CHIEF GOES BACK UP NORTH

It's taken me a while to get around to writing this blog, in part because it was such a hard decision to send Chief back up North but also because it's that busy time of year when some of your normal day to day things take a back seat.   As you may recall, I had mentioned that there was an applicant for Chief and they met with him a few times.  Our final meeting was with a behaviorist/trainer who did an assessment on Chief.  I wanted the applicants to be a part of that process so they would see the things that would be pointed out in the assessment.  They came to the conclusion that as first time dog adopters that they were in over their heads with Chief.   They know Chief is such a beautiful soft dog for so much of the time but his fear of strangers in certain settings is not to be taken lightly.  He needs a confident person to guide him past his fears and his progress won't happen overnight.  I really admire how badly these applicants wanted to help him but also appreciate that they were willing to see the whole picture and know themselves well enough to not take on more than they bargained for. 

I have had many foster dogs come and go but this is the first time I've shed a tear.  It eases my mind though that Chief is going back to familiar people and a great environment where he can be the happy relaxed playful dog he is 100% of the time without the challenge of so many new people in the city.  After his assessment, it was decided that he could benefit from more time back at Turtle Gardens. So after three months he went back up north with his favorite TG person - Dave and I've heard that he has settled back in pretty well.   I really miss him alot!!  I also want to say that I still have faith that his ideal home awaits him...it just needs to be the right person or people.

Before he left I had to catch him in his candy cane bandana from Aunty Del.



(I love sideways glances)



Checking for squirrels in the tree ...as usual



New soccer ball stuffy makes a good chin rest



'Oh....but what's that toy over there?'


The next dog run will probably be in mid-January and I'm looking forward to jumping into a new year of fostering.  Thanks for reading my blog in 2012 and catch you in the New Year.

A BIT OF XMAS CHEER AND A GIFT IDEA

I saw on Facebook that one of the TG foster moms was having fun with dog pics so I put in a request for Chief a la Christmas and here's what came back:

THANK YOU POLLY ....you are way too cool to do these (and talented).  You deserve a great Christmas for all the amazing fostering you did in 2012.  

Okay but on a serious gift giving note, one of the daycare staff at Playful Paws does the most amazing artwork and her work with dog pics makes a very unique gift for the person that has everything.  Or you can shop like I do and get one done for yourself.  

To see more of her work on Facebook click here.

Here's what Playful Paws wrote up about Megan's work in their last newsletter: 

Being the fancy up and coming artist that she is, her artwork is also currently being exhibited and sold in several lower mainland Art Galleries - Place Des Arts in Coquitlam and the Seymour Art Gallery in Deep Cove (in both the Gallery Shop and the main gallery space).  Both Galleries will be featuring her work until Christmas, alongside other local artists - so head on out and support starving artists!

If you want to place an order, ask a question or just shower Megan with praise and admiration, you can email her at fivecornerscrafts@gmail.com

WHITESPOT + 1 DAY

As of today Chief is now my longest foster.  Whitespot was with me for 9 1/2 weeks and Chief has gone 1 day more than that.  Chief is, in quite a few ways, the easiest foster I've had.  He is fine being left alone and is really the first foster that I've ever left at home alone.  Most go with me and wait in the truck, except in the summer on hot days and then I find ways to work around leaving a dog alone.  I have left him alone while I went out to a movie and thought he'd be happier at home on his Kuranda bed rather than in the truck and he didn't bark when I left and the couch was warm when I came home.  He is affectionate and smart.  He learns new tricks quite easily as he is food motivated with no other distractions around.   He sits and waits at the door to go out and to come in, although sometimes his first reaction is to want to dart through it.  On command he can sit, lay down, shake a paw, high five, reach out for a nose to hand touch for a treat, sit/stay and he can now sit up for a treat.  I don't usually teach fosters too many tricks but Chief seems to enjoy the challenge.  He is also very good at sit/stay while waiting for me to hide his tug toy.

He is mostly walking nicely on a loose leash, he fetches the ball quite well and has pretty good recall.   We are still working on his leash reactivity with people and with dogs.  We can go for quite some time without any reaction as I'm learning to adjust my daily routine to accommodate his areas of concern.  As a result I'm noticing some improvements in him.  If he's worried he checks in with me sometimes, whereas before he did not check with me at all.  He is more easily distracted by me in times of worry.  So, if he sees a dog and starts to show tension I can take a step back and call him to me and he is more open to being diverted than before.  

We are currently working with an applicant towards a possible adoption.  We are taking our time though in order to ensure they understand who Chief is, what his needs are and how to manage him.  They have now had him for a couple of nights stay and they definitely see the beautiful soft side of him and they have also experienced his leash reactivity as well.   We will work with a trainer to assess Chief and afterwards will decide on the next step.