FERGUS IS ADOPTED

Just in the nick of time Fergus was adopted.  Not because he was cutting it close to the next foster coming but if he stayed with me a moment longer I was afraid I was going to keep him.  He is a great cuddler, funny, playful and a fast learner.  And very soft too!

I'm very happy though to let him go on his way to his new family.  They are a young couple who just moved into a new home with a great yard.   They are active and will take him almost everywhere and he might even get to go to work occassionally at a care facility.  When they met Fergus what caught me the most about them was how they handled him and how he reacted.  He listened to them, walked nicely on leash and gazed adoringly up at them both.  

The sad part of this story is the people who read the blog and fell in love with him before even meeting him who are now disappointed.   But as a TG fan I can only console them with the promise of all of the other great dogs coming down from up North.  As a foster you definitely learn that there IS another great dog out there, not just the one.  

I will start blogging my new adventures soon.

...just when he was getting the hang of it he had to change homes

FERGUS....WHAT IS HIS PERFECT HOME?

There have been so many applications for Fergus now I can't count.   Alot of really great homes, but I'm not sure if people are applying because they want a cute little Poodle pocket type dog or if they want the real Fergus...the Fergus who jumps the divider at dog daycare to be on the big dog side.    He has a bigger personality than a little dog.  He is full of bouncy energy but also knows how to relax.  Without boundaries I fear he would not realize his full potential.  He is not high maintenance but like most dogs and even people for that matter...they are always better when they know where they stand and are not spoiled.  

He can go to a home with or without kids, cats, other dogs.  He is best if he is given a couple of walks in a day.  If his person only had one hour to walk him he'd be better with two half hour walks than one longer walk.  He needs some interest in his day to break it up.  He will relax at home for three to four hours and then will get bored and will look for a car ride, or a walk or some time playing fetch.   He is fun, and happy and entertaining and a great dog to have around.  His biggest requirement is only that he have someone who has expectations of good manners, someone who will not spoil him but will ask him to work for his dinner, sit and wait for open doors, have patience to make him walk on a loose leash and work on recall so he can run full tilt at the beach and come back reliably.  

He would be awesome at agility if someone chose to take him.  He is smart and learns quite quickly, but can be persistent until he sees you will out wait him.  

So if you are looking for a big dog in a little package, he just might be the dog for you...

p.s. Since so many people have asked about his size and had thought he was either bigger or smaller than they thought..he is 13.5 pounds and stands approx 12" at the shoulder.  He is lean and athletic and I'm pretty sure he is the model with the built in spring. 

A WEEKEND WITH FERGUS

I had company over on Friday night and Fergus didn't bark at the door and he greeted my guests very well.  He is such a happy little guy and he loves everyone.  Since we usually sit on one specific couch, he stuck to his turf for the night, without me, and sat between two of my friends.   I placed quite a bit of food on the coffee table and when he showed interest I only had to correct him a few times before he just steered clear of it all.  Now, if we weren't in the room, I'm sure that would be a whole other story (good bye shrimp ring and chicken wings!)

Saturday was quite a nice day outside and we ventured out to the school field in my neighbourhood.  Fergus went on the 80' leash and roamed around the field.  He got zoomies a couple of times and ran circles around me, pulling at tufts of grass and zig-zagging.  

....at the end of my leash, 80' away, and not a care in the world

oh...and what's over there?

I called Fergus at a moment when I figured he would come...and he did.

He is fairly good about running back to me when called, but mostly because I'm carefully picking when to call him back.  When he's deep in a good sniff at something or when there is another dog nearby grabbing his attention he does not listen.   The more I follow through with calling him and making him come back using the leash though the better he seems to be. 

The stop at the field was to give him a chance to burn some energy off before we stopped at the curling club.  He is no problem to be left for a short bit.  He doesn't cry and I think he just lays down and sleeps.   After my brief visit I took Fergus for our 'real' walk at the beach.  

Waiting to be invited out.

When we arrived at the beach I had my camera ready and waiting to show off how good Fergus is now at waiting at open doors.  He waits until he is asked to come out.  This took a real test of patience in the first couple of days of fostering but after many, many attempts to jump out and me placing him back he finally realized I would out match him.   Manners are important afterall and it's a matter of safety too.  

Fergus just loves the water and mostly shows no fear.  He was a little put out by one particual wave which caught him off guard but then he was quickly back in there.



Jillian's not the only one with kung-fu moves apparently





'let's go find some more'



Near the end of our walk we ran into a woman with four dogs.  I let Fergus off leash and he ran circles around everyone.  He plays with anyone and everyone.   Big or small, doesn't matter.  Apparently at dog daycare he jumps the partition to get into the big dog side.  Maybe he doesn't think of himself as small...he wouldn't be the first TG dog to be like that.   He was easily leashed up again after his brief off leash run and it was time to go home.  

'are you sure we have to leave?'

He really loves the beach and the water and the people and dogs.  He could stay for a very long time and be quite content.  He does zonk out in the truck once we get there so at least I know I've drained his energy.

On the first couple of days with Fergus I realized he looked like something familiar.  When he gets to the end of the leash he uses the tension to stand on his hind legs and balance (don't worry he's not choking on the collar...it's still too big for him).  Usually its another dog at a distance that prompts him to do it.  It was my friend Kathy that mentioned he stands like a Meerkat.   "That's it" ...that's what I've been thinking he's like.  I couldn't catch it perfectly but usually he stands more upright too.

