Andie the Christmas foster

Meet Andie! She is about 6 -10 months old, and a mystery mix! I think she is some kind of "doodle" but with shedding fur. She is about 40 pounds and around 18-19 inches at the shoulder. She is a very happy, active and boisterous puppy. She would make a great agility dog! She likes toys but hasn't learned to play tug or retreive them yet, she gets along great with all the dogs here, and is now crate trained and house trained. She is very much a naughty puppy, she likes to CHEW! Shoes are her favorite! :)

She is a sweetheart, and is looking for a new home. She'll be heading back to the shelter on Jan 4th..unless you want to adopt her that is??!

New Stuff Soon, I Promise!

Okay, so I know I have been completely negligent in the blog department. Sorry folks! As you may be aware I dropped my camera off the deck back in July and broke it. :( Very sad, and leads to much difficulty in taking video and pictures of the dogs! Soooo...after Christmas during boxing day sales I plan to remedy that little problem and we will be back in business with more ridiculous tricks! Keep your eye out for such classics as: finding my car keys (very useful!), cross your paws, get me a kleenex, and "stick em' up!" Winter has come and so has the time to train silly tricks indoors!

8 Dogs are so peaceful

Mr.Quest has gone off to his new home, the weekend foster is gone, and all that is left is me and my very own dogs. Who knew 8 dogs would feel quiet and peaceful? Everyone resting, getting along, not peeing on the carpet. I watched a whole movie. Wow!

New Phoebe Pictures

Phoebe was in to the vet today for her annual vaccines and exam. Yes people, ANNUAL vaccines. She has been in rescue for over a year now! She is really looking forward to a new home. Will that be you?

A big thank you to Creature Focus Photography for taking these most recent pictures of the little girl!

More Videos!

Quest Videos

Quest is a little Weimaraner puppy that I am babysitting. He is looking for a home! He is a smart little fella and needs a home that will work his mind as well as his body. He would love to do agility!

Happy Anniversary Sam!

Sam the deaf aussie has come a long way since the day he made the journey from California to BC! Here he was (with his friends Jake and Darcy, also adopted to great people!) on the day we left NorCal aussie rescue (they do great work, if you ever have a chance to refer someone in California to a great rescue this is the place!). We brought home three dogs that day. I had intended on only bringing two, but Kim thought Sam should come up with us for a chance at a new life in a place where aussies are not as common (there are aussies EVERYWHERE in California!!! They are like labs here in BC). I was only too happy to say yes, since I pretty much do not have the ability to say no when it comes to dogs needing homes.



And here he is today! This is the letter he sent:

Mom,

It's my one year anniversary in Calgary today; they have decided to keep me and get rid of the children. I am dependable and polite and always pleasant.....they are not. I win.

Sam the Dog

And from Sam's new Dad:

Sam is truly a wonderful boy; God may not have given him hearing, but he added a lot of extra personality and sweetness which makes him everybody's friend. We feel blessed to have him.

It doesn't get any better than that for me. To have a dog go from being an unwanted dog to one that is loved and cherished as part of a family makes everything worthwhile. A lot of people ask me why I do it. "Isn't that a lot of work? Isn't that a lot of poop to pick up? Don't you get tired of all the dirt and dog hair and accidents? Don't they drive you nuts? How do you train them all? What happens if they don't get adopted?." The answer is yes to all; yup, they drive me nuts, yup I get tired of the constant cleaning and not having a life outside of work and dogs sometimes. BUT, how could I ever turn my back and say no to a dog that just needs a little time and TLC to become the best friend of someone like Sam's family? I think so long as I have the ability to do the work, that is what I need to do. It's true that it is coming to an end (for now); I sure do hope there are others out there that will help pick up where I have left off and give these wonderful dogs a chance. And a big thank you to all of my wonderful friends who have helped me along this journey of saving dogs. Thank you for letting me bring strange dogs into your homes, allowing potential adopters to come and see dogs at your homes when I'm travelling all over the place, for your financial support and for your support of me and my efforts in general. I am truly blessed.

Here is a litle video of Phoebe shaping to get onto the balance disc. I'm cheating a little with a wee bit of luring but c'est la vie! Whatever works. Notice she is on leash, she still needs to have a leash on when we are doing stuff or she will run away. She has difficulty focusing and starts panicking over every little noise and has to go and check it out. (And forgets what we were doing in the meantime). I have also gone to using the generic box clicker instead of the iClick with her. The generic clicker has a louder sound, which still makes her spook a bit (but not so much she runs off).

Sleepovers!

Gibbs has gone to a foster to adopt home this past weekend. I couldn't be more pleased, be a good boy Gibbs!
And Nula has gone on a sleepover!
Wow, the house feels empty with two dogs gone all at once, I think I am in withdrawl. Hard to believe that is possible with ten dogs still here but there you have it! Cai is very happy now that Gibbs has gone, he can go back to being the big boy of the house. (Marty is really the big boy, but don't tell Cai, he thinks he's pretty tough). Luckily Quest the weimaraner puppy is keeping me busy so I haven't ventured to the shelter...... :)

And now for Phoebe. She is still looking for just the right placement. A home with another dog or two, and people who will enjoy her for who she is.

Gibbs in the kitchen

Here is a (very) short video of Gibbs in the kitchen showing off his "sit" and the thumbs up signal for "good boy!"

Gibbs Photos

Some more pictures of the handsome boy Gibbs! He is still losing his "outside dog" undercoat around his ruff/shoulders and his butt but otherwise he is as soft as they come!

No Dice

Phoebe, Nula, and Gibbs are still looking for their forever homes. They are all such wonderful dogs, not a single application on any of them. It is so sad that people feel deafness is just "too much" for them, they are missing out and don't even know it.







