Ear Wars

First it started with Juniper. A couple days before she went home her left ear popped up.

On Sunday it was Mesquite's turn and up went his right ear.

Looks like our pups are growing up!

Juniper has been adopted!

Sweet Juniper has been such a joy to foster. I really love her somewhat clingy and snuggly brother, however, the best thing about Junie is her strong, independent terrier spirit. She may be one of the tiniest pups of the litter, but she doesn't let that slow her down. When all the other dogs are ready to come inside and kick back for awhile, Juniper is still fine with being out on her own (with me watching of course) exploring and hunting. She is all terrier - not really finding a need to check in with me because she's pretty sure that she can handle things on her own.

Because of her very independent and opinionated personality I am happy to say she has been adopted by a retired couple who have lots of experience with terriers and love them best for their big attitude in a small package. Juniper definitely has a double dose of terrier 'tude so I think they will really enjoy her personality.

So congratulations to Juniper (now called Junebug) and the Phillips! Enjoy your life together as a family and may you have many wonderful adventures together.

Spay day!

It's spay and neuter day for Juniper, Mesquite and their visiting sister, Bailey. We had them at the vet at 8 am for their drop off and Bailey and Mesquite had a LOT to say about the Springer Spaniel and 2 cats who were in line to be checked in in front of them. So much to say in fact, that everyone decided to bump me to the front of the line so we could get them out of the waiting area and have some peace. This is a high volume, affordable veterinary clinic so it is saying a lot that they those two were loud enough to get people to give up their spots in line.

While they were having their surgeries, Chima, Salinas and Frodo joined me on the couch for some glorious quiet time. I'm pretty excited that Chima is now relaxed enough with being around humans that she'll share the couch with me. In fact last night she slept next to me while I was watching TV - still 12" away from me, but this is big progress for my big terrier girl. Chima, we are proud of you!

Chima and Salinas, taking it easy while the puppies are at the vets

Anyhow, the pups came home pretty stoned on anesthesia and pain medication. Poor Mesquite was not only neutered, he had an undescended testicle they had to dig around for AND he had an umbilical hernia repaired. On top of the surgeries they also had their rabies vaccinations so they had a nice quiet evening of recovery.

Mesquite, a bit stunned

Juniper, standing in one place at last, and Frodo impersonating a gargoyle

Something only possible when pups are drugged: three puppies fully in one photo frame and all somewhat in focus

Today I'm sure they will think they are ready for full speed so I'll be busy keeping them calm, coned, and separated - no easy task with three puppies who have the energy to wrestle and play for hours at a time.

Back at home

We had a fun vacation full of sightseeing, hiking and delicious green chile. The foster dogs had their own vacations but seemed happy to see us when we went to pick them up. We also picked up one of Juniper and Mesquite's siblings, Bailey, who is staying with us for the week while her foster parents are on vacation. 

Salinas, excited and a bit overwhelmed while we gather her and her things to head home

Bailey, Mesquite and Juniper wondering what is going on

Chima - home at last - and conked out on her favorite bed

But now things are back to business so today the three puppies headed to the vet for their spays and neuter. Mesquite will also have his umbilical hernia repaired and all of them will get their final vaccination, needed prior to their adoptions being finalized. It's a big day and I have a feeling they are going to be glad when today's adventure is all over with.

Foster Dogs' Namesakes: Juniper and Mesquite

While we are in New Mexico visiting our son, our foster dogs are staying with other foster parents. They are all settling in and having a blast, and so are we. Over the course of our trip we'll be visiting the namesakes of all our current foster dogs and Junie and Skeeter are no exception.

While I can name the trees of Western WA with the best of them, I'm horrible about identifying the trees of the Southwest and can't pick out the mesquite tree from the other trees. However, we did pass by the town of Mesquite when we were driving to El Paso, TX.

Not a whole lot going on in Mesquite, NM

But here's Mesquite the pup and I hear he's had a lot going on - so much that he's worn himself out and likes to catch some snooze time in his temp foster dad's lap.

