Celebrating Fifty Fosters Now Adopted

Celebrating the New Lives of:

Tucker, Yayis (Lily), May (Mae), Honey (Daisy), Tine (Tye), Toast (Stella), Xena (Nina), Buster, Gio, Evee, Dayo (Suhki), Trunk (Talia), Ren, Chula, Antoinette (Netty), Hank, Aster (Lemon), Adam (Kona), Panda, Allie, Alphie, Alvin, Helen (Simone), Chowmein (Lucy), Migo, Zephyr, Jasmine, Dimsum (Lucy), Pika, Rupee (Nixie), Twist (Lita), Barley (Mika), Buckwheat (Skye), Onyx-Vudu (Captain), Max, Ginger, Hanna, Truffle (Abby), Freddie, Dickory (Hovie), Josh (Jake), Emmett (Gary), Luma (Luna), Momo (Ruby), Kahlua (Tucker), Megan (Maddie), Suzie, Urchin (Steve), Cheddar (Bogey), Penny

To all the wonderful families that I have met along the way and have had the privilege of getting to know thank you for choosing a rescue to share your life with. Without you I would have a house full!! It is only with your help that a new spot opens up for another dog looking to couch surf for a few weeks before they find permanent residence. As my grapevine of contacts gets riper and riper the networking grows and so do the connections for a potential new home. To previous adopters: please share the current great dogs here with friends who can in turn share them with some other friends.  As you can see from the pictures, a ride variety of sizes, breeds and ages comes through the doors here and except for the odd exception they have/learn good dog social skills, people skills and generally how to be a well-behaved house-pet. This isn't a testament to the kind of foster home they have, but to the great dogs they are and the great rescues that take them in. I might help them out for a few weeks, but I'm more of a hotel with some baseline rules. 

Updates on the goldies soon.

Emily Out

Pennyless

My darling girl has left for her new family. Her departure fell into the category of "don't you want me? What did I do wrong?" Sweet girl broke my heart and although every part of me just wanted to load her up and take her home with me and tell her I would never let her go, I did what foster mums need to do: suck it up, keep your head high and know she will find happiness. Forever happiness. Her new family is so nice and they will spoil her rotten.

Still, Penny didn't know what I knew. To her I was betraying her, another heartbreak after losing her family. I didn't break down and cry -I haven't cried for a single foster yet- but I was definitely close. The logical part of my brain needs to do what is best for the dog, and crying at her departure would have made the departure even more difficult for us both. I should get an update in a couple of days. For now, I'm still in a small mourning of my own. This morning I woke up and took the dogs out into the field and found myself calling Penny twice and finding it weird that she didn't spin on a dime back to me. Of course, I was Pennyless. Some fosters leave bigger pawprints in your heart than others. Penny took a good chunk of my heart with me. The only other dog to rival her was Trunk a long time ago now.

I half joked with my sister that I should have given the new family Lemon instead! Of course I wouldn't do that, but somehow I don't think it would have been as hard to part with Lemon. Mean of me!

New fosters coming on Wednesday should keep my focus, and I have to admit it was nice today to be able to focus a lot of some Jinks training (not that Penny ever interfered in that). Coming with Vibo is now another golden retriever, this one a 3 year old mostly likely purebred one. She is on the smaller side for a golden at 47 pounds and is good with cats as well as dogs. Her foster home in Taiwan says her only issue is that sometimes she doesn't like to share her toys with other dogs. Boy, have I got her number. That's Jinks' issue too! (Beckett sorted that out a few weeks ago, bless him).

So here are Vibo and Sunshine:

After looking at Sunshine's picture it was obvious she's not going to stick around long at all, so why not give her the chance to come to Canada. What's up to two weeks (if even) of an extra retriever around. A bit of an extra hassle to me, the opportunity for her to find forever for her. Just doesn't seem fair of me to say no. Plus, even after Josh I'm a sucker for a retriever.

And, although being Pennyless makes me sad, I came across this picture of what has to be the cutest puppy alive and it brought my spirits up. This little puppy is in a high-kill shelter, but he'll make it out. Puppies make it out.

Cutest Puppy Alive!

Penny Goes Home Tomorrow

Penny's new family is taking the ferry over tomorrow afternoon. I will miss Miss Penny. She has been a flawless happy companion here and a nice change from dogs I have to either work with in the manners department or the developing confidence department or both. Or the puppies which need work with everything but make up for it by being cute and usually cuddly. She is the rare few that makes her way in and just seems to 'belong'. I hope her family appreciates just how good of a dog she is!