Advantages of having a deaf dog:

• They aren't bothered by thunderstorms



• you can sneak out of the house or sleep in without them noticing



• they watch you more closely than a hearing dog



• they're just so cute when they are asleep with their feet stuck up in the air!



• and many more.....

Nula says: "won't you give me a chance? I am house trained and trustworthy left in the house by myself. I like walks and don't pull on leash and I am so very loyal I lie near you all the time and will lie by whatever doorway you went through last so I don't miss you when you come back." On another note she has not had any seizures since she has been here the last two months. I would venture to guess that they were diet related (she is on a high quality grain free diet here) and/or stress related. This really is the perfect dog and I am genuinely surprised she is still here. She is the perfect dog for a first time owner. No vices, just a sweet and loving dog looking for a permanent home.

Gibbs thinks the world is a pretty cool place these days (well maybe not literally it is 34 degrees here today!). He is now a happy and well adjusted dog. He gets on well with all the other dogs, likes cats, and likes his people. He can be a little shy if he thinks he is in trouble, but boy what a nice dog he will be for some lucky person.

Phoebe is a happy girl. She really doesn't want to be snuggled, but just let her be and she is happy as a clam. She jumps up on the bed in the morning and runs around doing the happy dance. She does love to eat! I know she is work, but she so deserves the chance to be happy in a home of her own.

Gibbs goes up for adoption

Gibbs was put up on petfinder last week. Let the applications begin! He is happy, he is getting along with everyone, he is neutered and had all his vet care done. It is time now for him to find his place. Training for him right now consists of continuing to learn daily life, and trips to strange places. We've gone on car rides, and last week he went on an off leash walk with the rest of the crew. It is always a bit of a gamble taking them off leash (especially the deaf ones) but I know they are ready when they are bonded to a couple of dogs in my group. My pack walk really well off leash, they run and play and deke into the bush but they are always in sight, and they always come when called. This works great when training a new dog (we have trained a couple of my friends' dogs this way too) as the new dog follows the pack. What they do, he does. So when he comes back, I take special attention to taking his collar and then giving him a cookie and then letting him go again. I do this maybe twice on an hour long walk, the rest of the time they just do what they like. My cookies are not as reinforcing as running, so calling them back for a cookie multiple times would be perceived by the dog as a punishment, not as a reinforcer. So some really tasty steak, and only a couple of times and voila, you have reinforcement. Gibbs did well on his walk, though I can see that he has an independent side to him. Next time I will have him wear a bear bell so I can tell where he is in the bush. He gets caught up in his sniffs!
I am keeping my fingers crossed for Gibbs for a great home for him. He deserves it, no living thing should ever be thrown out like garbage.

A typical dog continued.....

Day 4

Continued time in the crate upstairs. Getting used to noises, smells, and the general action of the house.

Day 4 for this guy meant meeting the old dogs. Marty, my 12 year old border collie is an excellent dog to use to integrate new ones. He is also a male and this guys first introduction to another male dog in my home. Marty is the perfect gentleman. He is calm, laid back, gives dogs their space and has impeccable manners. He will give them a nice snap warning if they are in his face. Trixie is the geriatric collie. She is about 13 or 14 years old and older than dirt. She doesn't do much other than get stuck in corners, drool, and bark at puppies who are having too much fun. She is good for shy dogs to meet because she doesn't do anything. I try and keep her away from the pushy ones as they tend to pick on her because she is weak. Nula, one of my current fosters is also in the old dog group. She isn't old (only 6) but she is really fat and is a very calm house dog. She is also deaf.

I let the boy out in the yard by himself first. Then I let Marty out and shut the door. I find things go better if I am not present. My dogs don't look for me for something to do, and the foster dog doesn't try to hide behind me for protection or to guard me. Often fosters have bonded to me pretty heavily by day three or four and start to show guarding behaviours. Marty of course runs out there and pees on all the new dogs pee. Foster dog runs up to him, hackles up, head down and half cowering. He wants to meet Marty but is not really sure what to do. Marty ignores him and continues to pee on stuff. New dog runs away and goes around peeing on everything again. This is good interaction. They are interested but keeping a distance. Wish I had a video camera because it is really interesting to watch how each encounter becomes a little longer until they are into a full sniff.

Next I let out the deaf female Nula. She runs right up into his face. He runs away and she runs after him, sniffing his butt. He gets cornered and just sits there, hackles up and head down. She sniffs his privates and then carries on doing her own thing while he goes around and pees on everything again, checks on Marty, sniffs her another time and continues trotting the perimeter of the yard. Out comes the old collie. She also goes right to him (nosy old lady!) and sticks her long beak right where the sun don't shine. Her nose doesn't work too well anymore so she has to get right up there. He tolerates it pretty well, again running around peeing on stuff to show off how big a boy he is. All the peeing is really nervousness, not really marking though that is a component. That was enough for day 4. It took all of about an hour to make those introductions. I am really happy at this point as now I know that I can let him out with this group of dogs and he will be safe with them.

I choose not to introduce him to my pushy male dog Cai or the rambunctious puppy group (Toque, Heidi, Sobe and Jorja) before he is neutered. This would just be foolish and asking for a fight. It is crucial that the introductions go well and that fights are avoided as once they start, there is always tension and the dogs will watch for each other constantly. It means micromanaging by me which is a lot of work. Instead, if I spend the time at the beginning and introduce the dogs carefully and strategically fights are avoided and my job is much easier. Plus the new dog gets the benefit of learning from all the dogs, not just a few.

Day 5

Day 5 is neuter day. We are off to the vet early in the morning for a checkup before surgery. He has been given a clean bill of health and is off into the back to be prepped for surgery. Today is the day I have to come up with a name for the poor fellow as we have been calling him "Puppy." This is not good for his ego! So, standing there in the clinic his name came to me (thankfully! It only took five days!). The boy has been named Gibbs. A nice handsome name for a handsome boy.

