Quick Update and Thank you from Me!

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to give my thanks to all of you! This was my first time starting a blog as well as fostering and everyone has been so encouraging and supportive! Thank you everyone! And I do read all the comments and they are very appreciated :D!

On that note, if there is any questions you have about the pups or if there is something in particular you'd like to ask me or would like me to post about please feel free to write it in the comments section below each blog post! :)

As for the dogs...

Carlin

Carlin has been walking well on leash though he does tend to try to keep his nose to the ground when he can and loves all the smells on walks!

We took both pups to the ball park during a game to help them get used to more people and new places. Carlin hung back more than Chika, though once I asked the kids to ignore him and not look him in the eye he became very curious in them and began standing and sitting beside them and sniffing them all over and even came over for pets! :) He does not get fearful he just seems to move back at fast movements towards his face from above him, such as kids hands moving in too fast to pet him. But that is very understandable, considering when greeting a dog it is always encouraged to not look them in the eye and not move your body/hands over them but instead move sideways and keep your hands low. That works very well with him! Once he starts getting love he moves his butt over for more butt scratches! :)

Chika

Chika is more advanced on leash, but that also stems from her being more submissive than Carlin and she follows much more readily and I walk her on a loose leash already! Though she does stick to your side a bit like glue at times and then looks across the street and if I don't notice I sometimes bump into her nose with my leg! so she is learning to walk just slightly off to the side though she does prefer to be close.

She also met a cat on the walks! That made my day! The cat wanted to be petted so came over and meowed at me so, while watching Chika, I crouched down and petted the cat. The cat did not give the dog the time of day besides a few glances and just wanted pats. Chika slowly came over and the hair along her entire spine was up! She looked like a porcupine! So I stood, and walked her in a slowly past the cat and back again and in only 2 passes her hair flattened back down and now she was curious about the cat and wanted to sniff it. The cat was fine with this and just about touched noses with Chika! I was kicking myself for not getting my phone out in time to snap a shot! After about a minute Chika gave one little bark at the cat. It was what I would call a talking bark, it wasn't aggressive and not necessarily playful and not fearful or excited, it was just a very neutral bark. The cat was very funny! It walked over to Chika and gave a little swat in her direction, no claws or hissing or even "cat-posturing" or hair raised or anything! Just a little swat as if you say "Behave you!". Chika just stared at the cat. It was all very amusing! And it was nice to she that she is interested in cats but still respectful! I'm sure if the cat ran however, I may be telling a different story ;) But I was glad the cat didn't it was a great experience for Chika!

She was also very good at the game and was at home with all the people there and wanted to run and play!

Scotty

Scotty is doing very well! Not sure if I mentioned it, but I have been teaching him the "Heel" command, and he is doing very well with it, he just sometimes gets excited during training and needs a minute to calm down. I have also been doing a little agility with him, and have been running some obstacle courses. He does very well with the obstacles! I give him half a second notice before I run around a street pole but he jumps around it and is at my side in a second! With the agility -- he does well though the jump freaked him out a bit at first, but I kept it at its lowest setting and kept running over it with him and now he is quite comfortable with the jump itself though he is still learning to master the "Hup" command for the jump.

Otherwise there is not too much new news on our cuddly guy! Sorry, Scotty, your life just hasn't been all that exciting lately I guess! I'm sure that will change soon though! Life's never boring with you have dogs in your home! :)

The pups have been doing well with car travel :) Carlin seems to get a little bored and tries to play if he's not tired yet, so a toy usually solves that. Chika is content to lie down as close to us(in the front) as she can from the back. Rikki was the little calm Mama watching over her foster pups :) Here are some car pics I snapped, as well as a funny picture from the ball park ;)

And now here is the one we consider the funny one...

We took the puppies and Adam's dog Rikki to the ball park, we wanted to take Scotty but the puppies needed more experience and there was only the two of us so we already had our hands full of leashes!

