LITTLE MAC SETTLES IN

It's been a week and a half now and MacIntosh is settling in and learning the routine.  I keep him with me at all times (when he's not at daycare) and we are taking baby-steps towards time on his own.  We have started with times when he is tired and comfortably snoozing on the couch.  I will get up and leave the room quickly and come back right away.  At first he followed but after a week he stayed on the couch.  When I have my shower in the morning he comes into the bathroom with me and at first was not happy that I was on the other side of the shower curtain and whined a bit.  After a week he just flops on his dog bed and is content waiting.  I'm happy to have the opportunity to progress as such a slow rate with him.

When we are outside he loves nothing better than a good stick.  He found a real whopper of a stick the other day but it looked a bit rotten so I took it away from him and tucked it in the tree, high up, out of his reach.

 

He actually tried to climb the tree a bit, back legs got a teeny bit off the ground.  He eventually gave up on the new stick and played with a pine cone instead.  It's a full time job making sure he doesn't pick up anything he shouldn't....I'll tell ya!

....okay, how 'bout a pine cone then

MacIntosh was 13 lbs a week and a half ago.  He's grown by a pound and a half, and I think I see some changes in his face too.  It's amazing how fast these pups change right in front of you.

I missed posting a couple of pics from the Pet Fair we went to in Ladner a couple of weekends ago.

One of the biggest differences I've found in fostering a puppy at 3 1/2 months vs. fostering a dog of 8 months or older is that I think I have a better read on the older dog's needs for their adoptive home.  With a pup of Mac's age I see his personality but I also see puppy traits he will grow out of and then there is the variable of what his adoptive family will affect in the way he is raised.  It brings up more questions than I have answers.  Will he be active or mellow.  Well behaved or a mischievous little guy.  Will he be 20 pounds or 40 pounds or?   I know that Yvette at Turtle Gardens 'knows her dogs' whether they are pups or adults and that comes from years and years of experience...I wish some people's knowledge could be downloaded into your own head.  I would certainly take on Yvette's puppy knowledge along with Foster Mom Gloria's knowledge too!  

'pick me up'

MacIntosh still doesn't like leaving home too much but he's becoming more interested in getting out for walks. He just likes to be picked up along the way here and there and then is fine with another stint of walking.  His needs for being carried are lessening but his desire to get back home hasn't.  He's obviously just needing some more time before he's ready to truly venture out and away from his den.  So for now we have mostly been playing with toys at home. 

One last thing, say good bye to the blue harness!  In a week and a half he has outgrown it.  That's a foster first for me.  I don't usually have dogs that outgrow gear.

MY LITTLE APPLE

It's been so long since I've blogged I almost forgot my password.

I don't normally foster puppies.  Sometimes I've made exceptions and fostered a dog 5-8 months old but when Yvette told me about MacIntosh and emailed me a picture, I found myself committing to foster a 3 1/2 month old puppy!

I've had Little Mac now for a week and he's being such a good pup.  He is very cuddly and he loves his comforts.  Now that he has come to trust that I'm looking out for him he spends more time using me to obtain his goals which aren't as much about cuddling with me as they are getting from one dog bed to the other.  He's pretty funny about it.  He loves to be at home, but if we're leaving he b-lines over to the truck where another dog bed is and he knows the truck takes him to dog daycare.  On his first day at daycare he was quite scared going into their office but by day two he was pulling on his leash like a seasoned husky pulling a sled, to get up that pathway and into daycare.  Daycare is full of fun staff and fun dogs!  Don't get me wrong, he is still very cuddly with me and he melts my heart when I pick him up and he leans into me and puts his head on my shoulder.

He rides well in the truck, sometimes chewing on the toy on his bed and sometimes sleeping.  He sleeps all through the night and so far has not had any accidents in the house.  He has even run to the door a couple of times when he needed to do some business.  I'm super diligent about making sure he has enough bathroom breaks though so I'm hoping an adoptive home will continue with that as he's doing so well. 

MacIntosh is very playful with other dogs and loves meeting new people, although he can be a bit shy with some when first meeting.  After a week he is becoming very playful with me as he builds trust.  He does like to nibble on anything that is sticking out of anything but is easily redirected to something more appropriate to chew on. Here is a pic of MacIntosh after his second day of daycare....

He's such a good puppy, he almost makes me want to foster another and another!  I don't think he will be a very long foster at any rate as he's so darn cute.