TG Foster Dogs Renata & Kibbles go to school

Cynda arranged for Yvette to speak at MacNeill School in Richmond yesterday and I managed to join the crew and take Kibbles for the presentation portion at noon.   Kibbles’ daycare is only a 5 minute drive away from the school so it worked out well.   We walked into the main entrance of the school and down the hallway.  It was lunch time so there were quite a few students around.  Kibbles was very relaxed and he got a lot of admiring looks.   A dog in a school hallway draws a lot of attention.  I went into the theatre and waited for Yvette and the rest of the gang.   Renata was happy to see Kibbles.  They have been playing together at Dog Daycare (Renata has been going a couple of mornings per week)….of course they know each other well from up North.  

Some kids in the front row of the theatre were opening something from a small wrapper so Kibbles went forward to investigate and sniff some extended hands.  It’s amazing how quickly they can forget their shyness when food might be involved.  

Cynda kicked off the presentation by introducing Yvette and then Yvette took that microphone like she’d been speaking in front of a crowd all her life.   I know someone else will blog all about her presentation on the TG website so I won’t go into details about it.  I will say though how proud I was of her and what an awesome job she did! 

Kibbles was amazing.  He was only nervous once when everyone clapped at something and he jumped a bit at the sound.   Otherwise, he laid down and was such a good boy.   Renata did really well too.   I think Dalia has been doing a super job with her and I can see how responsive she is to the clicker training they have been working on. 

After the presentation some kids came up to pet Kibbles.  I asked them to extend a hand and let Kibbles come to them. He was a bit tentative about it all but he sniffed hands and allowed himself to be petted a little bit. At one point he probably had 6 kids around him wanting to pet him.   I’m not sure if it’s just because kids come with different energy than adults but he did really well with them.  I think he’s also starting to build some more confidence about meeting people.   The more someone respects his space the easier he will be in meeting them.   All in all it was a great experience and I’m sure glad we were able to be a part of it. 

Socializing Kibbles

Fostering for Turtle Gardens has been a real learning experience.  I am not a trained dog behaviourist or professional trainer.  I rely on my own instincts about what feels right with each dog and also blend in some techniques that I pick up from TV, other dog owners, things I read about on the internet and my human doglopedia (Yvette from Turtle Gardens ; ) 

I don’t always know immediately what the right thing to do is, to correct a behaviour, but I do recognize when what I’m doing isn’t working or when I’m expecting too much too soon.

Kibbles on the walkway at the dog park. 
(A funny angle that makes him look like he only has 2 legs)

In some ways Kibbles has really blossomed with me and his new environment, which includes dog daycare. He is allowing me to play with him.  His sense of humour is coming out and he doesn’t take me so seriously now that we have a level of trust built.

He is friendly with the staff at the daycare (apparently he gets lots of cuddles there) because he knows them now.  With some people he will approach to smell an extended hand but he does not typically want to allow a newly introduced person to pet him yet.   He may never be a social butterfly so it’s hard to tell what part of his behaviour is just him and his breed and what part comes from not being socialized with enough adults in his puppy days.   If someone’s desire to meet him is too great he might bark or growl and hide behind me a bit.  He doesn’t want to be directly stared at and coaxed to come to someone new.   I have been trying to introduce him to people like I did with little Mindy.   She came out of her shell very quickly and wasn’t defensive with strangers, she was just scared and shied away.  Kibbles will back away a bit but he definitely doesn’t want someone new approaching him too quickly or being too persistent about it.  So I am seeing that I can’t tackle this problem the same way as I did with Mindy.   I was trying to correct Kibbles for his negative reaction but I see that this could potentially make him worse.  So I will take him around many people and ask them to ignore him and let Kibbles approach on his own timing.  He is actually curious about people so he will go up to them if given the chance.  I will also give strangers very valued treats to give Kibbles.   His nose is the key to his socialization.   Good smelling treats and allowing him the time to approach people when he is ready.   That’s the plan for now.  