Adam's dog Rikki (now 10 months old) was adopted from the SPCA. She has a story that I don't believe I've mentioned before... She and her litter were dropped of at the SPCA in Quesnel at 1 week old!! She was hand raised until 6 weeks then sent to the Vancouver SPCA where she had just happened to arrive as Adam and I were heading there to hang out with some dogs! It was love at first sight! I couldn't have dragged Adam away with all the strength in world, and I didn't want to! She was an adorable little thing and was the calmest of the litter, which is what drew us to her! Adam applied and luck was with us and he was approved :) Her name originally was Ricky, but for a new life with Adam and his family he wanted to give her a new name, but after much deliberation he realized that he like the name Ricky (and she also already responded to it) but did not like the spelling as it was too "mannish" for his little girl! So he decided upon Rikki :) And she's been the calm, sweet, happy apple of his eye for the last 9 months :) As a gift for christmas I secretly got her DNA tested (through Wisdom Panel) and we found out she is a Pittweiller mix! Officially she is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier X Rottweiller Mix (there is some coonhound, doberman, and some schnauzer mixed in there too!). Adam has worked with her tons and I'm proud to say I've had the opportunity to help where I can, but she is most definitely Adam's dog :)

Now back to the story... While at the ball park everyone who saw Carlin and Rikki thought they were siblings!!! We thought that was funny since to us they look so different, but the more we looked the more we noticed the similarities! So we snapped a shot of them together so comment and let me know if you think they look related!

10 month old Rikki and 4 month old Carlin!

Thanks again to everyone reading this!

Will post again soon!

Tisol!

The Tisol event was a great success and was tons of fun!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us and thank you to everyone who brought along their dogs! :D! And a big thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible! :)

Adam and I had tons of fun and so did Scotty and the pups!

I took some photos while in the pen with the dogs, so I thought I'd post them up!

I have pics of Seely, Chopstick, Scotty, Chika, and Carlin :)

This particular pic of Scotty is not mine, but I thought it was super cute :)

Everyones Sleeping!

The pic above is also not one of mine, but again, it was so cute! :)

Now that your nap is done it's time to go home!

Sunshine!

I hadn't realized it had been so long since my last post! :O! They say time flies when you're having fun, and isn't that the truth!

This post will just be extra full of lots of new and exciting updates then :)

There has been MAJOR improvement on the puppy housetraining front!

There have only been two very small accidents in two days! They are just about housetrained and that's great since I feel like I've mopped up enough pee to fill a swimming pool! ;)

The pups LOVE the sunshine :) Scotty, however, decided that it is a bit warm for his taste and sleeps on the hardwood in front of an open window!

The pups and Scotty play well together! Sometimes I have to remind Scotty the puppies are much smaller then he is, and sometimes I have to remind the puppies that two on one isn't very fair!

We're going to be trimming the dogs' nails tonight as they are getting quite long! So we will see how the dogs do with that.

Scotty

He is doing great, and every time I jog with him I'm reminded of what a good walker/jogger he is! He runs just behind my left knee and knows to be off to the side a little so he can avoid feet. And he paces himself VERY well! I'm not the fastest jogger, but he just adjusted his stride to match mine. I even tested him and changed my speed repeatedly and he never missed a beat!

He is getting much better at the door, he only barks once at the door if he was surprised. Very easy to stop though, and you can even stop him with a verbal correction from the other side of the door! He is also getting much better with his excitement and only does not usually bark anymore.

I have been teaching him to "Heel" and he is doing remarkably well!

Also, I have been doing some mini obstacle courses with him on our walks and he is learning to pay extra attention to where I am moving and if I stop and snap my fingers he sits!

