Langley's Boogery Blues

Langley came to us with a little bit of a sneeze and it seemed that he was getting better when all of a sudden it took a turn for the worse.  He quickly went from a couple sneezes a day to a full blown upper respiratory infection complete with fever, bright green mucous, and no appetite or energy at all. 

Yesterday morning it was off to the vet for him and the vet has put him on antibiotics to deal with the infection.  This afternoon (he had his 3rd dose of antibiotics this morning) he seems to be perking up a little.  He's still pretty sleepy but he did play a little in the yard.  He only ate 1/2 his breakfast but I gave him  a midday meal since he hasn't been eating much and he scarfed that down.  Thank goodness for stinky venison and fish Ziwi Peak which a dog can still smell a little, even with a stuffed up nose.

Now he's curled up in his crate and resting.  Here's hoping that he'll be tearing around and bothering Bo again soon. 

The Incredible Shrinking Chihuahua

Bo went to the vet today for a weigh in and he is now down to 11 pounds!  He's lost 1 pound 13 ounces and we are very proud of our sweet and nearly trim little beast.  He now struts his stuff like a lean, mean Napoleon, keeping any mischief under control and making sure everyone sees that BO IS IN DA HOUSE!

He has about another pound to lose but as the weight has come off he has really started to love to play.  When he got here he mostly wanted to lie around and exercise was a chore.  Now he loves to tear after the other dogs in the yard and tonight he showed me that he can play a mean game of tug with that muscled little body of his.

Admittedly, there's not much terrier in this little guy, but we are loving his little Chi character and hope that someone will see what an awesome, funny little guy he is.

Workin' it: Langley's photoshoot

While the weather has changed for the worst again, we have some wonderful sunny moments today in the Puget Sound area and Langley and I took that time to do a photoshoot for his upcoming listing on Petfinder.

First he showed a little leg.....

Then he stretched out for some nice leisurely poses....

But then things got goofier...

and goofier until we figured we'd call it a day.  I think he earned himself a belly rub, don't you?



Bo and Langley

While he still has a long way to go, Bo is getting much better at tolerating Langley.  It helps that Langley was just neutered yesterday so he's at about 3/4 speed right now.  In this video you hear Bo "talking" to Langley, however, it's just grumbling which is a big step from 2 days ago when I couldn't have them outside together without a tennis racket to break up fights (that Bo started.) The energy between them is MUCH calmer and their foster mom is feeling a lot calmer because of that.  Yep, we all feed off of each other's stress - humans and dogs alike.

Thankfully Langley doesn't feel the need to engage with Bo for the most part, which makes it much easier to integrate the two of them.

Working towards tolerance

Langley is an active, young, goof of a boy who is pretty big and tends to run into and over things rather than slow down.  Bo is a 6 yr old, set in his ways, easily disgruntled Chihuahua who we love to pieces but he can be a bit of an ass to the youngsters at times.  But I have to say, if I was a short little chubby guy and a young muscled crazy teeny-bopper kept (seemingly on purpose) running into me I'd get nervous and worked up too. 
It has been a challenge but over the last couple of days we've been doing tons of clicker work and training with both dogs.  Langley is getting rewarded (both with food and praise and always a click) for redirecting from Bo's barking to look at me.  He's also working on basic manners and a few tricks that help redirect him to what he sees as a fun game when Bo is growling at him and he is just dying to get in on some action.  Luckily he's very food and praise motivated and is picking things up in no time flat.  We are also rewarding him for "chill" time which is when he lays down and chills out on his own. 

Bo, on the other hand needs to be desensitized to our crazy spaz of a pup.  To do this I put Langley in his wire crate and then have slowly been working on basics with Bo.  We were surprised to learn that this boy is already a whiz at the basics - down, stay, sit, spin and he even threw a "roll over" at me.  So after we knew he had some tricks up his sleeve, I started working on the tricks closer and closer to Langley's crate, rewarding Langley for staying calm during this.  We've been doing this for 2 days and tonight I got to the point where this picture was able to be taken.  All three dogs, calm, not barking or demanding, not marking or posturing or height seeking or screaming or fighting... and did I say NOT BARKING!!!!  While I recognize that this was just a little moment in time and we still have a lot of work until we get to a point of relaxed tolerance, I'll take the hope that 30 seconds of "down-stay" gave me tonight.

Langley is in the house...and the flower beds

Sweet Langley boy has arrived and after lots of tearing around to get out the energy bottled up from the long drive to WA he is settling down to be a great dog.  Bo is not at all fond of him but we are working on that.  Frodo is fine with Langley though, since he is good about watching Frodo's space and that is about all that Frodo requires of a foster - to be left alone with a flick of the flooze.

He was a stinky, dirty, flea dirt covered guy when he arrived so he's was shampooed twice, flea combed and then treated with Frontline and is now shiny clean and flea free.  Last night he slept in his crate with only a few initial whines and this morning has been busy exploring and checking out the flowers in the back yard.

Soon, if the rain slows down, we'll be heading to the Rat Terrier of Seattle Meetup Group's get together at Luther Burbank Park's small dog area and enjoy some playtime with other rat terriers who, unlike Bo and Frodo, actually like to play.

Coming soon...

This evening our newest foster boy, Langley, will hitch a ride north to the Puget Sound area with 3 other foster boys on Angels N Paws Rescue Transport.  We are very excited for this new arrival and will tell you more once we meet him.  At this point the best guess as to age is about 1 year, and we think he weighs about 17-18 pounds.

