Introducing Duchess

Saturday my foster dog Cleo was returned.  Since Cleo likes to chase cats, and since she is able to escape my fence, I made a switch with another volunteer and took home Duchess instead.  Duchess was adopted out five years ago as a puppy, and recently her family lost their home and had to give her up.  She is a wonderful dog - sweet, easy-going, and very well behaved.  She does well with all the other dogs and the cats.  It's only been two days, but so far she is absolutely perfect.  

Update on my life

There have been a lot of changes since I returned from vacation two days ago. Tulsa, Ziggy and Bunny are back home with me. Toby did not come back home. He was staying at a foster home where he got to sleep on the bed and be totally spoiled. He was very happy there and his new foster mom said he could stay, so I reluctantly agreed. Actually I thanked her profusely and was very relieved. That's because this is National Return Month. It happens every year around this time. Adoptions slow down and we get call after call from adopters needing to return their pets. I don't know why the returns don't happen when adoptions are high - it would be so much easier. Instead all of our foster homes are full with fosters that aren't being adopted, and then the returns start coming in. So far this month I've had three calls about returns. First was Target, who was adopted out and then came back while I was on vacation. He's back home with me again and doing great (if you don't count the flip-flops he ate and the accident he had on my bed...sigh). Next is Stormy, a kitten adopted about a month ago who stopped using the litterbox. She will be going to the vet to get checked for a medical condition and then may or may not be returned. And last is Pepsi, a pit bull that I fostered about three years ago. Her family has to give her up and I'll be getting her back in another couple of weeks. Several other foster homes have also been getting returns this past week, so we're all hoping for a good weekend of adoptions. We're going to hold an extra adoption event on Sunday to try to get our foster pets seen by as many people as possible. I'll also be getting my cat Merlin back this weekend, as well as my foster cat Belle and a new foster cat named Lovey. I was supposed to be taking in three kittens as well, but fortunately their temporary foster mom fell in love with them while I was on vacation and is going to keep fostering them. I am not sure where they would go!


As soon as I get my act together, I'll have more pictures and stories for the blog. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these final vacation photos from Waterton Lakes, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Tetons National Park.

Target was Adopted! And more bears...

I just received the news that Target was adopted last weekend!  I had reviewed the adoption application before leaving and I think it'll be a great home for Target.   I am very grateful for the many foster homes who fit in an extra foster pet so I could go on vacation.  Judy took Target, Bunny went to Lisa, Belle and Toby went to Bev, Tulsa went to Donna and my husband Dave got stuck with has Ziggy, as well as Noelle and Remi.  Yep, I went on vacation without him.  Someone had to take care of Ziggy while I was gone!

I'm still here in Canada, vacationing with my parents and my sister Traci.  We've done a lot of hiking and sightseeing.  We've seen countless waterfalls, mountain lakes, bison, bighorn sheep, elk and deer.  And lately, several bears as well.  For any other wildlife fans out there, here are a few of my favorite bear pictures from the past few days:

Thanks for bearing with me as I post vacation photos.  I promise to return to dog pictures and foster-related blog posts very soon!

Vacation

I've now left Montana and moved north to Canada.  It's nice here.  There are a lot of wild animals, like deer...

and elk...

and even bears....

but no matter where I go, I keep seeing this guy.  I've named him Ziggy and I think he's following me.

Leave of Absence

Greetings from Montana, where I've moved in order to escape from the craziness of fostering.  I've traded in dogs for bighorn sheep, elk and bears.  I think I'm staying forever.  Or at least until I miss Ziggy so much that I can't stand it anymore.

This guy sort of reminds me of Ziggy.

The Results Are In...

HE DID IT!!!!  Ziggy is now an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen. The test went something like this:

Part 1: Accept a friendly stranger

Ziggy did very well with this, since the friendly stranger ignores the dog during the test.  Ziggy has great manners with people who ignore him.  He sat quietly while I spoke with the friendly stranger, and then walked away with me when I asked him to. 

Part 2: Sit politely for petting

This was a bit more challenging for Ziggy.  He doesn't particularly like people to pet him, so this was the thing we worked on most during the past six weeks of training.  He did well and I was very relieved when he passed this section!

Part 3: Appearance and grooming

This is the other most challenging section for Ziggy.  Instead of being brushed, he wanted to eat the brush.  But he managed to pass this section as well.

Part 4: Walk on a loose leash

Ziggy does well at this.  He stayed focused on me the whole time, which was awesome.  I took him for a 30 minute walk before the test and again during the entire walk he stayed focused just on me.  It's so much easier when there are no cows to distract him.  He passed this section easily. 

