AN ADOPTION, A MEET AND GREET AND TWO REUNIONS

Wholy moly...I need to blog more often.  I almost have too many things to share at once. 


The biggest way that Mattisue corrupted Rona in their five days together.
Until Mattisue came to town, Rona was not a couch dog!

This has been a big week.  Rona met with one of the many applicants on Sunday and that went really well.  We had actually met them down on the beach the previous week and Rona got along well with their dog, so we went to meet hubby and see the office Rona will get to go to.   After the meet and greet I took Rona and Mattisue to the beach.  Rona knew the ropes already but Mattisue was hesitant about new dogs coming up to us.  She really relaxed about it by the end of our walk, but I noticed that she is very in tune with the dogs approach and their energy.  She put out a low growl if the dog came right up to her face.  If they greeted her appropriately she was fine and she especially had less concern if the dog was her size.  

Rona has been soliciting Mattisue to play all week and after a day or two Mattisue was starting to play back.  Rona is much more exuberant that Mattisue but she would tell her off if she got too rowdy.   Mattisue still has the momma dog attitude in her and is very appropriate in putting other dogs in their place if need be.

During the week Mattisue had her first day at daycare and did well.  She was a bit playful with the staff but if anyone new tried to enter the game she'd stop.  She's just not sure about the rules. I keep trying to tell her the only rule for her is to have fun and loosen up!  At first she would crouch when you reach down to pet her and she wasn't sure if she could take treats from hand, but she is gettting past that.  If she crouched submissively I would not pet her until she sat back up again.  She is getting the hang of it.  She will dance around playfully if I try to play with her and she picked up a toy today and shook the heck out of it.  She is bouncy when walking along side me but sticks very close by.  She has the sweetest personality and solicits lots of attention.   I can only imagine the dog she will be once she bonds with some lucky person in her forever home.   She is awesome and will only get better in time with more love and affection.

On Wednesday night we went to McDonald Beach for a special dual purpose.  We met up with Rona's sister Robin.  Her adopters have renamed her Luka and they were in town so we took the opportunity to get the two sisters together.  It wasn't the reunion we thought it would be which was funny.  I thought they would be so excited to see each other.  Rona is still coming out of her shell but Luka is already there and was happily running around meeting all the dogs.   We were also at the beach to meet Rona's new mom Gianna.  Rona's new mom and dad actually have quite a bit in common with Luka's mom and dad...and there I am playing dog and friend matchmaker.  I hope they will get the dogs together again so Luka and Rona can play together once she's settled and more confident in every way.  

In the two and a half weeks that Rona was with me she came a long way with the vehicle (walking right up and jumping right on in, with little or no drooling) and also in her confidence in general.  Even the people at the beach that saw her from day to day could see the difference.  I was worried that she might regress a bit once in a new home with new people and new vehicle, but the picture I received today tells me she is doing well.  She had a new puggle sister (Olivia aka Ollie) and two great people to help guide her along.  Yup...another great match!    Rona's new name is Lux and a quick update tells me that Lux and Ollie are playing non-stop.

Lux and Ollie

So here's a situation where having two fosters pays off.  I still have one left.  Mattisue and I went for a walk on the beach after Rona left.  On Thursday we had a meet and greet for Mattisue, which went really well and then into Vancouver for Mattisue's reunion.  Here's a clip of the blog that I sent to Turtle Gardens (I love cut and paste):

Last night Foster Mom Gloria and I got Mattisue, Mitchell and Milah together. 

Milah and Mitchell

Mattisue is by no means afraid of vehicles or people, although she is a little timid, but when Gloria drove into a parking spot at the park Mattisue went right up to the vehicle and towards the drivers side.  She followed Gloria around to the back passenger door and whined at the door before Gloria had even opened it up.  SHE KNEW her pups were in that vehicle.  Whether she remembered Gloria's vehicle from the dog run from when I had her on the back bumper to visit her pups before they were driven away, or if she could smell her pups, I have no idea, but she definitely knew.  Once those pups were put on the ground next to her she gave them a full once over.  Satisfied that Gloria had been taking good care of them she also greeted Gloria.  