Day 6

Gibbs returns from the vet clinic. He is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and tattooed. All done! His incision looks good and he isn't obsessing over it. Unfortunately I have to go out of town on day 6 to go judge an agility trial out of town. I took two dogs with me, Cai the pushy male (who was competing) and Phoebe the puppy mill foster (who needed the socializing). Everyone else was left with our fabulous housesitter.

Days 7-10

I was away (thank doG!) when Gibbs figured out how to bust out of his crate. He peed ALL over the house. Marked every wall, the fridge, the furniture, everything, even Heidi! I am still finding spots two weeks later! He also ate the cord to my keyboard. Too bad for him Jess the house sitter is a smart cookie and found him a crate he couldn't get out of. Ha! Problem solved by the time I got home! Apparently the testosterone hasn't left his system yet. Give it another week and all will be well. Also, while I was away he got introduced to the rest of the group (this was all good as I had my male with me, the one that would have likely been an issue). He got along fine with everyone and started to play a little.

Days 11-14

I'm at work, so Gibbs spends time in his crate while I am there. He is introduced to the remaining two dogs (Cai and Phoebe) and all goes well after some initial sniffing and peeing on things (Cai peed on his head, nice ) It is life as usual at this house. Gibbs is starting to go to his crate for meals on his own. He still needs a little prompting but I don't have to take his collar anymore. All meals for him are delivered in his crate. This helps associate the crate with the enjoyment of eating and tends to help the dogs initiate going into the crate on their own. After a couple of weeks I'll start doing crate games. Getting him to go in and out of the kennel for cookies and learning to wait until he is released to come out.

Day 15

First off property walk! I took him by himself so I could concentrate. I also took him on his martingale collar only to see how he did. Amazingly, he did incredibly well! I was expecting him to be all over the place, dragging me to pee on everything. Instead he walked either beside or behind me with a loose leash the entire time. We were out for about a half hour, we even stopped to talk to some friends of mine for about ten minutes. He sat next to me patiently, like he had been doing it for years! I want to jump up and down for joy, but my cynical side says he is probably nervous still and the bad leash manners may come out later. But, in the meantime if I reinforce the good loose leash walking perhaps we will have the perfect dog. Hurrah!

The story of a typical rescue dog named Gibbs

Preamble:

I get an e-mail. "We came home from holidays and there was a dog on our porch. He seems to be an australian shepherd and he seems to be deaf. No one seems to be missing him at the vets or the pound. Can you take him? We're going to take him to the SPCA."

My reply should have been: that would be a fine idea. The SPCA is great at adopting out dogs, they will transfer him to Vancouver if he doesn't get adopted here.

My reply was: Sure, he can come here. (After all, he is a deaf aussie and the shelter will probably call me anyway, and Nepsa just got adopted so it should be fine). Ha!!! You'd think I'd learn.

The next day: Nula the deaf aussie I adopted out five years ago needs to come back. No problem, they are always welcome and wanted back. This means I have two deaf aussies coming. Huh. I should contact the other people and tell them to take the stray boy to the shelter. But no, I feel obliged since I said yes already (and really he would probably end up here anyway, who am I kidding?)

Phase One: Stress and Detox

Day one: Nameless dog arrives

Of course, it is at an agility trial, because unlike normal people I am never home. Poor dog gets dropped off amongst fifty other dogs running, screaming, barking, playing, etc. Multiple people, noises, smells, and distractions.

He comes out of the vehicle and slithers on the ground, cowering and peeing himself. Aww I think to myself, poor guy hasn't been socialized much. Submission is good I think in the back of my head. Nameless dog then sees his first dog: he growls, he lunges, he would like to eat that dog. Shit. What have I gotten myself into this time (again in the back of my head). Nameless dog gets a martingale collar put on him so he can't slip his collar and escape and gets crammed into a hard plastic kennel which is then covered by a blanket. Seem cruel? Maybe, but part of learning to be a good pet is learning how to be crate trained. Keeping the crate covered allows him to be in his space without having to react to the big wide world. Detox, de-stress and just be. He was quiet in the crate and I went about my business running dogs and the usual.

Home we go. I take him into the back yard. He pees on EVERYTHING, at least twice. WHY don't people get their male dogs neutered? I will never understand. After peeing on everything nameless dog goes into his kennel in the house (this of course is after I drag him up the stairs and into the house, he has never been in a house and is terrified of the stairs and the indoors). In the basement. Away from everything and everyone. Detox, destress. It is too much for them to try and deal with the other ten dogs here and be successful integrating into the group.

Day 2: Continued Detox

Back to the agility trial. Nameless dog gets to come (and some of my dogs stay home because of it, this bothers me, but I cannot leave nameless dog in his crate all day long on day 2). At the trial he comes out of his crate a few times to potty. He pees on the fence, and looks freaked by leash attached and the people. He does not however growl at the other dogs except when they run by. This is good, I see in him fear and uncertainty and an adolescent male with hormones. This we can work with. Home again, out to pee on everyone else's pee and back into the crate. Now he is screaming in the crate and throwing a toddler tantrum. The crate gets covered. Scream. Slam! I smack the top of the crate. Silence. Ahhh, blissful silence. There are some things I will not tolerate and screaming in the crate is one of them. Heidi is bad enough! Toddler tantrums are also ridiculous and he might as well get over that right now. I will not buy him a chocolate bar at the store either so there!

Phase Two: Temperment evaluation and integration

Day 3

Day three is a big day. It is graduation from downstairs to upstairs if, and only if, the toddler crate tantrums are over. Lucky for him they are. Lucky for me too I have Mondays off and I have the time to work on integrating him. He is not neutered so this means a lot to me about who he will be introduced to and who he will not.