It's hard to miss juniper trees in central New Mexico since they are everywhere. Here are some near the Gran Quivira Mission and Pueblo Ruins:

Juniper trees around the Gran Quivira Mission ruins

I hope the Pueblo mothers also made up some diaper rash ointment from the Juniper berries since I'm pretty sure juniper bark would chafe. Ouch!

Miss Juniper the pup - hanging out in a harness since she's getting ready to go for a trail walk with her temp foster family

Stay tuned for a post about Salinas' namesake place in New Mexico...

Too Quiet

We are heading to New Mexico to visit our son at college in Albuquerque so this last week we've been super busy getting not just ourselves packed but the dogs also all packed up and ready to go to various dogsitters.

Our personal dogs, Frodo and Tilly, stay home at our house with dogsitters, but asking them to manage 6 dogs is a bit much so the four foster dogs are off to stay with other foster parents until we return next week.
 

Juniper examining a leaf... before she eats it

While we've been busy, the pups have also managed to keep themselves very busy as I'm sure you can see - busy being cute and busy bugging the other dogs.

Now they are all safely delivered to their foster homes and it is very quiet here. I'm not used to having such a fur-free household.

If you want to keep up with the puppies I'm sure you'll see some posts about them on their temp foster mom's blog.

And if we have time we will try to get a post or two in since we will be visiting Chima and Salinas' namesake places while in  New Mexico.

Evasive Maneuvers

You might wonder what the other dogs in the house are all doing while the puppies tear around. Often these days the yard seems empty except for the pups whereas it used to be teaming with terriers.

Frodo, high up on a table so he is completely out of puppy range

Salinas, Tilly and Chima, keeping their eyes peeled for wandering pups

You can find them by looking to whatever point in the yard is furthest from the pups for the most part. Every once in awhile they will hang out with the puppies - mostly to steal a prized fir cone one of the pups might have happened upon - but they can only handle so much wildness.

So when the pups are wrestling in the ornamental grass or tearing around in circles in the yard the adult dogs can often be found up on the deck, keeping an eye on the pups so they can hightail it out of there should the pups decide they want some play time on the deck.

Wrestlemania

Like most pups, wrestling is a favorite game for the kiddos, however with their size difference, I am careful to monitor interactions. Juniper fights back with the best of them but the fact that her brother outweighs her by over 2 pounds puts her at a distinct disadvantage. The pups were weighed on Sunday at the vet and Juniper is up to 3# 6 oz while Mesquite is now 5# 8 oz.

Mesquite scores with a pin

But Juniper isn't giving up

And she's back on her feet, getting ready for a throw down!

The thing to watch for is that both dogs are taking equal time being the chaser and the chased, and that one dog isn't spending most of the wrestling match being pinned. These two do great at taking turns when chasing, however, when wrestling I occasionally step in to distract them and give Juniper a breather if she seems to be overwhelmed. Once she chooses to throw herself "back in the ring" I let them go at it for another round.

Greeting Grown Ups

An important part of socialization for puppies, as important as hanging out with other dogs their age, is spending time with adult dogs. Because we've been dog sitting several past foster dogs over the past couple weeks Juniper and Mesquite have been getting lots of practice and are being pretty respectful of their elders. And when they get too rambunctious the adults have no problem telling them to calm down.

Mesquite meeting former foster boy Hobbs

Juniper saying hi to Hobbs

Mesquite, deciding whether or not it would be worth it to pounce on old Tilly. He's been told off by Tilly before so he thought better of it and went looking for his sister instead.

Juniper showing off her appropriate dog greeting skills

So far along with all the dogs they've met at work with me, they've met Tilly, Frodo, Salinas, Chima, Langley Hobbs, and Willow at our home and had play time with these dogs. Langley was a bit overwhelming to them since he would run over the top of them. Salinas thinks they kind of look like little bunnies when they do their hoppy runs around the yard and can't stop herself from chasing them so they steer clear of her as well and we keep Sal distracted when the pups are loose. But all the other dogs they've gotten along great with and have handled any corrections from the grown up dogs well, always coming back with a couple muzzle licks to show submission and then running off to play elsewhere.

