, ditched for jumping on kids. Luna is now living the good life in Victoria with parents ready to tackle her training requirements. Remembered for: Giving anyone else the leash and her turning into a totally husky. Getting her instead of the foster I was supposed to get that particular bus run. Lots of kisses

Max: 10 month old Alaskan Husky x from Turtle Gardens. Max came instead of the arranged foster and threw us for loop as for the first few days he picked Beckett as enemy #1. Thankfully all got sorted and he found a loving home in Nanaimo very quickly. Remembered for: Dropping the long-line on him 1 1/2 weeks in and him bolting as if he was just set free in heaven. I had to chase him around for almost half an hour WITH the 20 foot long line!!

Zephyr: 7-8 year old Formosan Mountain mix from Taiwan. He came with Jasmine and although a bit of a cranky old codger he grew like fungus on us. A lovely old guy once he got over not liking Beckett. An EXCELLENT cuddling partner. Though he stayed the longest of all the fosters we've had, he was welcome to a place forever with us if he needed it. He is now living the good life in Northern BC. Remembered for: Staying the longest. The bald patch on his bum.

Looking forward to all that 2013 has to offer.
Emily Out

New Foster Upon Return

 

The holidays are a happy time of year. Families get together, we eat lots, we have time off -it's a good time by all. But it's an absolutely horrid time for shelter dogs in California where they experience an all-time high as people drop off their pets before holidays. And this is before the onslaught of puppies hitting the shelter because they were bought as unwanted Christmas gifts.

 

Surrenders are high, adoptions are low. It envitable -many of these pups aren't going to see new years. My friend June bombarded her page with at least 20 dogs that all fit my "bill" so to speak. It hurts to look at all of them knowing many of them won't be having a Merry Christmas.

 

I always go back to Yvette's motto though.

"I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." -Edward Everrett Hale

 

Because I don't like to mix new Californian fosters with TG dogs or the Taiwanese guys (they undergo lots of quarantine) or even my new pup for minimum 3 weeks -contagion times-, my friend June is going to send me this girl who came to Victoria over a week ago and has shown no signs of anything. She is timid but not "fearful" in the sense of potential to be a fear biter. She needs confidence building (as do most of them after enduring what they've gone through) so it should be a good fit for everybody. Seems confidence building is our little niche.

 

We welcome Chelsea in the new year. This way, we can foster her but still allow for a Taiwanese and/or a TG dog to come in by the 10th as well as giving Chelsea's space away to someone who desperately needs it.

 

 

Little Chelsea

This is the little girl that's slated to take Chelsea's spot, but we shall see. You can never tell until she's actually "out of the building". Sometimes they are put down beforehand. If they are really lucky, someone else has saved them before. If not her, someone will definitely get her spot.

 



Merry Christmas everyone. I hope in the new year you consider to foster a dog and help be part of saving a life. Whether it be from local rescue, or going small and fostering for a group that rescues out of California or elsewhere, fostering is an excellent way to do a small part to make a bright future. There are bumps in the road, and I assure you that you will fall in love with some (they will be adopted quickly), and there will be some you want to kick out the door (who usually stay much longer), but every little bit helps. Even if you work 8 hour days, consider fostering an older dog who will probably be happy curling up on your couch for most of the day.

Even if you fostered just one dog in 2013, we can all do it together.

Merry Christmas,
Emily, Jerrad, Beckett, Lemon & Jinksie Doo

Urchin Found his New Home

Update from Saskatchewan: Urchin has found his home for the holidays :)

He is being adopted by adopters who have adopted with Ocean Dog Rescue before and will have a canine sibling, two teenage girls to play with and doting parents. MERRY CHRISTMAS URCHIN!! I am glad you won't have to come back to foster bootcamp with us, though you would have been more than welcome.

And so that makes 28 fosters through our foster home in 2012 -plus an adoptee! That puts us at just over 2 dogs placed a month. Not too shabby. Officially this is our first full calendar year of fostering as well, since 2011 fostering started in March.

The New Year will bring new fosters, but for now I'm sniffling cause I'm missing my babies (who will be my 'babies' until/unless I have human babies).

Here is a silly picture of the three of them at the K9HQ Christmas party.

They're all my babies. So happy with each one of them and even in the future I don't think I would move to a single breed. I love Beckett because he isn't needy and isn't overly loyal and doesn't require lots of attention, but at the same time he demands my exercise and he's a fabulously stable dog. He is "the rock".

I love Lemon for almost completely reverse reasons. She's a needy little bugger with a bit of attitude to her, she is highly capable but not highly willing ----much like her mother!! She is friendly to the point of running off with almost stranger she meets. She's quite a 'soft' dog in many ways, but can be very stubborn. Most of all, she is a fantastic cuddler and constant companion. She's the "buddy buddy" dog. A lab in 11 pounds.

And Jinksie doo, though I haven't had her very long yet is already the willing one, the one eager to bond and eager to work . A different kind of dog altogether with an intensity I haven't seen matched in another breed yet. A dog with a different relationship want -neither like Beckett who would rather just be 'good roommates', or Lemon who wants to be your buddy and lap-warmer, but a dog who wants you to tell her what you'd like her to do. Sure she wants to settle after a good day of work and play, but she wants a working relationship with me.

I could be wrong, but having a couple of dogs who REALLY want a working type relationship would probably exhaust me.

Having the different breeds also emphasizes even more going forward in training that each human-dog relationship is different and requires a bit of tweaking on the approach of the training to get the best results.

Even about my babies though. I'll put a blog up soon with all the adoptees this year, but if you have an update for me about one of my old fosters, do pop it in to me. I would love to get some for Christmas :)

Best,
Emily

Thinking of Getting a Dog in the New Year -Here are Some Great Dogs Looking for Homes

Although I don't recommend getting a puppy until after the chaos of the Christmas holidays are over, if you or someone you know is looking to get a puppy or an adult dog in the new year, here are some great dogs in rescue looking for their homes.

Turtle Gardens Pups!
In January, two litters of puppies will be ready to come into foster and adoptive homes. A litter of rottie mixes (guess with Aussie Shepherd, as mum is only 50 pounds). They are well socialized with dogs and people. Just waiting for their forever families.

Colby-Jack is a boy from the rotti mix litter. He has sisters and brothers looking for homes too.

The second Turtle Gardens litter is a super affectionate PEOPLE LOVING sharpei x pittie litter, raised with other dogs so great dog social skills already. Fostering a few little puppies for TG over the last year or two I can tell you they have THE BEST dog social skills of any puppies I've seen. And I sure see A LOT of puppies! They might be kind of plain black dogs to look at, but these guys all lay at Yvette's feet and love to be loved.

Xavier is one of a litter of four, all looking for their forever homes. He promises once you go black you'll never go back.

