CHARLIE IS ADOPTED

Charlie passed his cat test.  He then went for a few nights stay at his new home before the adoption was finalized.  It was so important to ensure he was ready for his new home and that he was going to continue to build confidence with his new people.  I went on Sunday to meet the couple that have adopted him and Charlie seemed to know they were his people.  They see him for who he is, understand what he needs and are committed to loving him, keeping him safe, and building his confidence.  He is home! 

CHARLIE'S VACATION

I'm on vacation right now so me and Charlie hit the road this past week.  We went to a cabin by the lake, just up past Princeton, with my cousin and his wife and their dog Walker.  Charlie and Walker hit it off really well and Charlie seemed to love having a yard to roam around in.  Being a block away from the beach sure didn't hurt either. 

Charlie rides in the truck so well!  He slept most of the ride.  He was easy to have on vacation too.  He goes with the flow.  After a day at the beach on Tuesday he was so tired but didn't want to miss any action, so he was falling asleep in the living room with his head propped up, continually nodding off.



'....I'm not asleep....just closin my eyes for a second'



Charlie's confidence is building and this includes his time in the water.  After spending alot of time with his nose underwater trying to reach things on the bottom of the lake, he decided swimming for sticks was better and didn't result in as much water up the nose.  I had him on a long leash so I could reel him back in to show him how to fetch the stick back to me.  He will keep going back out as long as you don't throw it further than he's ready to swim just yet.  Here's a video clip of a good swim:

When I play with Charlie now he doesn't get as amped up.  He knows if he gets too excited that the game is over.  He really enjoyed the water and got along well with other dogs at the beach. 

We had a great week away!  Very sad to come home, back to reality but I was just so happy for the time away and won't complain. 

Charlie goes for an overnight visit tomorrow with a potential adopter.  They have four cats so this will be his Cat 101 exam.  If he passes he will still remain with me for at least the rest of the week as we're doing some confidence building exercises and I feel it's important to push through a bit further before an adoption happens.  He needs to be 'ready'. 





...AND THE GOLDEN GLOW AWARD GOES TO...

  



I really love taking pics at sunset.  You get the most
amazing light at that time of day.

I've had Charlie with me for two weeks now.  There are so many wonderful things about this dog.  He is affectionate, cuddly, fun and playful.   He walks well on leash and rides really well in the car.   He rarely barks except in play and he is great off leash.   He sleeps through the night on his own bed, he never jumps up on furniture and he rides really well in the vehicle.  

Charlie's prior family reported that he has had a nervous stomach during the time that they had him and they found that holistic food helped him although I'm not sure if he ever achieved the best results completely.   He still only seems to poop two or three times a day but just not the best formation of poop you'd hope for (sorry I know...not the best subject).   He has been eating good quality kibble while with me and with pumpkin mixed in he seems to be getting better.  I've also been adding in a spoonful of yoghurt with probiotics at some point during the day - thanks for the great suggestion Yvette.  

This blog is a little bit random.  I hadn't really blogged very much about some of Charlie's bio and thought it was about time.  You can't always write just about happy trips down to the beach...can you?

A few months after Charlie's people had adopted him, they discovered he needed surgery on one of the back leg knee caps.  I believe they said the vet had thought it was an old injury from his time prior to TG.  Anyhow, on the vet papers they list the procedure as - Patella Fixation with Grooving.  Charlie does not walk with any difficulty or limp.  The surgery was back in June 2011 and there doesn't seem to have been any problems since. 

Well now that the business is out of the way, I can only add that Charlie and I have had a bunch of fun down at the beach this last week. He was going in and out of the water with me but not to the point of swimming until a couple of days ago.  He fetched a stick to the point where his feet lifted off the bottom and he swam a few strokes.   He was back in the water alot today and was swimming more and more.  He seems to really like the water.  Talk about your skinny little stick legs though...you should see him once all his fluffy fur has been wetted down.   We met up with Paula and Gloria today so between us we had 6 dogs and we were a strong TG representation!  

On Saturday we had a special meeting with Glenn and Glenda from Kamloops.  They are supporters of Turtle Gardens and they were in town for the day and I was so happy to go and meet them at the beach.  I hadn't seen them in over a year and we caught up and talked dog, of course.  They loved Charlie, but what's not to love!   That's one of the great perks of fostering...all the great people you meet that you wouldn't have otherwise known.  

I have a busy week ahead of me, but I'm sure I'll find some time to catch up at the end of the week with some new pictures and will try to get video of Charlie swimming. 

