Guess Who's at Our House...

Former foster dogs Willow and Hobbs. Their parents are in Oregon for the weekend and so the kiddos are staying with us. They've been as sweet as I remember them.

Willow (New Rattitude name was Coho)

Hobbs - he's always moving so it's tough to get a clear photo of him.

Willow is wondering what the heck Chima and Salinas are eating - fir cones, of course!

Chima and Salinas are a little leery about new dogs hanging out at the house but they have been good girls and are just doing a lot of sniffing. Willow and Hobbs will head home tomorrow and I'm sure they will be happy to see mom and dad again but in the meantime they are busy snoozing on the couch and doing what they do best - warming laps.

Willow the Wonder-pup!

I usually wait awhile longer before I do a "pupdate" of how a foster dog has settled into their new home, but I have to say that Willow (Coho) is doing so well that I had to share some photos her mom sent me.  It took almost a week after she had arrived in foster care at our home before Willow would approach without creeping up to me with her ears flattened to her head, but look at her here, almost immediately seeking out attention and just hanging with the crowd!

Asking for some attention (or quite possibly some food)

Willow was one of those poor dogs who craved human attention while simultaneously being terrified of it. So when she arrived we did what we normally do with new, fearful dogs - we ignored her.  Well, I mean she was fed and got sweet talk and potty breaks and all that jazz but we were careful to try to never approach her but instead to let her take things at her own speed and choose to approach us. By giving a fearful dog the time and space they need to understand they are safe, you will speed up their ability to trust tenfold.

Hanging out at a family birthday party like she's lived there all of her life

Obviously though, she immediately felt safe in her new home and is doing great and just another member of the family. We can't wait to hear more of Willow's great adventures and prove that sometimes all a shy dog needs is a little patience and love and a family willing to see the potential in a not so perfect dog.

Coho's happy ending

While I love the dogs that I foster, some I am happier to send home than others.  I was happy to see the pups find homes that are up for the time consuming responsibility of training a puppy so they can have a happy future where they feel confident and loved.



Coho, soon after arriving at our home

For Coho, I am happy to see her go, not because she's a lot of work, but because she is so sweet tempered and gentle that the poor girl got lost in the crowd and I feel like she wasn't getting the attention she deserved here.

Coho came to us underweight, probably recently having weaned puppies, with a budding case of giardiasis, and pretty timid. This was a dog who had been failed by humans up to this point. I set about getting her healthy: she had vet visits, medications for the giardia, pumpkin to help soothe her intestines, and high quality puppy food to help her start putting on weight.  As she started to feel better some of her shyness disappeared and her personality started to blossom. I soon saw she was one of those dogs who desperately wanted to connect and bond with people. She wanted lap time and pets, and sweet sugary babytalk. 

Showing off her signature dance moves

I did my best to shower her with the affection and attention that she had been so lacking over the first 4 years of her life but there were 6 dogs in the house, all with their own set of needs and all WAY more demanding than little Coho and she always seemed to end up last in line.

So that is why even though my heart was sad to say goodbye, it was also happy because when Coho went home with her new family yesterday I knew she would finally get the attention and focus that she deserves. Her mom works from home and the family also has two large dogs, both who didn't phase Coho in the least when she visited.

Her new name will be "Willow" which I think is a beautiful name for this long-legged beauty who bent but did not break under the harshness of the first years of her life. She is now moving on to a happy future as a loved little princess in a wonderful family and that was my dream for her.

Here is Willow, getting ready to head home with her new mom and wearing her new car harness. At first she was pretty scared and bewildered but a delicious big homemade dog cookie helped her decide this may not be too bad after all. I wish I could have gotten a photo of her once she really dug into the cookie. She forgot to be scared for a bit and her ears went up and tail was getting wiggly.

She's not too sure what is happening

 

"Hmm...what's this delicious smelling thing?"

 

Getting a small nibble of the happiness that is coming her way with her new mom

 

 

Poor Coho!

Sweet Coho is a bit shy when meeting new people so a trip to the vet for a spay surgery, teeth cleaning and a couple extractions was her idea of the ultimate nightmare.

Taking dogs to the vet for a spay or neuter surgery is just a common trip for me. I'm probably in there at least once or twice a month with a dog needing to be altered so I'm pretty aware of what they act like post surgery and what their recovery time looks likes.

From the moment I took Coho home I could tell that her pain level was not typical. She had received a 24 hour pain shot and then came home with some pain meds but still, she could barely keep herself in standing position and was doing a lot of moaning. It was worrisome although her incision looked great, there was no weird swelling, and she did eat some wet food with water mixed.  When the next morning she was still barely able to move without moaning, I talked with the vet. A stronger pain med was prescribed and at dinner time that day she got a dose of the new med.