 

Coming down on the bus run this weekend are some great adults looking for their forever homes too. If ever in question of who is available for adoption, check out the petfinder listings here: http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelterid=BC03 You can always e-mail Yvette @ turtlegardens@gmail.com too to see if anyone who isn't on petfinder yet might be your match. Usually there are 5-10 dogs that aren't on petfinder yet so a good way to check. Some young collie mixes, a bigger rottie mix, etc. From easy family pets to workaholics to 'projects', they have them all. Most TG dogs are reliably housetrained (Even the puppies. Dayo the 13 week old I had was almost flawlessly housetrained -of course with supervision). Neither Buckwheat or Barley (16 weeks) had an accident here EVER.

If you can't find who you are looking for locally have a check out of some of the great Taiwanese dogs looking for homes here in BC. (They are currently located in Taiwan)

This is Willie, a very good-looking but VERY ACTIVE teenage (1 year) Golden Retriever mix who needs someone to run him every day. He is very friendly (sometimes too friendly), but is a boisterious, confident guy. He is a happy, fun companion.
 Here is his petfinder: http://oceandogrescue.org/dog/willie

Willie is sure a good looking-boy!

Also check out May, a very affectionate medium-sized (20 ish pounds) 7-8 month old black dog with the face of a puggle! She is friendly to both people and dogs, as well as children! She is expected to be only about 30 pounds full grown. To me she looks like a puggle and a lab cross. Being a black dog she hopes she can find her home before she is an 'adult dog'. There are so many black dogs in Taiwan that have been in care for years and years without being selected to be adopted :( Here is May's petfinder: http://oceandogrescue.org/dog/may-0

 

 

Speaking of a dog that has been in foster care in Taiwan for years, if you are looking for a sweet older dog to join your family, have a look at Snow White:

Snow White is a 7 year old Formosan Mountain x Lab mix. She is 45 pounds, and although can be shy at first loves children (as you can see) and is a loyal, dog social girl. She is housebroken and quiet and loves to snuggle. She has been waiting for a few years in Taiwan waiting patiently for her forever home. But reality is, very few people want to adopt an older dog and her chances at an overseas adoption are becoming fewer and fewer. Older dogs make great family pets as they are steady, gentle and you can test their temperments much more readily than that of a younger dog. They are mature and can really settle into a great relationship early.

Even if you don't find your new pup on this page, please contact your local rescues to find the dog for you. It may take awhile to find who you are looking for, but even if you are after a puppy please do everything possible to find one in rescue.

Reality is, unless you need a true working dog with a pedigree to do the work you need it to do (herd sheep, protection work for police) you can get an equally great companion from rescue. And isn't that really what you want from your dog: a great companion.

Merry Christmas everyone. I am happy knowing there are many pooches celebrating a Christmas in a home that might not have been possible if not for rescue. Choose adoption as your option :)

Wrapping My Head Around a Very Big Topic

Man, in my dog training course and putting together curriculum to hopefully be teaching my own beginners and puppy classes in the new year, the hardest thing going has been this: figuring out which 'label' of dog-training I fit under.

I have been doing lots of reading on the scientific positive-only based models that reward for correct responses and ignore incorrect responses. Their belief is that lack of attention in and of itself is a punishment/consequence to a dog. I have been watching lots of videos with really good information and technique to creating bomb-proof behaviours out of puppies. However, coming from a world of rescue where very, very few are blank-slate puppies of 8-10 weeks key behaviours have already been rewarded in an act that they are self-fufilling. IE: The dog just likes to do the behaviour, and doesn't really mind if there's a lack of attention from their handler because of it. IE: The behaviour has been practiced and habitualized too much already to (in my opinion) take away based on a pure 'ignoring' approach. Of course they go on to say to interrupt behaviours, etc, and suffice to say in short form that I agree with almost all positive-based training.

We must mould, shape and mark behaviours in order to create a dog that learns and thinks. At the same time, I'm truly struggling with where respect comes in within a purely-positive model. How exactly can you tell a dog what they SHOULD NOT be doing if you only ever tell them how good they are?

I found this good analogy:
"And the problem with (positive-only training) is:… Imagine somebody trying to teach you to drive from Los Angeles to St. Louis … but they ONLY tell you when you’re going in the right direction, and they NEVER tell you when you’re going in the wrong direction.
Either you’re going to get completely lost, or it’s going to take you a VERY, VERY LONG TIME to get to St. Louis. Of course… you might have a lot of fun taking a long, long time… but if you’re trying to get home on time for Christmas dinner… forgettaboutit!~ Plus, when you train exclusively with positive training techniques… you will never end up with a dog that is 100% reliable in a “street smart/around town” environment.

I recommend using BOTH positive and negative motivation. The wise trainer will always adapt to the dog and respond with more or less positive or negative motivation in response to what the dog is giving him."

In my training I have been exposed to the use of pressure, a 'hands-less' form of correction that deals with the brain/hierachy of a pack. Dogs use pressure on each other all of the time, it is something that is ingrained in them. If you think of horsewhispering, it is very similiar. It is using body language to own space -it teaches dogs to be soft and does not involve physical force like leash corrections, etc. To a traditional 'positive' trainer, pressure is intimidation and therefore is punitive.

How though then, if you do not use any form of saying 'no, that's not what I want', do you gain reliability and respect. Should a dog be a machine when it comes to commands -no-, but I want to know that even under a tense environment, that my dog will still look for my guidance as their leader.

Only saying yes also creates a great possibility that the environment of giving only positive lets the dog do the bear minimum to earn their reward. Smart dogs that don't naturally want to be a follower catch on to this very fast -I saw first hand a little mini aussie who had gone through 12 intensive weeks of clicker-training who still had no respect for her handler-. The handler was doing everything the trainer asked, but being a good leader -in my opinion- is knowing when to give praise, when to withhold it, and when to disagree with behaviour via a pressure correction.

It also goes back to each individual dog in their motivation to 'be good', and what they will work for. Even in my own house it varies greatly.

For example, Beckett almost solely works for 'freedom': IE: off-leash priviledges. He couldn't care about food 9/10 (though will take anything if he doesn't have to do anything for it). His motivation then is negative motivation to begin with. In his mind, the leash is punitive. Freedom is his positive. He is not a sensitive dog, he has to know who is boss. If we had only ever applied positive with him he'd be running us. It goes back to being an aloof dog. If the only consequence was not having my attention -he wouldn't care at all.

For a consequence to be a consequence, it has to mean something to the dog shouldn't it?

Lemon will work for food, and love and she is overall quite a soft dog. She needs much more positive than negative to excell and to be honest it's very rare that she would need a correction -hands off or otherwise-. She is a dog who could be get away with a purely positive approach. It stems back to the 'consequence' of absolutely no attention being a true consequence for her. Stems back to motivation.

I go back to the same line:

For a consequence to be a consequence, it has to mean something to the INDIVIDUAL dog shouldn't it?

In a pack of dogs, a true alpha type dog applies their leadership when and where it is needed, and if you watch them they apply different force and timing to each situation.

