Monday, January 25, 2016

RILEY - 1 WEEK FOSTER UPDATE



Riley is doing really well.  He has become more settled throughout the week.  He is a bit active at daycare but his play sessions are short.  Mostly he hangs out and tries to catch as much human attention as he can.  As he gets more comfortable there I'm hoping his playing might increase.  Nonetheless he comes home tired.     
We had a really fun weekend filled with good walks.  We met up with my friend and TG dog Bella for a walk at the beach on Saturday.  We're neighbours so all of my fosters see quite a bit of Bella.  Its nice to watch a relationship form between two dogs.  Mostly they kept their off leash time separate from each other but by the end of the walk I noticed them going to sniff the same things and Riley running ahead a bit more to keep up with Bella.  I'm hoping to see them playing in the coming week.
Riley and Bella
Bella Donna - what a great looking dog hey?
On Sunday, it was back to the beach for a walk with two friends and their TG dogs - Ruedi who really seems to have taken a liking to Riley, and Baby Beans (remember Beans?!).   I didn't catch any pictures of Ruedi but I did get a couple with Beans in them.

Riley and Beans
Beans
Beans is starting to go to Rally-O with her mom.  She definitely found the right home with someone to engage that smart brain in a busy little body.

Riley is great with meeting dogs.  He has good 'greeting' skills with dogs of all sizes.   He sometimes will try to monitor other dog's fun.  If they are chasing each other he will run after them to try to break it up, not biting but just barking at them.  On the weekend I was calling him the 'hall monitor'.  He did find a couple of dogs that caught his interest and he ran with them and had a game of chase that he seemed really happy with.   He spends some time exploring but also checks in and sticks very close by.  Sometimes so close that you look around and think he's gone off somewhere only to find him being your shadow, right at your heel so you don't see him at first. 
Still not a fan of the camera - he pretends to look down the beach.
One of the things we will be working on with Riley is socializing with strangers. With strangers out and about he is relaxed.  He sees people walking around, or right past him and he is fine, because everyone is going about their own business.  But, say for example, he is laying down on his dog bed, if a stranger came up and cornered him, there is a chance he might react negatively out of fear.  At the off leash beach on the weekend he would sniff the odd leg of a person and easily let someone pet him while he was busy meeting another dog,  but mostly he just walked past people paying them no attention and not worrying about them either.  If people give him a chance to make the choice to meet them and they don't rush him, he can warm up quite quickly. He's met a few of my friends and it went really well because they gave him a chance to meet on his terms.

At home we've been playing fetch with a few of his favorite toys - all three of which have squeakers in them.  He is so much fun to play with.  I find myself laughing at his antics.  I sometimes can't believe how much energy he has to run and jump.  He can actually jump quite high for such a little guy.   I think he's built with a spring.
I'm enjoying my time with Riley.  He's easy to have around.  He'll tag along for any walk or activity, but he's equally good with being on the couch to watch some TV.  After the weekend's walks and then daycare today he was so tired that he was laying on the couch, trying to look at me but his eyes were involuntarily blinking shut.  He's happily tired....such a good thing : )

Monday, January 18, 2016

THE FOSTER DROUGHT IS OVER - RILEY 2.0

Riley came back to Turtle Gardens just before Christmas but due to a crazy schedule, I wasn't ready for a foster.  But I am ready now, so I picked up Riley last Friday.  I originally fostered him back in 2011 so this is somewhat familiar territory for both of us, but with some changes.  I live in a different home, he has a bit of grey on his face, I have different dog skills than I had back then and he's learned alot about being a companion in the city.   It's fun to let him tell me his story as we go, especially because he's such a smart little guy. 

At the front door after our walk tonight.

Since I'm in a new home I can only chalk it up to his intelligence that when I said "let's go to bed" on Friday night, that he knew to run to the stairs to head up even though we hadn't been up there yet.  He also shows me how he used to get his harness put on because he puts his front paws on my legs, lets me loop the harness over his head and then lifts up his left leg ready to slip into the leg hole and then patiently waits for me to untwist the ends and click them together.  He wags his tail in excitement for a walk.  On Friday he walked ahead of me, a bit detached but by tonight he was walking beside me some of the time and then walking a bit ahead but looking back to check in regularly.  He walks nicely on the leash and is a good walking companion.  He has good endurance and really enjoyed our walk on Sunday with two friends and their dogs.

At home he is still the same playful dog that I remember.  He is so much fun to play with.  He fetches, chases, plays hide and seek and is really agile.  I can throw a toy for him and ask him to wait without holding his collar.  Despite his excitement to go get it he will wait until I release him with an 'okay'.  He has learned quite a bit since the last time I saw him.  He is quick to catch on to things and is happy to listen to what you ask of him.

Tail is a wagging blur....


Riley doesn't seem to bark very much.  He's been clean inside the house and does his business outside when asked so there's no hanging around waiting when its raining outside.  He likes his treats, as you can see from the picture above, but is not overly fond of the camera being turned his direction.   He'll get used to it....he has a foster mom that blogs after all.

So serious....he was smiling before the camera came out
He had a good first day at dog daycare.  He found a new friend and I'm sure as the days go by he will find many dogs to play with.  I'm told he was a good boy and of course they discovered how great of a cuddler he is. 
A tiring day for Riley.....he sleeps while I type my blog.