My shy guy is adopted

Kibbles came down on January 8^th to the Lower Mainland.   I had him for four weeks and during that time he went from wanting nothing to do with strangers to being able to walk up to someone new and let them pet him.  There are still people he feels nervous about but he has sure blossomed in the city.  

There were approximately 7 applications for Kibbles.   A few people found other dogs while waiting for Kibbles to become more socialized and then there were 3 applications that made the ‘short-list’.   In the end Kibbles’ best match became clear and the meeting couldn’t have gone any better.   They are a couple in Vancouver who both work from home and go for lots of walks to break up their day.   They will take Kibbles to the beach or to trails some weekends and also have weekends away in the Gulf Islands.  They both have calm, confident and reassuring personalities and Kibbles gravitated towards them easily.  They plan to attend training sessions and they are committed to continuing his socialization.   I’m so pleased with this match and can’t wait to see how much more he opens up now that he has ‘his people’.

Me and Kibbles went one last time to the beach on Saturday.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Close your eyes....

....and you will get a big surprise!   What dog wouldn't want a burger and a beer to play with ; )

Two new dog chew toys were donated to my basket of toys for the foster dogs....thank you very much!  Kibbles seems to only be destructive with stuffies....so the burger and beer are still intact.

Kibbles Grinning

Only in certain moments does Kibbles show his grin, like first thing in the morning or after daycare when I'm picking him up.   I have been trying for the last 3 weeks to capture this but he won't typically do it with a camera in his face (what a surprise).   I did manage to capture a short video clip though...and I find myself loving him more and more, every time he does it. 

TG Foster Dogs Renata & Kibbles go to school

Cynda arranged for Yvette to speak at MacNeill School in Richmond yesterday and I managed to join the crew and take Kibbles for the presentation portion at noon.   Kibbles’ daycare is only a 5 minute drive away from the school so it worked out well.   We walked into the main entrance of the school and down the hallway.  It was lunch time so there were quite a few students around.  Kibbles was very relaxed and he got a lot of admiring looks.   A dog in a school hallway draws a lot of attention.  I went into the theatre and waited for Yvette and the rest of the gang.   Renata was happy to see Kibbles.  They have been playing together at Dog Daycare (Renata has been going a couple of mornings per week)….of course they know each other well from up North.  

Some kids in the front row of the theatre were opening something from a small wrapper so Kibbles went forward to investigate and sniff some extended hands.  It’s amazing how quickly they can forget their shyness when food might be involved.  

Cynda kicked off the presentation by introducing Yvette and then Yvette took that microphone like she’d been speaking in front of a crowd all her life.   I know someone else will blog all about her presentation on the TG website so I won’t go into details about it.  I will say though how proud I was of her and what an awesome job she did! 

Kibbles was amazing.  He was only nervous once when everyone clapped at something and he jumped a bit at the sound.   Otherwise, he laid down and was such a good boy.   Renata did really well too.   I think Dalia has been doing a super job with her and I can see how responsive she is to the clicker training they have been working on. 

After the presentation some kids came up to pet Kibbles.  I asked them to extend a hand and let Kibbles come to them. He was a bit tentative about it all but he sniffed hands and allowed himself to be petted a little bit. At one point he probably had 6 kids around him wanting to pet him.   I’m not sure if it’s just because kids come with different energy than adults but he did really well with them.  I think he’s also starting to build some more confidence about meeting people.   The more someone respects his space the easier he will be in meeting them.   All in all it was a great experience and I’m sure glad we were able to be a part of it. 

Socializing Kibbles

Fostering for Turtle Gardens has been a real learning experience.  I am not a trained dog behaviourist or professional trainer.  I rely on my own instincts about what feels right with each dog and also blend in some techniques that I pick up from TV, other dog owners, things I read about on the internet and my human doglopedia (Yvette from Turtle Gardens ; ) 

I don’t always know immediately what the right thing to do is, to correct a behaviour, but I do recognize when what I’m doing isn’t working or when I’m expecting too much too soon.

Kibbles on the walkway at the dog park. 
(A funny angle that makes him look like he only has 2 legs)

In some ways Kibbles has really blossomed with me and his new environment, which includes dog daycare. He is allowing me to play with him.  His sense of humour is coming out and he doesn’t take me so seriously now that we have a level of trust built.

He is friendly with the staff at the daycare (apparently he gets lots of cuddles there) because he knows them now.  With some people he will approach to smell an extended hand but he does not typically want to allow a newly introduced person to pet him yet.   He may never be a social butterfly so it’s hard to tell what part of his behaviour is just him and his breed and what part comes from not being socialized with enough adults in his puppy days.   If someone’s desire to meet him is too great he might bark or growl and hide behind me a bit.  He doesn’t want to be directly stared at and coaxed to come to someone new.   I have been trying to introduce him to people like I did with little Mindy.   She came out of her shell very quickly and wasn’t defensive with strangers, she was just scared and shied away.  Kibbles will back away a bit but he definitely doesn’t want someone new approaching him too quickly or being too persistent about it.  So I am seeing that I can’t tackle this problem the same way as I did with Mindy.   I was trying to correct Kibbles for his negative reaction but I see that this could potentially make him worse.  So I will take him around many people and ask them to ignore him and let Kibbles approach on his own timing.  He is actually curious about people so he will go up to them if given the chance.  I will also give strangers very valued treats to give Kibbles.   His nose is the key to his socialization.   Good smelling treats and allowing him the time to approach people when he is ready.   That’s the plan for now.  

