What's up with the dirty treats?

KD had a rawhide that she had taken outside the other day and it was softer today. She ran around with it and chewed on it for a while and then she buried it in a hole that the other dogs had dug in front of the pond. Later in the evening, she dug up the now dirt covered rawhide and was running around with it and then was laying down to eat it. She gave it to me in the house and I washed it clean and gave it back. I don't understand the eating of dirt, but I guess we have moved a long way away from the animal state that dogs still live in and if we humanize them, we are wrong.

How are the adopted dogs doing?

Hey, if any of the adopting families of any of my 2007 dogs are reading this, please drop me a comment to the blog to let me know how things are going.

Happy New Year

Just got back from a short run with KD (about 2 miles). I changed her collar to the Martingale collar that I picked up at the shelter when I picked her up. I put on the running belt/leash that I had bought back with Hermes and let the leash out a bit so that she had some room to run and off we went. Within a block or so, it became obvious that too much leash was just a good way for her to become tangled, so I shortened the leash back up. She fell in behind me and ran with me the whole way. We took it nice and slow. I had taken KD out on the flexi-leash the other night to run off some energy and she was off like a shot. I ran along behind her and after about 3/4 of a mile, she was running alongside me instead of off in front of me. From that, I knew that if I kept the pace slow and even, we wouldn't have any problems.

I was somewhat inspired by what I have been reading in Cesar Millan's first book that I am now reading. He takes his pack out for about 4 hours of exercise each morning to get them in tune with him and to run off their excess energy. I haven't been getting up early since I am on vacation, but with no where to be, I figured that we would start off the morning (after a bit of lazing around and checking my email) by running off some energy. KD is a low to medium energy dog, so 2 miles is about the distance for her, at least at this point. KD fell in behind me just under the leash length and there was enough slack that I wasn't pulling her and she was "migrating" behind me. I stopped twice to let her sniff a bit and then we got back to it. She never challenged me for the lead, she just took her place behind and followed along. We came inside and she grabbed some water and wandered the house for a minute and then laid down on her dog bed.

Yesterday, after the cleaning ladies came and all the dog toys were piled up in one spot, KD found a bone in the pile that had been lost since before she came to the house. She seemed to like it a lot. She wanted to take it outside, so I let her. She ran around the yard with it looking for a good spot to bury it and then decided to bury it under the tree behind the pond (which is dry for the winter). The area under and between the 2 trees directly behind the house is dirt covered with crushed limestone. She dug a spot at the base of the tree with her front paws and then set the bone in and adjusted it a bit and then started to cover it over by pushing piles of stuff on it with her snout. She would bury her nose into the ground/rocks and push a pile of stuff onto it until it was mounded over. I was surprised that her nose wasn't more sensitive.

Yesterday, I also found an outside toy that she likes. We had played ball a bit with the tennis balls in the backyard and she would run after it, dash back and then carry it around a bit near me and then drop it. She played a bit, but didn't seem overly enthusiastic. Well, yesterday I was working on the grill and I noticed that I still had the little green squeaky football on top of it from when Watson was here. I took it down and squeezed it so it squeaked and her head turned and she perked up. I squeaked it a few more times and then threw it and she dashed after it. She picked it up and squeaked it while she ran and brought it back near me but wanted me to chase her or play tug with it, but I wasn't having any of that. Finally she let it go so that I could squeeze it and throw it again and we went on this way for a while longer. She also played with it later in the day. This seems to be the first outside toy that grabs her interest. The toy is the green (small or medium?) Toy Shoppe Rubber Football. When you squeeze it, it kind of sounds like a duck. (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750767).

Happy Holidays

I took KD to the shelter on Friday as we are out of town for the weekend. I was taken aback by seeing Watson at the shelter. He seems to have gotten noticeably taller since I dropped him off on Tuesday. He is starting to get some of that lanky hound dog look to him. Everyone at the shelter really likes him and he seems to be doing fine. I brought bones for Watson, Valerie and KD. KD didn't seem pleased to be put in her kennel at the shelter. She looked at me as if she wanted to know what she did to get returned. I will pick her up on Monday and she will be happy to see me.