And as always he continues to be the cuddliest thing on four legs! He really is just a big teddy bear, and if you want to hug him all day long, I know he'd love it just as much as you would :)

Chika

Chika's ears are rising more every day! We have found Chika to be an "eater". We noticed on day one that she was more food motivated than Carlin, but now we know that transfers to other things as well! She has pretty well tasted every tree, bush, plant, and blade of grass in our backyard! She loves tearing up moss and carrying it around. I have never seen her try to eat it, she mostly just picks it up and tries to tear it apart and then Carlin comes over and takes it and they chase each other around the yard, totally forgetting about the moss.

Whoever adopts her would want to make sure their yard and house is totally puppy/dog friendly! No poisonous flowers in the garden (i.e tulips), child safe locks on cupboard that contain food or chemicals that are low enough for a dog to get into etc.

Originally Chika was more the more dominant of the two pups, now though she is showing her sweet side and is quicker to relax than Carlin.

She is doing well with 4 Commands so far! She looks up at her name (though if her name changes, I'm sure she will pick it up just as fast as she picked up "Chika"), she knows what "No." and "Off." mean, and she is now sitting on command with about a 90% accuracy!

Chika LOVES belly scratches!

Chika likes to pose for pictures!

Her ears are going up!

Carlin

Carlin's left ear is almost as high up as Chika's but his right is still lagging behind! He is beginning to move it a little more upwards the last couple days, but I cannot be sure at this point if he will have raised ears, wingtips, or one upright ear and one floppy ear. Carlin is not an eater, though he loves to take Chika's things to make her chase him and then drops them as he's running. He loves to play with Chika and Scotty, and he would definitely love a home with another dog who is very patient but playfull, however, he would do perfectly fine on his own! He is a very sweet dog and is a tad more reserved than Chika, but that has to do more with him being sensitive to body language. If you come at him too forward or from above him, he will back away, however if you squat down he will be next to you in seconds, and will lie down with you.

Carlin's personality has begun showing even more! He is not as patient as Chika. If he feels you are taking too long he will vocalize it, but he is not hard to correct, and is usually a calm guy.

He never wants to pose for pictures so he always moves at the last second!

Carlin Running!

Both the dogs are most likely going to be higher energy dogs, so will need a home willing to make sure they get the exercise they need. Carlin seems to be a bit higher energy than Chika, as he will easily play and run for ages, where as Chika is more content to run and play a little then she likes to just lay down and chew on a toy.

Here are some Playtime Pics!

We have been working on their food manners, as they tend to try to jump up during feeding time. They have both been learning that food only comes when they are relaxed and looking at me- not the food. Chika caught on the quickest to this and now when she sees food she relaxes and focuses on me not the food. Carlin will focus on me right away now, but still takes about 30 seconds to totally calm down. Also, when I'm in the kitchen cooking I make sure they give me a bubble of space for me and my food, they are catching on very quick to the rules of the house, and I know they'd adapt wonderfully to whatever rules and boundaries their adoptive families gave them :)

All three of them would love to find their forever home! They would all make wonderful additions to a new family :)

Will post more soon!

Chika

Just wanted to post the cutest pic of Chika we took today :)

Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Yup, it's raining! Though it is Vancouver, so I suppose it would be odd if it did anything else.

Because of the rain I have little brown footprints tracking the pups as they move from outside to inside, and Scotty wears his rain jacket on walks!

Scotty

Scotty is doing well as always, but there are always new things I learn to add!

Because of the rain Scotty has been wearing his Rain jacket. He is totally fine with it and pretty much ignores it. However, while wearing it on his walks he walks even closer to your side and does not get easily distracted! I have a feeling he would do really well with a backpack, because how he walks with his jacket it seems like he's working! So I think a backpack would be a great idea when walking to help him burn off excess energy as well as give him a job!

I have also noticed that he has a bit of a prey drive. He becomes quite alert on walks when he sees a squirrel, though not as much with birds unless they are really close. Though also he also gets quite excited with his toys that squeak, so I work a lot on having him relax around them. Also, he has previously lived with cats, and he is also quick to learn so I think he would be fine in a house with cats-- so long as the cat is okay with it ;)

I have also been jogging a little with him and he would make an excellent jogging companion! He trots just next to me and the leash is nice and loose.