When I start training, I want to train people to have their dogs work FOR THEM and be rewarded for working FOR THEM, and not just rewarded on correct 'behaviour' alone. To me, it isn't fair on any person or dog to ONLY give them 'the way' without showing them where they've gone wrong and getting them back on track.

But, whenever you are teaching something new, it should be POSITIVE and FUN! It is unfair to give correction if the dog doesn't know to perform the correct response to begin with.

My two cents. I love my dogs to pieces, but they are my dogs and I am responsible for their actions in our world. They are a gift to me, but they are not god's gift to the world and aren't perfect all the time. I will praise them when they succeed, I will set them up to succeed, but I will also steer them back on the path to success if they happen to decide to stray from it. Whether that makes me a bad trainer in the eyes of some, so be it.

If there's one thing two trainers can agree on, it's that the third trainer is doing something wrong.

In foster terms, Urchin is headed over to Vancouver tonight. He is going to visit a potential family but if they aren't a match for him he's being fostered in Vancouver while I'm away anyway. He's a cute little stinker and sure has come a long way in a few weeks.

This video is too long to upload directly to the blog, but if you want take a peek: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=10151175681038671&set=vb.729918670&type=3&theater

In it I play a game with Urchin so that he allows his collar to be touched, and goes towards an outstretched hand. This is a great game to play with sensitive, shyer dogs as if they got lost somehow, they are more likely to come to a strange hand. It can also help with hand-shy dogs who have been been hurt in the past. Counter-conditioning for the win!

Name Origins

Just a quick blog on where my pups' names have come from.

Beckett came with his name. It's a good one, why change it! Besides, it's also the name of a famous author who I just so happened to be studying in my undergrad just before we adopted him. A very distinguished name for quite a distinguished dog :)

Once we decided to adopt Lemon back when she was still 'Aster' Jerrad and I drove out to Sooke sayings the most random things that jumped into our heads. I think we got talking about car terms when Jerrad was naming this car and that car. I said "Lemons" and then Jerrad said "Lemon" and then we looked at each other and went "That'll work." She's just a Lemon.

Although I had some names on the backburner for Jinks, after a few days I found her name. Originally I found Jinx, like a spell or hex but in thinking it over a little I remembered the word High Jinks, which means: boisterous or rambunctious carryings-on : carefree antics or horseplay :

Playful, often noisy and rowdy activity, usually involving mischievous pranks.

 

Seems a fitting name for a baby border collie!

 

So Jinks' full name is "High Jinks or Hijinks", but shortened to Jinks for every day use. Just like Lemon's full name is "Lemon Zinger" (after the tea, but also because she used to zoom or 'zing' all over the place). Beckett doesn't really have a full name but his 'pet' name is Beckett Shmeckett sometimes just shortened to "Shmeck". Jinks has been getting a pet name of Jinksie Doo or Jinksie Pie or Jinksie Sphinx. Lemon will always be "Zing Butt", the odd time I'll call her Shmemin (to go with Shmeckett).

 

I'd love to hear how some dogs you guys have known got their names. Good names are hard to come by. I love finding dogs with names that just suit them. There are just too many Maggies, Buddys, Chloes, Baileys and Sadies out there. They tend to be names for your average golden or lab in which case maybe they do suit as there are just so many of them and they all tend to look alike.

 

Some of my favourite names that have been through my foster doors:

Toast (she did look like a piece of Toast!)

Alvin (the 5 pound chihuahua lived up to his chipmunk name origins. And just as annoying too :P)

Dickory (although I didn't like it initially, it is so great to call from a distance and fun to say too.)

 

I had a friend growing up whose family dog was "Squish", a pekingnese dog with a squished face who always managed to get underfoot. Aptly named indeed. We have a beagle at daycare named Watson and a weiner dog named Python both that they seem to fit their names perfectly too.

 

To me, it isn't about the name itself, but the combination of dog, traits and the name. Any good tips for names? Would love to hear them.

 

 

Updates from the Foster Front

Urchin had a great homecheck, but unfortunately the family decided the adoption fee was too high for them. That's okay, onwards and upwards. I know adoption fees can be daunting but reality is if you can't afford the adoption fee ($300-$500), you wouldn't be able to do much in an emergency for your dog. My two cents. Maybe not fair, but to me it just means the right family has yet to show up.

Urchin will be hanging out in Vancouver for a couple weeks while we're gone, but I believe there's an application in Vancouver for him now too. We'll see. He will be welcome back at foster boot camp once we get back from vacation.

And a big shout out to Mike who offered to take Beckett in while we're away. He will hang out with a happy Miika (she was so shy/skittish when we first met her, and the change is amazing!) and crabby pants Panda -our fastest foster- who is a total daddy's girl.

Otherwise life is good. Jinks is turning into Beckett's dog, and Lemon is turning into my dog but that's okay. Jinks can definitely benefit from learning from the old man and to be honest I'd rather her learn from him than Lemon -she can be a bit of a jerk by times whereas Beckett doesn't have a mean bone in him.

I'm hoping to get some good video of Urchin tomorrow if it's not downpouring. He is growing like a weed and is building muscle quickly. He was a low-energy dog when he first got here and he's definitely at least a medium energy level dog now. It's possible he could be a medium-high dog when all is said and done.

Don't worry Urchin pup, sometimes it takes a little longer to find your people, but when you find them you'll never look back.

Snippets of Jinksie Doo's Life

Well, she's been here not quite two weeks and I couldn't be happier with her :) Her old foster mum taught her quite a bit already, and I've been busy keeping up the former training and doing some work with her myself. True to her heritage, she picks up things quickly! She's also miss popular at work, playing with anyone and everyone who can keep up with her. Mostly, she tires one dog out and the next one comes and plays with her. Her and Lemon play in the mornings, and she bugs Beckett into playing with her in the evenings. She sleeps nicely through the night, is about 95% housebroken, and doesn't mind hanging out at home with a chewy bone for a few hours.

She has earned off-leash priviledges on the acreage already, and has earned them on quieter trails. She can already call off some dogs, but typical puppy (and we've only had her two weeks), if she's playing with somebody, there's no calling her back. But we'll get there. Heck, she's ahead of schedule already but a lot.

Here is a video of miss Jinks doing some recall. This is approx 75-100 feet, and she'd only been practicing recalls like this for approx 10-15 minutes training time combined over a few previous sessions. (So, maybe 5 small sessions?)

Here's a little video of Jinks and Beckett out for a walk. (Lemon had been my demo dog in class an hour before and was quite adamant that she'd done her duty for the day. So she stayed home with Urchin who highly dislikes the rain.)

And because life wouldn't be complete without a good picture, here's baby Jinksie Doo on a crisp fall day:

Off to a homecheck with Urchin tonight. Fingers crossed he finds where he is supposed to be forever.

Emily + Crew out.

Anyone Willing to Hang with Beckett for the Holidays?

