100 Dogs

Besides just being cute and sweet, there's something else that is special about Rothko. He is our family's 100th foster dog!

Rothko - Foster dog #100

We bought our first Rat Terrier, Frodo, from a breeder in December of 2005 and over the next year we fell so in love with the little guy that we considered getting a second Rat Terrier. We weren't sure though so I had the idea of fostering for a Rat Terrier Rescue. I figured then we could have that "2nd dog" but would be saving more than just the one we would save if we adopted a dog. And now here we are, with three Rat Terriers of our own, two foster Rat Terriers and 98 others we have fostered over the last seven years.

My heart dog, Frodo

Initially in 2007 we were fostering for another Rat Terrier organization and our first ten foster dogs were through that group. When New Rattitude formed in August 2008 we changed groups and have been with New Rattitude ever since.

Our first foster dog, Smudge

Weirdly, our first foster dog wasn't even a Rat Terrier. He was a tiny black Chihuahua puppy with a broken leg who we named Smudge. I cried for a whole weekend after he was adopted but decided I could live with the pain of goodbyes if it meant more dogs could be saved. So often people say to me "well, I just wouldn't have the heart to let go of them!" The reality is if you really have a heart, you let them go, knowing that there are hundreds of others waiting for that life saving foster spot. Happily it got much easier to say goodbye the longer we fostered. It wasn't that I loved the foster dogs any less, I just learned how to think of them as someone elses's dog and over time I saw that the families they went to gave them wonderful lives.

Catty, one of our more challenging foster dogs whose adopter has become a close friend

In the past seven years the dogs have taught me so much. I've dealt with just about every physical malady in dogs that I had heard of and some that I had never heard of. I've also dealt with some very gross stuff that only a dog could share with you - dogs eating poop and then puking it up on the carpet an hour later, a dog who left tapeworms in my bed, and every weird wiggly worm that could come out of a dog has graced our doggy septic tank.  

Mama Star and our first (and hopefully last) litter of foster puppies

My understanding of dogs has deepened as well. Whereas I started out thinking of them simply as cute pets, I now appreciate how nuanced their personalities can be and how amazingly complex their language of movement, gestures, and body language is. It fascinates me so much that I now attend many seminars a year to learn how animals learn, how they relate to people and to other dogs, how to help them manage and overcome fear, what makes them tick....

Our 10th foster Tilly was the first highly fearful dog that we fostered. We adopted Tilly and she has made amazing progress over the six years we've had her. She's now 13 years old

They have pushed me to the edge emotionally a few times as well. I've fostered and done behavioral rehabilitation on a few very difficult dogs and of course those are the dogs who taught me the most about both dogs and about myself.

Callista came to us from a shelter in Texas and had been infected with distemper. It was the first time we had to deal with a major disease. Sadly Callista had to be euthanized when the disease moved into her brain. It was one of my most difficult times in fostering. We also had two puppies at the time who caught the disease from her and one pup died and one lived.

It has become a huge part of who I am and is an amazingly fulfilling job and I thank my family for all of their support and help with caring for the dogs. I also thank the volunteers that I work closely with both as fellow foster parents and as a regional rescue coordinator for the Pacific Northwest. Now, onto the next 100!

Our current pack: Tilly, Salinas, Chima and Frodo

If you've ever thought of fostering, New Rattitude is a great organization to work with. They give tons of support, offer stipends for food, pay veterinary medical expenses, cover flea and heartworm preventative and more. To learn more about fostering with New Rattitude go to www.newrattitude.org/foster.htm

Sunny Slumber

It's wet and cold today but I thought I'd post some photos from yesterday when it was a beautiful sunny, spring day. O'Keefe and Frodo were too busy exploring the yard to sunbathe but all three girls were happy to take in the heat with a sunny snooze.

A contemplative Chima

Sal goes "splat"

Little Tilly kicking back near the fountain

Can't wait for more days like this. Here comes the sun!