Step one is an introduction to Mollie my husky cross. She is queen beeyatch and will tell me in about twenty seconds what kind of personality the new foster dog has. Mollie doesn't get out much, she is dog aggressive with certain types of dogs and isn't a dog park candidate if you will. But what she is, is the perfect dog at helping me evaluate temperment and teaching dogs canine body language. She has incredible dog body language, it is really something to see.

Nameless dog meets Mollie out in the yard where he can escape. He avoids her. He runs along the fence slinking. This is good, he should be intimidated by her. Mollie approaches him and corners him. He stands up, his hackles go up, he starts frantically waving his tail. Ears forward, standing on tippy toes. Hmmm, this could go one of two ways. Either he is going to lash out and Mollie is going to cream him and I have real work ahead of me or....Mollie play bows and runs away, pouncing at him. He tries to ignore her and instead pee on every blade of grass. She keeps pouncing at him and he runs away. Excellent. This is a good day. A dog who will use avoidance tactics is one that is easily worked, the ones who stand on their toes and approach, snip, get pushy are the ones that are trouble. Mollie goes back in the house in her room, and nameless (I really should name him soon) comes in and goes into his crate upstairs in the crate room. That is enough for one day, the rest of his job today is to sit in his crate and be sniffed by everyone else and get used to the comings and goings of being upstairs.

To be continued......

It's Official

Herding Dog Rescue in BC is closing.
I have taken on my last dog for rescue (heard that before anyone?!) before the move. I will still foster for the shelter or for another rescue group that might need me from now until I move, but I will no longer be taking in dogs that are my sole responsibility. The move is imminent, and I need to focus on getting the dogs that are here adopted before the house goes up for sale in November. It seems like a long way off, but it isn't. These dogs take time, money, and patience to be adoptable. Phoebe has been here since December, Trixie has been here for two years coming up September (not that she is going anywhere now anyway). And with two deaf dogs with special needs there will likely be a bit of a wait for them too. The vet fund has run dry and I can no longer supplement vet bills with my own income seeing as I need to make repairs to the house before selling (and eat too plus feed all these dogs).
I will still of course be posting here about the dogs I have up for adoption, and when they have found their places I'll post stuff about training my own dogs! Imagine that! :)
Thank you everyone for your generous support over the last ten years. It means so much, and I am blessed to have been a part of so many people's lives and to be given the opportunity to learn from so many dogs. For those of you that have adopted from me, your contract still stands and I will always want and take responsibility for any dog that I have placed that may find themselves needing back into rescue. Thank you everyone!

Departures and Arrivals

Nepsa is officially adopted! Congratulations little girl, you have a home of your own (and a great one too! Thanks Mandi!)

I headed out to Kamloops this last weekend to judge an agility trial. Lots happened, it was quite the jam packed weekend! First, Nula caught a ride up from Vancouver with Pacific Coastal airlines. Support these wonderful people if at all possible!!! They transport rescue dogs for free, can you believe it? What a wonderful company. So Nula arrived safe and sound (thank you again Claudine for picking her up from the airport and letting her hang with Steve for the day!) I will post Nula's picture in a bit, she had a wonderful photo taken by the event photographer that I am just waiting to get.Then, amongst judging and running dogs Sadie was adopted out to a young couple that had filled in their application the week before (networking is great stuff!). The home visit was done and off they went with little Sadie the sheltie. And THEN, the kamloops agility folks (5 star dog training and the bow wow sisterhood) had an agility tunnel and baskets raffle and raised a WHOPPING $680 for this rescue!!!! What an amazing group of individuals. And our good friend Chris of Contact Zone Pet supplies arrived with car magnets that say "I support Rescue" as a fundraiser for me too! Totally unexpected, the support is overwhelming and I am eternally grateful (as will be the vet clinic when I arrive tomorrow with a pot 'o cash to put down on the bill!)

Dogs adopted: 2

Dogs in: 2

2 dogs in? Yes, it is deaf dog week folks! This as yet nameless fellow is due to arrive next week. He arrived on the doorstep of some kind folks who live northwest of here. About 2 years old and deaf, no one is looking for him and unfortunately he arrived at a place where apparently people often dump their unwanted pets. I also had a request from the Burnaby SPCA to take on a deaf male bc/aussie mix that unfortunately I had to say no to since I already have Nula and this guy. Please spread the word, the burnaby SPCA has a deaf BC/Aussie that needs a home as well as a very cute little red cattle dog.

Phoebe has some stories to tell too, but I will let her show you her stuff at a later date. ;)

If anyone is travelling from Vancouver to Kamloops this weekend I have a dog that needs a ride. Nula is a six year old australian shepherd who is deaf. She is an easy keeper but should be crated in case of car sickness. I need to get her to me and I just happen to be going to Kamloops this weekend so am hoping that someone would be willing to bring her up if they are coming that way anyhow. Please send me an e-mail herdingrescue @ shaw . ca (spaces removed) if you are able to help. Thank you!

Nepsa goes for a sleepover!

Nepsa went off for a visit with a friend last night, and lo and behold they hit it off and Nepsa has gone for a weeklong sleepover. Good luck little girl! She is such a sweetheart, I hope this is it for her, she deserves so much. My only regret is that I didn't get to say goodbye. I was so sick all I could do was point to where her leash was for Donna to take her to school. Ah well, it is probably better that way and I'll get to see her again.
I'll be posting Sadie the sheltie on petfinder soon, so if anyone has been holding back and humming and hawing about her, now's the time! :) Once she came back from her spay she decided that this was the place to be and is now barking and hanging out with the crowd. She has lost a lot of her shyness over the last week. It is time now for her to find her place.
Phoebe? Well, what can I say about Phoebe. She is who she is!