Coho, after she jumped up on the couch to give Troy some kisses

What a difference. By about 30 minutes after dinner she was wagging her tail, walking around and then before we could stop her, she jumped up on the couch to get some attention from Troy and a few kisses in.  Thank God for pain meds!  We'll be keeping her on the Rimadyl for a few more days as she continues to heal from the spay. AND she has some good news that we'll be announcing in a few days.

Our Parasitic Adventure

Over the years that we've taken in dogs from shelters we've become pretty familiar with battling parasites - some with more staying power than others. We've dealt with fleas, ticks, diseases from fleas, mites and ticks, multiple skin fungi and yeasts, every worm imaginable (and some I never would have imagine) and lots of single-celled creepy crawlies inhabiting our foster dogs' intestines.

Our personal dogs are very healthy, eat nutritious foods and supplements and rarely pick up anything because their immune systems are very strong. The poor foster dogs bodies though have been through high stress and bad nutrition (and sometimes starvation) and their bodies are easily overcome by these nasties.

So recently when one of our foster dogs joined us they brought up the intestinal parasite Giardia. Symptoms of giardisis are diarrhea as well as burps that smell like diarrhea. It transfers from feces to mouth so poopeaters like Langley are usually the first to be infected.

The result has been utter chaos since along with 2 foster dogs with giardiasis, we also had 2 young foster pups who are highly suscesptible to the pest. To keep the puppies from becoming infected we've created this complex dance of leashed trips to different sections of the back yard, foot cleaning with antiseptic wipes after each trip outside, different poop scoops for the "sick" vs. "healthy" parts of the back yard and separating pups from adult dogs by crating and rotating. No one is happy about it, least of all Troy and I, but we don't have a lot of options.  Coho is now completely over her case and doing great. You'd never think she'd been through a thing. She's starting to put on a bit of weight and her coat is really shining up. 

Langley and Coho during their free time, checking to see if there are any goodies in the kitchen

With Langley it's tough to tell because feeling sick made him anxious, which also causes loose stools. He's also still recuperating from a holiday season full of lots of changes to routine so all is not well in Langley's world or his butt.  It looks like we've managed to move past the multiple middle of the night crate blow outs, complete with his anxious spinning and trampling of the poo. And he's actually enjoying a little time in the living room without too much compulsive behavior.  In fact today I found him sitting in his favorite bed when I came upstairs from the laundry room. I had put the bed up on the hearth to keep the puppies out of it but that didn't stop Mr. Longlegs from hopping into it. It's the first time I've seen him just sit and relax since November.

Langley balanced on his perch

The puppies are keeping busy in their penned area and Frodo makes sure to stick close during mealtimes to benefit from their messy eating habits.

Frodo helps himself to some puppy food

Coho and Tilly hang in the kitchen where they both have cozy beds and things to chew on.

So everyone is making the best of things and now that they've completed their Panacur treatment and antibiotics, we're crossing fingers that we're finally done with the mess. The sanitizing will continue as will the leashed potty breaks and careful scooping and hopefully that will be the end of our first run-in with Giardia.

Warming up

While some dogs just need a few days to relax and settle into their foster homes, others need a bit longer and Coho is one of those girls who need time and love to realize that their life has finally taken a turn. Happily, this week she's gone from avoiding getting too close to us to wanting to follow us around. In fact it was tough to get pictures for the blog last night since she kept photobombing the shots.

Check out this video of her coming over and standing on my legs to get some attention. She's obviously still not relaxed about it but she kept coming back to me for more petting. Such a sweet little girl. I can't wait to watch her grow into a happy relaxed dog.

Meeting the pack

Coho  has proven herself to be really great with the other dogs of the house. She is calm without being fearful when around them and Frodo and Tilly almost immediately treated her like she'd always been here.

Giving Frodo an introductory sniff

 

But Langley is always another story. As anyone who regularly reads this blog knows, meeting Langley can be overwhelming for even the bravest of dogs. In spite of this, Coho is calmly working through Langley's spastic attempts at welcoming her.

Yesterday they spent a little time outside together and it went really well. There were sniffs but Coho was disinterested enough that Langley didn't get himself worked into a tizzy.

We're all keeping paws crossed that as life settles down here post-holidays Langley continues to calm down and make Coho's time here happy.

Welcome to Crazy Town, Coho

Pretty Coho: cautious but craving human attention

Poor Coho. The trip up to WA from CA is always scary enough for dogs, but then poor Coho landed in a foster home that's in total chaos. We have out of town guests, and while Langley loves them, it was the final change of the holidays that threw him over the edge and he is in full panic mode: obsessing about eating things in the yard so much he can't eliminate out there, panicking in his crate, and much more. So Coho walked into our home in the middle of all this. Of course Coho was an additional "change" for Langley so we aren't even considering working on introductions between the two of them because Langley is too far gone to work on something like that.