We went over to the baseball field with Mattisue going back to round her pups up over and over, and sat down to 'watch' the game...or rather watch pups and mom together. You can just tell that Mattisue was a good mom to her pups.  She played with Mitchell the most because he was more responsive to his mom.  

At one point a little Chihuahua came running playfully at one of the pups.  It was a dog that Mattisue had already met before we sat down, and had liked, but when this guy started to move towards her pup the momma bear in her came out and she moved fast to get between the Chi and her pup and she growled at him.  She also put out a warning to a guy walking past that reached out to one pup.  She is protective in the most appropriate way and the protectiveness she showed over them was heartwarming.  As we were leaving the park the pups were on a long line together and I let Mattisue off leash.  She did some zoomies and then did a run-by and bowled Mitchell down.  She was having so much fun opening up and playing with familiar dogs.  I'm used to seeing moms put their pups in line when they were being too playful but she seemed to be teaching them to play.  Her pups were running after her trying to keep up...it was so adorable.  If I could, I'd have all three forever!

You gotta love puppies...a few minutes of playing and it's nap-time.

'thanks for bringing my mom to see me'



RONA AND MATTISUE

Rona - rollin in the grass

This last week Rona has made some real strides in her vehicle travels.  She now jumps in on her own.  It takes a bit of patience though.  You have to wait for her while she puts the brakes on several times on the way to the vehicle.  She stops and won't move but with persistance and the willingness to wait, she knows she might as well go along with it and then she moves and even wags her tail a bit.  She really is way better than she was a couple of weeks ago.  She doesn't even drool as much as before.  Just a couple of strings of drool.  So she has advanced to comfy bedding for her ride.   She jumps in, lays down and doesn't seem to stress very much.   I'm so proud of her.  I suspect she may backslide a little once she's adopted but if an adopter stays consistent to the approach we've been taking she should get back on track and continue improving quite easily.   Rona has 8 or more applications and we are meeting one applicant tomorrow.  Each of the applications has some real strong qualities but this week I've been seeing that Rona would really blossom well with another dog in the home, so I'm focussing on those applications first. 


Mattisue

Today was a dog run day and I've done something I said I'd never do.  I'm fostering two dogs at a time. I really like doing the single foster as I like to give a dog my full focus, however I really wanted to meet Mattisue as TG suspects she may be Fergus' mom.  I fostered Fergus earlier this year and really loved the little guy.  Several fosters later and he's still on my mind.   Mattisue was going to travel down with her pups and so I found myself asking Yvette if I can foster her as well as Rona.  I also felt that an extra dog in the home could really help give Rona that last little bit of push to get past any hesitation for truck rides. 

With Mattisue on the scene Rona has already been different today.   She's soliciting attention from me more, has been more playful and seems more confident in a few ways.   This has me thinking how much nicer it would be for her to have another dog in her life. 

This has been a really big week for Mattisue.  Shaved down, spayed, travel to Delta and then in a new home minus her pups.  She has been wagging her tail lots and asking for affection.  She's a very sweet dog. I look forward to seeing her come out of her shell in the coming days.  It's sad that she's separated from her pups but without them she can become a bouncy carefree city dog.



Cute Mattisue - with her little whippy tail



Playful Rona

Here's a picture of how Mattisue arrived at Turtle Gardens, full of matts:


So matted with overgrown coat you can hardly make
out where her cute little face is.

And, would you look at the cute little dog that was beneath all of that:

Look at the great shave down momma Yvette gave Mattisue. 
Her once matted body is now silky soft.