Phoebe and Nepsa go to school

Nepsa is a little superstar at puppy manners class! She sits, she downs, she waits with a pile of food on the floor, she heels, she (kind of) comes. Good puppy! Someone is going to be very lucky to get her. Deaf or not, she wants to learn and likes to be rewarded! She has also figured out how to retrieve. She came playing with toys but all by herself. She still loves to entertain herself, but now when I throw the ball in the house she brings it back to start the game again! We haven't transferred it to outside yet, there is a little too much going on out there to think about bringing things back!
Phoebe is also going to puppy class. She is doing a lot better than I thought she would. Hotdogs it would seem is the trick with her. It is almost worth getting over all the scary noises at the training centre for a piece of hotdog. She really doesn't do anything that she is supposed to, but I am just really happy that she will take treats and try to do anything at all. She has regressed again (ten steps back for one forward!). I have had to put her back on leash and let her drag it around the house. A big part of it I think is Ernest and Sadie. I haven't had as much time to work with her the last few weeks and it shows. If I don't keep making her do things she slides. She is back to being freaked out and biting me (alternated with her happy dance, jumping on the couch, and trying to stick her head in my plate).
Sadie the sheltie is officially ready for adoption. She gets spayed next week and after that she is good to go to her new home. I am looking for a retired person for her, someone who is home a lot, is quiet, patient, and wants a dog that isn't especially motivated to do much. Walking her reminds me of walking our old collie when I was a kid. Our collie (Tammy) had to stop and sniff every blade of grass and there was no budging her until she moved onto the next blade of grass. Very slow walking, and that is pretty much what Sadie does too. I am happy to say she has found her sheltie bark when things are happenin' in the house, and her eyes light up a little and her tail wags when it is time to eat. She is also eating in my presence which is wonderful. That was a hard won battle that one, but thankfully eleven other dogs trying to dive into your bowl makes a great motivator for eating!
Ernest had his pedi-neuter yesterday. He was quiet for all of an hour yesterday when I picked him up. He is back to his puppy self! Back to the shelter on Tuesday for adoption.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock....

The countdown is on! Ernest goes in to be neutered on Friday so he'll be heading back to the shelter on Tuesday for adoption. His legs grew this week! Nothing else, just his legs. :) He is feeling great and is enjoying socializing at the dog store and dog school and even the SPCA for a visit. He now does a pounce down on command and will crawl across the floor "commando" style. He has also been playing on the wobble board, which he thinks is pretty neat! No surface issues whatsoever this little guy. He is also almost completely house trained. In fact he is, so long as I am paying attention (which clearly I am not always doing). He sleeps from 10pm to 6:30 am as well, good puppy! Here is your chance to get a trained young pup, enjoy all the puppy snuggles without all the sleepless nights!

Interested in Ernest?

Act quick! Ernest is feeling a LOT better. He has a follow up visit at the vet on Tuesday. He is almost healthy enough to go back to the shelter and be put up for adoption. So for all you lurkers out there...send me an e-mail and I'll let you know how to get in touch with the shelter to fill out an app on this little guy! You could pre-adopt him. Please? I don't want to have to take him back and leave him there.

Updates

Sadie the sheltie is coming along. She has settled in well and is coming out to check out all the goings on. She is comfortable enough to drink water in my presence and is taking treats out of my hand today. Even better, she had her first trip to the training centre and enjoyed watching rally-o from the sidelines while receiving treats from myself, Barb, and Pat. She likes to take treats from the safety of my lap but is not so keen on taking anything when she has four on the floor. More because people are leaning over her than anything else I think. She really is clearly uncomfortable in the presence of people but is a sweet and gentle soul that wants to trust. She will come around, already she is making improvements. I'll pull out the clicker in a couple of days and start hand feeding her meals and work on getting some behaviours with her. She is coming in and out of the house nicely and is beautifully house trained. She has a little spring in her step today that is very cute, and she likes to go for truck rides! She jumped right up and was happy to go. :) Here she is yesterday (unimpressed that Cai is up her bum. She has been excellent with all the dogs, she isn't ready to play yet but she likes to see what they are up to).

Ernest is doing much better both physically and mentally. He needs to get out into the big world now and do some major socializing. He had trouble with people approaching his crate in class today, some disconcerting growling coming from the crate. Poor fella is so afraid people might hurt him that he pees himself and growls at the same time. Luckily he is so young that it should be easily fixed, I'll get everyone that goes by his kennel to throw in a treat or two so he learns to associate people approaching him in a confined space with yummy treats. He loves food! He is coming along great with his puppy training. He learned to wave in two sessions of five pieces of food. He's starting to figure out the whole shaping thing. I also had him up on the big wobbly ball today, he got right up there all by himself! He was pretty proud if he does say so himself. That will help him a lot with his muscle tone.

Phoebe is pretty hilarious. There is no way she is letting Ernest get treats and not her, so we have been doing dual no mugging exercises (essentially a leave it command but without the command, it is doggie self control). It is good for Ernest too, he can't bolt for the cookies in my hand while I am feeding Phoebe, they both have to back off of the food in order to receive their prize. She seems to be in better spirits today and is back to her usual nosy self.

I did not take a picture of Nepsa yesterday....she is filthy! Covered from top to bottom in mud. It has been raining the last two days and the puppies love to rip it up in the yard, wrestling and generally having a good time. The only one that likes to stay out of the dirt is Sobe. Heidi, Nepsa and Jorja are dirt monkeys! Good times had by all, lots of floor cleaning for me!

New Arrivals

Some awfully cute little critters arrived this week! This house is FULL, I need some adoptions and quick! Nepsa has a home visit this week so keeping my fingers crossed that this will work out and be a good placement for her. Phoebe has regressed, she bit me in the face this week while I had her out at dog school. Seems she was having a cranky day. I have allowed her to be out of her kennel a fair amount lately and I'm pretty sure the bite incident is a direct result of my relaxing the "rules" with her. She needs structure and routine. She has also learned that going in the truck means being picked up and this is not going so well. She wants to jump in by herself but it is just too tall. (A friend of mine calls my truck the "man" truck, Dodge trucks are pretty tall!) Anyway, I got her a harness. My plan is to first fit the harness on her without getting bitten, and then to practice lifting her and giving her hotdogs and putting her down again over and over. She'll have to drag a leash again for a while so I can catch her but she really needs to get desensitized considering how small she is.