Also I walk him on umbilical (leash tied around my waist) and he does really well with it!

Scotty looking for cuddles while hanging with me at 3am after taking the pups out for a pee

Chika

Chika is still working on house training. She is also teething more than Carlin, and is getting a little mouthy, but I find frozen carrots work wonders! Also I am teaching her not to use teeth on people, and she is coming along nicely! She loves lying down next to me while I cook or do dishes. She is also the first to settle down when I am giving them a treat or their food. When I dry her off with a towel, she tries to grab the towel but eventually lets you dry her off without fussing much. She is also developing standing ears!! Only the tips are still floppy! In the next few months her muscles will strengthen and she will most likely have full standing ears! :)

Chika's ears

Carlin

Carlin is also still working on house training. He is not mouthy at all except with things like paper towels and newspaper which he may try to grab and rip up. Frozen carrots also work well for him. He is more vocal than Chika, and he may bark when excited, but is fairly easy to calm down. He loves getting rubbed down with the towel and will rub against it in your hand and will stand quietly as you dry him off. Carlins ears are starting to rise as well, or at least one of them is! His left ear is starting to raise up though not as much as Chika's. He currently has one floppy (lab like) ear and one "wing-tip" ear.

Carlin's ears

They are both still learning not to jump up when excited.

We also took them to the stables where I ride to get used to new things, and Carlin was the most interested in the horses! The horse I ride (Paddy) is totally fine around dogs, and loves them. Carlin went right up to him and Paddy just ignored him and Carlin just sat there staring at him, probably wondering how a dog gets to be so big ;)

Chika stayed back, though she was not nervous, just decided to sniff around and sit by us. But also stared at Paddy. Neither of them were nervous past the first few minutes, once they got used to being in a new place.

Another side story about the puppies...

We took them to meet my boyfriend, Adam's, dogs, Rikki (Staffordshire x Rottweiler mix) and Gold Digger, or "Digger" for short (Golden Retriever). And we thought they'd play but my weren't we shocked about what happened! Digger just wanted to bark and play with them, but Rikki was amazing!

She played with Carlin and they had a good time! And Chika just went to sleep. Once Carlin was asleep too, next to Chika, Rikki came up and laid down beside them both and put her head on Carlin's paw and slept with them! She became Mama Rikki! The puppies loved her and she loved the puppies! [I have some photos of them sleeping below, sorry they're a bit dark]

Rikki is the dog on the far left, Carlin in the centre and Chika to the right

Mama Rikki loves her puppies!

More to come!

Pups Playing

Here is a short clip of the puppies playing outside!

Enjoy! :)

Gaining Confidence

So since my last post the puppies have become MUCH more confident! They run and play and wrestle and love going out into the back yard and chasing each other!

Carlin is still a little hesitant around people, but Chika is a total snuggler and loves getting belly rubs!

They spent all last night whining for me, but they eventually quieted down. I believe it is because they are still not used to being alone in a room, and also because I am not in the kitchen with them, and a pack always sleeps together. They are still puppies so their instinct that the pack should stay together is very stong. However, I found a great little trick that worked wonders! It happened totally by accident... I couldn't sleep with the noise so I tried turning on the TV, and lo and behold it was like magic! They quieted right down! So I left the TV on for a bit then turned it down little by little until they were asleep and the TV was off.

I don't know how he did it, since his ears are much better than mine, but Scotty slept through the whole thing! :P

The house training is still in progress with the two of them. Carlin is more progressed than Chika. It is hard to do right now because if I take Chika out for too long Carlin will cry and Chika can hear him so will run back, and vice versa with taking out Carlin. Carlin will go to the bathroom right away when outside while Chika takes longer to go outside.