I read Cesar Millan's second book this weekend. It is pretty good and I especially like a couple of tables to analyze what is normal and what is problem behavior. I am having some difficulty visualizing what he means when he talks about calm-assertive. I understand the concept, but visualizing it in myself is the difficult part. I know that we could have done better with Watson and that KD needs some work on meeting new people. I can see that I need to use his no touch, no talk, no eye contact rule for having new people come in the house that the dog hasn't met and let the dog approach them on her own terms. There is some good stuff in the book. Next on my reading list is Good Owners, Great Dogs. I checked them both out of the library and I will start reading through it tonight after we get back from the library.

Sweet little girl

KD is a sweet little girl (she is only about 15" tall). I haven't had a little dog in a while in my fostering. She had some minor adjustment getting used to being here, but is doing great. The first day that she was home, she growled at Ben and Sam when they came back after school and she paced around them. She just needed to get used to them and we didn't have any incidents. What I remembered about KD that she likes to get on the furniture. We are working on that. She also growled/snapped at Lori on Tuesday night when she went to get KD off the bed while Ben / Lori/ I were working in the dining room. So, 2 incidents of her snapping (one at Ben when he startled her), but those seem to be over. I have taken her in the car a few times (Petsmart, school, etc) and she seems ok, but not totally happy. Sometimes she curls up in the back corner, sometimes she sticks her head out the window.

She really loves to be out on a leash for a walk. I haven't figured out what she likes to play. She likes to hang out in the back yard if I am hanging out back there or if I have the back door ajar. She happily wanders around sniffing, etc.

Tuesday, the day I brought her home from the shelter, I tried to let her sleep on the doggy bed on the floor in my room. She hopped up on the bed and I put her back down. She hopped up again and I took her to her crate and put her to bed there. She slept in her crate at the shelter every night and I didn't have any issues with her getting in. Last night, when she got tired, she went in the back of the house to my room and laid on her doggy bed. When I went to bed, she stayed in her spot and stayed there all night. We are still working on staying off the furniture, but I think it was a good first step. She likes to curl up in my lap (or really lay across it) and she loves to give kisses. We just need to make a better match for her from the shelter and get her a forever home. I will be taking her to my Petco adoption day weekend after this.

Welcome back to KD

Watson has completed his meds for kennel cough and has a slot at the shelter so I took him to the shelter this morning. He didn't seem to happy about being left there, but he needs some time with other dogs and he will be very popular at the shelter. When I took Watson, I said I really wanted to give KD a break from the shelter and that is what I did this morning. You may remember KD from her sleepover with Hermes here at the house (August 11th blog post). She is a cute little basset mix who is now the dog at the shelter for the longest time. She did get adopted out twice last month, but came back in a day or so. The first time for chasing cats and the second time for being aggressive over toys. She is a real sweety and the only issue I had with her before was that she is insistent on getting on the furniture (sofa and bed). I washed all the toys and dog comforters to get rid of any hint of kennel cough germs (bleach, bleach, bleach). We may go out of town next weekend to visit my mom and KD will have to spend the weekend at the shelter, but she will otherwise be with us until we get her adopted out. This month is a 5th Saturday month, so I will be taking her with me to Petco Great Hills.

Separation Anxiety

Hermes went home yesterday. I went by the shelter when they opened and hung out in the office with him for about 20 minutes but then had to go because it was rainy out and I wanted to be available to pick Ben up at school.

I experimented more with leaving Watson inside by himself with all the doors in the back of the house closed so he didn't go into those rooms and it went fine again. The first time I went out, I came back to find him just laying on his comforter resting and the second time I went out I found him laying curled up on the couch. I don't let him on the couch and so had to go shoo him off, but from a leaving him by himself aspect, it was successful. No hints of destruction of any property. I am not sure that there is serious separation issues with him. He doesn't like to be closed out of the room that you are going into, for instance, the bathroom. He whines and howls. But that isn't the destructiveness associated with separation anxiety and I don't hear him whining and howling when I head out the door, so I don't think he just cries himself to sleep.

Since Watson has been eating so much, I decided to weigh him yesterday and he came in at a whopping 60 lbs. That is 10 pounds more than a week or so ago. He isn't getting fat, must just be filling out. I wasn't sure if he was getting too big for his breed, so I did a google search on Black and Tan Coonhound and aside from the reference to breeders (which I don't support, there are too many dogs in need of rescue already), I found it to be a good reference website:
http://puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/blktncoon.htm

It's all in your perspective

And it seems that I have gotten a bit. Watson and I seem to be doing better. I attribute this to several factors:

1) We haven't had as many of Ben's friends over playing guitar hero for him to pester. He is really eager to be with people and to please them and to play with them and the boys just want to play their game and don't want to interact with them and he can get insistent. I told them to ignore him and if he jumps up on them, to stand up and walk away and look away, but that is hard to do when you are playing a video game.

