A QUICK UPDATE ON DOUG

Doug continues to do very well.  He no longer plays catch me if you can.  He is the one that ends the game of chase by coming to me.  He plays all day long at daycare and I'm told he's even had a few time outs for being too enthusiastic.  Apparently, he's getting past the honeymoon phase.  He's still a good boy but sometimes gets carried away with a good play. 

He's less likely now to chew on bits sticking out of rugs than he was a few weeks ago but it's taken alot of redirection for him to realize the difference between toys and rugs.  That's not to say he doesn't still try.  He is learning to fetch but only when I throw toys away from his preferred playing spot.  He runs and pounces and then brings them back.  He sleeps very well through the entire night and sleeps in on weekends.  He asks for the door when he needs to go out and is still not much for barking. 

Here's a quick video of him from this last week.  He tries so very hard to stay awake when we drive home from daycare.  Not sure why he feels he has to fight it, but he does.  (p.s. the quality isn't that good from my phone and no worries....it was propped up and ready to go before I started driving)

DOUG LOVES HIS TOYS

First time I've got the camera out....can you tell by his expression?

I have put out several toys and Doug has fun with all of them at different times.  Two nights ago I introduced a new stuffie and added a dog bed into the mix for added playtime comfort.  It didn't take Doug long to move all the toys over to the bed, but his first choice was still the new red toy. 

My hand going in to take the toy.... and he never minds

R U giving it back?

Thank you!

Doug is such a cool little dog!  He's still playing all day at daycare, except for when he's getting cuddles from the staff and they all love him to pieces there so he gets lots of love!

I have yet to find anything negative about him.  He is still proving to be a well balanced little dude.  I do have to admit to one thing though.....Yvette told me he likes to play catch me if you can.  I heard it, but didn't worry about it when Doug and I started playing a fun running/chasing game around the house.  He took full part in having me chase him around, throw the ball which he would run to get and then take off with it and wait for me to catch up again.  We went in circles around the living room, down the hall, through the kitchen and dining area and around again.  Each lap we did we'd both stop at either end of each other - both out of sight and listen to who would make the next move.  Lots of fun!  Doug was loving it....but he didn't know how to end the game!  Once I stopped he wouldn't recognize it was over and believe me - he knows exactly how far an arms-reach is....ha ha.  I had to put an end to the game by blocking one end of the kitchen with two chairs stacked and once he knew he couldn't do the circle any more he stopped and came to me.  It was pretty funny and I thought in my head 'Yvette told me so'.  So now we are working on playing and ending the game.  For this we play with toys and a bit of chasing but Doug goes on leash.  After a minute, I relax and show the game is over and bring him over to me on leash for a pet and a good scratch and lots of praise.  I'm planning on taking him to an enclosed off leash park next weekend....wish me luck!  The worst that happens is he gets bored and tired before he comes back to me.  I'm going in armed with good treats though. 

DOUG ....THE DOG OF MANY BREEDS?

Doug at Turtle Gardens

Turtle Gardens came to town with dogs last Sunday and while I couldn't attend the dog run, that wasn't going to stop me from fostering.  My good friend and fellow foster-er Gloria was happy to go and pick up Doug (not a real hardship for her....because there were puppies to cuddle at the dog run).  I met up with Gloria and Doug on Sunday afternoon and my first impression of him, of course was how darn cute he is!  He was curious about everything and was friendly and happy to meet me.  He was a little nervous of some of the new sights and sounds but that did not stop him from exploring.  My first assessment of him is that he is affectionate, smart, attentive and confident. 

Doug at the dog run (awesome pic stolen from Piper)

He rode home in the truck crashed on the dog bed.  He'd had a long drive in from Topley and he settled in for the last leg of this journey to his foster home.   When we got home he drank a bit of water and was given the guided tour on leash.  He had a quick bath which he tolerated very well, was bundled into a dry towel and had a nap on the couch while I cuddled him dry.