Puppy at Heart

Our sweet old girl Tilly never makes it into the blog posts that often since she spends a lot of time in the kitchen in her favorite beds and can't be bothered with the punk dogs in the other parts of the house. So I thought I'd post this video of my sweet girl doing what she loves best - rolling in the grass in the sunshine.

Tilly's about 13 now and 7 of those years were pretty rough. Her health has failed very quickly in the last year and the chronic pancreatitis and intestinal inflammation that she suffers from has taken its toll and made for a very rough winter. That's why I was so very happy to capture Tilly being her silly old self. She loves to roll in the grass in the sunshine and will sometimes roll around so much that she will slide down the hill and fall off the grass into the landscaped beds.

And she's as gross as ever - she will stand up, pee, and then continue her rolling, right through the pee. And if there's a turd in the way, all the better! Because is Tilly's world poop is awesome! It smells great and you can always sneak one into the corner for an afternoon snack. (I warned you she was a gross little dog.)

We love every little thing about our seven and a half pounds of gross little dog and because she may not be with us much longer, these happy moments where she can kick up her heels and experience joy are all the more precious.

Klee Meets the Pack

It can be overwhelming for a new foster dog who lands at our house and needs to get to know all the dogs. It can take awhile to meet everyone when I keep the pace slow so as not to overwhelm the new dog or take chances of a bad introduction happening with another dog from pushing things too fast.

As usual Klee met Tilly first. Tilly is great with other dogs, has very clear body language, and is very clear with other dogs as to what her expectations of their behavior is. At thirteen and just 7.5 pounds, she manages to keep everyone in line without stooping to any tyrannical behavior. Klee really likes Tilly and likes to rest on a cushy pad next to Tilly's favorite dog bed - a cat house. Since Klee is respectful Tilly doesn't mind this in the least. 

Next intro is usually with Frodo. After making sure the new dog doesn't have any ill intentions towards my sweet but awkward Frodo-boy, I usually do outdoor intros with him. He's super fast and if he doesn't want the other dog near him all he has to do is take off. Klee thought he was an okay guy and after the initial sniffs the two of them wandered around the back yard together. 

Intros to Chima and Salinas can be a little more complicated. But Klee is not a pushy dog so there wasn't much for the girls to take offense to and her introduction to them was past and pretty easy. Everyone did their circling and butt sniffing for awhile and then Chima and Salinas were back to looking for fresh fir cones to chew on. 

Getting to know Salinas

Getting to know Chima - tail up and feeling a bit more confident!

So everyone has been happily introduced and they are doing well together. Now I look forward to watching how their interactions develop as Klee builds confidence and the other dogs get used to having her around. 

Just hanging out with the big girls

Tilly Time

My older girl Tilly spent the first 6-7 years of her life in a puppy mill and try as I might, I haven't been able to fully extinguish her desire to mark regularly. As a result she spends a lot of time in the kitchen which she has made into her Tillydom. When I am having some uninterrupted play time with the dogs though, she comes out to join us.

She doesn't really play with the other dogs but she spends her time sniffing everything. Like Chima, Tilly enjoys a good sniffabout more than anything so off she goes, checking the perimeter, finding every spot that has been peed on in spite of the enzyme cleaner I pour by the gallon on our carpet. After she has done a complete sniffdown of the room she sniffs the dogs.

Chima and Tilly

Chima, Chile and Tilly in a sniff-go-round

Chile is an excellent photobomber

But what to do when everything is fully sniffed? Head over to someone's cozy crate for a snooze.

Tilly settling down into Chima's big crate for a nap

The Tilly Stamp of Approval. Literally.

When Tilly takes an interest in a new dog she has a little awkward stamping, hopping dance that she does to try to entice the dog to play. Tilly seems to have two greetings for new fosters after sniffing them out - she either snarks at them if they try to come near her or she does her little dance if she likes them. It freaks some dogs out since her dance is pretty "in your face" but Chile understood that it was all in good fun and joined in the dance. Well, it still made him a bit nervous but he played along. This led to much giggling on my part since the dance went on for a good two minutes.

Tilly with her favorite foster ever - Gus. Gus was not a Tilly fan but Tilly followed him everywhere trying to get him to play. We had to give Gus regular "Tilly breaks".

Here's the video so you too can join in on the laugh:

Greeting Grown Ups

An important part of socialization for puppies, as important as hanging out with other dogs their age, is spending time with adult dogs. Because we've been dog sitting several past foster dogs over the past couple weeks Juniper and Mesquite have been getting lots of practice and are being pretty respectful of their elders. And when they get too rambunctious the adults have no problem telling them to calm down.

Mesquite meeting former foster boy Hobbs

Juniper saying hi to Hobbs

Mesquite, deciding whether or not it would be worth it to pounce on old Tilly. He's been told off by Tilly before so he thought better of it and went looking for his sister instead.

Juniper showing off her appropriate dog greeting skills

So far along with all the dogs they've met at work with me, they've met Tilly, Frodo, Salinas, Chima, Langley Hobbs, and Willow at our home and had play time with these dogs. Langley was a bit overwhelming to them since he would run over the top of them. Salinas thinks they kind of look like little bunnies when they do their hoppy runs around the yard and can't stop herself from chasing them so they steer clear of her as well and we keep Sal distracted when the pups are loose. But all the other dogs they've gotten along great with and have handled any corrections from the grown up dogs well, always coming back with a couple muzzle licks to show submission and then running off to play elsewhere.

Good puppies!

More Fun In the Back Yard

Everyone was busy rolling in the grass the other day and it was pretty funny to watch. I wasn't able to catch Salinas' roll on video and by the time I had the camera out she was already relaxing on the deck, all rolled out.

I did however catch Chima and Tilly in the act. Tilly is funny because she likes to slide down the hill while she rolls around and on occasion will slide a good 3 feet or so down the hill as she squirms. Occasionally she'll squirm right over a poop pile which she thinks is awesome. Me, not so much.

Barkbox inspired photo shoot

The dogs got their monthly happy surprise box in the mail - our Barkbox - and it was a really cute summer themed one. It was complete with Beefy Beer, burger treats, puptato chips, BBQ bones, and some calming treats for the dreaded coming of the fireworks. We are going to donate the beer (beef malt flavored glucosamine supplement drink), the bones and the calming treats to the Northwest Rattiefest Raffle, however I did keep the Whole Life burgers and the sweet potato chips.

In fact the dogs were so excited about the treats that I decided to rip open the sweet potato chips and we headed outside for some fun. At first they were just having to sit and be polite. Frodo succeeded on one part of that goal.

Frodo demand barking. How'd that work for you Frodo?

Salinas trying to keep the chip and Chima in her eyesight at all times

But then I realized they were so engrossed by the chips that I might be able to get a good 4 dog photo out of the deal. This photo continues to be a pipe dream of mine but at least we did get some cute shots. It's a good looking crew so hard not to get cute photos. I know I'll get that polite 4-5 dog "sit" photo line up, but it just wasn't the day for it this time.

They were all being so calm here that it gave me the idea to attempt the "4 dog shot"

So we called Frodo...

Of course, Frodo had other things on his mind, namely the squirrel family in the fir trees.

This is the closest we got. One second earlier and I would have got Salinas standing  with the other dogs.

And here the dogs let me know the photo shoot was complete. Tilly was still hoping for that extra sweet potato chip though.

If you are interested in getting a monthly Barkbox subscription use this link and you'll get $5 off the subscription and the foster dogs get an extra box.

State of the Pack Address

So sorry. Nothing insightful, deep, educational or witty today. Just a "State of the Pack" address because the state of the trainer is exhausted and sleep deprived. 

Tilly: My sweet, old little girl is doing great. Her hearing and sight still seems pretty good but she's developed this weird little tilted dance after she eats dinner that seems neurological to me. Probably time for a trip back to Dr. Sperlich to check things out. She's still the grossest little dog in the West and proved it yet again this week when turning to try to eat her poop (as she pooped it) and she fell over. Well, since she loves rolling around in the grass so much she just stayed there rolling around in the grass AND THE POOP, and slowly sliding down the hill in it. Then she righted herself. Marched back across the yard and told off all the dogs who dared sniff her brown streaked hide. Ah, my sweet Tilly, Texas trash. Love ya, girl.  I'm quite proud of myself because I didn't yell once at my fearful little gal. The restraint had me gasping and making weird noises, but I didn't yell "STOP". The worst I said was a quiet, "oh, Tilly."

This isn't a photo of THE infamous poop roll but just is a less gross stand in photo. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. 

Frodo: Frodo had his second nose work class and is really getting into using his sniffer. Thanks to my state of sleep deprivation, I brought him in early for a search during class so he got to sit in the hide room while our instructor Dorothy talked to us about something. During this time he was so discombobulated that I'm pretty sure he leaked anal gland on my pants because when it was the next dog's turn to search he was greatly interested in my knee where Frodo had been rubbing his ass for the last five minutes. Sometimes I wish Frodo had more difficulty expressing his anal glands.

Frodo, practicing his nose work at home

Langley: I've been so busy talking about the girls lately that I've left poor Langley out of the blog. Have no fear, he makes his presence known in our house and isn't being forgotten. We've continued working on integrating him with Chima and Salinas and today I took this video which shows him playing happily with a Kong Bounzer on the couch while the girls were loose in the room. Frodo also makes a cameo in his familiar perch on the arm of the couch. I'm still super careful about supervising all the foster dogs' interactions because so far I've managed to keep everything positive between them. Well, except for the time Langley slipped past me like a horny ninja and humped Salinas. And Salinas had to tell him off because being humped is one of her least favorite things in the world. 

Langley and the Bounzer. This toy has been around for over a month and no one had even looked at it let alone play with it. Langley has decided it is awkward but awesome. He struggled to do a good terrier death shake on it though.

Salinas: This girl continues to grow more and more independent and doesn't seem to rely on Chima as much in new situations. Good girl, Sal! She learned "spin" this week and has perfected it to the point that she nearly pirouettes like a little ballerina on cue. This will be a great trick to help keep her distracted when she's feeling a little nervous. Those "high fives" and "spins" and "sit pretties" aren't just parlour tricks - they are great games to play with your dog to keep their mind busy and to redirect them if they are starting to fixate on something that frightens them. 

Chima: Big Mama Chimayo (her current full nickname) has been working on spin as well but thanks to my beginner skills at "shaping" behaviors it's gone slower with her. I typically lure a dog into a spin and then slowly take away the lure and replace that with the cue. However, a spin lure means moving my arm over the top of Chima's head, and leaning over her which freaked her out a little. So I did this kind of awkward partial lure with her and she came to my rescue by watching her sister and finally understanding what all my bumbling was about. Last night everthing clicked and she started doing full spins. Phew! I love it when my dogs manage to help me hide my training inadequacies by figuring things out on their own. Of course, this renews my realization that I really need to make my way through some basic clicker training classes and shaping classes. While I've done pretty good with books and videos and lots of practice, there's no substitute for a good class. Of course, being the introvert I am I tend to avoid these like the plague but it really is time for me to take some training classes. 

And that is the state of the currently large Brown Family Pack right now. Everyone is getting along (as long as Queen Tilly's reign is respected) and tonight will be the night that I start catching up on sleep so I can come up with some posts with some substance for you. 

The Ultimate Tranquilizer

Sunshine is such a prized thing here in Western Washington. Its rarity makes it quite a treasure and us webbed footed humans are not the only ones to appreciate it.

Check out the girls out catching some rays on the warm deck. I think that is the most relaxed I've seen Salinas since she's arrived. There's just something about a warm deck and sunshine that can tranquilize any dog. Even Langley kicked back for awhile and Frodo sat there but he doesn't lie down on anything but blankets, dog beds or furniture. Ever. Don't ask me why.