So...that's it for now.   I have to get Fergus out for his last walk of the night.   There are so many great applications in for him now and we are in the process of meeting a few people.  I'll keep everyone posted on his progress.   Next dog run on Sunday, but I would never rush one dog out the door to get another.  They take as long as they take, and that's all there is to it.  

A WELCOME WAGGIN FOR FERGUS

I went to the cargo pick up at Hawk Air today and the guy at the front counter had me sign the slip and then he passed a wee-little crate over the counter.  I knew Fergus was little but it still surprised me how small the crate was and how easily the guy passed him over the counter.  Fergus was peering out with lots of tail wags.  He seemed unaffected by the trip.   I took the crate outside and when I was securely in the back of my truck I opened it up and was greeted with more tail wags and the softest, friendliest ball of black velvet ever.   I suited him up with a martingale collar, which I over estimated and was too big, and we came out of the truck to meet Gloria.   Gloria was very popular because she's a foster mom carrying treats (why didn't I think of that!).   Fergus sat nice for some treats, we took him to the grass to stretch his legs and have a pee, and then off to the beach so we could give Gloria's foster pups a new experience and give Fergus a good welcome to Richmond.  

Fergus in the truck...with his flying sweater.

It's not my normal first day walk to go somewhere with so many new things and distractions, but he's such a happy go-lucky little guy that we skipped a step.  Once in the parking lot at the beach I was starting to re-think this plan.  He was going nuts with barking watching the dogs in the distance running and playing.   We took ages to get from the parking lot to where Gloria was waiting with Cedar and Cricket.  I wanted to take a calmer dog to the beach so we took our time.  Eventually we made it to the grass field and Cricket and Fergus played.  We headed down to the beach area and Fergus was much better about all the other dogs being around.   He just wanted to go everywhere and meet everyone.  He's really a very happy, bouncy guy. 

First impression of the beach.  And, check out
the cool sweater.

Cedar and Cricket were the first to check out the water.  Fergus wasn't far behind.  I'm not sure if Fergus has ever been to the water but he loved it and showed no fear.   Cedar and Cricket on the other hand were a bit tentative.

"what's that in the water?"

"better raise my front leg in warning"

"oh....lets run back to foster mom just in case"

The journey down the beach was a slow one.   With 3 dogs needing to check things out and two foster moms talking 'dog' to anyone who asks about them, it takes a while to get anywhere.   Cedar and Cricket were definitely the main attraction for anyone stopping, but Fergus was the one who was brave enough to go right up to people and get the pats.  We also had several rounds of Fergus and Cricket playing.  Some times Cedar joined in but most times it was just Cricket with Fergus on his hind legs trying to be taller and make up for the size difference. 

'ready....set....'

'...pounce'



Just happy to be at Foster Mom's feet.



After showing just how much he liked the water, I decided the sweater needed to come off.  Fergus loves to spend time fishing for driftwood and other little bits floating around.  When the big waves came from the tug boats he was undaunted and saw an opportunity as each wave might bring something new to shore. This dog is a water lover and I think he will be swimming in no time.

We walked three tired dogs away from the beach.  By the time we hit the grassy field and they saw more dogs playing a second wind hit.  I went and got the 80' leash for Fergus and he had a good rip around, playing with Cedar and Cricket and running to come back to me when I called.  Cedar and Cricket were both off leash today and you should see them both come back to Gloria when called and sit like they're synchronized, waiting for their reward for being good pups. 

It was a fun day and Fergus napped on the way home, once he realized I wasn't sharing my sandwich, that is.  You'd never know he had been in Smithers just a few hours previously. 

When we got home, he ate his dinner, drank some water and then had a short nap on the couch with me.  We then got out some toys and figured out that he mostly knows how to fetch already.  After a bit of time with the toys we went for our last walk of the night and to check out the neighbourhood he didn't get to see earlier.   He walked quite well on the leash with only a few crossed paths and seemed to like being out and about.  

So far he is a very cute and confident little guy.   He has settled in nicely and is asleep on the couch while I write my blog.   I think he will be the first foster dog in a while to get full mileage out of daycare.  I suspect he will find many friends to play with.

More pics and stories to come soon.

p.s. A big thank you to Vicky for sending him to me and thank you to whoever shaved off his matts and made him so soft!

24 HOURS BEFORE FERGUS ARRIVES

I received this picture in my email tonight showing me Fergus de-matted.   Now I really can't wait to meet him!   Thank you to Fergus' current foster mom for sharing this.  He's adorable. 

INSERT EXTRA FOSTER DOG HERE

The next dog run is in another couple of weeks and we just can't have an idle foster home for too long.   So I got in contact with one of TG's foster homes in Smithers, which just happens to be close enough to the airport, and they have agreed to fly a little guy out to me right away.  So, on Sunday I will be picking up Fergus.   I have only seen the intake photo, and according to his foster mom all of his matts have been shaved off, including the wood chips that were grown into them.   This will be my first non-shedding foster dog and also the first that I really have no clue of what he looks like.  

Watch for upcoming photos on Sunday or Monday