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

 

 

Zia's starting her new life!

It's not often you get to see a 40 something adult get so excited about something that they are jumping up and down, but that's what happened when I pulled up to meet Zia's new parents to hand her off last night. They were so, so happy, and Zia, who had met them once before was pretty dang excited too. I'm always a little sad when my foster kiddos head home but that kind of happiness is pretty infectious and it makes the goodbyes a lot easier to know that she's found a home where she'll be an important member of the family.

Zia will now live in a neat old neighborhood of Tacoma and her mom is really excited to start her in agility - something this sleek, long-legged, athletic Rat Terrier-Jack Russell will likely excel in! She's a busy girl and needs a job and there's nothing like positive training to help a dog and their person bond. I'm looking forward to hearing about her adventures and seeing pictures of her all grown up - will she have her mamma's conformation-perfect rat terrier ears or her dad's cute floppy Jack ears, or maybe one of each?

Settling in for some serious antler chewing

 

 

Since I've been so busy the puppies pretty much kept themselves occupied playing with each other while they were here and I felt bad because I didn't get to know them as well as I wanted. Today though, I made myself take the time to have an extended playtime with Zia and she tore around the rec room, wrestled with me and worked on an antler with intense purpose.  After that she snuggled up in my lap while I worked on my laptop and had a nice snooze.

Catching some zzz's after a long playtime

So have a wonderful life, beautiful girl! I know you will be loved.

Little Taos has found a loving home!

While I love the puppies and they are over-the-top adorable, they are also a lot of work and really annoy the older dogs in the house who aren't at all fond of the whippersnappers' antics.  Well, Frodo actually likes them at meal time when he can stick his paw through their wire crate and steal food from them.

Anyhow, this sweet guy found super loving mom who lives in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle and was so excited to welcome him home. She loves to hike and walks a lot so Taos is going to be in heaven. She's also looked into some great options for socializing him as well and has a friend with a Jack Russell mix pup almost exactly the same age so Taos will have a buddy too. Oh - and his new grandma and uncle are flying out this weekend to meet him! His new name will be "Rumi" after the 13th century poet - beautiful name for a beautiful boy.

Here are some photos of the hand off to his new mom.  Have a great life, sweet boy! Can't wait to see  you at the Seattle Rat Terrier Meetups!

Hanging out in the car before meeting up with his new mom

 

His new mama is pretty smitten with this cutie

 

His mama bought him a cute new "Devil Monkey" sweater and of course he looks adorable in it

 

Here he is at our house having a last nap with his sister, Zia

 

 

 

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.

A Lazy Post

Puppies are TIRING. So I am just now getting around to writing a post today and honestly, it's not even a post. The good news is that along with being really tiring, puppies are also super cute and hilarious so I just uploaded a few videos and am going to call it good for the night. Better get to bed now. I've got to be up at 5 am for their first potty break of the day.

Zia and Taos, running off some of their seemingly endless store of energy

 

Taos can't get up on the couch so one of their favorite games is for Zia to get up there and taunt him.

 

Zia and her little needle puppy teeth can do some damage if you are careful so having toys/chews to redirect her mouth to is always important.