Good puppies!

Collaring a Pup

The pups are so small that their collars don't fit. Since a loose collar is quite dangerous (pups can get their jaw stuck around part of it or more easily get hung up on things) for the most part they aren't wearing them. However, they need to get used to the feel of a collar and things like what it feels like to be on a leash, or the feel of a human holding onto their collar.

So when the pups go outside for potty breaks or playtime and I am right there following them around we practice with the collars. Juniper was completely unphased by it and went on with her hunt for things to chew on.

Juniper finds a leaf much more interesting than her collar.

Nom, nom, nommm...

Mesquite on the other hand was quite interested in his collar and at first tried to kick it off. When that didn't work, he decided chewing on the tags was quite fun but they were too tough to catch.

Mesquite tries to scratch off his collar

But practice makes perfect so we'll keep working on it and before you know they'll be old pros.

Puppy Play Time...

Frodo and Salinas are fed up with whippersnappers. All that playing and growling and wrestling and chasing?! They decided to stay up on the deck and out of the the wild rumpus.

But the pups thought those old fogeys were crazy to miss out on all that fun. They ran and wrestled and tore around like little hellions.

Mesquite told Buddha to talk to the paw.

And he did a lot of smiling. Because there's plenty to smile about when you are a puppy on a sunny day running free in the back yard.

Ratters in Training

The puppies have a favorite toy and in true terrier form, it's a stuffed rodent! I think one of my favorite things about puppies is seeing a cute little pudgeball of a puppy trying out grown up dog behaviors. Those first growls, meant to elicit toughness but only resulting in giggles from the humans... Or in this instance, practicing their terrier death shake on their toys.

Rat!!!

Dead Rat.

Juniper

Juniper is named for a tree that is widely found around the world but is well known in the Southwest landscape and long prized by the Pueblo peoples for it's medicinal uses. It's from the Cypress family and in the right conditions the Alligator Juniper in New Mexico can grow to 60 feet or more. Our little Juniper pup is a much smaller species although she does seem like an alligator with her needle sharp puppy teeth and love of chewing on anything in her path.

Juniper, also known as Junebug and Junie B., is the more confident and less needy of the two pups being fostered here with us. That said, she's still pretty leery of humans and will watch me carefully from the other side of their exercise pen as I approach, while her brother is excitedly sliding towards me on his belly. She's used her mouth once when very afraid (during her initial bath at our house) - not really a bite but something that could become a bite if her space isn't respected and she isn't given a choice to make decisions for herself. Once she feels she gets to make some choices, she relaxes and is interested in carefully joining the play. When frightened she currently reacts by screeching but the more work we have done around giving her new experiences and socialization, the more confident she has become and her terrified shrieks are few and far between.

Juniper in her ex-pen

With Mesquite she's quite bossy but I'm guessing that as long as she has exposure to well balanced adult dogs who don't let her get away with bossing, she'll do fine. No human trainer in the world can teach a dog quite so fast as another dog can teach them.

Pretty profile: Junebug isn't fond of the camera so a lot of her photos are a profile view

She's one of the smallest pups in the litter and weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces right now as opposed to Mesquite who is one of the larger pups at 4 pounds 13 ounces.

I think that Juniper is pretty much a typical undersocialized young puppy at this point. She has a strong terrier personality underneath and with some exposure to other people, dogs, and environments she will be able to move past her current skittishness. Her and her brother's trips to work with me are making a world of difference.

Puppies are People Too!

Okay, well they are dogs, but the point I'm trying to make once again is that a pup is not a blank slate. They come fully loaded with genetic predispositions that can't be ignored. In the world of nature vs. nurture, nature is always going to kick nurture's butt. But let's talk nurture. Dogs have a short window of opportunity as puppies to be well socialized to new people and other dogs and to have as many new experiences as possible. If that socialization isn't done carefully and thoughtfully, or doesn't get started until the end of that window, there will be anxieties that will need to be worked with. Our pups are nearing the end of that socialization window and are just getting their first outside of the home socialization. They are starting out with some deficits that are going to take time and dedication to work through.