She's really enjoying exploring the sights and smells of the PNW

More peeking at the back yard: lots of birds and squirrels to keep track of

Understandably, Coho was terrified of this full on crazy terrier who was twice her size. So she's a little nervous at this point. In spite of that she loves attention from people and is getting used to us and coming up to us for pets and loves. She finds the act of being picked up scary but once she's in someone's arms she's happy.  Her favorite though is if I just sit on the floor and she can hop in my lap. We'll give her a little time and space and she'll be tearing around in no time. She did great when she was in temp foster care so we know this is just a temporary thing and she's getting used to the stressful environment she landed in.

Demonstrating her dance moves

She's a bit underweight so we'll be working on getting some weight on her. She also still needs to be spayed and microchipped so that will be happening in the next week. Lots going on for this tiny little 8 pound girl.

The good news for poor Coho is that things will start to settle down on Monday as we get back on our normal schedule. Langley "resets" pretty quickly these days so hopefully once he slows his brain down, he and Coho can become friends. So stay tuned as we watch this sweet and beautiful little dog blossom into her new life as a rescued and loved dog.

Big Load of Terriers, coming your way...

We are dang near out of foster dogs here with New Rattitude's PNW foster parents which means we have a big load of newly rescued ratties arriving late tonight in Washington and Oregon. So give a big welcome to....

Landau: This short and stocky type B Rat Terrier was in the Delano Police Dept. Animal Control kennels. These kennels are all outside without even dog houses for shelter and it's getting pretty cold at night there.  This cute little chunk of love is 6 months old and will be fostered in Snohomish, Washington. Follow him at http://wulfgrl-mydogblog.blogspot.com/

Landau, getting in the holiday spirit now that he's out of that cold dog run

Coho: Four year old, teensy 9 pound Coho had been in the Kings County Animal Control shelter for quite awhile and it was getting close to when she would be euthanized. Instead she was pulled by our NR angel, Lynn Bonham. She is said to be quite a snuggler and when she walks she prances - and check out that curly tail! She'll be fostered by us in Federal Way, Washington so stay tuned here for more about this cutie.

Coho, a pretty little prancer

Reynvaan: One and a half year old Reynvaan (pronounced Rain-ven) weighs about 11 pounds and is a sweet little chocolate colored guy who loves playing with other dogs or even just kicking back for awhile when a lap is available. He'll be fostered in Seattle, Washington. Follow him at http://cattierattie.blogspot.com/

Reynvaan is ready for Seattle!

Lex: This ten pound, one year old boy has a beautiful tuxedo coat and heart shaped markings on his face.  He's a cute little snuggler who gets along well with other dogs. Lex will be fostered in Bellevue, Washington.

Sweet little Lex is said to be our Salish girl's "mini-me"

Liza: Liza needed out desperately. She only had a day left and the NR California team scrambled to save her. Big thanks to Diane Cosentini and Lynn Bonham for working together to save both her and Landau. Liza's a beautiful 6 year old, 12 pound girl who is very easy going and gets along fine with other dogs. She'll be fostered in Amity, OR.


Liza, doing some of her signature prancing in her temporary foster home

Gramercy: This little shortster is a transfer to New Rattitude from another rescue group. We often work with a couple all breed rescue groups in the Central Valley of California. They save dogs that are listed to be euthanized and get them out of the high kill shelters into their no-kill shelters, but if they can then hand off some of the dogs they save to breed rescues, that frees up space in their shelters to rescue more dogs who are about to die.  We fell in love with this stubby two year old male, 12 pound type B Rat Terrier. Gramercy will be fostered in Seattle, Washington. Follow him at http://cattierattie.blogspot.com/

But wait, there's MORE! Next week we'll have 8 more dogs arriving in our PNW foster homes.  Stay tuned...

Introducing Coho

This is a bit of an early introduction but I'm light on material these days with only one foster dog in the house.

Coho will be our next foster girl and she'll be arriving this Friday night.  She's about 3 years old and is said to be a pretty even-tempered confident girl which is always a nice thing with Langley in the house. 

Not sure of her weight but I think it is right around 10 pounds - and check out that whirly, twirly tail!

Even though she's going to arrive in 2013, she became a New Rattitude foster girl in 2012 so she's still part of our Washington theme with the names.  Coho Salmon, also known as Silver Salmon, are a native fish to our PNW rivers and ocean waters. They're also pretty dang delicious!  Luckily New Rattitude's Coho is much prettier than her namesake, though.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the announcement of our 2013 foster dog naming theme...