Once they are both adopted, however, if they are not 100% housetrained, it will be relatively easy to finish housetraining, because they won't have the other calling for them.

All the dogs are doing well and are fitting into the house schedule!

Will post more soon!

Scotty, Chika, Carlin

I finally have a few minutes to write about the crazy day of getting the puppies!

It was crazy up there at the Dog Run but it was so much fun! And my were there a lot of dogs! But everyone did amazing and it turned out great!

We took Chika and Carlin (both ~14 weeks old) home with us. They were both understandably nervous, and as soon as they got home they went to sleep in a pile in the crate.

Once dinner came they started coming out of their shell and loved their dinner and we got them used to the backyard!

Now they run around the kitchen and backyard like they own it! Definitely not the same pups who were so scared at the Barn!

We also got Scotty that day and he is fitting in great! And he is VERY respectful with the pups and does not instigate anything. However when they whine if I leave the house to take pups outside for pee breaks he does give a little whine now and again, but I think that is helped a lot by the fact that the puppies are whining. He does get excited when people are at the door, but we had so many people coming in yesterday he ended up relaxing really well and would sit and wait until I gave him the okay to go up and introduce himself! He is AH-MAZING on walks! And eveyone who came over to see the pups actually ended up spending more time with Scotty then the pups! He was quite the little love-bug! And he is very quiet at night, and even though I was getting up a lot for the puppies he never made a peep. All he would do is occasionally follow me or if I was just going to the bathroom he would just watch me leave the room but stay on his bed, but then when I came back he'd give a tail wag and reach up to lick my face then go back to sleep. He does seem to require a decent amount of exercise We take him for 1.5-2 hours of walks everyday, and he seems to be quite happy with that and is happy to just flop down and sleep and cuddle in the house. He is also as I said an amazing walker and so any prospective adopters should find that exercising him is a breeze :)

Chika (red/brown + white female) is more nervous outside than inside, though she is coming along nicely! Inside she is the boss lady of Carlin and will try to bark at Scotty (Scotty just ignores her), but she is quick to correct and calm down. Outside she is more hesitant but this morning we are finding she is much more adventurous and even went up the stairs on her own! She doesn't go to the bathroom outside as quickly as Carlin does though, so housetraining seems may take a tiny bit longer with her than Carlin. She is quite food motivated and when I'm making their food she comes out and hangs out at my feet knowing breakfast is coming soon!

Carlin (brown male) is the opposite of Chika in the nervousness; he is more nervous inside than outside, and he is also coming along nicely! Outside he will immediately stretch forward and pee - Like a girl! ;) He seeks more affection than Chika does, as if he hears a noise or you sit near him for long enough he will paw your leg for pets. Carlin whines when his sister is not with him and she will hear him and try to get back to him. He follows her around when in the house, and when outside he tries to get her to play. He is already almost fully housetrained. He seems interested in Scotty but hangs back a bit.

They both prefer petting with a flat hand (not scratches with fingers). They both need to go outside at least every 5 hours. When outside for pee breaks on their own they are inquisitive and try to smell everywhere!

I am currently beginning their transition from dehydrated raw to kibble.

Scotty is not eating too much yet, but I know he will once he gets hungry, and there is a lot of excitement around! So far he ate about a cup of dry for dinner last night and this morning ate about a half cup of it. He just seemed more interested in people than in the food. He should eat more for lunch since no one but me and the pups will be around, and he will be hungry I am sure! Just like any growing boy!

Will post more soon!

First Time

So this is my first time for a few things... Blogging for one, and Fostering for the other!

I am very excited to begin fostering with Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue!

Tomorrow, I will begin fostering 2 young puppies and a 1 and 1/2 year old!

I know that everyone loves to have current updates about the dogs available for adoption, so I thought this blog was a good idea for others to see where the dogs are and I'm sure we'll be finding many surprises along the way ;)

Can't wait to meet my foster dogs!

:D!