More Rigby and Mochi Fun

Rigby and Mochi have continued to play and it has become a regular thing for them to have an after breakfast playtime.

In the 2nd video you will see towards the end that Rigby has had enough and he shakes off and then stands very still. In the past Mochi would have ignored this and pushed for more playtime but this time she respected that he was done playing and off she went to find a toy to keep herself busy.

Good girl! I love seeing foster dogs start to mature thanks to lessons from the older dogs.

Ah, Sunshine

Most people like sunshine but here in the Pacific Northwest after a long, dark, gray fall and winter, we obsess about it. And when the clouds start to break and we get a few days of sunshine we make the most of it, and that includes the dogs.

Salinas and Rigby

Chima, Salinas and Rigby

On Memorial Day we had beautiful weather and while I did some chores the dogs enjoyed time in the sun - first inside and then outside.

Chima and Rigby enjoying the sun warmed bark

Rigby

Mochi thought sun sleeping was boring but she managed to enjoy herself and followed me around since I was apparently more interesting than the sleeping dogs. 

Frodo sniffing around and Salinas taking a snooze

While I was able to get a lot of outdoor chores completed I think the dogs enjoyed their sunny day more than I did.

Good Boy Rigby

It has finally happened. After weeks of attempting to get one of the other dogs to play with her, Mochi finally convinced Rigby to join her in a wrestling match.

Mochi tries to convince Chima to play with her

Because I wanted there to be future wrestling between them I stepped in after a bit because I could tell Mochi was getting more excited and I didn't want her to overwhelm Rigby. I distracted her with some squeaky toys and Rigby beelined it back to the couch for a snooze.

Honestly, I thought Rigby would be the last dog to want to play with her. He had spent most of the day growling at her if she even moved in his direction. He was not a fan. But for some reason when Mochi was playing by herself, flipping a toy around, he decided to join in and initiate play.

My hope is we will get more wrestling matches going before Rigby goes home in a week.

Our Fosters of 2015

It was a slow but good year for us. Typically we foster about 12 dogs a year but this year we just had 5. Part of that is we are only fostering 1 dog at a time now - something to preserve our sanity and keep things calmer and happier for our 4 personal dogs. But also, we didn't get the number of applications that we have in past years and dogs who I would have thought we'd only have for a couple weeks stayed with us for several months. That's okay though because we enjoyed our time with all of them.

But here they are - the five kiddos that we rescued in 2015 and happily all have been adopted into great homes.

Rigby: Rigby with his big brother before heading out for a rainy Northwest walk

Magill: he came to the 2015 Rattiefest with his family. A happy, happy boy.

Gus: he started as a sick little puppy but now is a big healthy guy. Here he is visiting Makeda and Mingus Cafe with his family.

Lizzy: Sweet "dizzy Miss Lizzy" is best pals with her human brother

Harrison: Big boy Harrison is newly adopted and has a furry older brother who has more energy than he does!

Our first dog of 2016 arrives next weekend and we will be sharing him with you soon.

A Visit From Rigby

Rigby came to visit with us for an evening while he parents went out with family and it was so great to see him. He was a gentleman as always and was even very patient with little Lizzy.

In fact for awhile he was quite fascinated by her and even played with her a bit until he decided he had enough. For older dogs Lizzy is best in small doses.

While Rigby was excited to see us and visit he was definitely ready to go home with mom and dad when they arrived which is always a happy thing to see.

Pupdate!

I received an email from Rigby's mom the other day and he sure has hit the jackpot.

His skin is staying nice and itch-free and he's started trying out some raw food which he thinks is amazing and scarfs right down. His mom recently made him and his brother Skip rain coats since Rigby hates the rain and Skip doesn't mind it but his fur soaks up water like a sponge. While they aren't that impressed with wearing coats, Rigby doesn't seem to mind walking in the rain as much so that is a good thing.

The boys are looking dubious as to whether rain coats are a good idea.

And guess what? The boy who wasn't that interested in toys has fallen under the magic spell of the Egg Baby plush toy. He loves to chase the eggs around and play fetch with it.

And apparently he is getting better at leaving their kitty alone who is a big guy and doing a good job at teaching Rigs that cats are best enjoyed at a distance.

Hanging out under the table while his family plays a game

Rigby holds a special place in my heart - both because he is amazingly sweet but also because he and I spent so much time together getting his skin healthy. We will be watching him for a couple days in October so stay tuned for more Rigby posts then.

