Archive for the ‘dog adoption’ Category

Greta is getting ready for adoption

Our current mama foster, Greta, is up on Petfinder, beginning the adoption process:

GretaGreta looks like she is a 1.5 year old Dachshund/Basset Hound mix. Shes about 40 pounds with a honey brown, short haired coat, big floppy ears and a long tail that ends in a tip of white. She is an absolute sweetheart, house broken, quiet in the house, and walks nicely on a leash. She has such a happy disposition and puts her whole heart into what she is doing. She loves to play, loves children, and loves running around and just being outside. She also likes to cuddle up at night or chew a good bone. She is great with other dogs. She would love an active family with children who would love her and play with her. She came to us from Southern Illinois and has been taking care of her 5 puppies for two months. Now it is her turn to be taken care of. She is up to date on all her shots, microchipped, and on preventative heartworm and flea products.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GRETA, please fill out the H.E.L.P. Adoption Application. This is the first step in meeting the dog. Our web site is updated regularly, so if you see a dog posted here, most likely, he/she is still available. Please fill out an application and submit it as indicated on the app. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN ADOPTING!!!

Link to Greta on Petfinder

Dogs teaching dogs

Otis likes the treadmill

Otis likes the treadmill

We’ve had a busy week – Otis visited us for a week and overlapped with Teddy who is still here and now Jackson has joined him! So many male dogs … but everyone has gotten along great.

Otis is a hard worker and while he was here he asked for treadmill work every night. He asked by running around the basement, pushing the heavy leather furniture around with his head and then jumping on the treadmill and looking at me longingly. Every night he’d run for a half an hour – at 7.0 mph. I can’t keep up that pace myself, but he did. And little Teddy, nearly 5 months old, watched him. So, Otie has left and I miss him. He is a sweet, simple, joyful and accepting spirit. And I think Teddy misses him too.

Teddy watching Otis on the treadmill

Teddy watching Otis on the treadmill

Tonight Teddy got on the treadmill all by himself. I ran to get his leash and some cheese and turned on the power. Ever so gingerly, Teddy started to walk, almost on tip toes. He did fantastic! It seemed to me that he had learned how not only to do it but to not be afraid of it from watching his buddy Otis! I was amazed.

A puppy with a biting problem

Most puppies are mouthy but they rarely bite to draw blood.

Most puppies are mouthy but they rarely bite to draw blood.

I’ve been working with a very sad case of a puppy who bites when frustrated. Ordinarily, that isn’t that unusual as all puppies need to learn (and therefore be taught) to tolerate frustration. They need to learn patience and self control much like people need to learn those skills. They are the foundation of what we consider “manners.” When young puppies are very frustrated, it is normal for them to bite. However, all puppies who are healthy and have been raised with their mama and littermates have a natural respect for those in charge. And they all learn something called “bite inhibition.” They learn to hold back from biting full strength, and to use a bite only as a last resort. Their mama teaches them by her reactions when they do bite too hard or too quickly – she swiftly puts them in their place, usually by a nip of her own and a hard growl. And as puppies play together they learn that a hard bite stops play and that a soft bite lets it continue. Through these daily interactions all puppies raised well learn this important social skill.

Puppies learning how to inhibit their bite so that play can continue.

Puppies learning how to inhibit their bite so that play can continue.

Not this little puppy. At 2 months of age this puppy would bite hard enough to draw blood, whenever it was even a bit frustrated. By the time I saw him at 4 months of age, he was confident in his ability to boss people around and bit frequently and with very little provocation. He bit me three times before I even knew what had happened, and that isn’t a common occurrence for me! What is so sad is that this sort of behavior in a puppy so young is highly unusual – to the point of being considered abnormal. It suggests that something has gone very wrong in this puppy’s neurological development or upbringing. I suspect that a large piece of the puzzle is that this particular puppy, even though he is registered with the American Kennel Club, was purchased at a pet store. It is likely that he wasn’t a product of one of the notorious puppy mills, but he could have been. It is more likely that he was taken from his mama and littermates far too young – I’d guess at about 3 or 4 weeks. And his mama is likely mentally unstable herself. It is such a sad story. The family who owns him loves him dearly but the pup has bitten everyone, and there are young children who live in the home. It is my strong opinion that this dog should be rehomed, if there is a home who could work with him. But I strongly suspect that this pup will likely have to be euthanized.

