Snip Snip

Gus went in for his neuter this morning and is home now and doing great although he's still pretty out of it.

Heading home after the surgery - still a bit stoned and channeling Yoda

That's not a bad thing though since it will slow the little guy down while recuperates. The rest of the dogs are reveling in their well deserved break while Gus sleeps off the anesthesia.

Cone-free Snooze Time

I'm sure by this evening he'll be back at nearly full speed but for now he gets to be cone-free while he naps.

Playing with the Big Girls

You just never know when one of the big girls are going to decide to lay aside their grouchy anti-puppy stance and decide that it would actually be fun to play with a puppy. Gus has realized this so he just keeps trying to get them to play with them, hoping one of these days they will take him up on it.

A rare occasion where Sal played a little tug with Gus

So far his attempts with Chima have not gone so well. Chima's still not comfortable around him so when she "plays" it is so intense and close to her threshold that I don't feel it is safe, even though Gus doesn't seem to mind the intensity level. Little guy is up for everything, even if it involves getting screamed at by Chima. In those cases I have to be the bad guy and break things up. Below is a video where Chima just outright says "NO". Gus had been trying for about 15 seconds to get her to play by playfully waving his arms around and tapping her leg. By the time I got my camera rolling I just caught the end, which wasn't pretty.

However, she isn't always mad at Gus.

Salinas mostly rebuffs him when he tries to play with her but yesterday morning when Chima was sleeping next to me so couldn't interfere Gus and Sal had a grand old time wrestling and chasing. It was a bit one sided in that Sal always had Gus down and pinned but Gus didn't seem to mind since he kept coming back for more so I didn't break things up.

Chima later woke up and had to go be the fun police which put a damper on the playtime so Sal and her decided to soak up a bit of sun and Gus had to find something else to do.

Chima deciding to catch some sun, right in the middle of the wrestling area

Chima keeps an eye on things to make sure Gus doesn't get a sneak attack in

Waterlogged

Gus absolutely LOVES water. The bath, not so much, but when it comes to the hose, sprinkler, watering can, fountain, etc. he goes crazy. Yesterday I had the watering can and was watering some ferns. Before I knew it Gus had jumped into the fern bed and was tearing around in the mud, running through the water pouring out.

He gets this way when the hose is turned on and likes to stand in our water feature in the backyard. I wonder how he'd react to the beach. We'll have to plan a field trip over to Browns Point soon and find out.

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

Best Car Trip Ever

Puppies need to get lots of positive experiences outside the home. Not just toted around everywhere - it needs to be really fun so the puppy starts to associate going out into the world as something that holds great rewards, not scary things.

All buckled in and kicking back for the car ride

As a foster parent, when I have a puppy I try to take them on errands with me to dog friendly places so today Gus came with me to Tacoma Mall to meet the raw food co-op truck. Part of these adventures is the great high value treats I bring along but unfortunately I was a bad foster mom today and forgot the treat bag! We had to make do with the sweet potato stars I have in the car which are pretty ho-hum treats.

What better place to have a puppy meet a bunch of strangers than at a dog food delivery with a bunch of crazy dog people there. He was a big hit of course and he got the biggest jackpot in his life when one of the ladies opened her 30# box of beef rib ends and gave him a big meaty slab. What a great association - a stranger picks me up and a big meaty slab of the best food he's ever tasted in his life appears.

A generous lady offers Gus a rib end while waiting for her order

"Nom, nom, nom..."

All that meeting and greeting and chewing was tiring so he took a nap on the drive back home. I know the trip was a success because he now keeps waiting at the garage door when we are downstairs and trying to get out to the car.

Gus and his dinosaur, snoozing on the trip 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