All the boys arrive tomorrow evening so watch the New Rattitude - Washington State Facebook page for introductions of the new kids on the block.

Bo's Woes

Poor Bo has been having a rough time of it this last week.  He and house dog, Frodo, got into something deliciously nasty outside (our guess at least, since they are the dogs who love to scrounge for outdoor "treats") and have been having gastrointestinal issues ever since.  After attempting to fight it with a bland diet, probiotics and Pepcid AC we had a trip to the vet today to check things out.  Post vet it is still a mystery bug but I left loaded with gut antibiotics, and wormer for all the dogs.

As if vomiting and diarrhea isn't bad enough, Bo also has a bad yeast infection in his right ear.  He had been treated prior to being returned to NR for yeast in his left ear but last night I saw that he was sensitive to having his right ear touched.  The vet checked things out and he needed medicated drops daily and then an ear wash to use 3 times weekly while things get under control. 

I suppose the only plus to gastroenteritis is it sure makes weight loss easy.  Bo's appetite has come and gone the last few days and at the vet today he is down to 11# 9 oz.  This is 1 1/4# down from where he started at 12# 13 oz.  He's quickly moving towards his goal.

In spite of the stomach and intestinal upset, he and Frodo have kept up a normal activity level throughout so that has been good to see.  We will be very happy to get everyone healthy again.  Especially since there is a new foster dog arriving this weekend.

Fern is now Lexi

Fern's new name is Lexi and she had a great first day at her new home.  It started off with ton of fun at the neighborhood park near her house where she met up with her new brother, a 6 1/2 year old Schnauzer named Bismarck.  Then they continued the couple blocks to her new home where she explored and got to know her new place.  The evening ended with a bath for both exhausted kiddos.  Bismarck is deciding she's not so bad and Lexi is being her friendly self.  Great first day report!

New Beginning for our Fernie girl

Fern headed to her forever home in British Columbia this morning. We went to Mercer Island's Luther Burbank Small Dog Area early so she could run off some energy but apparently all small dogs go to brunch on Mother's day so it was just her and a geriatic Shih Tzu at the park. Fern attempted to wrestle with him but he only wanted to hump her so after awhile she gave up and chased the ball. She would have loved to hang with the big dogs over in that part of the dog park. They get access to the beach and then lots of dirt to make mud with but we didn't want to hand over a muddy dog for a 4 hour car ride.

After about 20 minutes of sprints in the park we walked back to the parking lot to meet up with her new family. Below you see her with her new mom, Natalie and then checking out her new car and the crate she'll be riding home in. We sniffled a bit on the way home because Fern is one of those dogs who you know is going to be a "heart dog". She connects to her humans in that very special way and is about the friendliest gal you'll ever meet - to dogs, kids, adults - pretty much everyone she meets. While we will miss her we're ecstatic she found such a great, loving home and know that she has a wonderful life ahead of her. A very happy ending for the skinny, coughing stray that New Rattitude's Lynn Bonham pulled from the Central California SPCA Animal Shelter.



Morning Wrestling with Hannah and Fern

Fern loves to wrestle and she has found a willing partner in Hannah.  Even though there is a 10# (and about 10") size difference between the two, Fern will lie down and roll over so she's more of Hannah's height for the game. 

We'll miss these busy girls who always can make us grin.  Hannah is heading to her foster home tomorrow and Fern will be moving to her adoptive home the next day on Sunday.

New Rattitude's Hannah and Fern wrestling

While Hannah may seem outmatched by big girl Fern, she manages to hold her own and keeps coming back for more.

Hannah

Hannah is one of New Rattitude Washington team's newest foster girls and she's spending the week with us until her foster mom up in Marysville, WA is ready for her.  She's a sweet, feisty, 8# little gal who enjoys wrestling with 18# Fern and doesn't let anyone boss her around, no matter how short and small she is. 

Hannah's between 3-4 years old and was rescued from a pretty nasty shelter in Bakersfield, CA.   She's a precious little thing and someone will get a very special family member when they adopt her. 

We get to spend the rest of the week with her and she'll be moving to her foster home on Saturday the 12th.

Wish Fern Luck!

Fern is off to meet a potential adopter this morning at the dog park on Mercer Island.  The adopter lives in British Columbia and has a 6 yr old dog who seems like he would really enjoy a buddy like Fern.  Wish her luck!  Here she is pictured waiting for her foster mom to throw the ball.  We'll have to bring a ball to the park so they get a chance to see her play fetch - her favorite game.

Fern and Bo chasing the ball

Mr. Bo is on a diet.  Luckily he likes to chase his foster sister Fern so regular games of throwing the tennis ball for Fern keep both dogs happy and help Bo work on his waistline.

Introducing: Bo

Bo joined us today as our newest foster boy.  He is a Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix and was adopted 4 years ago by a young lady who has had some recent life changes and decided to return him to New Rattitude today.  He needs to go on a diet, is battling a yeast infection in his ear, and is all around a bit physically ragged but we'll quickly get him healthy and in shape.  He also is a bit undersocialized and anxious and we'll work on that as well.

In this video you see him meeting our sweet 10 year old girl Tilly for the first time.  Introductions went great - they played follow the marker in the back yard and after they were all peed out did this cute little dance on the deck.  We'll give a little more time to settle in before we do introductions with the other two dogs at the house.