After the dog run we came home and sat outside for a while.  We took a quick trip to Vancouver to pick up some supplies and then back home for a group nap.  Rona flaked out on the Kuranda bed and Mattisue was happy to join me on the couch.  I was really grateful that they were in agreement with the plan because I'd been up late the night before and dog run days are always an early start.   

Stay tuned for more pics in the coming days.  I have a hunch I'll be able to post video of the two fosters playing together really soon. 

MORE BEACH TRIPS AND TRUCK TRIPS

Things are going really well with Rona.  We've had a week of dog daycare and then trips to the beach to enjoy the water and sunshine.   Rona has really gotten into the groove of the beach.  She's happy meeting other dogs and she's pretty good at going up to people too.   On Saturday I went to dog daycare for a few hours to dog sit all the dogs that are being boarded.  

Rona, with me at daycare on Saturday.

There were about 10 dogs and what a nice, well behaved group they were.  I actually had alot of fun being there.  I imagine working at a daycare can be quite a challenge at times but for just a few hours it was really a joy.  The bonus of doing this was that I got to see the daycare version of Rona.  She runs and plays and I finally got to hear her bark.  She really doesn't bark much but in play she is more vocal.   She's got a nice bark actually - it suits her cute personality.   In this last week I did notice that while she had lots of wags for the daycare staff in the morning, she was dragging her heels when she saw me at the end of the day.  I've become 'that woman who puts me in the truck'.   That's okay, I can live with that ("ego...please step aside"), but on Saturday I entered her daycare world and found that between playing she stuck near me and showed me she's more bonded with me than I had been able to see before.   Here's a quick video of Rona moving through the daycare yard, so people can see how nicely she moves.

Today we went back to the beach and met with Foster Mom Gloria and two of her own dogs - Tess and Charlee who are both TG adoptions.   Rona really liked being part of a group for our walk and she really wanted to run and play with Charlee.  I don't feel that Rona is ready for off-leash so she couldn't really play with anyone the way she wanted to.   She really enjoyed the water though.  She has been getting more and more confident going in, as the week went on.   Today, she decided going in and dunking her head for pieces of driftwood was the best thing ever.  

When the waves come in and make foamy bubbles on the beach she bats at them with her paw or tries to catch them with her mouth.  She's so darn cute at the water.  Lifting her feet higher than necessary as though expecting to walk ON the water.

Truck update:    Every day that has gone by, she has looked ready to spring into the back of the truck all on her own, but then she hesitates too long.  Finally today, she jumped right in on her own!  I had predicted she'd do this by the end of the week and she made it just under the wire.   This is the beginning of a real turning point for her - getting into the truck on her own terms.   It probably helped that Gloria had her two dogs jump into the back seat of my truck to show Rona how its done.  Once they jumped out Rona followed me up to the door, thought for a moment and the hopped in.   Sometimes you just have to have patience and wait long enough.   Her fear of vehicles is not just about riding in them though.  She is now riding very well in the truck once she's there, but she is also afraid of walking past or near any parked vehicles.  On the way home today, we went to a strip mall parking lot and walked all around, between cars, and on and off curbs until she was moving much more easily with me.   She has made some huge progress this week....way to go Rona!

Here's a picture of Rona, taken in the last hour...she's exhausted!

RONA'S FIRST TRIP TO THE BEACH

I have to warn anyone that wants to apply for Rona to reconsider if you hate alot of attention.   Rona is a people magnet.  After daycare yesterday I took her to the beach and just about every person we went near commented on how pretty her eyes are, inquired how old she is and asked what breed.  My standard answer is "your guess is as good as anyones" and then I wait to see what they come up with.   So far the guesses have been crossed with husky, puggle, shepherd and a few others.   She is 41 pounds so she's a  really great medium sized dog.  She has a bit of creasing (almost a wrinkle) around her face and a shorter nose and then you toss in the blue eyes and wow, it's so hard to know what breeds took part in this beauty.