We'll soon be fosterless for a few days, but we have an incoming Taiwanese pooch late next week.

Vibo is an 18 month old Golden Retriever mix. (and he's wearing a girly collar :P) He is from the same foster in Taiwan that Truffle came from, an awesome lady who saves only one dog at a time so that she can focus on the training and social skills. If he's anything like Truffle he'll be a more than welcome addition here!

Vibo

I have some boarding coming up quickly too but will hopefully still be able to foster come next TG bus run a few weeks down the road. I'm trying my best to get back into my writing groove and not let dogs take over that passion as they have for the last semester. Every night at 8:00 all the dogs get put away and I have two hours of "me" time. It is working so far.

To achieving more of a balance in the future.
Emily Out

I'm a Proud Mama

Tonight was our first night of agility with Jinks, and we actually came in on class 3 of 8. Apparently my instructor who taught my most of the stuff that is in my obedience classes -I've added lots of handling games and socialization games as well as some more on not jumping, but anyway- thought I could just catch up as we go. Though it was a little frustrating at first -the other students had been practicing certain equipment for weeks that I didn't even know the names of, Jinks was an eager beaver and we sailed through after the first few minutes of me trying to sort too much information out at once. Suffice to say, she'll work and she's got the drive to do it fast.

What I like about her though, and I've always liked about her from the moment she came, is the laser like focus she can achieve, even at this young age. I was asked twice by two other people with young border collies (it's a class for under one year of age, so we don't practice too high of jumps) how old she was. Both were surprised to learn she's only 7 months (there was a 9 month old and an 11 month old in class both still looking and acting very puppy). Although Jinks was just as excitable -perhaps more so- she was focused with it. The energy never went away to hanging with another dog, or asking someone else to love her up. Except for when we took our breaks, I had her attention throughout, despite the seven other dogs, all the new people and all the new equipment. It's as if she said "I've come to work, and make me work for you."

Once this dog does something twice, she's got it. The first time through the tunnel -our first piece of equipment, which normally shouldn't be a dog's first piece of equipment- was kind of scary, but by the third time through she was racing up a storm.

We came home and when I tried to wear her out a bit more with a nightly game of fetch and tug, she retrieved her ball-on-a-rope and ran to the door to the house halfway across our three acres. "I AM DONE MUM!!!"  Alright, I get it!

Once let in, it was a mad dash for her crate. She's been out ever since, waking up enough to wolf down some dinner. I'm sure she'll pick up some stamina as she goes but a mentally tired border collie is the best kind you can get. We'll be practicing our homework throughout the week. It's exciting to have a dog that is keen to work. When I had Lemon in training with me she was quite capable, but the opposite of keen, I had to drag the process out with her. So it's nice having a partner :) Quite suddenly I can see why people who have a working dog can't move onto getting a lazy dog afterwards. Once you have that new relationship -a working relationship- it's hard to want the lazy, aloof Beckett type. Too early to say, but maybe I've been converted to being a working dog person. It'll be a few years before we can test that theory ;)

For now, I'll enjoy the beginnings of my working relationship with my keen, saucy but focused girl. She also mad me really proud that although there were some barkers and a few reactive dogs among us (sad, considering we're a puppy class all under a year) because she ignored all of the bad and just focused on what we were doing.  I'm a proud mama! And a rescue mama at that!

Jinksy Doo -The Worker

Two Months with Jinks, and Some Video!

Figured out if I switched browsers I could get the video/pictures back up so I'm now blogging off Firefox. Today marks two months since we've adopted Jinks. Sometimes it feels like we haven't had her very long, as she hasn't learned nearly as much as I'd of liked, and sometimes it feels like we've had her a lot longer. Mostly she is growing up. She is now 7 and a bit months.

A couple of shots from yesterday:

Pied-faced troublemaker.

Herding Mode

And here are some little videos of the Cheddar man and Miss Penny.

And some pictures of us having fun in the field:

Cheddar Zoom

Cheddar Playing with Jinks

A Small Break Between Wrestling

Beautiful, Loyal Penny

Cheddar found a Chicken Foot an Eagle left Behind :S

Penny and Cheddar playing with Jinks

Penny recalling in the field.

Cheddar is being adopted tomorrow :) He is going home with a great dog-savvy couple in Langford. He has been doing really well with his crate training and being more confident in staying in a room without a person. He'll probably go through some separation anxiety to begin with but I'm confident he will settle in just fine.