2) I sent an email to our former behavioral instructor, Dana Cooper with Woofer's Canine Training (http://wooferscaninetraining.com/). She reminded me of the lessons about shunning the dog if he is jumping up and that I should take my hands out of reach and look away and walk away until the dog calms down. This seems to be working pretty well. The other important lesson that I went back to is that dogs try to use space as a sign of dominance. If a dog is in your way, walk right through them, don't walk around or yield.

3) I am reminding myself that he is a puppy and he needs more exercising. He doesn't want to just go out and run around by himself. He is much more social than Hermes and he wants to play and he will fetch and bring back a tug toy (or a ball, but less so with a ball). He wants to play tug with it and then have me throw it. The weather has been colder and rainy so that the rope toys in the yard are a wet/cold mess, but I have been going out and doing it and keeping up the walks and he seems to be doing ok there.

On another front, I have been winding down for the year at work and only working 1/2 days. Most of my calls / meetings are in the morning, so I have been mostly working from home. This gives me extra time with him. I have experimented the past 2 mornings with just leaving him in the house to have free roam except with all the bedroom doors closed when I take Ben to school. I even ran a quick errand yesterday after dropoff. I haven't had any issues. When I came home, Watson was laying on his comforter just hanging out waiting for me to return. I have been crating him still if I am going to be gone for an hour plus, but I think I will try to loosen up on that.

A farewell to Hermes

Seems I skipped completely over writing about Saturday. Saturday was the second Sat. of the month, so it was my day to be volunteer buddy at the shelter. I went and worked at the shelter and Hermes new family came for another meet and greet with their dog. Gypsy and Hermes got along fine again, played a bit, both dug in the same spot for some cool dirt to lay in (80's in December, you gotta love Texas) and shared the same water bowl, even both drinking from it at the same time (of course, Hermes also tried to dig in it). Hermes was his sometimes standoffish self from all of us humans, but didn't really snub us like he has with some previous visitors. Well, his new home is ready this week with the movers bringing back the household contents on Monday and the new family was trying to arrange a mid-week pickup and if not, then Friday. Sitting with Watson curled up in my lap this morning, I thought back to Hermes coming over to the bed in the morning to get some petting and rubbing. It is sad to see him go, but I am glad that he ended up with such a wonderful family that obviously loves him. So, it is time to say farewell and move Hermes to the adopted section of the blog.

Man this dog can eat

I have been feeding Watson the sensitive stomach adult food that I had for Hermes and it didn't seem to be any problem for him. We always feed the big dogs at the shelter 2 cups adult in the morning and 2 in the evening. I have been feeding Watson 2 cups and he devours it and he wants more. Some times he will eat as much as 3 or 4 cups in the morning and come back for 3-4 cups in the evening. I don't know if I am overfeeding him. He is a growing pup and doesn't appear to be getting fat. Even with this volume of food, he still wants treats. He is an eating machine.

A handful

I am starting to see what might have caused Watson to be owner surrendered. He is a handful. He is either sleeping or wanting to play. He plays hard and leads with his mouth. This dog is really an alpha and he needs to be neutered as soon as he is well enough. Perhaps that can take the edge off of him. It isn't really the barking, but the constant desire for attention and the wanting to play tug and to chew on toys and grab them even if your hand is there. Ben is starting to wear thin and I am getting a bit frazzled too. I am sure we can keep him in line until he is well enough to go to the shelter, but that is about as long as we will keep him.

Vet visit

Well, Dr. Barnett confirmed that Watson has kennel cough and prescribed a cough suppressant and antibiotics. I spoke with Monica and she didn't want to put Watson in the infirmary with kennel cough because we have those 2 tiny puppies living in there. He definitely can't go into intake and spread the kennel cough, so that means he has to stay at our house and that I can't take Hermes back home this week. I will talk to Dr. Barnett and see when Watson can come into contact with other dogs and maybe I can bring Hermes home later in the week.