THE WEEK WITH CHARLIE

Well it's been just over a week with Charlie and he's doing very well.  His fear of miscellaneous things is minimizing.  On day one, some firecrackers had him shaking for quite a while, but two days ago some shots went off in a farm field nearby and he alerted to it but no shaking and he went right back to sniffing the grass around him.   He rides so well in the vehicle.  He lays right down and is super well behaved.  He sleeps through the night on his own bed, without stirring.  I have hardly heard him bark.  He will let out a few barks in play but doesn't bark at noises outside, etc.   He is a great companion....very affectionate, stares straight into your soul, is playful and fun.

One night in the week we walked up to the local strip mall to hang out where there are lots of cars and people.  When we took 5 minutes to sit on a bench Charlie just planted himself near me and watched the world go by.  He settles very nicely when we stop.  He's never anxious to move on, he just wants to be with you.

Saturday was the Turtle Gardens dog run and Charlie spent some time with Susan who came to hang out and help.  She took him for a spin down the road for a bit and said he walked nicely on the leash and even jogged well alongside her.  I didn't have my camera out for the whole dog run but caught some pics of the dogs that Denise was transporting at the end:



AMOS - Fostered in Squamish



CHRISTIE - fostered with Denise in Vancouver

KOKO - fostered with Julia

After the dog run Charlie and I met my friend Matt and his dogs Rosie (former TG dog) and Booker.  I usually meet with Kathy and their two dogs but Kathy was out of town so Matt was happy to step in.  We wandered through the trails instead of the main pathways and Charlie stuck close by.  Up until that day I hadn't had him off leash at all, but when I fostered him a year and a half ago he had been very reliable off leash, and in his previous home they reported that he had always been reliable off leash, never any issues with dogs or people.  And so, he was unhooked and was a good boy.  Running ahead occassionally to investigate new smells and then coming back to walk along side or to follow behind.  By the end he even started to engage the other two dogs to rip around with him.  When we came up to people and dogs I put him on leash to better control his interaction and he did great!

On Sunday we went to a Dog event in New Westminster at Queens Park where Shannon (who volunteers her training skills to TG dogs) was setting up her agility equipment for people to try out.  We went for a visit and also for the opportunity to take Charlie around more people and dogs.  He was very relaxed and his interaction with other dogs was impressive.

A quick stop on the way home to meet up with Dave and Brian who are hanging out in Vancouver for a day to run some city errands before heading back home.  While there we saw Amos who is waiting to go to Squamish to his foster home on Monday and Christie who is being fostered by Denise.  

Charlie hadn't had much in the way of exercise on Sunday so we made an extra stop on the way home at Crowley Park.   Here are some pics from our walk: 

Charlie has good recall.  He comes back if he sees me crouch down or comes to a whistle

Great eye contact...and a big smile.  What a reward for me!

MY PAL CHARLIE

Back in March 2011 I fostered Pal for a week before he as adopted (and renamed Charlie).  Recently he has been developing some issues which his family felt were beyond their ability to fix.  They feared that to keep him it might make things worse for Charlie.  To me it seems he became fearful and nervous in different situations and aggressive behaviors were born out of this.  He had bonded with the family's second dog and looked to him for security but when the dog suffered a fatal accident Charlie began to change.  He has bitten some family members when they visited his home and he had been growling at people on the neighbouring property.  This was not normal behavior for Charlie.  He was well behaved and friendly when out and about, but could not be trusted with guests any more and with a large family of kids and grandkids they didn't want to take any more chances.

Since I picked Charlie up on Friday we have been working on relaxing and feeling safe and secure.  We haven't done anything very challenging as even my hardwood floors being different than the ones he was used to at home were cause for fear.  He remained on leash for the first couple of days so he could be nearby and know that I was watching out for him.  He was pulling quite a bit on leash on the first day but quickly relaxed on a looser leash on Saturday. 

On Saturday we went for a walk around Coquitlam with friends and they were respectful of his space.  When Charlie leaned up against my friend to solicit attention we knew he was comfortable with them.  He is good about passing other dogs and doesn't get too excited.  Saturday night included a long walk along the beach and meeting a few dogs along the way.  Mostly we stuck to ourselves though, so he could adjust to me more.  He was mostly calm throughout the day on Saturday, and I was glad to see him relax more.


Charlie on Saturday



Trotting back to me after I called him.


On Sunday we met with foster mom Gloria and her two dogs and two fosters.  We met at the beach and Charlie was happy to be part of a pack.  He remained on leash and I was pleasantly surprised that he was okay without being able to run with all the other dogs.  He got along well with other dogs we met, and I supervised him closely.  He received a few compliments from some people down on the beach and he was fine with being petted. 