Part 5: Walk through a crowd

Ziggy had no problem with this part of the test.  If people ignore him, he's happy to ignore them in return.  Unless of course they have food - but fortunately no one was trying to eat a hotdog while being part of the crowd, so Ziggy passed this section easily as well.

Part 6: Sit and Down on Command and Stay in Place

Ziggy mastered these commands when he was a puppy, so this was pretty easy.  He had to sit and then lie down on command, and then stay while I walked away, and remain in place until I returned.  As usual, he didn't bother to get up even once I returned to him and released him from his "stay".  Once he's down, he makes himself comfortable and usually won't get up unless I ask him to move!

Part 7: Come When Called

This is another one that Ziggy has known for a long time, but we've worked on it a lot over the past six weeks just to practice.  Ziggy is one of the slowest pit bulls I have ever seen.  He generally comes when called, but at his own pace.  Even when he's in a hurry (for example, while chasing some bunnies in the back yard this morning), he only has a top speed of about 5 mph. Ziggy came as fast as he could when I called him, but it's a good thing it wasn't a race or a timed contest.  He got there eventually and passed this section too.

Part 8: Reaction to another dog

Ziggy had to walk with me to meet another dog and handler, then stop and sit while we (the handlers) greeted each other, all while he ignored the other dog.  This was easy for him too.  Just like with people, Ziggy has great manners with dogs who ignore him, as long as there is no food involved.  Ziggy passed this step easily.

Part 9: Reaction to distraction

This test is making sure the dog doesn't panic or become aggressive when faced with a distraction.  They are allowed to show some interest and curiosity, which is exactly what Ziggy did when an umbrella suddenly opened up in front of him as we were walking.  He didn't startle at all - just sniffed it as if to say "is this edible?" and then realizing it was not, continued walking.  Another easy one!

Part 10: Supervised separation

This test shows that the dog can be left with a trusted person while their handler is gone for three minutes.  This can be challenging for some dogs, but not for Ziggy.  Remember how I complained that Ziggy never missed me when I left him at adoption events?  That trait was very useful for this test, since Ziggy really didn't care if I was gone for 3 minutes or 3 days.  He passed this section easily as well!

And that was it - Ziggy became a certified Canine Good Citizen.  Great Job Ziggy!  He celebrated on the way home by drinking the Pepsi I had left in the car.  He then got the cup stuck on his nose.  I guess you're right - being a Canine Good Citizen will probably not cause an end to future Ziggy stories.

Is Ziggy a Good Citizen?

I've been fostering Ziggy for a year and a half now.  From the beginning, even when he was just a three month old puppy, I've struggled with him. And I've never hesitated to share my frustrations - sometimes perhaps too much!  I've called him tenacious, impossible, mischievous, and a challenge.  I've suspected him of having a learning disability, and I've declared that he is incorrigible.  He even gets blamed for things he didn't do, just because he's Ziggy.  But although he's more challenging than any dog I've ever fostered, he's also made me laugh more than any other foster dog.  He has made me crazy at the same time as he's made me fall in love with him.  I've never had to work so hard with any other dog, and yet I've never accomplished so much with any other dog either.  He's taught me more about dogs and about dog training than I ever thought I'd learn.  He's improved a lot in the past year and a half, and I do believe he's finally on track to be adopted by the time he's three years old.  Or maybe four years old.  

Ziggy and I, with the help of several trainers and dog behavior experts, have worked hard to get this far.  He's even been attending CGC (Canine Good Citizen) classes, and will be taking his CGC test tonight.  I am very nervous and excited for him.  The American Kennel Club's CGC program is "designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community."  Ziggy's manners at home and out have improved significantly since returning from boot camp and continuing with his training.  This means he may actually be able to pass the CGC test.  It also means there may be less "Ziggy stories" on my blog in the future now that Ziggy has developed good manners.  It's a price I'm willing to pay!   Tune in tomorrow to find out if Ziggy really is a canine good citizen!

Introducing Bunny

I recently brought home another foster dog.  Bunny is a five year old Bichon who came from a puppy mill.  She was released along with many other breeding dogs, including Chihuahuas, Miniature Dachshunds, and Shih Tzus. My previous foster dog Polly was one of this group.  The two Bichons who were released were the most afraid out of all of the dogs.  The rest of the dogs have been adopted, but both Bunny and Sassy, the other Bichon, are still finding it hard to learn how to be normal dogs.  Often dogs who are very scared will do better when they are separated, so I took Bunny home in hopes that both she and Sassy would start to show more improvement apart.  After only a week, Sassy is already doing better without Bunny, and has begun to explore her foster home and go out in her back yard to play with the other dogs.  Bunny is not yet showing so much improvement here.  I blame this on Ziggy.  I'm not sure how it can be his fault - he hasn't even been around Bunny - but when things go wrong around here, Ziggy usually has something to do with it, so I figure he must be somehow responsible.

