Archive for the ‘story update’ Category
Annie still loves to fetch
Here we have an update on our foster mama from last Christmas, Annie!
Annie with Gertie
Kristin,
Annie is still and will always be obsessed with retrieving, but that is part of her charm. She continues to bring us joy everyday. The girls and I had the best time with her up north at the lake and she stayed right with us. We had to be very patient with Annie. It is so much for the mother dogs to adjust to. First the foster home, puppies being weaned, and yet another adoptive home. Feel free to share our story with Annie.These pics are of Annie and Gertie in the summer at our lake house in WI. Annie loves retrieving objects from the water and is quite the swimmer.
Marsha
Checking in on Bauer
One of Annie’s puppies, Bauer has been practicing his swimming and agility. Here are some pictures, videos and stories of his life to date. I am always so touched and happy to receive updates on my little ones. Thank you to everyone who sends them!!
Hey Kristin! It’s been a while…..months!
Bauer at 11 months old
Today is Bauer’s birthday, and I thought you might enjoy some recent pictures we’ve taken of him.
He’s grown up to be such a good dog. He still gets excited when he meets new people, but he tries to listen – I’ll tell him sternly to sit or down, and he does this awkward “I’m trying really hard to sit, but I’m so excited I can stop wiggling my butt” flop. He doesn’t jump up on people now unless they open their arms up as he’s coming to them, so I’m always careful to tell people to keep their hands in front of them. We tried the whole just ignoring him until he settles down, but he just kept flopping at our feet. We’ve moved on to the standing still while he flops, and when he calms down for a second, we pet him. The instant he starts his flopping, we stand still again. It seems to be working! I think he’s reached his max weight…a whopping 71 lbs.
He’s great at the dog park…we go to the one off of commerce drive in St. Charles that your were told about by that one person in your playgroup…). Anyhow, he LOVES to swim….he will swim out as far as I can throw the ball – the only funny thing is that he will only retrieve his ball – a green squeaky one – he wants nothing to do with tennis balls! They have little obstacles set up there too – a tunnel to crawl through, a ramp to climb up and down, and then poles to jump over that can be set at 3 heights….Bauer does it all! Who though my awkward little puppy would be able to learn so much! It’s took a little while to teach him how to do it all, and now he loves to show off! Last Saturday when we went He was running through the obstacle course with another dog along his side…it kind of made me feel a little like a dog whisperer 🙂 .
[flashvideo file=/images/BauerRamp11mos.flv height=240 width=320 /]
We keep him on a pretty strict diet – We went though months of thinking something was wrong with him because every food we tried to give him gave him diarrhea. Even plain beef and rice and boiled chicken and rice caused him problems. We switched him to an allergy/grain free formula, and he’s been great ever since!
He loves to chew….rawhide is too easy, and it scares me because he tries to eat it whole, so I’ve found these bones that don’t splinter and last FOREVER that I give him…..the one he’s on now is at least 6 months old. We still crate him when we go to work…he loves his “bed” and will lay in it while we’re home as long as it’s open. We leave him out at night in our bedroom with the door closed, and he lays in his “spot” every night – an old pappason cushion on the floor on my side of the bed. He tried to sleep in bed with us all night, but I was having no part of that…he’s too big! He still will hop up in the morning to cuddle though….even at his size, he is a true cuddler. I swear, he thinks he’s a 5 pound lap dog! If he’s being too “in my face” I have taught him it’s not nice to be “rude” and he will back off….I didn’t realize I even taught him “rude” until my friend pointed it out to me – apparently I’ve told him he’s rude on several occasions! 🙂
[flashvideo file=/images/Bauerswimming11mos.flv height=240 width=320 /]
Anyhow, he’s earned complete freedom at night….we’ve tried letting him have freedom from the crate during the day, but he always manages to find something of mine to chew (J- tried to make me feel better by saying he picks my stuff because he loves me more…..), so needless to say, when we’re at work, he’s in his crate – which is large enough for two dogs probably, but he doesn’t have any accidents in there, so we figure the extra space is probably nice for him. He still uses his bell to let us know when he has to go out, and when we’re at our friend’s he’ll sit by the door patiently to let us know he needs to go.
