Langley Heads Home Part Three: Stillness

Stillness of person and steadiness of features are signal marks of good breeding. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Okay, so we never claimed good breeding for Langley. He's a desert dog with questionable lineage and a brain that might have some problems with how it's wired. But in spite of his lack of stillness and lineage, he was a dog who experienced life with joyous, childlike quality that can only be described as "living epically." His "epicness" was often at odds with the other dogs' distinct dislike of Langley's perspective on things, making our home a maze of expens and crates and timers marking who gets to be where and when they get to be there. But his joie de vivre is missed greatly by us humans. 

One would think that it would be quieter here, since Langley was one to vocalize his displeasure if someone was playing with a toy and he was in a crate, or if his dinner was being made in the kitchen out of his line of sight. But I think Frodo and Salinas have a pact to fill the sound void he left. Have no fear, my sound cancelling headphones are still getting lots of use. 

It's the movement that is missing. Sometimes frenetic, sometime spectacular (can you say 5 foot leaps from standing) and sometimes a lazy awkward playful lope, but always, always moving. Of course when he was here it drove me crazy at times. Stillness was the behavior that I most loved to see, mark and reward. And I'll admit, I do love the peace that comes with stillness, but I miss the goofy, spazzy movement that has been a constant in our life for the past 14 months. 

What I do know is that I couldn't be happier about the love and attention that will now be showered on this deserving goofball of a dog. He deserved to be someone's focus and that is what the universe gave him.

Langley Heads Home Part Two: At Home with Dad

I'm happy to say that the hand-off of Langley went superbly. Bruce invited us to dinner and Langley explored the house and his new toys while we ate and chatted about him. Langley got through his initial nerves in just a couple minutes at the beginning and then settled into his normal Langley mode of alternating goofy play with general nosiness about his surroundings, and using his long legs to check out what the counters might hold for him.

Langley with his new dad

He found Bruce much more interesting than Troy and I, which is just the way I wanted it

Giving his dad some love

His first day went well other than a little restlessness that first night sleeping in a new house. But he relaxed enough during the day that he was behaving the same way he did at our house - keeping himself entertained by playing with a toy and throwing it around for himself, as you can see in the video that Bruce took of him.

By night two he was all moved in and he slept through the night. They are still getting house training schedules worked out but Bruce was okay with that and is teaching Langley to ring a bell to be let out for a potty break which is a wonderful idea. Here's a day 2 photo of Langley crashing after a day of lots of play, walks and wrestling. He rested in the office next to where his dad was working on the computer. My first thought was "ooooh - click him for that calm!!"

I've always described Langley as the most guileless, and joyful dog that I've ever met, living completely in the moment and loving every person he meets. So when his dad talked about their first couple days together and commented that "he's been such a joy!!!" I knew that Langley had ended up with someone who could see past the challenges to the true heart of this wonderful dog. 

Langley Heads Home Part One: Getting Ready to Go

Last week was a busy, busy week getting Langley all packed and ready to make his big move to his new home. Since we wanted his new dad to have all the tools that we've found to work well, and because we wanted Langley to be able to take all his favorite things with him, we had quite a load to pull together.

The start of the pile

And here it was getting a little out of control...

Finally I had to get a box because there were so many toys and puzzles to send with so he could keep busy. 

Beyond just pulling together all the food, supplements, treats, toys, blankies, etc., I also wanted to compile behavioral and medical info for Langley's new human so that they could hit the ground running and not have to blindly flounder around for what works best with Langley. I always send a dog home with a "Go-Home Binder" but it's generally a page of summarized vetting and food info and then copies of a dogs medical records. Langley's go home binder was going to be more of a "What to Expect When You're Expecting...a Langley" book.

I started out with 2 pages of talking about Langley, how to work with his anxiety, the idea of training for a "default calm", the concept of stress stacking, what the term "threshold" means and where Langley's threshold is at, yada, yada, yada...  Next I had a couple pages on food and nutrition since when Langley gets anxious he can have bouts of gastro-enteritis and for him food and behavior are very much linked. Then there was a 2 page "Cue Dictionary" of the verbal and visual cues Langley has learned for various behaviors. Finally to round off the Behavior section we had the report from Dr. Louisa Beal, DVM, a wonderful behavioral veterinarian who visited with Langley in our home. That was the "Part 1" of the book.

Next we had the basic go-to vetting documents: neuter certificate, Rabies certificate, proof of DHPP vaccination, and the most recent blood test results. That was followed by the large section of vetting invoices from our many vet visits and then finally the actual vetting chart notes, which were very interesting to review.

And as if that wasn't over the top enough, I rounded out this avalanche of info with video's of me letting Langley out of his crate and letting him out into the back yard to show how to wait for him to settle and practice impulse control. Yes, there was some overkill involved in Langley's go home.

I definitely acted like a worried mama bear, but Langley's dad Bruce took it all in stride. He accepted my questioning about the dog trainer he wanted to use and the barrage of advice with quiet grace and let me work it out of my system.

And tomorrow you will see the results of this "go home" and how Langley is doing in his new life.

One Week until the Northwest Rattiefest!

We've been busy getting ready for New Rattitude's 3rd Annual Northwest Rattiefest that will run on Sunday July 28th  from 1 to 3 pm in the east dog area at Robinswood Park in Bellevue, Washington. More than just another Rat Terrier meetup, this is a time when we as New Rattitude volunteers celebrate our supporters - both the fans and the adopters. 