Original plans for Christmas look like they are falling through for Beckett, as my friend and co-worker is getting calls for Christmas boarding out the wazoo. I hate to tie up a money-yielding spot for her -especially as all of us in the pet care industry aren't exactly well off- (it's a somewhat sad fact our dogs are treated better than we treat ourselves!), so I'm putting it out there for any Victoria - Duncan people who wouldn't mind having a semi-senior hang out with them for two weeks.

Details
Care Needed: December 16-30th
8+ year old Husky mix (50 pounds)

 

Overly dog social, fine with cats, gets about an hour of solid exercise a day but could romp around a yard for a few weeks without issue. Decent recall, but he's a husky so if he gets out of sight he'll play the 'I can't hear you' card. He can walk into things by times (visually impaired). Mostly just hangs out on his dog bed throughout the day -he's a lazy couch potato inside-. Housetrained, fine left alone for 6-8 hours. EXCELLENT with children. He would be an excellent dog for anyone who is looking to give their kids a dog experience over the holidays without actually adopting a dog.

I can find about $100 for his boarding, but hadn't alloted for the full expense of good quality boarding in the Christmas budget. Jinks has a boarding spot and Lemon is staying with a friend.

Hoping he can find a home environment so I don't have to go find a kennel for him. Feel free to leave me a message.

XOXO
Beckett + Emily

Suzie Goes Home

Suzie was adopted over the weekend! Reports are that she's already settling into her new home complete with multiple squeaky toys -her favourite :) She was initially shy of the family when they came to visit her, but Jerrad let Lemon out to do some serious cuddleage, and Suzie decided since Lemon liked them, she'd like them too.

Friendly (sometimes even too friendly) dogs can make a big difference for shy dogs. I'm glad we could help Suzie find herself and her family. I have to admit, she left a bit of a hole when she left. Most of the dogs that land here have a feel of a revolving door to them, but there are some that leave a big piece of them with me when they go. We'll always remember Suzie and her silliness.

Urchin is being a good little monkey, and will have his homecheck tomorrow night -he has a second application in Vancouver too which is pretty cool. He is the last foster before the new year as we are going away for just under two weeks for Christmas. Around his own 'world' IE: the farm, he is an outgoing little terrier dude, but out in the real world he still struggles with fear of newness. He will need someone special who doesn't mind having a puppy who isn't gung-ho about the world, or potentially a rural environment where he doesn't have to go outside into the big, wide world. He gives awesome snuggles though :) Even with the two good applications I worry that people are seeing a cute little hypoallergenic puppy and not the personality of the dog beneath the exterior. Fate will play it's hand I'm sure.

For now it's off to bed. Wednesdays for the next few weeks are going to be crazy with split shifts. 6:30-10, and 3-6:30 doesn't sound super fun to me, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Will update soon with Urchin's potential new horizons.
Emily Out

Everybody's Happy Tonight

All chilled out with the three full-timers, and the two Taiwanese guys. Suzie, Beckett and Lemon are camped out on the dog bed, Suzie chewing on her new-found nylabone with gusto. After weeks here, tonight she had an epiphany about toys and has been going a little loonie about them. It's funny to see Jinks roll her eyes at Suzie. "Dur," Jinks says, "That's what they are stoooopid. You play with them!"

Urchin is curled up on the end of the couch with his own nylabone happy as a clam. He is really an excellent puppy. For six months he is nice and calm for the most part, easily redirected from mischief, and super cuddly. He doesn't mind hanging out for five or six hours at home with his chewie in his crate, and is fantastic with minimal exercise. He's a real gem for anyone who will put a bit of work into making the real world not quite so scary.

I posted him for adoption early today, and within 40 minutes I got an application in! It looks pretty good for him too. I'm waiting for confirmation from Ocean Dog Rescue so I can schedule a homecheck. We shall see.

I'm off early tomorrow for some dentistry in Vancouver tomorrow, but Suzie's potential new family is coming to meet her tomorrow and hopefully adopt her. I have to admit, I will be happy either way. If I get home and she's gone I know she's gone home. If she's still here when I get home, I'll be happy to see her silly little face.

For now, it's time for bed for baby Jinks. She's pretty good about chewing her bone thoroughly in the evenings but had decided instead of just chewing on it, she will throw it up in the air and try to catch it. Ahh... baby border collies. She is lovely though. Couldn't of asked for a better girl. Lots to work on.

Good night all. Snuggle your pups for me :)

Being Silly with Suzie

 

It's been a horribly rainy week, but we've been having fun nonetheless. Urchin is settling in well and is coming leaps and bounds in his housetraining. He is a bit of a jekyl/hyde. Part of him is a scared, unsure little dog without a lot of socializing, and the other half is a TERRIER, running circles around the house like a crazy thing. And when he gets the crazy terrier moments of biology, his little eyes are bugged out of his head like he's being possessed and his body isn't his. It's friggin' hillarious! He bucks like a horse. Hopefully I'll catch some video someday, but I laugh so much I don't know if I could hold the camera to capture it. Most of the time he is a cuddly, stoic little guy but watch out when the terrier gets turn on :P

Jinks has got him playing some too, though Lemon thinks he's weird therefore has decided she is way too above him to play with him -she is starting to act the part of overbearing, feels-she's-entitled-to-everything teenager! We were bound to get to the teenage stage eventually I guess! Oh the diva eyes I got when I brought Beckett and Jinks to daycare today and left her behind.

"WHATTYA MEAN!!!!! I'M the FAIREST OF THEM ALL!!!!!! I SHOULD GO TO DAYCARE. ME ME ME ME ME ME ME!!" Guess what Lemon, you're going down a couple of pegs on the totem pole.

Urchin will proabably spend another week with us before I think he's ready for daycare. Little guy is scared of his own shadow at times. As I get to know him better I don't know if I'm safer placing him with shy-dog experienced people so that if he never outgrows his shyness he'll be fine, or if I should look for someone who wants a terrier personality, as it's very possible in a few months the shyness will be all but gone and he'll just be a typical terrier. We shall see. I think another week will tell me what he needs a home too.

Suzie has finally decided Urchin can touch her Beckett without getting a whallop. Beckett got smart on her and if she grouched on anyone, he just moved away from the dog bed. Good man Beckett. Much more effective way of controlling her guarding than I could do anyway. She's not a bad guarder, she just thinks Beckett is 'her Beckett'. Hasn't tried to guard him from Lemon mind you. ---To be fair, as much of a pain in the butt Lemon has been the past couple of weeks, she's still top dog. Jinks could take her spot I think -she's very confident in herself, perhaps an ever stronger personality than Lemon. Time will tell.

For now, I leave you with a funny video of Suzie and I both being dorks. I love this dog so much, she's just a goofball. I'm hopeful that the people coming to meet her Sunday decide to adopt her :) They are coming from Vancouver, so that's a commitment in and of itself! It definitely shows that I like her a lot though, I didn't even network her here on the island. Hoard her all to myself just a bit.

