Archive for the ‘Greta’ Category

Checking in on 4 month old Finnegan

Today I had some time and so I swung by my friend’s house to see the puppy she adopted from me. It was the former Fritz, Greta‘s puppy, now named Finnegan. He’s almost 4 months old and looks so much like a pointer it is crazy. But his owners say he has a lot of hound in him too – sniffing everything!

FinneganWhen he first saw me he clearly recognized me – I got the whole greeting, the wiggle, the whine, the frantic licking and jumping up at my face. I felt honored to be remembered. It always warms my heart when my little babies tell me how important I was to them with this sort of dance of puppy love. After our greetings we were chatting about his development, his training and such, and I stood up to leave. Finnegan immediately got up and positioned himself nearby one of his owners, sitting down facing me. I mentioned it seemed that he was telling me that as happy as he was that I was visiting, there was no way he wanted to go with me. Then we got to talking again and walked into the room closer to the door. Finn followed us and I was petting him. I stood up again and opened the door and he walked again closer to his owner and sat down. Again it was crystal clear – he was happy where he was. It touched me so much that he was so bonded to his new pack – my friends have clearly done just what they needed to do to help him become one with their family. He is a well balanced, happy guy. So, thank you J- and J-, and thank you to everyone who adopts a puppy and makes him or her a balanced member of your family. It is such a gift.

FinneganJ responds:

Thanks for stopping by to see Finn! We’re really enjoying him. He is such a love and a cuddler, and I end pretty much every evening on the sofa with him snuggled into my side. I give you lots of credit for giving him a good start in the world. He’s been a confident, well adjusted puppy from the start. I especially appreciate that you exposed them to small crates early so that his transition to crate training was smooth.

Thanks for all the hard work you do.

February 9, 2011 • Tags: , • Posted in: Greta, puppy update, story update • No Comments

Greta finds her forever home

Greta has found a forever home!! I don’t have many details but I do know that she has found a home where there are children to play with and people home a lot. She loves it and they love her. So, a happy ending for her. She deserves it!

Last weekend we had a mini reunion of Greta’s pups – 4 of the 5 were in attendance at the Petco puppy playtime I host. The interesting thing was, after the initial happy tail wagging greetings, the four of them fought like madmen!! We literally spent the entire hour pulling little bully puppies off of their sisters and brother. And it wasn’t like there was one who was trouble. It seemed like all of them have learned to “play” that way. I gave it some serious thought and came to the conclusion that their time in my puppy room confined their movements, and Greta’s young age caused her to react like a peer rather than a parent, so they had no choice and weren’t discouraged from acting out their urges to practice social dominance.

Puppies first day outsideMost of my litters have been in the summer where the group spends the majority of the time outside, in a big fenced space with trees and rocks to hide in. They can romp and run if they want, or wrestle, or just get away from the group. But stuck inside in one room, with a mama who not only allowed the fighting but participated in it created a little group of monsters!! The funny thing was, they reacted with submission to puppies not of their group. And one little dog helped the group realize there were other ways to play. She taught them that running and chasing was a game worth participating in. So it seems, Greta’s group has some learning to do – they need to learn other methods of interacting and playing that don’t involve fighting and wrestling.

Greta’s puppies settling in

I’ve been getting updates on Greta‘s pups! It seems all are doing really well. This is such a relief to me. It seems they are all good with potty training and sleeping in their crates. I am so pleased with what seems to be their easy transition. And I can not tell you enough how much I am enjoying my free time!!! The down stairs has been cleaned, the puppy room sterilized (ready for the next crew when we are – which should be a bit I think), and the tasks I’d put off for the past two months are beginning to get tackled. Thanks to all the families for their hard work with these puppies. Hopefully we’ll have some new photos from our reunion of sorts at the puppy playtime this coming Saturday.

Fare thee well, little family

So today Greta left for her next foster family. As sad as that may sound, all her pups were adopted and she was “left behind,” it is actually my preference. It gives her a chance to get accustomed to being just a dog, not a mama dog. And she gets to go through that transition with a wonderful volunteer, Ruth Ann, who loves all her fosters so much she lets them all pile up in bed with her! Greta will LOVE the attention and the cuddles. I expect her to make a smooth transition to simply being a young dog quite easily at Ruth Ann’s house. Then once that is accomplished, she will be much easier for her new forever family to deal with. So, many thanks to Ruth Ann for giving Greta the time she needs to settle in. I will miss her so much. I get really attached to all the mama dogs but she was especially sweet. She and I cuddled on the couch last night and I really felt sad that I had to say good bye to her. It is for the best. She will be a wonderful loving addition to her family. And I know they will love her just as much as I do.

Tomorrow, her puppies leave for their new homes. The end is near.

A busy day for the puppies

puppies sleeping in a pile

A long day

On Sunday we hosted 4 of the families who are thinking about taking the puppies. It was a L-O-N-G day. But worth it. Most were friends of mine so that was an added bonus – hanging out with puppies and friends is a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. But I am beat after all of it. For me, there is still a certain level of stress until all the puppies are accounted for. And even then I worry until Puppy Take Home Day. And even THEN I worry for the first 3 days, the first 3 weeks, the first 3 months. Once we hit that mark things are usually set. I don’t think I’ve ever had a puppy returned after 3 months. But then I always worry extra long about the mamas. I do so hope that Greta finds her forever home soon. She is such an amazing dog but so funny looking – she will take a special person but she will give that person SO much love and fun.

Puppies are trying to figure out how to relate

puppy outsideThe final weeks are upon us. The puppies are no longer little blobs of fuzzy cuteness, but active, demanding creatures with personalities – and very sharp little teeth. I’ve noticed lately that they are in the stage where they begin craving human interaction but don’t quite know what to do with it. I watch them interact with Greta and they clamber around her, clawing and biting and trying desperately to nurse. Once they are satisfied with that, they really don’t know what else to do with her. It is sort of like that with me. When they see me, they swarm around my legs and jump up at me, biting. If I bend down they try desperately to put their mouth on my hands some how. If I let them, they try to crawl up my arms toward my face. If I let them, they arrive at my face with their eyes looking crazy and their mouths open and snapping. Really, I think they have no idea what to do – they just W A N T.

I understand that there are many things they are learning now, how to eat from a bowl, and drink water, how to potty outside and how to relate to one another. I’ve seen every litter go through that learning process. But this is the first time I’ve realized that learning how to relate to people is also something they have to learn. They have to understand and get used to cuddling, being petted, and playing with someone (rather than simply chewing on someone). All this is learned, of course. I just hadn’t realized it until tonight.