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......