Archive for the ‘observations’ Category
Benjamin Moore paint stands up to puppy grime
I have done the final cleaning of the puppy room. I used WAY too much bleach in the water and my poor hands (and sinuses and eyes) paid the price. I tried to ventilate but I really did use more than I should have. I really wanted to clean that room out good. Having two litters, back to back, made me concerned about transmitting illnesses. In fact, it seems we have a case of coccidia at our house. I hope my dogs won’t get it. I think most healthy adult dogs can clear it on their own but clearly we’ve got it. I think it came with Chloe‘s group but it could have been here from last summer from all I know (we had a dog with it last summer, that’s the only one who tested positive). These illnesses can last for a long time on surfaces and in the lawn….crazy, that.
Anyway, back to the bleach and the cleaning. So, the walls were gross. You may have noticed in some of the videos the film of dirt on the lower part of the white walls. You may have asked yourself, “why did she paint the walls there white?!” Well, I did it so I could see just how dirty it really was. I like white and light colored things for that reason – cuz when they are dirty you know it. But you also know when it is clean!! Anyway, I used a very heavy, wet rag and just soaked the walls with bleach water. I let the water sit on the walls for about 5 minutes and then scrubbed them hard. And I noticed what a great product Benjamin Moore makes…I always use Benjamin Moore paint because I like how thick it is, I like how it goes on, and I like how it holds up. But I did not expect it to hold up as well as it did! Not a bit of paint came off after all that soaking and scrubbing. And now my walls and nice and white again! Yeah.
 walls before |
 walls after |
So, the door is closed to the puppy room and after I do some research on coccidea and how long it lasts in lawns I’ll let you know. That will determine when our next litter can come, that and my need for peace and quiet. But that only lasts about 4 months…usually.
Little Birch feels his pain
Yesterday, as my son was playing with the puppies he slipped and feel hard on his butt…and cried and cried. That sort of real, I’m hurt, cry. And little Birch walked up to him and put her head back and starting howling along with him! That made him stop crying for a moment while he laughed at her, then of course he went right back to crying. It was sweet.
Weary dog fosterers
The work load is almost unbearable now…I am letting everything go. Luckily, ever since Chloe‘s been back my son is interested in playing in the puppy pen again! I don’t know why but he has always liked her, and I suspect that she keeps Willow busy and out of his hair…
The puppies have figured out (with Willow and Chloe’s help) how to get into the other half of the side yard. This morning I was washing dishes and saw a puppy up on the second floor deck!! I hustled her down the stairs, which she handled well to my surprise, and found three more waiting. When they saw me they all started coming up! It was funny. I corralled everyone and as soon as I bent down to take some pictures the whole group promptly fell asleep. So, not the greatest pictures but a funny sight for me.
I have had my heart, head, and will-power all set for being DONE with all fostering duties on August 7th when the puppies leave. Alas, it seems that isn’t going to be the case (due to Willow and Chloe still being with us) and it is making me stressed. I am aware of that old tendency I have of projecting into the future and then feeling really overwhelmed by what I see there. I am trying to just trust and be with this moment. I know I am feeling overwhelmed, and tired of fostering. As much as I love it I need a break. A L-O-N-G break. I worry about Willow finding a good home but mostly I worry about Chloe. Won’t someone out there give her the chance she needs??! Sigh. I need a miracle.
I have never had an adult female dog in my home as a foster because of our Lollie who is dog-aggressive. Now I have our Quaker parrot, Frank Frank. I have to always ask myself: where’s Lollie, where’s Chloe, where’s Willow, and is anyone near the bird? Thank god we’ve had nice weather as I can put everyone outside and get a moment of peace. I have access to a wonderful doggy daycare, soon to be reopened as The Water Bowl and I need to take advantage of their willingness to have my foster mamas there, free of charge. Tomorrow I plan to drop the two mamas off in the morning and hopefully not see them again until I go into work there in the evening.
I know this will end…right?
Report on 2 mama dogs and 8 puppies
Chloe is doing well but is either coming off her meds or showing more of her personality…she is fearful of shy men, barking at them and running off. She is barking more when I leave her and she doesn’t want to be left but fine when she’s fine with it. She chewed up her pillow in her crate but still is quiet and goes in easily. Is great with Willow (I’d like to see them go together if this family for Willow doesn’t work out) and great with my dogs. She loves to run and run and run…She is very sweet with people comfortable with dogs, and her reaction to the people is a good way to read prospective puppy homes. She still loves “her” (Willow’s) puppies but is preferring to spend more time apart from them. She is fussing more when I leave her somewhere she doesn’t want to be left but is usually fine in the puppy pen. She is still settling in…
The pups are all spoken for I think. That is a relief! And possibly Willow! She had a meeting with a family and did wonderfully – nice to the kids, no jumping, came instantly on being called…who could ask for more?