 

Pictures of my girl soon. Apparently I am out of storage space on this blog, so I have to go back and delete a whole bunch of pictures to make room for new ones I guess. Joy.

 

Emily Out

Name Found

Pictures soon, -the rain is unrelenting- but the name is found.

#3 is now "Jinks"

Old Pic from her Foster Home.

And now, it's time for bed!
Emily Out

Updates from a Full House

Sorry I haven't posted much the last few days. Things have been pretty busy! Our new pup -which doesn't seem like a Morgan or a Taryn (the two names I'd picked out), is settling in fine, but of course she is a high energy puppy, which means both Jerrad and I have to be on our game. She's fitting in really well though, is quite sweet for a working breed pup and although she is busy she is not crazy. Thank goodness!

Suzie wasn't particularly pleased with her arrival however. She has decided Beckett and Lemon are "HER" siblings, and that no newcomer is allowed to play with them. For being quite a submissive dog in general, she sure is a snot! But that's okay. Suzie gets the morning from 6am-noon out with my dogs, and she gets her hour walk in the evening and then another hour out before bed. She naps the afternoon away.

Whereas miss BC pup functions on an opposite routine. She gets her morning 30 minute walk around the property, about 10-15 minutes of toy play alternating with training, and then she's back to bed for the morning. Then she comes to work with me in the afternoon, goes for the hour walk at night and calls it a day for about 8:30pm or so. So luckily, her and Suzie doesn't really have to hang out together.

Suzie has a family from Vancouver coming to see her/adopt her if all goes well on Sunday. She's a sweet little girl. I hope she decides to bond with someone else quickly. I love her to bits, but obviously she needs her own family that she doesn't have to share!

We had our last and final foster for this year come in yesterday. Urchin is a 5 month old miniature schnauzer mix. He sure is cute, but he sure needs some socializing. Poor little man doesn't even know what a leash is, but because he's terrier, his first thought is throw temper tantrums. So, he's dragging his leash around and has a totally pissed off face all the time because of it. Ahh, terrier character. Though he spent yesterday growling and hissing like a cat at Beckett, today he's decided Beckett's okay. He's out with Suzie in the mornings, and will nap the afternoons away, so that he is on the opposite schedule as BC pup. He doesn't want much to do with the other dogs anyway. I'm not sure yet if he's just undersocialized and hasn't ever bonded with a human (the foster homes in Taiwan have a lot of dogs, as the alternative is those dogs die), or if he's just an aloof terrier type. I think he'd make a good family dog. I'll get some pictures of him soon. And of my girl too!

For now, here is Urchin's pic from Taiwan. Since this picture his ears have stood up!

Now, back to trying to keep him out of mischief. Luckily Suzie and my first two are on the dog bed being good, quiet dogs while I'm trying to get some homework done and BC pup is snoozing away for a few more hours yet.

I think after Christmas it'll be nice to have some time to concentrate on just my dogs for a little while.

Oh, and because of all the comments on the BC dogs in Taiwan, the red and white one that was saved is going to farmland in Taiwan. The other two to my knowledge haven't been saved. The issue is finding them a willing foster home in Taiwan that can deal with a working type dog as they need to stay in Taiwan at minimum 2-3 months for quarantine before coming to Canada. I will keep you updated if I find out any new information on them.

Emily Out

Look Who was Saved!

Sometimes I feel someone answers rants better than they answer prayers. Regardless. Look who was saved!!

 

 

This girl is now named Cash, and is one of the border collies in the government pound from the puppy mill. Isn't she darling! She's even good with the cat (behind). Hopefully her border collie brothern can be saved too, but she has me smiling from ear to ear. It's a good thing my girl is coming this weekend, if I hadn't already signed papers, I might just had to adopt this girl instead! Fate intervenes for a reason though.

 

Now I'm all excited about both my new family member, and that this girl gets a new chance at life. Hopefully she comes to foster here down the road. I've got my hot little foster hands all over her!

 

 

 

Interesting Document -Aggression

This is a really interesting yet simple and to the point average joe could read document on aggression in dogs and reading dog body language for it. It also asks some very hard questions on the euthanization of very aggressive dogs that we all need to make our own mind up on.

http://www.massanimalcoalition.com/resources/resources-for-groups/kelley-bollen-all-about-dogs.pdf

The simple truth is this though: the average pet owner in no way can handle an aggressive type dog that has both learnt and practiced aggressives behaviours and have repeatedly done them. And, what experienced person in their right mind would want a dog like that?

One sad case that I've seen in the last two weeks is a six month old big guardian dog (purebred) come for a day of daycare to give him mum a break to from their newborn baby. Unfortunately, he both had quite severe seperation anxiety, wasn't going to be neutered at the breeder's request, and even from that age, I could see people aggression right down to the genetics. A dog who you brush by them and they get their hackles up and growl. A dog that to bring in for 20 minutes off fought the leash in a twister, biting and shaking it. A dog who if you EVER had to pull away from another dog, even if he didn't start a spat, would turn around and nail you. This from a 6 month old dog... with a baby at home!! The dog is NOT safe with that baby, and that baby when it becomes a toddler, it makes me shudder. This dog, though having a lot of promise under a strong handler (Meshum and myself worked with him in the afternoon after a gong-show with the morning staff) boils right back to genes. I'm sure you could see it at 6 weeks, the same need to fight any pressure they dislike with a mouthing or biting action.

To top it off, his breeder would like to breed him! There is a difference between a guardian breed who will do his job but at the same time be very loyal to his family. We have some very nice guardian breeds at the daycare who do very well, but can be quite protective of their family (genetics again). Now, I'm not going to run out and say euthanize him, but he needs training and fast. He needs a very strong leader, an outlet for his protectiveness, he needs ways to increase his bite threshold (the article nicely explains a bite threshold). I don't see how that's going to be possible with a very young baby and a very young dog with a lot of issues to start with.

I hate to be totally rude about it, but it's a good thing Meshum dealt with his dad and not me, or else I would have had to say he should be returned to the breeder. He is a true danger to their child and if that child was ever hurt from that dog it would kill me if I didn't speak up. But, we're a daycare. We can't just go around saying "Get rid of this dog." (I haven't actually thought that before, though I HAVE wondered why people adopt certain dogs...)

Anyway, I do not think it is fair for either a shelter, rescue or breeder to place a potentially dangerous dog with a family. This particular dog should have been screened very early and put through puppy tests where he probably would have shown this streak even that young. Then he should have been placed with a breed-savvy man or couple without any children that were intense in their training and had very strong personalities to be alpha over the pup from 8 weeks, never giving the opportunity to learn anything but softness towards people.

But what should happen and what does happen are usually two seperate things.
I just hope for that baby, that nothing happens due to that dog.

Born to Die?