Personality profile

Was thinking about what should go in Watson's personality profile info at the shelter and on the shelter webpage. Here is what I have so far:

Watson, 50lb Black and Tan coonhound pup
Eager friendly puppy who loves to play tug and really wants attention. Will fetch a tug toy or ball to play tug with. Intelligent but needs some obedience training to learn his position in the pack. Already knows sit and down by visual command. Walks well on leash, will sit to have leash put on. Crate trained and house trained (as well as can be at 5-6 months; he will bark/whine at a door or window when he needs to go out to potty). No cats or small children. Barking is a breed trait.

Kennel Cough

Monica was right to send Watson for a week or 2 of intake fostering. His cough is more pronounced today, very throaty. He doesn't seem to have any other symptoms, but I will call April this morning and get her to fax a vet voucher to Dr. Barnett so that I can have him examined to make sure.

Not sure what this does on taking Hermes back home. Perhaps Monica will still take him in at the infirmary at the shelter.

This and that

Called to check in with Monica on Monday to see if we knew why Watson was owner surrendered and we don't. She called me back and said our night guy was going home sick and asked if I could come close up the shelter after the night shift. I was okay skipping scouts, so I left Ben with Watson and went over to the shelter for a few hours. It was a bit cold out but Duane was taking dogs out on their after dinner walks and putting them in their runs. I helped out a bit and took Hermes for a walk and put him in a run. He paced back and forth in the run while I was walking other dogs. After all the dogs were out and the dinner bowls were put away, I let Duane bring in the dogs while I spent some time in the office with Hermes. He was glad to see me but kept looking at the door wanting to go get in the car. We had a nice visit and he was bummed that I put him back in his run for the night. I came home to see that Watson had wanted to play with Ben and Ben hadn't been able to get any homework done and was having problems getting Watson to listen. Seems Watson didn't see him as dominant and wanted to sit on the couch to watch TV too. I set Watson straight.

Watson seems to be all better from his stomach upset. He seems to be a typical (but big) puppy and he either wants to play or just go lay about. I guess that describes a bunch of dogs though. I checked his intake material from Town Lake and they estimated his age at 5 months (7/1 birthdate). I weighed him today and he is 50.5 lbs. The paperwork for him from Town Lake had him at 46 lbs. Seems like a growing pup. He seems to like his crate. When I am working at the kitchen table and not playing, he will wander over to his crate and lay down on the comforter in there even though there is one in the family room just across from me.

I ran out to the store last night to pick up a few things for dinner and asked Ben to watch Watson. I got about 2 blocks and Ben called me and Watson was howling in the background. He told me that the dog started howling as soon as I left and wouldn't stop. I told Ben to give Watson a chicken jerky treat and that seemed to fix the whole thing. He does seem to have some separation anxiety issues. I will have to try some of those separation anxiety exercises that Dana sent to me.

Watson seems healthy enough to go to the shelter when there is space. Monica told me that Bo and Tehya are going home this weekend and that will free up space for Watson and I can bring Hermes back. I considered introducing Hermes and Watson and see how they get along so that I could have them both here, but I think it better to just bring Hermes until his adoption is finalized and then to foster KD. I think that Watson will find a home fairly quickly.

Seemingly feeling better

I took Watson out for a walk before crating him to go to work this morning. He came out of his crate and sat for the leash. We walked down the block and he seemed a bit more energetic. From what I saw, I think his lethargy might have had to do with stomach upset. His stool was very liquid. Anyway, we went on and walked down the block (which we have walked a couple of times) and we were passing this fence where 2 dogs are out in the backyard. These dogs always jump on the wood fence and bark when I come by with a dog. Watson hadn't made anything of it the last time or 2 we passed, but this time he turned toward the fence, walked part way to it and stood there. The hair on his entire spine went straight up (piloerection), his legs were stiff and he starting barking at them. This was something new and not expected or desired. I call him away and we walked on by and his hair calmed down. The concerning thing, other than the aggression to the dogs on the other side of the fence is that he seemed calm as we walked another block, but when we came upon a little girl coming out a backyard fence, the hair on his spine came up a bit. She went back in the yard and we walked a few paces past there and turned and I told him to be nice and she came back out and he was wagging his tail. This aggressive side warrants watching.