Bunny is a very sweet dog and I've finally found something she likes - Cheese Whiz - so we've started cheese therapy.  So far she's progressed to licking cheese off of my fingers if I lay flat on the floor and hold my hand as far from my body as possible.  She also will come out of her room about two feet to lick cheese off of a plate if I'm nowhere nearby.  At the rate she's going, I think she'll be running around the house like a normal dog in no time several months.

I have to admit, I am really attached to this dog who doesn't want anything to do with me.  She's spent the first five years of her life without knowing how good life can be, or how nice people can be.  I am really looking forward to the day when she comes to meet me instead of running away from me!

Toby Plays Soccer

Toby loves soccer. Recently he called all the dogs together for a game of soccer in the back yard. I got to be the referee. My first act as referee, before the game even started, was to eject Ziggy for bad behavior. He hadn't done anything wrong yet, but I knew it was just a matter of time, so he was forced to leave the playing field before someone got hurt. Then, I blew my imaginary whistle and tossed the soccer ball into the middle of the field.

 This is how soccer games start, right? I'm not really a soccer fan, so I sort of made up rules as we went along. None of the players seemed to mind.


Jumping right into action, Target gets the ball first, while Toby circles around to steal it, and Tulsa gives him "the look".

 
Tulsa's stare-down wins her the ball and she sniffs it to make sure it isn't trying to get away. 

In an action packed moment, Toby steals the ball from Tulsa and takes off towards the goal.



Toby is cheered on by his rhinocerous, donated by his sponsor, who also donated the soccer ball and many other toys!



 Toby doesn't get far before being tackled. I blow my imaginary whistle, which all the dogs ignore, and play continues as before.


Target has taken a breather on the sidelines (i.e. the back deck) and Toby chases him down to force ask him to rejoin the game.


Mission accomplished, Toby and Target return to the field.



The game continues for awhile, until finally the other dogs get tired of playing and leave Toby alone, wondering where everyone went. 

Undeterred, Toby continues to play soccer alone.  This is one soccer-loving dog!

Wordless Wednesday

No time for words today - I have to get the grass cut before the dogs are completely hidden.

Attachment Disorder



Please come back!

Many times when someone takes a foster dog to adoptions, the dog shows an obvious attachment to the foster parent.  They may happily greet all people, but let the foster parent walk away, and the foster pet is immediately looking for "mom" or "dad".  

I forgot how strong this attachment can be since I only fostered Ziggy and young puppies for so long.  Young puppies don't know enough to develop strong attachments to anyone, and Ziggy... well, I'm not sure what his excuse is, but he never missed me either.  So it's been awhile since I had a foster dog who could make me feel guilty just for walking away from them. 

But all of my recent foster dogs have quickly reminded me what it's like.  Everytime I turn around, one of them is looking at me, and if I look back at them for more than a split second, their tail starts wagging and they start getting sooo excited.  The following pictures were taken a few weeks ago, before Abby was adopted. 

Target gets distracted, but now Abby is watching!

 Then one of the volunteers is able to distract Abby. 

But there's still Toby, who refuses to look away!

Hey Foster Mom, this lady's trying to pull me away, but I'm not leaving!

Until the treats suddenly appear.

Oh, you have food - okay lady, I'm all yours!

It's such a good feeling to know that they love me almost as much as they love milk bones.

Four Kittens and a Dog; Update on my fosters

Five of my foster pets were adopted this weekend!  Thunder and Stormy, two kittens from the Tornado litter, were adopted together.  And then Lightning and Raine, the other two kittens from the same litter, were also adopted together!  We always like to adopt out young kittens in pairs if possible, because it gives them a friend to play with in their new home.  So I was really excited to have all four of them go home in pairs.

In addition to the four kittens being adopted, Forrester was also adopted!

It was a great weekend, as several other puppies and dogs were also adopted.  It also gives me a much needed break, since for awhile there I had five foster dogs and eight foster cats.  Four foster dogs and four foster cats is a much easier number.  Here's a quick summary of my remaining fosters, in order of arrival:

Ziggy - Deaf pit bull, he got to stay home on Saturday because there wasn't enough room in the car for everyone to go.  I'm planning to alternate him and Tulsa at adoption events because both of them can be challenging to handle at PetSmart with all the strange dogs and people.

Kira, Kimba and Kona - All three cats are finally ready for adoption.  Kimba and Kona, the two kittens, went to adoptions today, and I don't think they'll take long to be adopted.  Kira, the momma cat, is still recovering from being spayed so she will not be ready for adoption events until next weekend.