When we first got to the beach she was tentative about the new setting.  She did alot of sniffing around and when other dogs approached she gave them her hind end for sniffing and growled just a little bit if they were too intrusive.   If a dog was rude about checking out her face I stepped between Rona and them and they would move on.  She soon learned that meeting dogs at the beach was okay, they meant no harm, and most importantly that I 'had her back'.  


....just not sure whether to like it or not



For the first 15 minutes she looked a little nervous and stunned by it all.

As we moved down the beach and met more dogs and dipped a couple of paws in the water she noticeably relaxed.  Her tail went up, her ears relaxed and she started to look like a dog enjoying the beach.  She even started to play with another dog who was fetching a ball from the water.   She is great at playing with dogs at daycare, but new dogs out in public is a whole other scenario for some dogs.  It can take a while to see that meeting on the street or at the beach is okay.  



"I thought you said this was fun"



Rona figures it out and looks happy at the beach.

I have been using an extendable leash with her to help her get a bit of distance from me for on-leash peeing and used it at the beach for a little freedom too.   If she were startled by anything I can't guarantee that she wouldn't bolt so I keep her safe on a long leash.   We have been using a martingale because she had previously learned how to back out of a flat collar as well as a harness.  Her attempts to slip a collar in certain situations is lessening so I will probably go back to a regular collar or harness soon.   She walks pretty well on the leash and is checking in with me alot more.

It was pretty funny when we were walking back we got stopped by a group of people who were oohing and awing over Rona and as we were walking away the lady was yelling down the beach at her friend to check out Rona before we got too far away.  It was like we had created quite the stir by having her at the beach.  Like walking a Superstar!   She only comes second to the attention that Whitespot used to get.

All in all the beach was a great experience for Rona.  It's always important to end any activity on a positive note and at the end of our walk we met a very nosy border collie.  The owner could not call him away from Rona and her tail ended up tucking and she was quite bothered by this dog.  I ended up picking her up and walking away.  The dog still persisted in following and circling me. The owner couldn't catch his collar or chase him away from us and he told me that the more we tried to stop him the more of a game it would become.   I stood still with Rona in my arms until he finally was able to move his dog on.  I wouldn't ask for that situation to happen but it was good for Rona to see I would protect her by any means, even if I look like the weirdo at the beach carrying the 41 pound dog like she's a tiny thing.  

Truck update:   After a good walk at the beach, Rona was lifted into the truck and she curled up and seemed quite relaxed.   By the time we got home there was less drool than I'd seen yet and no peeing enroute.  This morning there seemed to be less drool too and she had a full pee in the morning so no issues there either.  She ran up to daycare with tail wagging and greated the staff quite happily. 

After the beach yesterday Rona slept the evening away.  Only getting up to eat her dinner and for the last walk of the night.  Once back at home from our short evening walk she drank some water and took herself upstairs to bed.  She didn't care whether I was going or not, she knew that's where she wanted to be.  I've only had a few dogs that would go to bed on their own.  Mitsy who I fostered a long time ago had her own bed time and Rona's the same.  Like they have an internal clock.  11:00 to bed and for 3 mornings in row Rona has been awake at 6:45ish.  

p.s. I can't wait for the day that Rona will surprise me and jump into the truck on her own.  I can see it happening soon and I'm gonna be super happy for her. 

NO ADOPTION FOR RONA YET

So the person who fell in love with Rona is not able to adopt because of City By-laws.  She rents in a home that now has three dogs so they aren't allowed any more.   Well, that's no problem because Rona is a very easy dog to have around. 

Here is a picture of Rona's mom Pika who was adopted earlier this year:

RONA'S MOM - PIKA

Rona seems to share the same gentle personality that her mom has.   Rona is the full package - beauty and brains and other dogs gravitate towards her soft energy.  Someone will be very lucky to adopt her.