A bit of lethargy

Watson was tired last night, wanting to just nap on his comforter in whatever room I was in. There is a comforter for the dogs in the family room, one in the computer room where Ben is usually located and a dog bed on the floor in my room. All received a washing before having Watson visit. Watson would follow me from room to room but then just curl up in the doggie bed there. When it came time to go to bed for the night, I got the comforter from the computer room and dragged it to his crate so he had more to sleep on since he doesn't wet in his crate. He followed it along and walked right in and plopped down. He slept through the night just fine and went out this morning to take care of business. We went for a shorter walk as it was windy and in the high 30's. He did his business on the walk. I bagged it and tossed it in the nearest trash since it is garbage day and all the cans are at the curb (my favorite time to walk the dog, Sun. night/Monday morning). We made the next big turn and headed home. Watson was not as playful but he was enjoying some petting. He mostly just wanted to lay around. I tried to entice him with a Kong full of food with a peanut butter smear on the lip of it but he wasn't interested. I put food in his bowl but he wasn't interested. I gave him a chicken jerky and he wasn't interested. Weird. He hung out and came to get petting from Ben and I at breakfast and then wandered back into his crate to curl up in his comforter. He is hanging there now and the door to it is open since I am working from the kitchen table for a few more minutes. Guess I will take him out for one more walk, throw some treats in for him and let him nap in his crate today. Hopefully he will be back to his energetic self of Sat/Sunday later in the day. Time will tell.

A little about Watson

Well, we made it through the first night and full day and so a few observations about Watson. He is good on a leash. I can walk him on a 5' leash and he doesn't pull or I can walk him on a extend-a-leash and he usually doesn't go to the end of the leash. He is a very friendly pup, wanting to meet other people and other dogs. The only sign of any issue was when we were taking a walk earlier and there were a couple of young boys on bikes and he stopped, stared at them and started huffing. I took that as a negative reaction. He had the same reaction a minute later to a boy on a scooter coming past us. He was fine a few minutes later with a little girl on a bike and when she got off the bike to pet him he was fine but maybe a bit too exuberant. He is definitely a puppy and definitely playful. He will fetch but he prefers to play tug. He has sharp nails, I need to get them cut. He was wanting to get me to play earlier and he was putting his paws on my arm and trying to induce me to wrestle and I got a couple of good scratches.

He is curious about everything as a puppy should be. Haven't seen any real signs of fear in him. We have walked a number of times today and he seems to be okay approaching anything, even fences with barking dogs. He has a good deep bark and was barking at the dog that lives behind us when the dog barked at him through the fence. He is definitely teething. This morning he was chewing on a rawhide chip like it was chewing gum. He walked around with it for about 30 minutes including into our morning walk.

Watson apparently has had some obedience training. The leash prowess points to it and he knows how to sit and the sign for sit and I also had him working on down today. He is a treat lover, so training should be easy. I tried to measure his ears this evening, but he kept turning his head and trying to eat the ruler. Best guess I got from the ruler is about 7" long.

No accidents in the house today. I crated him last night and he kept the crate clean overnight and he went as soon as he got outside this morning. I have been praising him a lot all day when he goes out to "potty". I have seen him go to the door 3-4 times today and I let him out and he went. He seems to know what to do, so things are good on that front. No signs of any health issues at this point. He has a healthy appetite and inhaled his food last night. Overall, if we can keep his chewing directed, I think we will have a pleasant little visit.

Big Day, Big Day

Well, Hermes had his meet and greet today with Gypsy and they got along very well. There was no signs of aggression when they met. There was some interest and we moved it to the meet and greet pen and let the dogs off leash and they played. Gypsy wants to herd Hermes and he doesn't want to be herded. He would run away and then come back for more. The only thing that threw us all was a bit of yelping from him. Seemed like he might possibly be a bit intimidated, but he kept coming back for more, so we all decided that things were fine. Based on that, the family has decided to adopt Hermes. They are having some serious house work done that has them away from home for 2 more weeks and so Hermes can't go home yet. Woohoo though. Hermes new family seems very nice and like great dog people.