Don't get me wrong, we want these puppies to be adopted - none of us are fans of life with a houseful of puppies since it's so much work.  But we want these pups to be adopted by people who understand that signing on to parent a pup is a huge responsibility. A dog is going to come with genetic baggage and their family's job will be to meet the pup where they are at and educate themselves on how to help that puppy (through positive training) to become all the pup they can be. That may mean rearranging the human's schedules, paying money for a person to come and give the pup play time mid day; and it definitely means spending the money for puppy training classes from a knowledgeable and certified positive trainer.

The reality though is that most people have cute puppy blindness and are positive that all will be right with the world if they can just get their hands on an adorable little furball of terrier cuteness.

For people who really want to know what they are getting themselves into when bringing a terrier into their lives, I highly recommend the book Terrier-Centric Training: From Tenacious to Terrific by Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell. And if you want to hear more about how puppies are not a blank slate be sure to check out this wonderful blog post over at Paws Abilities.

Stay tuned to learn about the unique personalities of Mesquite and Juniper - some of the areas where they will need some help from their humans, and what we've learned about them so far. Not just cute faces. Unique individuals who are certainly adorable but who have their very own personalities, likes and dislikes.

Going to the Dogs

Chima and Salinas were just hanging out, minding their own business. An occasional hunt in the back yard or chew in the living room - they were starting to think this new life of being a house dog was pretty dang swanky.

Chima and Salinas: kicking back in the living room with a favorite blankie and some toys

But then this happened:

Puppy containment is key but that means that our house has turned into a maze of ex-pens

Mesquite and Juniper 

Then they weren't so sure how nice this gig they had scored was. And then as if two squirmy poop machines wasn't bad enough, back came the wild man himself, Sir Langley-lot! He's not back for good - just for a visit while his dad is out of town on business.

Langley heading back to our house. He thought riding tethered in the doggy car seat was a huge improvement from the crate. 

So Chima and Salinas' nice routine has been blown out of the water with the new arrivals. Everyone is still settling in but  are getting along well, so that's good. Stay tuned for updates from our dog zoo.

Rescue Railroad: 7 New Dogs in NW New Rattitude Foster Care

You've heard all about the two new kiddos who'll be squeezing into a non-existent foster spot in our home - Miss Juniper and Master Mesquite.

Juniper

Mesquite

Here are the other five dogs who will be arriving in Northwest foster homes this weekend...

Jack and his sister were repeat visitors at the shelter thanks to regularly escaping the back yard where they spent most of their time. This last time no one came to claim them when they were called. They sat in the shelter for quite awhile and finally reached the "last call" list. Several rescue groups worked together to get the dynamic duo out of the shelter and transported to a temp foster spot in Fresno. In that temp foster home it was discovered that this purebred Rat Terrier pair weren't serial escape offenders - they were just super smart and bored with their life in a back yard. They proved to be delightful, confident, friendly dogs who are great with kids, people and other dogs.

Jack

Jack will be fostered in Redmond WA, but quite possibly not for long since we have an adopter who's been waiting for a dog who will be a good fit and Jack seems perfect for him. Jill is still hanging out with our New Rattitude temp foster parent until we have another spot open. She had a spot but then we had to squeeze all the puppies in at one time so sadly the pretty girl was bumped. But look for her on the next trip.

And last but not least, we have the other four puppies from the Fresno litter of pups. Sawyer is a male and Skye a female and these two cuties will be fostered in Yakima, WA.

Sawyer

Skye

Good luck to their foster family with telling those two apart!

Bailey

The last two girls are Bailey and Efeste'. Bailey is the runt of the litter and is a tiny little thing but she doesn't let that keep her from taking on the bigger pups. Bailey will be fostered in Redmond, Washington.

Efeste'

Efeste' is a sweet little girl with the cutest face markings. It is believed Efeste' is deaf so she'll need a family who is willing to spend a little extra time learning how to best create a safe environment for her and how to train her. Efeste' will be fostered in Seattle, Washington.