He still loves to go on long, long walks (especially on the weekend when I can get out for 2 hours at a time!) – My next investment for Bauer and I is a bike for next spring….I have a feeling he’d be a good bike companion! We did attempt rollerblading, but I’m not very good at the stopping, and while Bauer would stop when I would tell him to, I couldn’t! Oh! He’s also learned to “stop” when I’ve recalled him – the look on his face is priceless….semi-confused as to why I would call him to me and then tell him to stop, but he does it anyhow.
I hope you like the new photos! We took them just for you!! 🙂 Thanks again for letting us bring him home…I can’t even remember what it was like before we had him! 🙂
More reunion video
Here is a video again complied by Koda‘s owner, Pam. (Thanks again!) This one is fun way to see the energy of the reunion day – and hear some sounds. This is early on when they all arrived and were running out their energy. They kept up that level of energy for a good hour, and some never stopped! What a great day.
See the video on Photobucket – use password: Chloesgroup (case sensitive) to access.
An update on Tucker
Here is a note from Tucker‘s family:
Tucker & Tanna, October '09
Took Tucker to vet yesterday and he also has mange. He is there getting treated as I send this and God knows he will be wound up and ready to go when he gets home!! Here is his latest portrait…..the vet said yesterday he is HUGE for 5 months…54 pounds and is guessing he will be around 100 when full grown!!He has his moments as puppy’s do, but he is 99.9 accident free now and loves to cuddle. We are working on NO for jumping and starting drop leash training. Still too many distractions…squirrels, birds, leaves and the like. He has discovered laundry and LOVES socks, flipping them, shaking them and playing tug of war with Tanna. Still loves his naps and snuggling up in bed.
– G.
Images of Chloe’s Family Reunion
Here is a slide show on Photobucket, complied by Koda‘s owner (thank you very much Pam!) The password to get in is case sensitive so use the capital C: Chloesgroup. It gives you a great sense of the joy of that day. It was so amazing that I am still feeling the after affects – warm, happy, love energy all around. Those pups remembered one another and they remembered their mama, Chloe. It was such a joy to see them running, wrestling, nosing, and chasing one another.
In this Photobucket video (use same password to view), Indy and Jackson wrestle with a stick while Poppy tries to get Chloe to break up the fun. Another video from the Chloe family reunion.
Chloe is thriving with her new family
Chloe at her Family Reunion 11/09
Second chances
I am happy that there are times in this life for a second chance. I have felt so worried about Chloe after the terrible mistake I made giving her to her first adoptive family. I felt so responsible for not following my gut, for not following H.E.L.P. procedure and interviewing absolutely everyone in the family, and for failing her in general. But seeing her at the first ever Chloe Family Reunion was like getting a pardon from the Universe.
Chloe looked fabulous. On the outside she was the happy, confident dog I remembered. Her coat looked good, better even than when she was with me. Her eyes shone. She held her ears and tail with interest and calmness. But the thing that mattered the most to me was what I saw in her in relation to her new family. She was clearly bonded to them.
But let me start at the beginning.
I saw her at first and nearly cried. She came out of the car so differently than she did the night she was returned to me. She was interested and approached me cautiously but directly. She sniffed, stepped back and then sniffed again. I believe she remembered me. When she got outside with her pups it was clear that she remembered my yard. She ran like she used to, circling the yard over and over again – tail high, tongue hanging out. She was completely happy though, not a frantic running, just a run for the pure joy of it. Then she greeted her pups, sniffing each on the nose. There was much wagging and nuzzling all around. Everyone commented on how they were certain the group remembered one another. At one point I even saw Chloe lie down on her back as her pups gathered round! Just like she used to when she was still nursing them! But that didn’t last long and she was up again racing around the yard, her pups in pursuit.
After a number of games of chase, numerous wrestling matches (everyone having fun, no aggression whatsoever!) and a few tug of war games, everyone dispersed to explore on their own. Chloe found a mud puddle and promptly lay down in it. Something she used to do while living with me. As the afternoon wore on each of the dogs’ energy was drained, and I noticed them going to their people and resting. Chloe did that too – joined her family, laying at her new mama’s feet and snoozed.