New arrival #1: Earnest Hemmingway. Earnest is about the cutest little puppy you ever did see! He was picked up off the side of the road by a good samaritan. Poor fella had the worst ear infections I have ever seen...and did he ever stink! His little ears were so swollen that they split. He also had sores all over his mouth from bacteria invading his little lip folds. Skin and bones, full of worms, and unable to walk more than two steps this little guy was a total mess. But, a week later with some good antibiotics, some quality food, a little wound care and he is coming along beautifully! He found his spunk two days ago and is now behaving like an eight week old puppy should. He has learned his name, sit, down with a hand signal, no mugging, and sleeps eight hours at night in his kennel. He is a very clean little puppy so house training is going pretty well. He likes to play tug and will retrieve a little ball right back to you! He likes to run off with the tug toys though. He is learning his manners from the big dogs and even got Toque to play with him yesterday! He seems to be afraid of some people so we will work on his socializing and get him spoiled up. This little fella is an SPCA dog so his adoption will go through them when it is time. How anyone could treat a puppy so poorly is beyond me. He had a collar on, so he belonged to someone.

New arrival #2: Sadie

I don't have any pictures of Sadie yet but they will come. Sadie is a three year old Sable sheltie that was surrendered after she bit the man in the home when he alpha rolled her. Sadie is a shy little girl who originally came from a poor upbringing. She was doing well in her previous home but cannot tolerate being handled roughly, she has been through a lot and aggressive handling leads her to believe that she needs to fight for her life (and rightly so). Sadie will only be adopted to a home with women, or potentially a woman with a very calm and gentle husband. She gets along well with other dogs and with cats, and has been around children (but will not be adopted to a home with young kids). She is not available at this point until I have had the opportunity to do a full assessment.

And a random pic of some of my dogs that my friend Sandeep took while we were out walking the other day!

Check it out!

http://www.nationalsheepdogfinals.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv6XubwLwrw

Phoebe learns a trick

Well, really she has learned two things this week. But the big excitement is that she learned to poke a toy with her nose this week. I have been using the clicker on and off since December, pulling it out every now and then to see where she's at. Up until now the click has made her run off with her ears pinned back. I've been working on teaching some of the other dogs tricks near her crate to get her used to the sound and let her see that they are getting treats and she isn't. I've also been charging the clicker while she is locked in the crate, click treat click treat click treat. There is no where for her to run. It took a while before she would eat the treat. Recently she was starting to anticipate the treat in her crate so I figured now was as good a time as any! I put her on leash so she couldn't escape and took her downstairs to the "training" room in the house with her supper. I put a sheepskin toy on the ground and waited. She looked at it... click! I throw the cookie near the toy (she panics at the end of the leash). Soon she realizes I threw a kibble and she tentatively approaches...and eats the cookie...success! After ten pieces of food she was purposefully poking the toy with her nose and only retreating a few steps after the sound of the click. A work in progress for sure, but what an exciting step! She has figured out that her actions = food.

Her other big excitement this week is that she has figured out the joys of sleeping on a bed. :) I put her on leash the other night, picked her up, and put her on the bed next to me when I went to sleep. I kept her on leash for about half the night before I let her off. She stayed with me (I think because she was afraid to jump off but whatever). You could see the little wheels in her head going..ohhh...this is pretty comfy! So the last three nights I have been leashing her (this is the only way I can get her to pick her up still) and putting her on the bed. Already it has made a big difference in her comfort level around me. She is coming up to sniff my face (as long as I don't move an inch!) and is sleeping near me. As of last night she has figured out how to get up there by herself, now she won't get off! Ha! But whatever, I want to work up towards me being able to pet her and give her a little massage while she's there. She seems more comfortable with me at eye level (which makes sense).

Nepsa the aussie puppy is officially up for adoption. Please spread the word! This little cutie is looking for a home to love her and she will return it tenfold! She is a very nice moderately active dog who doesn't chew things, settles in the house nicely, walks well on leash, is crate trained, house trained, vaccinated, etc. She is deaf, and was undersocialized with adult dogs and the world in general so she needs to learn how to be comfortable in new situations. All around she is a lovely and pretty easy puppy. She also loves children so would be happy in a home with kids 10 and up.

A fun weekend for all

So it was a trial weekend. Those are the best kind, despite the sore muscles and overall fatigue I just love running the dogs in agility. I also took the opportunity this weekend to work on socializing the fosters, Nepsa and Phoebe. Nepsa worked on being comfortable in the barn, doing her "tricks" in a strange environment, learning to wear a gentle leader and learning to not react to strange dogs (still a work in progress but much improved over the weekend). She had a great time socializing with all the people, she sure loves kids. She wiggles right out of her skin when she sees them! She has not learned the art of peeing on leash however, so that will be something I need to work on. Here she is showing off for all of you to see. Special thanks to our friend Joy for taking the photos!

Phoebe spent the weekend just getting used to all the noises and sights. She did sit in my lap for a bit and was able to take treats while up there but she was not especially happy about it. However, one thing at a time!

And a picture of Heidi and Sobe just because they are cute (Joy and her fantastic photography skills again!)

Phoebe figured out the couch!