Here is the latest report on Rona's vehicle experience:  She peed again in the truck this morning, but I noticed she already figured out the schedule and hesitated at the door before we even got outside to head for the truck.   She went outside and squatted but I could tell by how fast she went that she hadn't drained her bladder.  Was she saving it for the ride?  Does she think that this will get her out of it?   I gave her some herbal spray for anti-anxiety, walked her around a bit and then to the truck.  She was wagging her tail as we stood outside of the truck which is a good improvement and she was much more relaxed.   Once loaded in the truck she layed down.  Doors were closed and off we went.  She peed a block later but then stood up and watched for most of the 5 minute ride to daycare.  She drooled alot less too.  So I'm seeing improvement and I feel that once she sees this routine won't be broken that her reaction will continue to lessen.  If not, we will have to find a different approach, but I'm betting she will be better by the end of the week.

Last night we went out to the truck.  I opened up the canopy and lifted her up.  I got in with her and tucked her in close beside me.   She eventually layed down and fell asleep.  She hardly drooled at all and she relaxed completely.   She was even quite calm about 30 minutes later when we got out of the truck.  She was wagging her tail and she seemed to be even more bonded with me when we walked away....more eye contact, running back to me more with wagging tail.   What sweetheart she is!

DEAR ABBY: I don't seem to be able to keep foster dogs very long

I won't know until tomorrow for sure, but she may already be adopted.  More on that later though.   When I picked Rona up yesterday we went pretty slow in getting her into the truck as she's had issues with riding in the vehicle.  She was already afraid of the truck just walking up to it and it's not like she knows my vehicle yet.   My dilemma was that I was parked on the street so if she wouldn't approach she was then in the middle of the road.  (Duh...just occurred to me I have a passenger door too!).   I picked her up and put her in the back seat area and sat with her for quite a long while until she relaxed.  I then closed one door and eventually the driver's door.   We stayed in the truck for a while and then started it.  Again after many, many minutes, I pulled away from the curb and went a short bit and then stopped...another short block and then stop.  All in all the trip wasn't too bad considering she had previously been drooling, peeing and throwing up.   We got it down to  two out of the three.  I spent last night walking her past the truck and opening the doors and then heading out for a walk.   Yesterday we eliminated the throwing up and after this morning we eliminated the peeing, because she was relaxed enough with me to pee while on leash.  Lots of drool blown into bubbles but at one point she sat up to see where we were going.  I really feel this can be worked out with her so she can begin to enjoy the rides and where they take her.  She had a good day at dog daycare.  Walked very nicely in through the door and even left me behind quite well.  Apparently she spent her time wandering around and she played a little too. 

Last night after we got to my place she checked out my little yard and then inside to explore.  She wanted to see everything so upstairs we went and then back down to eat some food and drink some water.   Later in the evening we went out for a walk.  She's not bad on the leash, she was a little uncertain passing parked cars but eventually relaxed.  She wasn't worried about cars driving past.   By the end of our walk we hung around outside for a while and she leaned into me for some affection and then initiated some play, so I guess she thought I was 'okay' by that point.    She slept really well on the dog blanket next to my bed and she stayed there right through the night.  

After dog daycare she was pretty pooped out but we walked a couple of blocks to the park to work off the stress of the drive and she sniffed around a little and then found a shady spot to snooze for a bit.  She's been pretty mellow so far.

I know I have grass on my nose....I meant to put it there

So tired after daycare, but still sitting up
fighting off the sleep - eventually she
caved in and put her head down.

A NEW FOSTER ON SUNDAY

Rona has been in Vancouver since the last dog run.  Her foster home has been doing some great work with her in getting her past some fears and learning some city skills but she has hit a plateau.  She does not want to do her business while on leash (very difficult for apartment life) and she is also fearful in the vehicle.   I'm going to pick Rona up on Sunday and work on these two things and also work on more confidence in the city.   She's such a pretty girl and I can't wait to spend some time with her. 

Pictures are from the dog run...taken by Piper (great pictures as usual Piper!!)