We're enjoying Penny until we're told she's adopted :) I believe there's an application in the works but I'm not on the up and up as it's in Vancouver. Training class tomorrow again. I'm definitely enjoying it, but it's more tiring than managing the dogs at daycare. I haven't talked so much in awhile.

Fun Off-Leash

I start most of my fosters out on a longline by the end of the second week on our large property. Even if we were completely and totally safetly fenced, three acres is way too large a property to go chasing a dog down on. Sometimes Jinks decides even though she's 80% effective on her recall, that she'll give us a run for our money. I can't blame her, she's so much faster than us and has so much more energy to burn :P

However, after two days of seeing Penny's perfect recall -even when she is playing hard with another dog!- and the kling-on nature of Cheddar (he HATES to be left alone, so he's wherever you or another dog is. He doesn't venture off alone), we decided to forgo longlining and just have a good jaunt a few times a day out in the field, making sure to bring some snacks and a couple of leashes with us just in case.

I have to get some details from Lisa B on how to upgrade my system to google Chrome as whatever the blogger is on currently I can no longer put pictures on the blog :(

But, if you want to see some pictures of Penny and Cheddar, please feel free to visit this link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?fbid=10151223981833671&set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=3&theater This picture and the ones to the right include Penny and Cheddar, as well as our dogs. The rest of the album is other fosters that have been through our place.

Here are some little videos of them too:
Cheddar: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?v=10151223928833671&set=vb.729918670&type=3&theater

Penny: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?v=10151223936048671&set=vb.729918670&type=3&theater

We have a homecheck for Cheddar tomorrow, and Penny has a FANTASTIC application in West Vancouver. After reading the application both Kathleen and I agreed it fit Penny much better than staying here. But we both snuffled about it. Penny might be the first foster I cry over :(

And just for fun, I've made a new album of Jinks pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151223977343671.463954.729918670&type=3

Things have been going really well otherwise. Cheddar's crate-training is coming along well. Since he likes dogs so much I decide to crate him with Jinks to excellerate the process. Now every time she heads to bed, he heads in there with her (Jinks is such a border collie and can't seem to sit still/sleep unless she's in her crate -at least she puts herself in there). We're weaning him off Jinks quickly -she doesn't mind taking naps with him, but overnight she's a might be perturbed. She likes her own bed.

It will be important for whoever Cheddar's new family is to continue to either crate-train him or to x-pen train him or even train him to hang out being a baby gate for an hour or two without a person. He will very easily have a lot of seperation anxiety. So even if he goes to someone whose home all day it's important to make sure he gets comfortable being alone for short periods -at least an hour-. Because life is: we get groceries, we want to go to the odd movie, a play, a friend's house for dinner. It is important we train our dogs to be comfortable hanging on their own for an hour. For their own well-being and for our sanity. I know quite a few dogs who have seperation anxiety more because their people let them kling-on all the time. It's just not 100% healthy.

So for now, Cheddar gets an hour nap in the morning with Jinks after breakfast and a good run in the yard, a nap right when we got home from daycare for about 2 hours (supper time) where he is on his own crated, and then overnight when he is crated as well. His neediness of attachment is already starting to slip away. Of course, when we're around he's still going to be a kling-on dog, but he is becoming confident and stable by learning to be okay alone.

Penny has been her usual awesome self. We have her off-leash almost everywhere now. We've only had 3 fosters off-leash by the end of two weeks, so it's a real priviledge and sign she's an awesome girl. I don't just 'try dogs out off-leash' -I'm paranoid-.

She did really well at daycare and had some huge matts cut out from behind her ears and from her bum fluff. She handled it very well and because she's so long-hairred she doesn't look funny at all with the missing pieces. When people started to come pick up their dogs at the end of the day she had a little freak out (I think she thought her person was going to come through that door and find her). Once everyone was gone she went back to her usual self. Poor pup, she truly loves whoever it is who so sadly dumped her. She's so loyal, well-trained too.

Hopefully I will find a way to put the pictures and videos directly on the blog soon. Will update about Cheddar home check tomorrow :)

Emily Out

Sweet Puppy, and a Dog that Needs to be a Therapy Dog

Almost all of my Turtle Gardens fosters are so well-mannered inside, polite when around other dogs and just seem to 'get it'. I swear they are bootcamp for "this is how to be a good house dog."

Everyone is getting into the groove nicely. I believe Cheddar is still missing his siblings -he's a kling-on pup- and is very attached to Penny or whoever is in the room -he starts a right good temper tantrum if he's left behind the baby gate without a human. He is also a supreme cuddler. Right now he's gone for his little morning jaunt and is snoozing away beside me on the couch as I write.