Puppymills are everywhere, it's heartbreaking and not fair for any life to be born just to reproduce and die. My soon-to-be mother in law has a stud miniature schnauzer she adopted when he was no longer need. For years this poor guy was scared of his own shadow. Allie who a puppymill momma, obviously tortured by human hands, a complete lack of trust and faith in the human species. Recently Freddie came to foster, and he was lovely and snuggly, but you could tell, he too had been through some bad times. All these dogs, despite their past, were lucky enough to land in great homes.

Today, skimming my news feed, I came across an adult border collie posted from a Taiwanese government pound -these pounds kills hundreds a day. Very, very few make it out to be rescued. The government pound is basically a tomb.

Looking into it a little bit more, I found a newsfeed: http://www.nexttv.com.tw/news/realtime/latest/10491921/%E7%8B%97%E7%85%89%E7%8D%84%EF%BC%81%E3%80%80%E7%B9%81%E6%AE%96%E5%A0%B4%E7%B1%A0%E5%85%A7%E9%A9%9A%E8%A6%8B%E7%8B%97%E7%99%BD%E9%AA%A8

The images are just as graphic as a puppymill this side of the world, and the dogs in just as deplorable conditions. However, now that the puppymill has been shut down, these dogs aren't rescued, they are now just waiting to die in a government pound. Maybe a few of them will be saved by rescue groups, but it hurts me deep inside to know they have almost no chance, that their lives mean nothing, that they will probably never know a hand that will love them.

Here are three purebred border collies, probably awaiting the inevitable result of a government pound in Taiwan.

At least if they were in California, a breed-rescue would scoop them up, or in BC, some sort of rescue would be able to take them in. Sometimes I wonder if they were just bred to die.

I will always support local BC rescue, but at the same time, I will save who I know I can place without a big 'threat' of not getting a local dog adopted. These three pups wouldn't be competing with a lot of our local dogs, as let's face it, someone who would want to adopt a full border collie probably isn't going to go for a pit, a lab mix or a rotti type (we we have overflowing on our own).

Sigh. Rescue hurts the soul.

Suzie thinks she's Staying :(

Most of the fosters that come here seem to understand we're only part of the journey they are on. They get attached so far that they live here, but most of them don't bond, especially since they aren't here for a long period of time. However, there are a few dogs that seem to think we're family very quickly.

For whatever reason, Suzie has decided she is mine and my sister's dog and though she isn't shy around other people, she doesn't want anything to do with them -call it bit of avoidance, but she's definitely not fearful. She's a very loyal, focused dog who likes her world kept small.

We had a nice homecheck last night and she let the possible adoptees pet her up, but more as a "Fine then, if I must." We're hoping they might want to take her for an afternoon to see how she reacts without me around, and to see if she'll warm up. Knowing she was a different dog almost entirely at her old foster home, we need to make sure whoever she goes home with is someone she can bond with.

I understand rescue saying "But you're dog experienced" to me, but it wasn't even 5 minutes before she jumped on the couch with me. I didn't bribe her with cookies. Lemon was even snuggling with me. So, I'm not too sure about her and the match, but to be completely fair, she's glue to me, and I need to get out of the picture before I can see if she'll bond with someone else.

Regardless, she's a nice little foster dog, so I don't mind having her for awhile if that's what it takes to find her special home. I just hope she can get over losing us and bond to a new home quickly. I know it took Zephyr awhile to bond to his new family -but he was here 3 months-. Ren took awhile too (yet another Taiwanese dog).

Her home will come. If this isn't her home/she goes for an afternoon and doesn't come out of her shell with them, I'm thinking about having her hang out with either one of my co-workers, or with a friend of mine who just opened her own daycare, so that she gets used to being around other people and isn't quite so aloof with them. We shall see though. I'm hopeful they would like to take her for an afternoon to see if there is a match there.

It's always hard bringing a dog to a meet+greet when the dog doesn't want much if anything to do with the potential parents.

For now, she is learning husky 101: how to sleep.

Note quite a full husky-ball, but getting there. Most of the time she splays out on the dog bed with Lemon and Beckett gets shafted to the floor. Girls! They'll be one more in the family soon :)

More soon.
Emily Out

Pending Adoption

See you soon :)

Suzie Q does Dallas Rd

Both Suzie and I have come to the consensus she doesn't have a very good name. It seems every time I say it she rolls her eyes at me as if to say "How many times do I have to tell you, I AM NOT a Suzie!!" So, I've taken to calling her "Q" sometimes "QT" and she seems to like that better. Whether or not that name will stick when she's adopted who knows, but hopefully "Suzie" doesn't. She needs a name she likes to recall too at least.

We've been out socializing her the past few days to see where any hang-ups might lie and what hurdles we might have to get her over before she's adoptable. Suffice to say... I don't see any hang-ups whatsoever. Day one she jumped on our laps, day two she went hiking and walked nicely on her leash and day three she passed by a group of dogs with one little nasty weiner dog mix and she neither hid or did anything about it, just followed her pack on their way. Yesterday -Day 4- we went out to Dallas Rd which is a busy dog park environment with lots of people and dogs and distractions. There's also beach and lots of rocks to climb. To make sure we were seeing Suzie as "Suzie" and not as a dog under the guidance of my pack, we only took Beckett along with us and despite his dislike of it, I had him under a heel pretty much the whole time. If he's out in front of us he can easily be influencing Suzie to follow his lead.

Beckett did find a couple of girl huskies that outranked "Mum's Rules" near the middle of our walk, but besides that he was pretty good, though a little miffed. "Whatdya mean go to the dog park and not pee on everything and say hi to everybody and end up walking into about a dozen people because I can't see." Ha! I think there's a reason we stick to the trails with him. Not because he doesn't have a good recall or is bad offleash in big open areas, just that he always seems to walk into people and has a tendency to trip up joggers. Anyway, back to Suzie.

For being a "Shy" dog, I didn't see it yesterday either, even in the busier area. What I saw was a very social, very POLITE dog who moved away from space when another dog or person wanted it. She doesn't go running away, doesn't tuck her tail, doesn't flatten her ears and hunker down. She just very nicely and calmly moves out of the way and says: "Here you go, plenty of trail for you to walk on. Have a nice day."

She goes to sniff people in a very polite way -even people without dogs- and is generally interested in everything. She walks by dogs like a pro. Whatever pack of dogs she grew up with, they gave her really good manners and communication skills. Maybe that's why she too isn't particularly fond of Momo ;) We hiked on the rocks and although she was a little scared of all the wobbly stairs leading down to the ocean I just picked her up and brought her down and she was fine (the kind of stairs that a dog can get it's foot stuck between the stairs if they don't know how to navigate them well). At parts of the hike along the rocks I had to drop her leash so she could make her own way around but she followed like a pro. I wouldn't take her off-leash yet (absolutely no recall, or understanding of what a recall even is) but she's got the makings of being a very loyal, 'follow-you' kind of dog once she's got some training to go with it.