After that, he was happy to see the toys come out and I discovered that not only does he have zero issues having toys taken away, but he prefers to have me hold the toy while he plays.  No growling, no moments of hesitation when I reached in for a toy or a bone....he was just happy to play.

He has been sleeping very well through the night and has found a couple of spots on my bed that he likes.  He can sometimes take a bit of coaxing to settle down for bedtime as the act of getting into bed gives him a second wind for playtime.

Photo by Piper

He rides very well in the vehicle, I haven't heard a peep out of him at home or outside except for one bark when he saw something move across the parking lot.  He is walking quite well on leash so far and he greets new people with interest and a wagging tail.  He watches most things that you do with great attention, like he's memorizing the steps in case he has to do it himself. 

He seems fairly mature considering he's still quite young (approx 7 to 10 months old?) but he does show his puppy/teenage nature when it comes to being playful and also when it comes to seeing a little piece of string sticking out of a dog bed, or a rug etc.  He is being a good boy and is easily distracted when he mistakes the edge of a rug for a toy.  I have been able to leave him alone for 15 minutes to run into the store and he just stayed on his bed in the truck and waited and also I left him alone for a few hours tonight and he didn't make a peep when I walked away.

His first day of dog daycare went well.  He preferred to hang out with the people and asked for cuddles, but on day 2 he found his groove and was playing with other dogs.  On day 3 we were waiting our turn to go inside and another dog approached and Doug play bowed to see if he could get him to play.  He knows daycare is about playtime now.

Here's a pic of Doug at daycare (thanks to Playful Paws for snapping such a great pic)

Now back to the question in the title of my blog.  Yvette originally told me that Doug was Pug/Chihuahua.  I can see those features - Pug in the shoulders and tail and Chihuahua in the kinda apple shaped head, in the ears and also in his 8 pound size. For the last 5 days I have seen other possibilities - Papillon, Boston Terrier in the face, Corgi in his fluffy fur on his hind legs, King Charles Cavalier in his coloring and also in the face.  No matter what breeds make up this little dog, he has the softest fur ever and the most endearing personality.  People who meet him do ask that as the first question though....'what is he?'.  

SUNSHINE HAS BEEN ADOPTED

It only took three months to find Sunshine's forever home, but it was well worth the wait.  Kismet played a hand in her adoption and I love it when things work out that way (hmm...Kismet might have been a good name for her too).  I hadn't been taking Sunshine to curling nights because she seemed more comfortable at home but since people like to meet my fosters from time to time I decided to take her a couple of Thursdays ago.  That's where it happened.  A couple that curl in the league after me came off the ice and the husband saw Sunshine first and brought his wife over to meet her.  It kinda seemed like love at first sight.  Things moved quickly after that...application, home visit and meet and greet with the whole family showed me this was Sunshine's home.  She has everything in this home that I would have hoped for her to have.  She is comfortable with mom, dad and their daughter.  They all have gentle, nurturing energy and Sunshine went to each of them very easily.  She has a furry brother named Joey and a great yard to explore together.  And, although it wasn't a requirement, it is definitely a bonus that she now has a very nicely warmed house with heated floors so she can run around inside toasty warm in winter without shirts and sweaters.  I hear she has already found a nice sleeping spot near the back door where she can bask in the sun and look out over the yard.

Last time I checked she was keeping her name too! 

She was with me 3 months and she was possibly the hardest foster to say goodbye to.  It is all worthwhile knowing that she is in the right place with so much love.  Good bye my little buddy...you may have been my smallest foster but you sure have a big impact on those you meet!

SUNSHINE FINDS A FUNGI AT THE BEACH

The last while has been pretty uneventful.  Walks at the beach, a walk at Deas Park, figure 8 zoomies, and a very big beautiful mushroom.

Walking at MacDonald Beach

As we were heading down the back pathway at the beach we came across this:

For reference I took Sunshine's picture next to it.  She may be little but this mushroom was still pretty big!