Rigby Update

Rigby is doing great in his new home and according to his mom has made friends with his brother Skip the Lab mix. He has also learned that cats demand respect and his cat is not afraid to let him know when he is cramping kitty's style. :)

Catching some z's in a prime nap spot

He spends his time doing his favorite things - following sun spots around the house for prime nap locations, car rides to the farmer's market, sniffing stinky stuff on the beach and daily walks.

Snoozing in his new cozy carseat on a ride home from the farmer's market

We think this sweet boy hit the jackpot and are so happy that he finally has a great home to call his own.

Sniffing on a walk with his brother Skip

Busy Dog Day

His last afternoon of sunning with the girls

Today was Rigby's day to head to his new home. It was a tough goodbye since he has been here 4.5 months and is the kind of dog who really wants to connect to his people. He is headed to a great home though. In fact his new mom brought him some of his favorite tripe treats and even better, she bought one of the big Snoozer car seats that Rigby so loves to lounge in during car rides. We will all adjust but a few tears were shed as I folded up his bedtime crate and put his Molly Mutt bed in the wash.

Rigby's "go home bag"

I brought Gus along on when we met Rigby's mom and after Rigby was on his way we headed over to Mud Bay to pick up some puppy food. Gus is growing fast and used up his first bag of food quickly! We timed it just right for a socializing trip because it was a shift change and there were 6 employees in the store at the time. Of course they all wanted to meet him and brought him treats and by the 3rd meet and greet he was ready to leap up to give kisses and get his treat.

Gus greets an employee

Sniffing kibble - a very fun pastime

And even better - sniffing some of the dehydrated Sojos. 

Checking out the buckets full of chews and wondering how he landed is this magical doggy wonderland. 

Along with meeting people Gus was able to walk past some other dogs calmly while on leash and he got to sniff so many yummy things! This shop is a busy place with tons to take in but Gus handled it like a pro. After we had purchased the puppy food it was out to the car for the drive home and that meant time to chew on a bully stick. Gus is starting to really love trips in the car since they've led to some pretty cool spots.

Enjoying a bully stick on the drive home

Rigby's adopted!

I am so excited to announce that Rigby has found himself a great family! He will have an 11 or 12 year old Lab brother and a big orange kitty who will keep them both in line. And he gets to live on the Hood Canal, right on the water. What fun he will have finding stinky things on the beach!

His new mom and dad have terrier experience and have been following this blog so know all about his allergies and feel able to take on his special diet restrictions. They weren't even phased when he snarked at Skip the Lab for getting in his space a little too much. (Can I just say here that I LOVE Skip! What an adorable, goofy boy who even with cataracts is still fetching sticks in the canal.)

Here's Rigby hanging out on a big log on the beach. We hear they regularly have oysters wash up which I'm sure that Rigby will find delicious! Good thing he doesn't seem to be allergic to seafood.

Rigby made sure not to let himself get wet - true Rat Terrier.

"Hey, are you going to share that tripe?" 

And this is Skip the Chocolate Wonder Dog playing fetch in the Canal

Here he comes with his stick

"

"Throw it again!" In true Retriever spirit, Skip doesn't believe there is any reason for a game of fetch to end.

While it's always a little heartbreaking to say goodbye to a foster dog who has spent several months with us, I am excited that this special, sweet natured dog now has a great family to call his own and is now itch and rash free thanks to getting his diet on track.

Happy life sweet Rigby boy! We love you!

Taking Turns

I love the Molly Mutt "dog duvets". It's basically a dog bed that you stuff for yourself. I use old chewed up polar fleece dog blankets to fill ours up and most of time the beds are used in their crates. We have one outside version of the bed though and when it's nice out I will throw it on the deck for the dogs to sun on.

Until Rigby joined the pack the girls pretty much ignored the bed when it was outside but once they saw that Rigby liked it, everyone wanted to get their turn on the bed.

The boys hope that since Salinas is so hot she'll move and give them a turn on the bed

Gus decides not to wait and just hops up with Sal

But he's a puppy so easily distracted and soon he's off to do something more interesting

Rigby is wondering if I think he will ever get a turn

Yay! Rigby thinks the wait was worth it for this warm, soft spot in the sunshine

When it's in the house the adult dogs mostly ignore it unless there is no room on the couch but little Gus seems to prefer it to the couch and it is his go-to spot for a nap.