So, I see a VERY adoptable dog. Her only smaller hang-up that has nothing to do with her temperment is that she isn't fully housebroken, but she's coming along. Suzie has a homecheck this weekend with an applicant who applied for Kahlua. Hopefully it goes well :) If not, we will post her on the networking sites locally. She's cute, a great size, very silly and affectionate, and bonds quickly. If I owned my own place and could have as many dogs as I wanted without feeling the pressure that we ever might have to move somewhere else, I'd consider keeping her myself.

But... there should be another one coming just for me :) Update on the border collie pup soon.

For now, some pictures of Suzie Q:

Bellyrubs on the Beach

Two collars: 1 for play at home, and the martingale for walking.

A shot to show her size.

 And one of Beckett, who always seems to take a good photo

Momo goes home tomorrow, and we have a foster scheduled to come on the 18th from Taiwan (a labradoodle/schnauzer type pup), and that's all the news for now :)

Emily Out

Suzie: Ocean Dog Rescue

It would be great if anyone who came across Suzie would pass her page along to someone who might be looking for a new dog. Here on out I will make a page for each of the fosters that come through here, so that you can easily direct someone to the nitty-gritty about a particular dog.

So, this is Suzie's page!

FOR ADOPTION: Suzie
Ocean Dog Rescue
10 month old Formosan Mountain Dog X
20 pounds (might grow to be 25 full grown)
 

 

Suzie is a sweet, loving, loyal girl who bonds quickly to her people. She can be cautious with meeting new people, but her curiosity wins her over in the end. She walks well on her leash and loves nothing more than racing around with her canine friends. After a good romp she becomes a cuddly couch potato.

Suzie is medium-high energy and needs a good hour walk everyday, both to keep up her exposure to the world and to burn off some energy. She will make an ideal jogging companion, and could be wicked on an agility course -she's FAST! She is nicely crate-trained, but is still polishing up her housetraining. She shows no signs of seperation anxiety and is okay left for 3-5 hours at home in her crate. 

 

Suzie has some prey drive, she could live with a dog-savvy cat, but could also pester a more timid cat. She will probably have fun chasing squirrels so until she has some training under her belt, she will need to be on leash only walks, and off-leash only in completely fenced in areas.

 

Suzie would prefer a family that is currently without children to spend some extra time getting her trained up and grown up. She is fine with kids, we just think she should have the opportunity to be the focus of her parent(s) time. Suzie would do fine as an apartment dog or a condo dog.

If you are interested in adopting Suzie, please visit the Ocean Dog Website @http://odr.john-son.ca/adoptio

Did I Get the Right Dog?

Suzie landed yesterday, and for all the fuss made over she's 'such a shy, fearful dog with people', (why she's here to begin with) after maybe 5 minutes of letting her out of her crate, after she did a perimeter sniff of the baby-gated portion of the house she decided to jump on the couch, sit in my lap and give me kisses. Follow that by Kathleen getting home and her doing the exact same thing! I didn't even bring out the food for her to start to warm up to us.

Jerrad had her out on the ferry on her leash -which apparently she'd always put the brakes on for-, and though she was cautious about new people, she was curious and went to meet new people within maybe a minute or so tops.

And here I was thinking we'd get a dog who wanted to hide in their crate for a few days, that would be slow to want us to touch her, and that we'd probably have for a couple weeks of bootcamp before she was adoptable.

She slept throughout the night in her crate without a peep and is going through the usual 'no pee, no play' mantra. Still hasn't peed this morning after two 10 minute walks around the property, but we'll get there. On the bright side, she isn't phazed about the leash here, and came out of her crate this morning wagging her tail like a clown.

So, I have to wonder if they sent me the right dog.

For example, here's Suzie the 'shy/fearful' dog five minutes after meeting my sister.

We'll get to know her better and her ticks and quirks over the next few days, but right now, I'm nicely surprised. Seems to me she's just a dog that needs to live a normal dog life, with walks on trails and meeting new people and overall, just being exposed to stuff.

Some pictures. Better ones soon!

Praying her forever home finds her soon.

Hypnotizing!

Cuddling with my sister.

Couple of days before Momo goes home. I'm sure she'll be glad to be home! Also, I think Lemon will be really glad when she goes. I guess Lemon is developing some breedism too. I guess that means no more pugs for us!

More on Suzie soon.

Momo's Got a Metabolism to Die For!

Seriously, this dog would have the perfect secret of weight loss to plaster on every magazine and if she were a woman who could speak.

When she first arrived we fed her approximately the same as Lemon -1/2 cup a day-, plus goodies such as popcorn, cheese pieces, etc. Last week I noticed she was trimming down a tad and she already has a really nice figure -especially given she's a pug, and they are prone to putting on weight to begin with.

We haven't been doing too much exercise with her -approx 30 minutes walking day- and we are making sure she gets plenty of rest time to be cautious on her leg. She's a bit of a busy-body so better safe than sorry! She probably puts on a kilometer in just zooming round the house. With her it's either 'busy, busy, busy' or 'cuddle, cuddle, cuddle'. She's like one of those kids you don't realize they're getting tired, but when you put them to bed all of a sudden they zonk out on a dime. Momo can be bouncy silly pug, put her to bed and not even a minute later she's snoring away. Sometimes she's kind of like having a toddler!

But back to the food/metabolism.

So, she's up to a full cup a day now and still wolfs it down like we haven't fed her in for bloody ever. I'm surprised. Lemon does minimum an hour of exercise a day plus plays like mad with Beckett for at least 30 minutes, and she's still looking a little chunky with her half cup a day. Sometimes I think she sneaks some extra from somewhere. Maybe she has a stash :P

Man, I wish I could eat like Momo and keep trim! I'm sure so does every other female out there.
She's got a few more days here before she heads home. Still haven't made huge strides with the housetraining, but I think we're at maybe 50/50 now? Thankfully her new parents don't mind working on the housebreaking, and her canine brother isn't 100% housetrained either.

In other quick news: phone interview was postponed, hoping to hear back from them soon, and a new foster comes in today. Suzie is with Ocean Dog Rescue and is apparently a shy pup who isn't doing well in her current foster home (fearful of the world I guess). I give her a week to get into the bootcamp groove.

It's so hard to tell sometimes if I'm going to get a really shy dog (one that it gets down to basic temperment -IE: an Allie), one that comes from not being well socialized enough as a pup to 'the world'. IE: Honey, Toast -though part of her issues were at the basic temperment stage too-, DimSum and Chowmein). Or if I'm going to get an avoider that has gotten away with people thinking they are shy but really it's a form of control. IE: Kahlua.

As long as we're not talking an Allie we should be okay. The truly shy/fearful dog is a hard one as you not only have to shape new behaviour, but you have to work with the genetics as well which is the hard part. You can rewire the behaviours, you can't so easily change the nature of the dog.