I think Sunshine is starting to associate the end of a walk with food.  Usually we finish a walk and she comes home to dinner, so when we're heading back in the direction we started from I noticed she starts licking her chops more.  

"Did you say we're going?"

"That means dinner right?"

Sunshine's off leash skills can make it hard to film her walking...I usually have to film beside me or slightly behind (I know, I know...a problem lots of people wish they had!)

After the beach Sunshine demonstrates how much she really loves her comforts!  It was impossible to resist this bed at the thrift store.  $5.00 worth of fluffy cushioning and she can get pressed in there so deep you almost don't see her.  It's a good bed for her as it prevents any draft from reaching her and when she curls up she can press the top of her head into the side and keep her ears warm.

As for the zoomies, she has been doing some running around at home while being quite playful, but when we came home after work one day last week she did her first zoomies in a full looping figure 8.  She did a few laps and then seemed satisfied that she'd burned off her energy.   It sure makes your day when you see a dog open up and do things like that for the first time.  It never stops being entertaining but there's something very special about those 'firsts'. 

WHO DOESN'T LOVE SUNSHINE IN THE FALL?

Although in the last week and a bit it might have been more appropriate if Sunshine was called Fog.  Today, was a break in the fog and we enjoyed a great walk at Ladner Harbour Park.  Sunshine sticks nearby the whole walk and is excellent off leash.

She isn't the biggest fan of the camera...I'm not entirely sure what she thinks its going to do, but she can be hard to capture sometimes. 

This past week has been a busy one, so we haven't been able to get out for too many new adventures.  A few nights ago, Sunshine and I went for a short walk and coming home I couldn't believe how awesome the tree in front of my place looked with the fog and the light.  I went back out and took a picture.

And, then when I came home, thanks to the bright t-shirt Sunshine wears I knew she was waiting by the door for me.  She doesn't make a sound when I leave and if I'm gone long enough she goes and picks a comfy bed to lay on.  When I come back she's always happy to see me.

She gets a treat for being such a good girl and she's learned to sit and wait politely (well most of the time anyways). 

TWO MONTHS OF SUNSHINE??

Okay, so Sunshine has been with me for 2 months as of today!  What's up with that?  My longest fosters have been 10 and 11 weeks long and she's getting up there.  A 6 pound, cute-as-a-button, well behaved Chihuahua is rivaling my longest fosters.   I checked on Petfinder and found out the reason why.  There are 70 Chihuahuas in the Lower Mainland on Petfinder right now!  Holy smokes!  Yes, they are all cute, but I somehow doubt any of them have the amazing personality that Sunshine has (sorry, I could be a little bit biased).

Sunshine rides well in the car, is fine being left at home for a few hours, is easy to take anywhere because she's well behaved and because of her small size.  She is quiet - I think I've heard her bark maybe a handful of times in 8 weeks.   She is playful with me, will do zoomies around the house, is good with other dogs, not too fearful of big or little dogs.  She is not snappy or yappy like some people seem to expect her breed to be.

We've been on some good adventures in the last couple of weeks.  Sunshine loves the beach, she's been to the adoption drives with me, to the Turtle Gardens reunion where she was off leash all day and stuck around.  Everyone that meets her falls in love with her personality and I hear quite often that there's 'just something special about her'.  She melts my heart the way she tilts her head to listen to what I'm saying.

She is still working on shyness with strangers.  Some she approaches easily and others she needs a little more time.  I would like to see her in a home where they will continue to socialize her as I see she continues to improve all the time and I would hate for someone to accept that she is shy without trying to help her past it.  We are looking at having Sunshine go to the Seniors Assisted Living home next week for the day and we'll see how she does.  If it is too much she will just continue with daycare instead.   I think it will be a good experience for her though.

I have to admit I'm really not relishing seeing that perfect application come in for her.  She is an easy foster and a joy to have around.  She is always making me smile with her quirky little grin.