To chew or not to chew?

So far in my fostering career I haven’t lost any items to chewing, unless you count half of a shoelace.   My schedule is set up for fostering in such a way that the dogs have very little time alone in any room.   They go to dog daycare during the day and are with me all evening for relaxing, walking, training, brushing, etc.   On Saturday I wanted to see what Kibbles boredom threshold was, so I took him out for a quick morning pitstop and then went back inside to watch and wait.   It took until just after noon for him to get bored and start eyeing things up for chewing potential.   He mouthed the corner of my coffee table and was told ‘no’, he thought the fringe on the edge of the carpet near the kitchen looked appetizing and was again told ‘no’.   And, last but not least he tried to steal the small rocks out of a plant pot to chew on them and when he wasn’t allowed to do that he thought a little nibble on the basket holding the pot might be a good idea.  To break the boredom we went to the dog park and when we got home he barely lifted his head off the floor for ages.

Most times he is so tired from dog daycare or from our walks that he doesn’t have the desire to chew on anything other than the toys laying around.   He is still just 9 months old so I suspect if left alone for too long and without exercise, he could be the destroyer of many household items.   So…a well exercised Kibbles is a well behaved Kibbles.  

Kibbles picks a toy:

Kibbles – 1 WEEK UPDATE - Fostered in Richmond

KIBBLES: Neutered male, 36 lbs, Australian Shepherd X, approx 9 months old

Kibbles has been with me for just over a week now and he has overcome his shyness with me very quickly.   He is still quite timid with strangers and will need continued socializing in order to help him become less fearful of people.   If people will hang back and let him approach on his own, he will show some interest in smelling an out-stretched hand or even allow them to pet him. A couple of people have come to pet him before he was ready and he showed his teeth and growled.   This has happened twice.   Kibbles is not moving forward in an aggressive way, he is just warning the person to not approach like that.  Close supervision and further socialization should help him with this and he will likely continue to be fostered until he has overcome this reaction.   He also warns when new dogs approach him too quickly but with dog daycare and trips to the dog park and off-leash areas this reaction with new dogs is lessening quickly.  With dogs he already knows he greets them happily. He is also starting to trust that I will ensure he is safe and this helps him work through his fear.  

Kibbles rides well in the car although he has begun to get car sick.  Although he has been jumping into the vehicle on his own he isn’t feeling any joy in the ride.   We have driven on trips of varying lengths and most times he hasn’t been sick.  It is just the occasional trip.   I believe he will likely grow out of this and we’re working on building more comfort with being in the vehicle.  

Kibbles has been doing well at dog daycare.  He has warmed up to the staff and wags his tail and solicits attention.  He plays with the other dogs and as his confidence builds in the new setting he has started barking a bit when playing.   At home he is quiet and rarely barks.  He is housebroken and sleeps mostly through the night except the occasionally nose nudge to get some attention.  If I pet him for a few seconds he quickly lays back down and sleeps.   He plays with some of the toys I have but his preference so far is the bones that all the dogs before him have chewed too.  

Kibbles walks so well on the leash.  For the first few days he was walking slightly behind me but now he heels at my side.  He is learning to sit when we get to the light at an intersection and is learning to sit on command other times too.   I took him to a fenced dog park on Saturday and he was afraid when too many dogs approached at first.   It took a few laps around the park before he started to relax and he eventually found a few dogs he wanted to greet and run with a bit.   He stuck fairly close to my side but by the end he was running a bit further away and having some fun.  He was coming back to me when called.  

On Sunday we went to the off-leash beach and he did really well with other dogs.   There were only a couple of dogs that he took exception to but mostly he discovered the fun of running into the water and playing some chase games.  