Towards the end of our time at the beach....
Charlie started to look a little tired

He is a friendly dog who unfortunately ended up in a situation where he felt insecure and needed to take matters into his own control.  With the right leadership I feel he will be completely fine.  He needs to build more confidence with people in different situations, especially in more confined social settings.  He's a great size (approx 33 lbs) and has such a pretty and healthy coat.  Apart from not knowing how to cope with the issues that had arisen with Charlie, the couple that had adopted him had nothing but good things to say about Charlie and were very sad to have him leave as the other 95% of the time he was the best buddy to take everywhere.   


In the truck on the way home.  He propped
his head up and tried to fight off sleeping.

And as a bonus...here's a puppy-fix.  Such cuteness should be illegal.  If ever I was going to adopt two dogs at a time, these two would be it.  As Gloria says they're a couple of flying monkeys.  So much fun!

Milah (black/tan) and Mitchell (Blonde)

QUICK...GET THIS DOG A HOME

I need Mattisue to go home before I can't let her go.  Some dogs that I foster I just know I need them to find a home sooner rather than later or I'm in danger of keeping them permanently.  Not that that would be so horrible.  She is so easy to have around...and she's out right just flippin cute!  We were at the Pet Expo in Delta on Sunday and she had her leash on but I didn't even need to hold onto it.  She hung around being the perfect little TG representative, letting everyone pet her, including numerous groups of kids all at once. She was so good that day in fact that she ended up having a meet and greet with her new family.  

I will be meeting with them tomorrow to finalize her adoption.  In her new home she will have furry siblings in the form of a cat and a rabbit.  I can't wait for that first update with pics of the whole family on the couch.

So, it is with some sadness that we'll part ways tomorrow.  I'm consoled only by the fact that this is a great match and I know she will have an awesome life.

Mattisue's parting shot:  Howlin at the moon

I have a new adventure starting on Friday...so stay tuned to the blog to see who is coming to Richmond.

'STAY'....'NO, YOU STAY'

I’ve had Mattisue for almost three weeks now.  She is great company to have around.  She makes me smile and brightens each and every day.  Some dogs, no matter how great they are, seem to have at least one little thing that might be a negative, but not Mattisue.  She doesn’t do even one thing that could be annoying.  She sleeps on the bed all through the night and doesn’t get up until I’m ready to go downstairs to start the day.  She walks really well on leash (never pulling) and is reliable off leash too.   When I take her outside for her last pee of the night she bounces alongside me batting at my hand with her paws, she does her business and then on the way back home she goes out of her way to go to the truck.  She stands at the truck and looks at me waiting to go somewhere.  When she really believes me that we aren’t going anywhere she comes back home with me.   

When I foster a shy dog, for the first while, I work 100% on confidence and safety and 0% on obedience.  Safety includes not darting out of doors and things like that and confidence comes through new people, dogs and surroundings.  Mattisue has sure opened up in the last week.  She now runs down the beach towards other dogs to solicit them to play a chase game and she explores a little further away from me than before.   She accepts pats from new people with less and less ducking and she more easily approaches people with outstretched hands.   The only thing she needs help with is when the occassional big dog approaches too fast she lets out a scream even though they haven't even touched her.  I keep her close around big dogs so she knows she's safe.

In the first week, Mattisue would not accept a treat from me unless it was offered on a flat hand.  She now accepts a treat being held in my fingers and she will pull it away from me if I give some resistance.  Yesterday I started working on a bit of obedience with her as she seems ready.  The first time I asked her to sit for a treat she just stared at me but eventually sat.  I praised her so much and she got so excited and look proud.   When we went out to the grass at the end of the night I asked her to sit and she did.  When I praised her she did long excited loops around the lawn.   She is also learning to lay down for a treat.   On our walk last night we were on the back path at McDonald Beach and I held out my hand and told her to stay and she stopped in her tracks and stayed while I walked 25 feet away and then called her.  How the heck does she just naturally know what I want?  What a smart little dog she is.

It was funny though, because after a few times of telling her to stay and then calling her, we turned to go back towards the beach and she then did things in reverse.  When I told her to stay...she was the one that ran 25 feet away and then waited for me to call her back. We’ll have to work on that so she knows who does the stay and who does the walk away part. 

After a good walk and a few runs with some dogs, I sit down to brush the sand from my feet and Mattisue joins me and waits. 



just checkin to make sure you're still there

 She is ready to go as soon as I get my shoes on and happily trots back to the truck.  She is happy to go but I know she'd also be game to carry on if that's what we were doing.   She seems to have really good endurance, but is great at going with the flow.