Belle - Belle, the FIV positive calico cat, has settled in to life in my bedroom, and she enjoys spending her days looking out the window, and her nights cuddled up with me.  I had planned to take her to the adoption event today but somehow I forgot about her she managed to stay behind.  Adoption events aren't her favorite thing, but they're her best bet for finding a permanent home, so I'll try to take her next weekend.

Target - White and brown mixed breed dog - Target is doing great - he's learned to walk well on a leash, is crate trained and is doing very well with house-training.  He is very popular at adoption events, and I expect that he will soon be finding a home of his own.

Toby - Another white and brown mixed breed dog! - Toby is also doing great, and had a lot of fun at today's adoption event.  He got some great new toys from the lady who was responsible for getting him into foster care, and he loved the new toys and all of the attention from the volunteers and customers at PetSmart.

Tulsa - Deaf Blue Heeler, went to her first All Paws adoption event and did much better than expected.  She met and greeted several dogs without issue, and although she barked at dogs while in her crate, she was very good about not getting too excited when being held on leash.

Flashback Friday: Trey

In October 2009, I fostered a cockapoo named Trey.  I only had him a few weeks before he was quickly adopted.  Recently I saw Trey again at PetSmart.  He was there for a grooming appointment, and I got to spend a few minutes talking to his owner.  Trey is doing great and seems very happy.  I took some photos of Trey before he was groomed, so he's extra fluffy in this picture.  He reminds me of a little stuffed toy that I just want to pick up and squeeze!   

Re-Introducing Tulsa... Again



Tulsa as a puppy

 I first introduced Tulsa on February 3, 2008.  At the time I brought her home, she was just a six month old puppy.  She is a deaf purebred Australian Cattle Dog (also known as a Blue Heeler) who was turned in by her first owners because they didn't have enough time for her.  She was my first attempt at fostering a deaf dog, and she was just as much of a character as Ziggy is! 

She seemed to think the other dogs were there for her convenience. For example, she used Remi as a table while she munched on a cow's hoof.

She also tended to have a sarcastic streak.  After taking a small bite of dog food, she immediately pretended that she had been poisoned.

But it wasn't all fun and games with Tulsa.  She was only my fourth foster dog and I still had a lot to learn about dog training and dog behavior.  After two months at my house, I realized she was just too much for me to handle and I sent her to another foster home who had much more dog experience. 

A month after that, in April 2008, Tulsa was adopted!  She went to a home with two other Australian Cattle Dogs, and I thought that she would have her happily ever after.  But it was not to be. 

Eight months later, in December 2008, Tulsa was returned.  Her owner had to move and was unable to keep her, so Tulsa came back to my house.  She settled right in, and was doing great for the most part.  But we weren't sure that she'd ever be adopted because at every adoption event, she'd bark non-stop at any dog she saw, including the ones she lived and played with at her foster home.  So most adoption events, you'd see something like this:

That's Tulsa in the crate underneath the striped blanket.  She didn't bark, but no one could see her either!  Not a good way to get adopted.  By the way, see the white dog sleeping in the crate on the left?  That's Noelle.  She always slept through adoption events - another reason she never found a home before we adopted her.  Anyway, back to Tulsa.  She continued to be her sweet, silly self at my house.  She continued to use Remi as her own personal furniture - in this case, a pillow while she slept:

Several months later, Tulsa was adopted!  This time the adoption lasted less than eight months, and she was returned again, back to her first foster home.  And then she was adopted again!  And then returned again.  I have lost count of the number of homes this dog has lived in, but I know that she was most recently returned because she had trouble getting along with other dogs.  So Tulsa is coming back to my house, to live with me and Ziggy and the Three Musketeers (Target, Forrester and Toby).  This will be a bit of a challenge, since she has become selective about what dogs she gets along with.  I'm a little bit nervous about it, because one difficult foster dog is all I really want to handle at a time, and Ziggy is already firmly established in that role.  But I made a commitment to Tulsa when I took her in as a foster originally, so I'm going to do my best to help her now.  And Ziggy and I are going to start praying that the perfect home for Tulsa AND Ziggy comes along as soon as possible!  Or at least that's what I'll be praying for.  I'm pretty sure that in spite of the instructions I give to Ziggy, he'll still be praying for treats.

Update on Ziggy

A few people have asked about Ziggy, so I wanted to share an update.  I believe that Ziggy is enjoying life in the country.  There are places to explore:

Neighbors to observe:

Sticks to chew:

Interesting smells:

Dogs to play with: 

And even more sticks to chew:

Overall, Ziggy is doing great at home.  He can still be pushy with other dogs so he still stays separate from the other fosters except under close supervision.  He also gets stressed at adoption events so I have to limit the amount of time he spends at adoption events each weekend.  But he's doing very well at home and seems happy here.  At least I'm hoping that's what this look means: