Gorky's First Puzzle

Because my dogs (and foster dogs) eat a mix of wet and dry, I don't pull out the food puzzles that often but I really should. Puzzles are a great way to put a dog's brain to work in a very positive way. For shy dogs as long as you start easy it is a great confidence booster since it is self rewarding to them and the person can be at a distance so they can turn off the anxiety for a bit and just enjoy themselves.

Gorky isn't a shy guy but he likes to keep busy and he really seemed to love the experience. His breakfast was served in "The Green". This is the large version but they make a smaller version that is better for small dogs. I just bought all my food puzzles before they came out with the smaller sizes, unfortunately.

Because I have about 10 plus different food puzzles, Gorky will have a lot more to try out in the future.

Bitey Face

Gorky and Chima love to play bitey face any time and any place. Unfortunately sometimes they like to play when the rest of us are wanting to relax. The other night they just couldn't stop. They were having way too much fun.

Later Gorky made the mistake of trying to clean Chima's ears for her (which Salinas loves and lets him do all the time. She took great offense and all the happy times of their game was immediately over. Fortunately Gorky immediately stopped and all was forgiven. He'll know next time not to mix the two up when he wants to clean some ears.

Couch time and Gorky is being careful to steer clear of Chima's ears. 

Toys of Christmas Past

Because I wasn't blogging in December, I missed sharing some cute shots of Christmas.

Handsome Gorky in his candy striped bandana

Gorky wore his fancy Christmas bandana and enjoyed killing his toy squirrel. Chima had fun tossing hers around and chasing it, Gorky gummed his to death until it was loaded with dog slobber and the other dogs chose a path of quick destruction. He also took turns on the mint and turkey/cranberry nylabones that were in plentiful supply.

Salinas working on a turkey/cranberry Nylabone dinosaur

Frodo finishing off one a Christmas cow

Gorky and his soggy squirrel

Dorky Gorky

It's been almost two months since I've posted. I have no excuses other than life gets busy and I've been a bit burnt out. However, Gorky is such a great dog and people are passing him over so I really wanted to try to restart myself on blogging so hopefully more people will hear about this sweet guy.

It is pretty much the norm that when people are looking for a dog, they are making their choices by the photos they see and not the words that tell about the dog. They want that gorgeous purebred look but often the reality of the temperament of the working dog that they want is a shock to their system. "What?! I have to work this dog out twice a day and between that keep their brain active?"

Well Gorky doesn't have the purebred look. He's got odd proportions and enormous ears and a crooked little mouth. But along with those enormous ears he has an enormous heart. He loves people, plays politely with other dogs, enjoys just chilling on the couch with his people, and is doing great with his house training. He just has the sweetest temperament.

Gorky, hanging out with his foster sisters

I  think he would do fine with one or two older kids with good dog manners but toddlers would stress him out. His only down side is something unfortunately he started doing here and we are working on it - growling at me and my husband when he wants to sit in a spot that another dog is sitting in (specifically, right next to us because he always wants the prime spot.) We are working on teaching him that the growling doesn't get him what he wants and at the same time building up other more appropriate behaviors.

So only one negative that I can think up and a huge list of positives. He is a joy to be around and I hate to think that people are skipping him over because he looks like a bit of a goofball. I tell you, everyone who has met this dog instantly falls in love.

So take a second look at this sweet blue boy with the epic ears. He's a gem.

More Wrestling!

The big shocking news at our house this week is that Salinas has decided that she likes to play with Gorky. You have to understand Sal to know why this is so shocking. While she is quite playful with her toys, tossing them to herself and chasing after balls, when another dog tries to engage her in play she gives a slight curl of her lip and walks away. It's weird because more than any of my other dogs she does best having another dog around, but she just likes to co-exist with them - no playing.

But for some reason she has decided she loves wrestling with Gorky. Unlike her sister Chima, Gork isn't so vocal and intense in his play so Sal doesn't get nervous that this might end up being dangerous.

Taking a break

It started with just a few short matches to try it out but now, a few days later, and they will spend a good 20 minutes wrestling, giving themselves short breaks when they get tired or the wrestling gets too intense. It has been a joy to watch them.

Chima and Frodo are a bit irritated by it, but they are always a bit irritated if they aren't the ones having the most fun.

Frodo on fun patrol

And the result of so much wrestling? A very tired Sal and Gorky.

Sleepy Sal

Salinas' decision that she likes Gorky still doesn't apply to when she's resting and he wants to hang out next to her. Although after he used her head to kick of the couch to chase a ball, I can't really blame her for that.

Apologies for all the leaves on the carpet. The dogs bring them in when they whoosh in the door from outside and there always seem to be a few more, along with fir needles recently.

Walk For A Dog!

I do lots of walking with dogs - foster dogs, my dogs, client dogs for my work doing pet sitting/dog walking...

So boy was I excited when I learned about this app where I could be earning money for New Rattitude each time I head out for a walk with a dog. The app is called Walk For a Dog and using money from advertising it pays out a certain amount of money per mile walked. The more people we get walking, the more money raised for New Rattitude.

I've been using it for a couple weeks now. It's super easy to use and beyond just raising the money, it has some cool features. It tracks your total mileage or you can see what each of your dog's total mileage is. You can click on past walks and it brings up a map of the walk and the details of the walk - total time, mileage and your average walking speed. If you like to run with your dog or bike, there are settings for that too.

To get started on a walk all you have to do is tap on the photo of which dog you are walking and tap the button to start walking.

Once you're walking if you want to stop or pause, just tap the button. 

Under the history tab there is a list of all your walks. Tap a walk and it will open up the details of that walk. You can also tap on the photo of one of your dogs and it will list only the walks you've done with that dog.

Here's a detail page for an individual walk

If you look under the "about" tab it will list the total mileage being walked for New Rattitude by all the people walking as well as the total miles you've walked for New Rattitude. 

To get the app go to www.wooftrax.com to learn more. Click on the "get the app" tab when you want to download the app - it's available for both Android and iPhone. When choosing the rescue group that you want to walk for it will ask you to look by state. Open the Michigan list (we are a National group and the New Rattitude post office box is in Michigan) and then click on New Rattitude. Then get out there and walk your dog!

Snow Time for Gorky!

The snow is mostly gone now but the dogs sure enjoyed it. I will never understand why Chima thinks that being outside in rain is like taking an acid shower but being outside in snow and wind that cuts right through you is no biggie.

It was likely Gorky's first snow and like all things in life, Gorky approached it with excitement and wild abandon. There were many rounds of zoomies in the yard followed by a lot of snow snuffling and "catching" snowballs that I threw.