So far he has been mostly unfazed by city life.   Loud buses, sirens, cars and people passing by in all directions and Kibbles has been relaxed with everything going on around him.   At one point we saw a little critter run under a bush and he lunged for it.  I think he has the average prey drive that lots of dogs have.   When we have passed birds on the ground he has remained relaxed.   I have not had the chance to see his reaction to cats yet.  He is good with puppies and small dogs and approaches them very easily.  I have seen him with kids 10 and over but haven’t seen how he is with any little guys yet.

Kibbles is very cuddly and is just learning his way with people and new dogs.   I get lots of tail wags from him now and he has recently started grinning at me when he gets excited.   As I mentioned, I would like to continue fostering him until his greeting with people gets easier.   He will make an awesome companion for a lucky adopter.

Abby in the Tisol commercial

Back in November I took foster dog Abby to the Grandview location of Tisol's as they were shooting a commercial for the Pet Food Bank.  Yvette says she has seen it on TV already.   So...here it is:

Kibbles is right at home in the snow....

Nothing compared to the snow up north but we did get some good snow last night.   I took Kibbles out for a late night walk in it and he loved it!   He was pushing snow with his nose and I put him on a long leash for a bit and he got his wind and and was racing around.   Snow = Excitement apparently ; )  I would have loved to have caught him on video racing around but the snow was too wet for the camera to be brought out that long.   I did snap his picture on No 3 Road though....

I would have thought with that fluffy, thick, long hair that he would have been harder to clean up when we got back inside, but I brushed the snow off of him and a quick towel dry and it was almost as if he'd never been outside.

Kibbles at Day 4



Kibbles at the barn on Saturday's dog run day



I plan on doing a more indepth update closer to the 1 week mark which will include pictures and maybe even a video clip or two.  On Saturday, Kibbles came out of the TG Van and couldn’t get far enough away from me.   The 4’ leash was stretched to its limits.   After spending a little more time with him and coaxing with small treats he soon warmed up to me.   He travelled well in the truck and when we got home the walk was very slow going.  For about 50’ he lagged behind on leash and harness and once he realized that I really was going to keep going, he perked up and starting walking just a bit behind me, which is where he still chooses to walk now.   We got some good tail wags on the first day, although a little hesitant.   By day 4 he is now stuck to me like a shadow.   He is hesitant with new people although warms up if someone will hang back and give him a chance to approach on his timing.  He is a bit fearful of new dogs approaching too quickly and getting in his face.  He curls his lip back and might growl a little if they don’t back off.   He has not been aggressive though, he is just warning.   I have had him around quite a few new dogs already and his reaction is lessening.   Dog daycare sure will help with that too.   I’m told he was very tentative when he was first brought into the daycare and was a little snarky with the other dogs.   He warmed up quickly to the other dogs and to the staff as well and by the end of the day he was either just hanging out or he was playing with a few other dogs.  He likes the puppies ; )  

Kibbles is quite relaxed in the city.  He doesn’t seem to be bothered by traffic and people moving around him. I went to a friend’s last night for dinner and he laid by my feet the whole night.  At one point we set the smoke detector off and he didn’t seem the slightest bit scared.  He rides in the truck really well although we discovered food before a ride is not a good idea.  Empty stomach is the way to go.  

He is the first TG dog that I've fostered that not only wanted to check out the sewer grates but actually wants to purposely walk across them....so brave.   He’s such a cute, furry guy and I’m really enjoying my time with him. 

I think it will take me a little bit of time to figure out the right home for Kibbles because for now I’m just seeing the timid/nervous side of his personality and after a little more time I’m sure he’ll reveal his more confident self and let me know what kind of home he will want.  




It was a good treat that won Kibbles over

  

"Okay...you have my attention now...and I might even like you a little"

 

All 3 photos in this blog were taken by Christie Lagally  who came out on Saturday to write an article about Turtle Gardens....and ended up helping with the dog run too! http://christielagally.wordpress.com/

My next foster is.....(drum roll please)....KIBBLES

Kibbles is coming on the next dog run which comes to town tomorrow (Jan 8th).    See you then my new little buddy!