Foster parents celebrate as they see former foster dogs, now settled into loving homes and doing well. We socialize, and play and talk about how blessed we feel to have spent another year with our beloved Rat Terriers. But it's not just about the socializing. 

"Dude! What happened to your fur?!"

Lots of sweet dogs to hang out with

You wouldn't think it could get much more exciting than having 50 plus terriers corralled together, but it does. Of course we will have our annual raffle which raises funds for our Northwest foster dogs who end up needing medical care beyond what the adoption fees can cover. This year we have some spectacular items being raffled off - a years supply of By Nature kibble, puzzle games, a private training session at University Canine Learning Academy in Seattle, Eagle Creek luggage.... Let me tell you folks, that raffle table will be loaded this year.

The 2012 Raffle Table

There will be a Green slow feeder in the raffle

This year though, your tickets can be used for more than just the raffle - we'll have 4 different "game" areas including a double ex-pen area called the Puzzle Plaza where your Rat Terrier can test out the latest puzzle toys and the "Dog Eat Dog" pen where your dog gets to bob for hot dog pieces. 

The Nina Ottosson "Twister": one of the many puzzle games to try out in the Puzzle Plaza

Tickets cost $1 for 1, $10 for 12 or the best deal, $20 for an arm span of tickets (which if you get someone with long arms can be close to 40 tickets.)  We'll also be accepting credit cards this year making it easier to make purchases. 

Snacks, soda, and water will be available for sale as well. 

So we hope we'll see you there! We love the chance to spend an afternoon talking about Rat Terriers to a group of folks who love them as much as we do. And if your dog wouldn't be happy at such a wild and active event, please join us anyhow - let them relax and stay happy and you can come enjoy the event without worrying about their stress level.

To get the details, a map, and to RSVP, check out the event page on the New Rattitude Northwest Region's Facebook Page.

Rescue Railroad: Three New Dogs Arriving Tonight

I haven't been doing these posts for awhile but here we go. Things have been fairly slow with adoptions until just this last week. So we have three new dogs arriving to fill the spots of adopted dogs.

Sissy

First we have Sissy. She's a pretty little thing - 3 to 4 years old and a tiny 8 pounds. From what we hear she is good with cats and other dogs. Sis was a stray in Kings County California and the shelter contacted one of our volunteers asking if we could help. Big Kudos to the Kings County Animal Control for working so hard to network their shelter dogs to rescue groups and get them to safety. Sissy will be fostered in Yakima, Washington and you can follow her on her foster mom's blog.

Leonetti

Next we have this beautiful blue tricolor pup, Leonetti. He's about 6 months old now and is pretty shy. He'll be looking for a quiet, low key household who will give him some time to come out of his shell and feel safe. We can't wait to meet the little guy! Leo will be fostered in Seattle and you will be able to keep up with his adventures over on his foster mom's blog.

Olivia

Another shot of Olivia showing her body

And last but not least is this beautiful gal - Olivia. She is an active, confident, one to two years old and weighs about 15 pounds but could stand to lose a couple pounds. We don't have the best photos of her but even so, you can see what a gorgeous dog she is.

Pupdate: Zia!

Zia in January at 3 months old

Remember the pups I fostered back in January? Well I heard from Zia's mom yesterday and she is doing fabulous! She's 9 months old now and starting a "Puppy - level 2" training class and once she finishes that might get involved in some dog sports. With her long legs and athletic build and drive I'm sure she will dog great in dog sports.

Zia now, still with the cute head tilt - Isn't she beautiful?

Her body shape and head shape ended up all Rat Terrier but her ears and her energy came from her Jack Russell dad.

A nice profile shot as she eats a West Paw Zisc

In true terrier fashion, taking on two big boys in a game of tug

We're so happy she ended up in a family who took the time to socialize her and take her to training classes too. Happy life, sweet Zia girl!

New Tricks for Old Dogs

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend my second class with Lori Stevens, a senior Tellington Touch Practioner, CPDT-KA certified trainer, and a bunch of other certifications that there is no way I'll remember. What I do remember though is she is fabulous and if you ever get a chance, take a class from her.

This seminar was specific to senior dogs and both about the power of touch and body wraps to bring back awareness to tired achy limbs, but also the importance of conditioning for our aging furry family members.

Since our house dog Tilly is about 11 years old, we've started to work on the conditioning exercises and once she's stronger with these initial exercises we'll start work on building up her stabilizing muscles, since she is starting to have some issues with balance. Tilly thinks these exercises are AWESOME!!! That's because they involve both getting one on one time with me AND lots of treats.

Beyond the learning though, it was a great time to socialize and network with other rescuers, shelter workers, and dog trainers from the region. Two other New Rattitude foster parents attended the seminar with me and we had a happy surprise when a former New Rattitude foster dog showed up with his mom for the class. I also met a great trainer in the Gig Harbor area, a supervisor for a local shelter, and met and chatted with the owner of the training center that sponsored the class, Grisha Stewart, who also created the BAT Protocol method of working with fearful dogs, one of the tools in my training tool chest when working with fear reactive dogs.

Anyhow, a great time was had by all. Here are some photos of the New Rattitude dogs at the event:

Lori working on demo-dog D'Light, a New Rattitude Alumnus

D'Light with his mom, showing us how much he loves touch. D was a dog who was highly fearful and afraid of touch. T Touch was a big part of moving D through that fear.

D aka Fang-Monkey, blissing out during a T Touch session with his mom

Boushey, a New Rattitude alumnus, and his mom Aim

Skip, one of our New Rattitude foster parent's dogs