And the puppies…SO BIG! They are getting huge. They seem healthy and happy and I am so ready to see them go…sad but true. I will miss them a lot when they are gone but I am ready for a break. They completely fill the puppy room with poop and pee each night so cleaning up is no fun…they really want more people attention too. I feel completely pulled in many different directions. I keep trying to remember to stay in the present, do what is in front of me, and not to think about the work ahead of me. It is easier when I can successfully do that, and nearly impossible when I forget. I am trying hard to remember.
Chloe is ready for adoption
Chloe is a sweet, gentle dog we had while she nursed her puppies. She is a small dog, about 45 pounds with a beautiful reddish coat. She looks like a Golden mix, maybe with some Sheltie or Border Collie..She was adopted out but her adoptive family did not meet her needs and she was very unhappy. Fortunately they released her to my house again and in just two days she is back to her sweet self.
Chloe is a dog who is very smart and she is used to getting what she wants. Therefore, an experienced dog owner would be best. She would really benefit from obedience training as a way for her to learn to use her smarts in productive ways. She has climbed my 5 foot chain link fence (once) and regularly jumps the 3 foot chicken wire fence we use to separate the yard. However, she usually just stays in the fenced yard with our other foster dog and her puppies. She is not difficult to handle and responds well to mild verbal corrections. She walks well on a leash and used to only need a buckle collar, now a prong is helpful in the beginning. She needs a daily walk of at least a half an hour, more would be best. She is fine with other dogs but sometimes shows some fear at first.
Chloe is not fond of her crate and will protest with barking and clawing at it. I have found that if I ignore this and use an electric no-bark collar she settles within five minutes of my crating her and is fine on my return. I have left her no more than 3 hours at a time during the day and crate her the entire night (8+ hours). She is crated in a room with another dog and that may help her. Her adoptive family claimed she had “severe separation anxiety” but I don’t see that. She spends most of the day with other dogs in my yard and very little one on one time with me. I do think she would like more people time but she isn’t the most cuddly dog. Likely she will be more cuddly when she trusts you. She has been through a lot.
She would do best in a home with another dog and a home where people are around most of the time. She would not do well with someone who works full or even part time regularly. A stay at home parent would be best. She loves my son (6 years old) and his friends but they tend to say hello and ignore her. When she was at my home previously I categorized her as the easiest and sweetest dog I have ever had. I felt then that she could go to any sort of home and she’d be fine. Now, however, she has some baggage so trust will have to be earned by her next owner. But do not get me wrong, this dog has a ton of potential and is very sweet.
If you are interested in giving Chole a forever home, apply through H.E.L.P.
Puppies plump and getting named
The puppies are HUGE. Really, I can’t remember a group being so heavy and big at such a young age. They aren’t yet 5 weeks old and already they are topping 6 pounds. I tried to weigh them on the little food scale I have and failed – they kept error-ing it out because they were too heavy. So, I stood on my scale and then stood on it while holding them and subtracted my weight and basically ended up with just a general weight for all of them of about 6 pounds. It was stressful for someone like me who likes precision, especially when it comes to measurement and administering of medication (I had to weigh them in order to dose them correctly with their roundworm medication). Add to that the fact that the majority of them look so similar I can’t tell them apart!! I wasn’t exactly sure if I gave everyone the medication…did someone get two doses? Yikes. It was a stressful event.
I think I have 4 of them identified as individuals…there’s a red one with a red nose (got pics of her under the chair, a series of them) who I LOVE and I’m calling her Red Bud. There’s a male who is white with BLUE beautiful eyes, what a pretty boy he is! I’m calling him Oak. The only other male is also white but smaller and I’m calling him Ash. Then there is a small, white, (whiney) female with a red nose I’m calling Birch (notice the name theme?). The remainder are all female, all roughly a whitish/reddish color and all with a black nose…I think. It is so confusing! I am going to have to get a hold of some fingernail polish and paint their toe nails so I can tell them apart! Crazy.
Does anyone have any fingernail polish I can borrow?? Sadly I am not a girly girl.
The pups are eating about 3 times a day – moistened food with formula, and free eating dry food all day/night. Willow, the mama is learning how to jump up onto the platform to get outside and how to jump back in. That’s a relief. And she is finally got a cleanish bill of health…has roundworms (yuck) but that’s it. So, she can finally spend time outside with the pups in the play area. Life is getting a little easier…a calm before the storm of puppy applications/interviews. I have to get these girls and boys posted on Petfinder!