To chew or not to chew?

So far in my fostering career I haven’t lost any items to chewing, unless you count half of a shoelace.   My schedule is set up for fostering in such a way that the dogs have very little time alone in any room.   They go to dog daycare during the day and are with me all evening for relaxing, walking, training, brushing, etc.   On Saturday I wanted to see what Kibbles boredom threshold was, so I took him out for a quick morning pitstop and then went back inside to watch and wait.   It took until just after noon for him to get bored and start eyeing things up for chewing potential.   He mouthed the corner of my coffee table and was told ‘no’, he thought the fringe on the edge of the carpet near the kitchen looked appetizing and was again told ‘no’.   And, last but not least he tried to steal the small rocks out of a plant pot to chew on them and when he wasn’t allowed to do that he thought a little nibble on the basket holding the pot might be a good idea.  To break the boredom we went to the dog park and when we got home he barely lifted his head off the floor for ages.

Most times he is so tired from dog daycare or from our walks that he doesn’t have the desire to chew on anything other than the toys laying around.   He is still just 9 months old so I suspect if left alone for too long and without exercise, he could be the destroyer of many household items.   So…a well exercised Kibbles is a well behaved Kibbles.  

Kibbles picks a toy:

Kibbles – 1 WEEK UPDATE - Fostered in Richmond

KIBBLES: Neutered male, 36 lbs, Australian Shepherd X, approx 9 months old

Kibbles has been with me for just over a week now and he has overcome his shyness with me very quickly.   He is still quite timid with strangers and will need continued socializing in order to help him become less fearful of people.   If people will hang back and let him approach on his own, he will show some interest in smelling an out-stretched hand or even allow them to pet him. A couple of people have come to pet him before he was ready and he showed his teeth and growled.   This has happened twice.   Kibbles is not moving forward in an aggressive way, he is just warning the person to not approach like that.  Close supervision and further socialization should help him with this and he will likely continue to be fostered until he has overcome this reaction.   He also warns when new dogs approach him too quickly but with dog daycare and trips to the dog park and off-leash areas this reaction with new dogs is lessening quickly.  With dogs he already knows he greets them happily. He is also starting to trust that I will ensure he is safe and this helps him work through his fear.  

Kibbles rides well in the car although he has begun to get car sick.  Although he has been jumping into the vehicle on his own he isn’t feeling any joy in the ride.   We have driven on trips of varying lengths and most times he hasn’t been sick.  It is just the occasional trip.   I believe he will likely grow out of this and we’re working on building more comfort with being in the vehicle.  

Kibbles has been doing well at dog daycare.  He has warmed up to the staff and wags his tail and solicits attention.  He plays with the other dogs and as his confidence builds in the new setting he has started barking a bit when playing.   At home he is quiet and rarely barks.  He is housebroken and sleeps mostly through the night except the occasionally nose nudge to get some attention.  If I pet him for a few seconds he quickly lays back down and sleeps.   He plays with some of the toys I have but his preference so far is the bones that all the dogs before him have chewed too.  

Kibbles walks so well on the leash.  For the first few days he was walking slightly behind me but now he heels at my side.  He is learning to sit when we get to the light at an intersection and is learning to sit on command other times too.   I took him to a fenced dog park on Saturday and he was afraid when too many dogs approached at first.   It took a few laps around the park before he started to relax and he eventually found a few dogs he wanted to greet and run with a bit.   He stuck fairly close to my side but by the end he was running a bit further away and having some fun.  He was coming back to me when called.  

On Sunday we went to the off-leash beach and he did really well with other dogs.   There were only a couple of dogs that he took exception to but mostly he discovered the fun of running into the water and playing some chase games.  

So far he has been mostly unfazed by city life.   Loud buses, sirens, cars and people passing by in all directions and Kibbles has been relaxed with everything going on around him.   At one point we saw a little critter run under a bush and he lunged for it.  I think he has the average prey drive that lots of dogs have.   When we have passed birds on the ground he has remained relaxed.   I have not had the chance to see his reaction to cats yet.  He is good with puppies and small dogs and approaches them very easily.  I have seen him with kids 10 and over but haven’t seen how he is with any little guys yet.

Kibbles is very cuddly and is just learning his way with people and new dogs.   I get lots of tail wags from him now and he has recently started grinning at me when he gets excited.   As I mentioned, I would like to continue fostering him until his greeting with people gets easier.   He will make an awesome companion for a lucky adopter.