He likes to have someone beside him. We're working a little bit on crate-training (he isn't too fond... there's no other dog to cuddle in there!) but we're definitely making progress. The first attempt we had to wait almost three hours for him to settle and then sleep. Once he hit the sleep marker, out he was allowed to come. The next two times the amount of fuss dropped less and less. Nighttime he's a bit better for, but he wakes up a couple of times whining until you give his crate a little thump to say "Hey, I'm still here, go back to bed!"

He's not going to be the easiest little dude to reliably crate-train but patience will preservere. He's getting it too, you can see him working to calm himself down. It will be important with him to have times away from his people as he does have the neediness to have some seperation anxiety. He needs to learn to be okay on his own for small bits of time.

For some reason my computer doesn't want to upload pictures today, but I'll try to get some up for tomorrow. They have their pictures on the side bar too! (Thanks Piper!)

Penny is head and shoulders above any other dog I've fostered -and I've had some amazing dogs come through. She is "Nana" from Peter Pan, a gentle, loving creature who already has fabulous recall -even off a dog she's playing with-, is happy to meet any new face and could cheer up anybody with a tail wag. I hesitate to call any dog "perfect" but Penny is pretty darn close. She has turned into my sister's dog, following her around the house like a non-needy shadow, laying by her bed and always ready for whatever is next. Kathleen is taking her for two walks every day on her own and you can tell even after just one day of this (this being day #2) that Penny looks forward to the special time with her person. It's very possible -with the permission of TG of course- that Kathleen might adopt her and she'd get to stay here. I wouldn't mind at all! My dogs all love her and Jinks and Penny play quite a bit when we go out to the big tennis court for some great off-leash time.

What I would really love for Penny more than anything else is for her to become a therapy pet to go to hospital and promote the great dogs in rescue, and to possibly to go schools to do the same thing. I am looking into getting her an appointment this week to be screened temperment wise to become a therapy dog. Of course she could be a great family dog too, but her love of people and her calm stable personality makes her able to do so much more. She's not just a dog -she's an abassador of all rescue dogs. Regardless if she stays here or not, I can definitely say I'm going to be picky with her applications. Not just a GREAT home, but THE VERY BEST home will do. Someone who will make her the center of their world.

Updates as they come. Things are usually busy e-mail wise right after the bus run, so I haven't heard yet about Cheddar's adoption pending, but I will snuggle him as long as I can :)

Emily Out

New Fosters Today

Just a quick heads up that baby Cheddar and border collie x toller mix Penny are making their way to Victoria today. I will be at my first set of obedience lessons -I have 7 puppies!! so Jerrad will thankfully make the trip on the ferry and bring home our brood.

Cheddar has an adoption pending on the northern part of the island, so that worked out well and will help my friend Brianne -a huge rotti lover- not fall too much in love with him.

Pictures soon.

Emily

Getting Back to Normal

Getting back to normal for the new year.

The girls were happy to come home. Beckett not so much. Mike was spoiling him rotten!! (THANKS MIKE). Beckett put on a couple of pounds and has since decided to only nibble every now and again. I'm sure he'll go back to being the lean, mean not-quite-as-athletic machine he was previously. On the bright side, he enjoys having his farm back. He does the putter around the three acres once or twice a day. Lemon also enjoys having him back. A year ago she was his dog, and now it's flopped so that she's the needy one and he's kind of like 'meh, whatever'.

In fostering news the foster we were going to get was adopted before we got to her :). So, we're fosterless until the TG bus run next weekend. I believe we'll be fostering a puppy.

With Jinks getting close to becoming a teenager, and showing some problems in the guarding department with other dogs (it's manageable, but it's work and heavy supervision with any new dog we bring in) we'll probably be slowing the fostering down so we can work with her as she grows up. Having a border collie is different than having the husky or the chihuahua. She wants to do stuff most of the time, and she isn't just content to amuse herself. It's okay though, I love her to pieces. I'm just glad I don't have three border collies!

Oh, I sure hope Lemon gets over the teenage hump sooner than later or I'll have two teenage girls on my hands by March. Today Lemon decided to open the cupboard while I was gone and fish out a box of baker's chocolate. Luckily Jerrad is the annoying person that he is and there wasn't actually anything in the box. I think I'm going back to crating her while we're gone. Especially if she's getting into the cupboards on me...

More as a new foster appears.

Happy New Year,
Emily