Sad Boy

I don't know Tolkien very well yet since he's only been here a couple days but I definitely get the feeling that he's depressed. I don't think it's the norm for him but I'm sure that losing two families and getting shifted around to 3 different houses over the last few months has taken its toll.

The good  news is that I am seeing a few signs that he is feeling better about me and tonight he chose to curl up next to me rather than the opposite end of the couch like he has been doing. It is dogs like Tolkien that really break my heart because while I know that when he moves on to his new home it will most likely be his last transition, he doesn't know that so I feel guilty because I know that I will be yet another person he loses. I know that logically it has to be done to save lives and find those 2nd chances for homeless dogs, but it is the part that tends to grab you emotionally and logic isn't especially good at overcoming emotion.

Sad dogs get to me.  Dogs almost always are these happy, carefree, live-in-the-moment creatures so when a dog is depressed it just feels so terribly wrong.

The good news is that things will change for Tolkien. Exercise and exploring will help as will hanging out with the other terriers in this house who are all about living in the moment. Things will get better and slowly he will reblossom as the happy and loved dog he was meant to be.

Introducing Tolkien!

Our newest foster boy arrived yesterday and is proving to be a nice, gentle boy. He's got a bit of kennel cough but rest and good food will clear that up soon enough.

Tolkien was a stray who joined the family who found him after his former family couldn't be located. They had him neutered and when no one claimed him contacted us to find a rescue spot for him.

Chima and Tolkien doing their sniffing introductions

He's an easy going boy who is probably 4-5 years old. His teeth look more like a 3 year olds and are very nice but he has the tiniest bit of gray in his muzzle so I believe he's older than three. His coat is nice and healthy and very soft and he has "ticking" in his white fur which looks very cute - doggy freckles. He's definitely on the chunky side and I would guess is closer to 25 pounds and needs to take off several pounds to get to his healthy weight range. We've got that covered using a good quality grain-free food and careful portion control.

Tolkien and Salinas meeting each other nicely. His tail is always a happy blur when he is interacting with other dogs. 

The other dogs immediately felt at ease with him - he's just one of those kind of dogs. So far he is still keeping a bit of a distance with me and Troy until he knows for sure we are trustworthy. I wouldn't call him skittish by any means but he isn't one of those "in your face" kind of dogs - at least not so far. All the changes are a lot for a dog to take and some stability is needed before we can really see the true do. So far though, I really like what I am seeing.

Tolkien is named for the writer and poet J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for the classic fantasy novels The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

Sweet Potato Fries

I decided to try dehydrating some sweet potatoes for the dogs this week and see what the think. Really they aren't the greatest product testers though since they eat anything, even things they aren't supposed to like squeakers, toilet paper tubes, you get the picture...

So I dusted off my very basic dehydrator and sliced up some sweet potatoes. No need to peel them. Some people like to do slices and use them as chews but my dogs will swallow things whole and I worry about them choking on slices so I cut mine into sticks. Then just load up your trays. My sticks took about 14 hours to dry but if you have a food processor you could do thinner slices and they'd dry quicker.

They turned out great, my dogs love them, and they make a great healthy treat. I immediately stuck apple and mango slices in the machine to see how the dogs like those as well.

The next thing that I want to try is drying chicken strips although I'm a bit worried that my machine gets warm enough and so I might do them in the oven instead.

Adopted! Seuss Found his Family

Seuss was only around for a couple weeks but what a joy he was to foster. So well house-trained and great house manners! This big beautiful boy will be living in the Columbia Valley of Washington on a 35 acre vineyard where he will lend a hand keeping the gopher population under control. That's a dream come true for this true terrier who is never happier than when he is chasing after some small critter. 

With Sal and Chima

Along with the great digs, he'll have two human sisters and 3 canine siblings - a big happy family who is very excited to welcome this boy into their family. 

His favorite spot to squirrel watch when stuck inside

Play Time

I was very happy to discover that Seuss absolutely loves tennis balls.

He throws it around on his own and if a person is available to throw it he loves chasing after it. This isn't the best video but he was having so much fun that I wanted to share it.

Seuss the Snoozer

Seuss if very serious about his sleep. So much so that he can get a bit grumpy when other dogs are moving around near him when he is trying to rest. We've been working on reinforcing him when he is tolerant of any movement around him and also catching his attention and distracting him before he has the chance to grump. It's worked really well and the result is that he didn't react a bit the last couple times that Sal decided to curl up next to him. Typically he chooses to sleep on the opposite end of the couch than where the people and other dogs are so this is good progress for him.

Sal and Seuss

His favorite sleeping position is the pike position which always looks silly to me.

Sleeping in "pike position"

He's also started choosing to snuggle up next to me occasionally. My guess is that the more settled and safe he feels, the more he will choose to be closer to the rest of us when he sleeps.

Snoozing next to foster mom

Seuss goes to the vet

Seuss needed his DHLPP vaccination updated and to have an exam to make sure he's all healthy so we were off to the vet on Friday morning.

This was after a long wait for the vet. After a lot of pacing and nervousness he finally relaxed a bit. Ear rubs helped a lot.

He did great in the car and was very much a gentleman at the vet, even though he was obviously nervous about the new place. He really didn't like the thermometer up his bum and tried to sit down so I had to hold him and restrain him a bit which he liked even less and he finally had had enough after waiting a bit for the temp and he did snap at the tech. I really couldn't blame him at that point.

He was very aware of the barking and yelping coming from the waiting area while we were in the exam room

He was great with the vet though and didn't even flinch when she gave him his vaccination. His heart sounded great, knees and hips are wonderful and his ears and teeth were good too. We weighed him and he was 30 pounds exactly so he's actually a little bigger than our last foster boy, Harrison. He's in his healthy weight range but on the low side of it so he actually could put on a pound.

A littl stressed: tail down, upright ear pricked and turned, and licking his lips

Unfortunatley we will need to see a different vet on Monday to have his microchip inserted since this vet won't do that. I can't wait until New Rattitude works through their regular microchip stock and starts using the little "nano" chips that use a much smaller needle. I actually think I may be able to insert those myself now that I've worked through my fear of needles.