She did it! Phoebe has learned how to jump up on the couch! Yippee! I have picked her up a total of three times this week just to put her on the couch on leash to spend time watching t.v. She has been getting very special popcorn treats and tonight her supper hand fed to her while up there. About half way through I take off the leash so she has the choice to leave or stay. Usually she stays until the treats are gone and then she is off and back into her kennel sanctuary. Today I locked the door to her kennel about twenty minutes before we started, put the leash on her to pet her and then pick her up, put her on the couch and took the leash off right away. I hand fed her her dinner and she crawled right up on my lap to try and get her face in the bowl (she was mad since I fed all the others first and she had to watch!). Then when I got up to answer the phone she jumped off the couch as I expected but jumped right back up again. Yippee! So of course I rewarded that with some more treats. We'll see if she does it again. But now she knows she can do it I think sh'll be up there more often. I am hoping this will lead to her coming closer and lying near me, which will hopefully lead up to the dreaded "petting."

Gin the SPCA foster dog is doing really well. She has worked out the majority of her issues around resource gaurding and is doing fabulous with all the dogs in the house. She is crate trained nicely now and is showing me who she really is. She is a very soft little dog, if you raise your voice at all (Like Sobe get OFF the counter!) she hides in a corner. She is a very loyal little thing and likes to lie next to me wherever I am. With some confidence building she is going to be a fantastic little dog.

Anything for Salami

Phoebe took food from strangers. This is a HUGE big step in her trust. She still had to be on leash, but she relaxed and even looked a little bit like she was enjoying herself. I had two dog savvy friends over the other day, we all sat on the floor with Phoebe on leash and gave her bits of salami. It took her about a half hour but she eventually relaxed, ate the nibbles and came (almost) into the centre of our circle. She still isn't ready for adoption, it will be a few more months but boy do I see some nice strides in her development in the last couple of weeks.

Nepsa is doing some pretty interesting behaviours these days. I had her out for her second big run in the bush on Saturday. We came across some strange dogs (which is unusual, we rarely see anyone out there which is why I go there). She was on the attack before they could even sniff her butt. A large fight ensued unfortunately, malamutes don't take kindly to obnoxious little aussies that think the best offence is a good defence. And of course I had her on the long line so she wasn't easy to get and when I did get her the mals were sure I was holding her in place just for them. I have fitted her with a gentle leader and I am taking her to the training centre to sit in the foyer and receive treats while people come and go to class tonight and see what exactly I am dealing with. She has improved tremendously in the house here and is now able to be out with all of the dogs all the time. Her gaurding is still present but has significantly diminished. She starts her basic obedience class next week so I need to work on this new development pronto!

On another note, I have THE cutest little six month old border collie here being fostered and assessed for the PG SPCA. She is lovely, a nice little submissive peeing baby who likes to grovel at your feet. She does have resource gaurding issues that I am trying to sort out at the moment but is a lovely and very athletic dog. I'd show you pictures, but I dropped my camera and broke it! Very frustrating.

We Did It!

After two and a half months in foster care, I was able to pick up Phoebe this week. Not only did I pick her up without being bitten, I held her in my lap for half an hour, massaging her from top to bottom. She didn't pee on me this time! She did shake and pant, but what the heck, that's minor compared to being cornered and picked up by the scary human without biting or peeing your pants! Yippee!!! I am giving her a few days rest before we do it again, I don't want her to associate me (and the leash) with scary things.

Home again and other news

I am back to the land of the frozen north. It took several hours to dig out in order to get to the driveway and to dig paths for the dogs so they could make it outside. From green grass and daffodils poking up to this....yes, that is a six foot fence you are looking at! Sigh. I do love the snow though, especially the thick stuff when it is warm like it is now.

The trip home was uneventful thankfully. We had a great visit with friends in Kamloops and picked up an extra foster dog to bring home. This is one that has been in the works for some time so I was glad to make the extra trip out to get her. She is a lovely little puppy, six months old and full of puppy beans. She is a deaf australian shepherd with a natural bob tail that wiggles constantly. She's a very smart little character, loves all people and is doing pretty well with the dogs. She is a bit of a pushy princess and has limited dog socializing so she is in the process of learning her manners (you have to love Mollie for all her teeth and snarliness she does a great job of teaching the deaf dogs body language!). Meet Nepsa (at six months she is just a little bit bigger than Sobe so around 17" and 30#)

I will try and get some better pictures of her soon. She does settle in the house pretty nicely once she's had some exercise and worked out the wiggles.

Phoebe made the trip really well, she did great in Kamloops. She didn't regress at all and even was able to come up to me while I was sitting in a chair and take some kibbles when the other dogs were away. I was very pleased with that, sometimes you have to start all over in a new place. Not that she didn't have her same issues for sure, but she was much better than I anticipated. Now that we are home here and I have gone back to work she has regressed a little. The way my small house is set up she can't come into the living room without being cornered. And now that I am back to my usual crazy schedule I'm not sitting down very much either. So my plan is to get her back on leash and show her the hidey places in the living room and see if we can't get some improvement there. I am also going to attempt to put a harness on her. I need to be able to pick her up soon so she can go for truck rides and get more socializing. Poor baby is way too small to be able to jump into the truck even if she wanted to! So that will be a good motivator for me to get at it. It is time, I think she can handle it enough to get over her fear.