puppies learn how to playSo, please, I cannot stress this enough, please do not purchase puppies from pet stores. Adopt a homeless puppy from a shelter or a foster home (H.E.L.P. is a great resource!). If you must, use a reputable breeder. Make sure they insist on keeping their puppies until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Make sure they keep them in such a way so that they have frequent contact with their mama. And make sure that they are willing to (and interested in) making any problems like this one, right.

Snickers and Moonlight have moved on

MoonlightI haven’t written in a long long while. SORRY folks! It has been a bit crazy over here but now I have time to breathe and guess what, the puppies are gone. Snickers and Moonlight turned into such well mannered and happy little guys, thanks to my son’s hard work playing with them. They also left knowing how to walk on a leash, sit and down and even roll over! I don’t usually have time to train my puppies, they leave when they are still babies. So this was extra fun for me. I had some moments of worry that I wasn’t doing right by them – not giving them enough love and attention, but that passed as I saw them growing into such well behaved little dogs. The families that have taken them home have a great start. I hope their lives are wonderful. Bye bye little guys.

Snickers & Moonlight at play

Moonlight2moonlight1

 

 

 

Puppies are leaving, but one remains

Ruffy needs a good home
Ruffy needs a good home

So sad. Anialduln (Ani) left on Sunday of last weekend and it looks like Fluffy is soon to part us too. That leaves poor little Ruffy…I figured he’d go last. He is such a sweet heart and so mellow and easy going. He’ll make some family with kids a great companion. Please, if you know of anyone looking for a sweet puppy, let them know we’ve got him.

So, Ani left and got a clean bill of health from her new vet! Yeah. Here she is getting her “time to go home” bath.

Ruffy lounging in the sun

Ruffy lounging in the sun

Ani Bath 3

 

Ani Bath 2

 

Ani Bath 1

 

 

Update on Willow

Here is a note from Lisa on Willow (below) and my response (above)…

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Lisa, this is wonderful news. I know that the readers will like to know about her life. Thank you for keeping up with her and hanging in there. Rescuing isn’t easy – in fact the kind of rescuing you did with Willow is the hardest – you got her in the throws of such huge transitions – just into rescue, having pups, loosing her pups to their new families, and all those accompanying hormones! And then she had those persistent illnesses, and needed to be spayed. Really, you took on a lot. It has been really helpful to hear of your struggles during this time – I have learned a lot that I will be able to use with the next mama that needs a home. I’m still learning and I am sorry I wasn’t able to foresee all that you were taking on. Again, thank you so much for hanging in there with her. I am so pleased she is loved, cared for and may be an international dog some day!! Wow.

Keep me posted and photos would be great.
-Kristin

Hi Kristin. I love the web site. We loved seeing all of Willow’s puppies. They are absolutely adorable. Willow is doing great. She just got spayed finally a few weeks ago. Between the infections and then her going into heat, we couldn’t get her spayed until now. She has really come a long way since we got her. She has calmed down a lot and she is very loving toward me and the kids. She finally let my husband pet her in January before he left for Germany. He is coming home for a visit next week so we will see how she does with him after him being gone for so long. We are still undecided about whether we will take her with us. They really love dogs in Germany and Switzerland and they go everywhere including restaurants and stores. She is definitely not trained for that! But we will see as the day draws nearer. We will not leave until July, so we have some time. We have to figure out where we will be living and if it is suitable. Also we will have to find someone to take care of her when we come home for vacations. That may be a challenge. If we can work out the details, we will take her with us. We love her so much in spite of all her anxiety issues. It sounds from the descriptions on the web site that her puppies have all turned out well. I think the one person was right about their being bloodhound in their lineage. I have always thought that about Willow with her somewhat droopy eyes and her insistence on smelling everything persistently for long periods of time ! Thanks for checking on her. I’ll try to find some pictures to send on to you, but rest easy and know she is being very well cared for and has evolved into her role as queen of the house!