Will update more about Suzie when she gets here. As usual, I'm psyching myself out thinking she's going to be the hardest dog I've ever had and she'll never be adoptable, yadda yadda. After 40+ fosters and only one being close to unadoptable, you'd think I'd be a little less paranoid!

Nope, no matter what anyone says about any dog, the night before they come I go through the few hours phaze of worst case scenarios.

I'm a realist at best :P

Screening a Potential Dog to Adopt

Kind of obviously, I'm 'pro-rescue', and I'm really glad more and more people are turning towards rescuing a dog instead of buying a dog from a breeder (sketchy or otherwise). However, though it might make me a pessimistic thorn in the side of what people preceive rescue as, it's got to be said.

Some dogs end up in rescue for a pretty darn good reason.

Rescue does great work, but it is not with all highly adoptable dogs. It is important to realize when you want to give your home to a rescue that there will be work -sometimes a lot of work- involved in whichever dog you take on. If you want a dog without any or few 'issues', realize it might take a little bit more time to find who you are looking for. Just as with if you have your mind set on a particular breed or 'look'.

If you are willing to put that work in, ask LOTS of questions of what you want and need in a dog before even scouting out who might be your match.

For example, this might be your Needs Vs Wants List:
This would be an example of a married couple who own a condo, no kids but might have kids sometime in the future.

NEEDS: To be friendly with strangers To be friendly with other dogs To be able to be left at home for 4-6 hours a day No separation anxiety (barking) –condo restriction To co-exist with an indoor cat Under 35 pounds full grown (condo restriction) No aggression on a leash Low-Medium Energy (no more than 1 ½ hours exercise a day) No pit-bull or rottweiler type mix (condo restriction, also don't feel comfortable with those breeds)

WANTS: Shepherd-type looks Able to go off-leash at the dog park quickly (with appropriate training of course) Crate-trained Able to do sports for fun Kid-friendly –with training not to jump up or other similar training of puppy type behaviours

Remember, the more needs and wants you have, the less dogs in rescue will 'fit' you. The more you're willing to work with, the more you might get 'the look' you are after. It is a balancing act. You also have to ask yourself what you would be willing to train into the dog. For example, this couple want a biddable type dog that will -with training- be able to go off leash. They don't need one that goes off-leash already. So they really aren't after a husky type dog with a mind of it's own, they want someone nicely trainable for a beginner dog handler. So, that need cuts a lot of dogs out. They also have a size restriction to the building, which further cuts a lot of dogs out.

In this example they've also decided they do not want to work with a dog who is aggressive/reactive on a leash. If they were willing to work through this issue, they would put it in the 'wants' collumn. You might not get all your wants, but you are definitely after getting all your needs.

A big one to consider is size. For condo or apartment owners, sometimes size is a restriction, or if you have a current dog you might need a dog it's size or smaller, but sometimes who will fit you best is in a package that's a little bit bigger -or maybe even a little bit smaller (my own foster fail being much, much smaller than who I originally thought I needed-. Of course, that's totally your decision. This will be YOUR dog.

So, you have your wants versus needs and have decided what you are in fact looking for over just a pretty face. Good, time to go scouting! Check out local rescues, or the SPCA -though be careful, you can be easily tempted by a pretty face going into to the SPCA and forget about your needs!

Also, a lot of dogs in rescue come with the added benefit of the foster home. They live a normal day-to-day doggie life and it'll be easier to know if you're getting who you need. Regardless, if you are e-mailing an adoption contract in or at the SPCA ask A LOT of questions about the dog you are considering adopting. And please, if you are seriously interested in a dog, do put an application in with your inquiry. Rescues don't have time to deal with people who are not serious -they are all volunteer run. If you aren't picky on the 'look' of the dog, and see many on their site that could be a potential match, you could also put in a general application and then see through the process which dogs they think would match you best.

PS: This is how we got Beckett. There were four different dogs from one rescue that interested us, but after talking to the person who cared for the dogs on a daily basis, together we decided Beckett was the right fit out of the suggestions. This was also a 'sight-unseen' adoption though. For the most part, adoptions are now done face to face, with the opportunity for the adopter to meet the potential adoptee before agreeing to adopt the dog. The more needs you have in a dog, the more I suggest visiting the dog in person first. However, I like what a sight-unseen adoption does. It makes you focus on the temperment of the dog and not as much on the 'look'. You lead with your head.

In searching for your four-legged family remember realize too that dogs at the SPCA might have never lived in a home before, so they don't actually have that much information to answer your questions. It's a bit like playing the lottery and if you aren't used to screening dogs, you can easily bring home a dog that doesn't work. Not to say don't go to the SPCA, just that if you're looking for a dog who will fit the easiest with your home and environment, the best way to accomplish that is to know as much as you can about the dog you are adopting. Locally in Victoria, the SPCA does really well on adopting dogs quickly, so don't feel too bad for those guys either. They get seen by the public at all times. A dog in foster care doesn't have that luxury. However, when you think about it, the dog has a better quality of care, and it won't be as much of a change from foster home to your home than from the SPCA to your home.

Here are some questions you should ask of any dog you rescue:

A foster home should be able to answer the following:
1) How does the dog react to people?
2) How does the dog react to other dogs?
3) How long can the dog stay home by themselves? (Separation anxiety)
4) How is the dog to walk on a leash?
5) Is the dog housetrained?
6) What negative points does this dog have?
7) How much exercise will this dog need on a daily basis?

You can ask about cats and kids, although if the dog is in a foster home without these the foster parent might not be able to answer those questions as well. Ideally a foster home will screen with cats and/or kids to have a general idea if they would fit a home with either or both. In the example above, the family needs to be able to have their dog co-exist with the indoor cat. Being okay with an indoor cat is easier than an outdoor cat who runs and can trigger the prey drive. Still, it's becoming pretty obvious a husky isn't for them hey!

Asking 'How does the dog react' will give you some detail on his greetings, and not give you a generic answer of 'Good'. Good is subjective to the handler, getting the detail you can get a much better sense of the dog without the opinion slipping in. Also, ALL dogs will have a bad point or two and it's important you know about them beforehand. If they seriously have 0 bad points, I'll see it when I believe it. I haven't had a foster without a bad point!

Jumping, pulling on leash, over-excitement when meeting new dogs, shyness, mouthing, barking, aloofness, anxiety, doesn't like being touched, resource guarding of food, resource guarding of toys, counter surfing, stubborn, likes to roam, escape artist, not fully housetrained, high-energy, etc, etc.

Do take into account though if you want to adopt a puppy, you will deal with a lot of those basic bad points anyway! They are just babies.

Flexibility, love, patience and time all play a huge part in transitioning your dog into it's new environment, but the more homework you do and things you learn in the adoption process, the more likely you adopt someone who works great with your lifestyle. Just remember there are lots of good dogs in rescue through no fault of their own, but there are also some who have been given up for good reason. Lead with your head, and follow up with your heart.

All of the planning will pay off.