Salinas got things started by plopping down for a snooze while the other dogs were all still sniffing around the yard.

Then Tilly decided to join her.

And then surprisingly even Chima joined the  club. She typically won't  lie down when I'm so close but the warmth  of the deck was too much to pass up. 

Smile and say "CHEEEESE"

My great friend who writes the blog A Day in the Life of a New Rattitude Foster Dog has this wonderful photo of her dogs and fosters as the banner for her blog. She takes these occasionally in the same location  in their house but with a variety of foster dogs and it's fun to see the newest attempts to get everyone sitting still and looking at the camera.

Well, while I was outside in the backyard playing with 4 of the 5 dogs currently living here, I had the bright idea to take a similar photo on our deck. I knew my personal dogs Frodo and Tilly would sit-stay but Salinas and Chima were another thing.

Here's why this was a stupid idea. Of the four dogs I've got one dog who doesn't want to be more than 2" away from me, and another isn't real hot on the idea of being close to me. Then you've got Frodo who isn't fond of being near the other dogs but will suffer through if treats are involved. Finally you have 8#, 11 yr old Tilly who does not know she is tiny and is not above opening a can of whoop-ass on the other dogs, no matter what their size, if she thinks they've transgressed against her in some manner.

The following 8 photos are presented in the order taken. I really should have stopped after the first one because it just went downhill from there.

Frodo finds if he looks away from the camera he can pretend this isn't happening.  He wants so badly to leave but he'll be damned if he's going to miss a treat. I assume if I just keep snapping photos, he'll eventually look at me, right?

And  in this one Salinas is off the deck, plastered to my leg.

In this one Tilly isn't sure it's worth the effort anymore and everyone else gets distracted by some birds.

Here is where I lowered my expectations - since Frodo wouldn't look at the camera, maybe just a shot of the girls? But Salinas had an itch...

Back to all four. This would have been a good one if Frodo would just look at me.

And, we've lost Salinas again.  What you aren't seeing are the other 10 photos that looked just like this one - 3 dogs and 1 dog butt.

Here you see Chima and Frodo, the stereotype of long suffering dogs, putting up with some confusing human craziness all in the name of a treat.  At this point I actually uttered Frodo's nickname which is "God damn dog". Of course that is said in the gentlest, most loving of voices.

OMG! He looked! He looked at the camera!
And the moral of this story is NOT that you should swear at your dogs. 

No one was harmed in the taking of these photos and even little old Tilly didn't feel the need to put anyone in their place, in spite of Salinas bouncing all over the place and nearly on top of Tilly a couple times.  I pay in really good kibble so they totally thought it was worth the hassle. I on the other hand don't think I'll be trying this again any time soon.

Sleeping In

I'm a night owl and for the most part never go to bed before midnight and during the work week that means I'm always a bit sleep deprived. So when my days off come around, such as this morning, I would really love to sleep in until some late, luxurious time like 10am.

I have canine alarm clocks though, and instead my morning is more like repeatedly hitting a snooze alarm until I'm finally so annoyed that I get out of bed. Tilly refuses to sleep past 7:15 so Troy takes her downstairs in the morning so I don't have to get up with her. 

Frodo is never a problem since he likes to sleep in more than I do. We usually don't see him in the morning until he hears the chime of stainless steel dog bowls being set on the table to be filled for breakfast. He might peek out to see what the commotion is about but then he burrows back under to finish his beauty rest. 

Langley gets a 5 am run in the morning and so he is content to sleep until he decides that he can wait no longer for breakfast - about 9:30am. 

But Hobbs, he is my little snooze alarm. While he will let me sleep until about 8 am, after that he'll let me know that he would really, REALLY, like to get up and head outside for his morning potty break with a sigh and a sad little howl every few minutes. Luckily it is so incredibly plaintive and cute that I always give in by the second reminder.

Hobbs will be heading home tomorrow morning and I will miss my non-demanding little snooze button but next week on my days off I just might get to sleep in until 9. You never know. Miracles do happen.