Gus' favorite spot for a nap

Chima snoozes on a bed next to Gus

Play Time With Puppy: Part 2

Little Gus tried so hard to get someone interested in playing with him. Rigby just wanted him to go away and Sal and Chima were resting on the couch so he steered clear of them.

He even tried to play with Frodo and the new football but Frodo was having none of that.

So he had to keep himself entertained. First with Nylabones and then later just rolling around on the floor.

Isn't his little roly-poly belly cute?

New Food For Foster Boys

Yesterday I took a trip to a natural pet food store to buy some food for both Gus and Rigby.

Gus is underweight and not as muscled as he should be at this age, thanks to being ill for a few weeks. So I wanted to find a food that had a lot of calories - something dense with protein and fat. These days a lot of food are heavily marketed and have things that are pretty unnecessary. For example a kibble that brags about having fish oil, glucosamine and probiotics in it is not really any better than one without - both the oil and the probiotics are damaged by heat during the processing of the kibble so aren't able to be utilized by an animal like you would hope they would be. Foods are marketed for small breeds and weight management and senior dogs and even specific breeds. There are a lot of gimmicks out there to get you to pay more for a food.

You can see Gus's spine, ribs and hip bones now - all signs that he needs to gain some weight

But food for puppies is something that is worth spending your money on - at least for the first 6 to 8 months. Unlike an "all life stages" food that can't be too fatty for older dogs, a puppy food is going to give a big boost of calories and also the higher fat that is needed for their developing body and brain. Pregnant dogs should be eating a puppy food as well - they need the extra calories.

So Gus will start on Firstmate Ocean Fish Puppy Formula which is a wonderful grain-free kibble made in British Columbia. I'll add some pollock oil and refrigerated probiotics to the mix as well and he is getting 3 meals a day, which all the other dogs think is so unfair. Hopefully with the extra meals and calories he'll start putting some weight on. Goodness knows he loves to eat! The kid is like a vacuum and can suck a meal down in no time.

Then, exciting news for Rigby - since most people really don't want to have to cook for their dogs we are going to start doing a trial of a kibble again now that his infection is all cleared up. I bought him some Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit kibble and tonight was his first meal with some of it mixed in with his turkey, green beans and broccoli. Wish him luck!

Construction Time with the Helpers

The 3 brown boys: Magill, Rigby and Frodo

It has been a very busy day so far. We are terracing the lower portion of our back yard which has meant large amounts of earth work by hand and today we started putting in the lower retaining wall. The dogs wanted to help, as usual and Magill was the most interested of all, and always seemed to end up right in the middle of things.

I tried to entice him with some of the long sticks that I was pruning off the cherry tree but he found Troy's wall building and dirt work much more exciting.

The big dogs were also interested in what was going on and were very happy when Troy moved one of the composters and left some rotten gunk behind for them to chew on. Chima took advantage of us being distracted and dug a hole in one of the flower beds, as well.

Chima and Rigby checking out the composting area

The first and largest of the 4 wall sections has been built and so far is seems all the boy dogs have voted the unfinished path as the best place in the yard to poop.

Good News for Rigby

Rigby had a follow up visit to the vet for them to take a skin scrape and see if his skin infection has cleared up yet. The good news is that he is infection free!

The infection really got in the way of us figuring out what exactly he was allergic to since it was tough to know if the inflammation was from the infection or from a reaction to a food. Now when we test foods it will be easier to know if a food is truly okay for him to have.

The bad news is that a certain little puppy in our house is a messy eater and often leaves kibble scattered around his crate. Rigby helped himself to the left overs - a puppy kibble that has both chicken and grain in it - and we now have a flare up going on. The vet prescribed the corticosteroid Temaril, which works well for Rigby and hopefully the uncomfortable flare up will calm down over the next couple days.

To solve this problem in the future, Magill's crate is never left open, even when he isn't in it, and I always try to find any stray kibble he may have left lying around after his meal.

At the vet Rigby was a complete gentleman as usual, ignoring a rude Chihuahua, sitting calmly while being weighed (19.3#), and being very stoic during his skin scrape. To reward him for a job well done he was given a large stick of dried catfish (Honest Kitchen Beams) to chew on while I paid the bill at the end of the visit. He then calmly and quietly relaxed in the doggy car seat for the drive back home. What a good boy he is!