Toque has regressed as well. She slipped on the ice first thing when we got home. Plus I have all tile in my house so the floors are slippy. She is not using the bad leg nearly as much as I would like. I do have carpet downstairs so we are going down there for physio but there is no way she can go for her ten minute walks outside with all the ice. I am taking her to the dog training centre so she can do walks and physio on the rubber floor a few times a week (plus she feels like she is doing something). She is allowed to do circles and figure eights this week so we are practicing our rally exercises. :)

A few more successes and an interesting development

So Phoebe is coming along. The biggest success is that she is learning to beg. Under the safety of the computer desk she will poke me with her nose and this morning put a paw on my leg asking for a treat. If the other dogs are around she will take it from my hand, if they aren't she tries to hold out until I drop it. Unfortunately for her I have decided that she will take it from my hand or she doesn't get it. But it seems clear that food is going to be the way to get her out of her shell to like people maybe a little bit.
I have also started feeding her in the kitchen. This last week she has been running out to the kitchen to watch the other dogs eat and then running back into her kennel. Back and forth like a little rocket. Day before yesterday she stole a couple of kibbles out of Heidi's dish while she was waiting to be released so that was my sign that she was ready. I put her bowl down first and then had all the other dogs sit and wait in front of their bowls as usual. She ate a few kibbles out of her bowl, especially while the other dogs were eating but was intimidated by all the commotion and kept running away a few steps from her bowl. In the end Marty ate her supper while she watched so we'll see how things go tonight! I doubt she will let that happen again.
She has also been on her first couple of leash walks outside of the yard. After triple checking that there was no way that collar could come off we went for a walk down the street a couple of blocks. Lots of fish on the line business. She is petrified but seems to have a natural understanding to stay close to me and not pull on the leash which is nice (since none of mine are properly leash trained!).
The interesting development is related to her developing some pretty serious 'tude. She has started guarding her kennel, growling and barking at the dogs if they get close to it and also growling at me when I give her straight on eye contact while she is in there. I noticed this behaviour starting a couple of weeks ago but never did anything about it (stupid me). It is now transferring out of the crate, she runs up barking when I let the other dogs out of their crates and when they are playing she is becoming the fun police. She runs out barking and huffing and scratching the carpet with her back legs and then runs away like the big chicken she is. She has started to really "yo b*#ch" me but she isn't really sure what she is doing.
In light of this I have taken the crate away from the den where we spend most of our time and put it in the bedroom next to me. That way she can't bark to be let out in the morning (I don't let her out but I have been listening to it every morning for about an hour before she gives up for the last couple of weeks) and there is no crate to guard during the day. I need to hustle up and get her really wanting the treats that I have in order to start establishing some rules around the crate, some impulse control etc. It is impossible to do crate games and impulse control exercises when she runs away and won't take the food. I can see that this is one little dog that could very easily become an absolute terror and rule the roost given the opportunity.
On a lighter note she has started taking toys and chewing on them (and my socks) which is great. Hopefully we will be able to build on that in the coming months as well.
I have not started working on picking her up. I am still working on petting her and getting her comfortable with that first. She flinches every time you touch her, so until she stops flinching at my touch I will not push the bigger handling moves.
That's it for now! Toque is doing well, she is putting her foot down now and will weight bear a tiny bit at least enough for me to get her physio done. Yay! Poor baby is going a little stir crazy. I've taken to putting agility videos on TV to keep her entertained, she loves to watch dogs on TV. :)

Pretty Girl

So Phoebe went to the groomers last week. She looks great! And she did well too. She was muzzled for the event, but the folks at the groomers handled her very gently, even taking her kennel apart to get her out so as not to stress her as much as possible. By the end of it all they were able to take her muzzle off and trim her ears and face. Yipee! She didn't even hurl on the way home, which was stellar since the highway on the way to the groomer was flooded out and a normally ten minute drive was 30 just to get around the water. Sheesh!

The other major accomplishment this week for Phoebe is that she has stopped bolting away when I put my hand down to give her a treat. She won't take it from me unless she is in the safety of her kennel, but at least she is not running away at the presence of a hand. This week I am going to work on petting her while she is in the safety of the kennel to get her used to the hand going in for the "pet." Once I am happy with her reactions to that I will start muzzling her and handling her a little more. It is a tough balance between forcing her to be handled and not creating a negative association with me. At this point she is following me in curiosity when I leave the room though not coming close. I don't want to lose that bit of connection I have with her, but she also needs to be challenged a little more in order to keep progressing. I have also taken the water away from her kennel. If she wants a drink, she now has to be brave enough to go to the kitchen to get it. She held out for a good full day, but with persistence she is taking the "plunge" as it were.

In other news, Toque has had her knee surgery and is improving slowly. She is still not weight bearing but hopefully soon.

Dorky pictures etc.

Heidi says "so like, what do you mean you don't deliver popcorn?"

More soup Mother Theresa?

Phoebe tries to play a little. She is getting cheeky and barking a lot these days, still a scaredy cat but she has a big voice!

Breakthrough by competition

So today I decided that was it. This little Phoebe dog was going to take food from me whether she liked it or not. We had made it to the point where I would put kibble in her crate one by one next to her and she would eat it but still refused to take anything from my hand (even if I left my hand in there until my arm went numb). Enter Mollie and Marty, two very voracious hounds. Today I decided to pick my criteria and stick with it. Phoebe was in her crate (as usual). I had Mollie and Marty lie down just outside her crate with the food bowl in betweeen. I picked up one kibble and held it out to Phoebe in my flat palm. And then I counted to ten. Ten seconds to take it or else. She refused as expected so I handed her kibble to Mollie. Then I gave Marty two more from her bowl. I picked up another couple kibbles and handed them to Phobe and counted to ten..no go...lucky Mollie got two more. Again I tried, and again. Then on the fifth go a little lick about eight seconds in. I wait...nothing...lucky Marty. The next time I get a little stronger lick and a kibble falls off my hand and she eats it. I try again holding my breath...success!! She ate it off my hand! Once she figured out she could do it we were off to the races. I only had to give Mollie and Marty a couple more pieces when I upped the criteria to me looking at her and then again to me talking to her (but not looking) while she ate. We'll be working on looking and talking in the next week. Yippee!!! This is serious progress, all thanks to a little food competition (good aussie!). She is getting more bold about coming out of the crate in the last couple of days, she likes to go outside and run a lap only to come right back in again. Least she is getting her exercise!

In other news, Toque got her e-stim machine in the mail this week. She had her first treatment and she doesn't like it, but did hold still long enough to have her picture taken so everyone would feel sorry for her. Here she is poor baby with all her fur shaved.