In the mean time, I got an email from Monica on Friday asking if I could do an intake foster on a 7 month old black and tan coonhound. She thought Hermes was going to be able to go home this weekend, but I straightened her out on that. She still asked that I take in Watson until a spot opens up in intake at the Shelter. Hermes is having to board at the shelter for a few days. Bo and Teyha (the new Huskies that we got this week at the shelter) had some interested folks today, so Bo may be opening up a big dog spot in intake soon. So, for now, we have a big puppy hanging at the house. Watson is very much a puppy. He peed in the house this evening, but he didn't pee in his crate when we had to leave him for 2 hours and he went right out to pee. He has gone to the back door a few times and gone right out to pee or poop, so I think he knows what to do, he just needs the control. He is an owner surrender to Town Lake and his time there was up. Apparently, hound rescue (generalized) and coonhound rescue were both full, but we wanted him and needed to take some special actions to facilitate his intake so he didn't overstay his time at Town Lake (they are a public shelter and don't have the luxury our shelter has of being no kill). Here is a picture of Watson:

Weekend after Thanksgiving

Came back from Thanksgiving yesterday afternoon. After settling in at home and doing laundry, I went to the shelter to check on Hermes and to bring him home. Monica told me that he had a family come to see him, but that he didn't really go for the 2 little kids, so they decided they weren't really interested. It is understandable. They met and fell in love with Blue, a Great Pyrenees mix.

Today was another gray/rainy day. I took Hermes to the shelter assuming that I would have him in the office since all the dogs would end up inside today. Unfortunately, earlier today, I gave him some Natural Balance dog food sample that I had gotten at Petco and he really enjoyed it, but it appears to be what was making Valerie so gaseous because Hermes was stinking up the place. I put him in his indoor run so that he didn't stink up the office. I walked some of the dogs since they were spending the day inside and then Monica came out to tell me there was someone who wanted to meet Hermes. I took Hermes out to run 5 outside so as to not disturb the meet and greet going on in the M&G pen (KD was meeting her new family's dog). Hermes was glad to be out of his run and was prancing around and coming up to all of us for petting. He warmed right up to the family visiting him and we had a nice visit. They are interested in Hermes and put in an application. They have another rescue dog and so their application will be pending a meet and greet if approved. If all goes well, we will try to set something up for next weekend.

Thanksgiving and the weekend before

Last weekend was a busy Saturday. The shelter had a fund raiser (a car show) and I went to help setup and took Hermes to be there all day. I left after helping work on car check in and went to the shelter to get dogs for my monthly Petco adoption day. There was already a group at the shelter picking up dogs for another adoption day that got moved up this month and I was going to take KD and another dog, but KD had an approved application, so I took Valerie and Casey. Adoption day was slow as usual. People all though Valerie was so cute and sweet, but no one was overly serious about either dog. Casey's lump on her underside had been getting larger and she was scheduled to go see the vet on Monday (didn't ever hear how that turned out). After finishing up at Petco, I went back to the car show cleanup to pick up a few things that I had brought and to get Hermes. He had popped his collar twice (it has one of those plastic buckles that snaps together) and so someone had gone over to the Petco Great Hills and gotten him another collar. Sunday I had stuff to do and dropped Hermes by the shelter in the morning. I put him in a run with Valerie and they immediately started playing. They play kind of rough, getting up on their back legs and "dancing" and seeing who can knock who down. When I picked up Hermes later, he had a scratch on the side of his nose. I put some antibotic cream on it and it seems better.

Today is the day before Thanksgiving. Ben and I went out of town to visit with family and couldn't take Hermes, so he is back at the shelter. Unfortunately, KD's adoption didn't work out because she was chasing cats, so she is back at the shelter. Valerie went home with Alisand for Thanksgiving and so I put Hermes in with KD and they were happy to see each other when I dropped him off. There are a number of new dogs there including some bigger dogs, but Hermes had a run inside still (just a different one). There is a big Saint Bernard looking dog in outdoor run 7 (next to Hermes and KD) and he must be in the big dog room. I am sure that Hermes will be delighted to see me when I go to pick him up on Saturday. Hopefully, he won't get into too much trouble at the shelter. He has become spoiled living at the house and doesn't like to spend the night at the shelter.

Not sure what I should do to help move Hermes along. I know that I really should be reinforcing the training that he already has, but I don't seem to have the energy to work on it. I always find something else to do. I have been taking him for more walks lately, but haven't been working on the sit, down, stay, place or come commands. I need to try to get better at it. I have a couple more weeks then I am off for the year and perhaps I can force myself to focus on training with him.

Thanksgiving and the weekend before

Another slow weekend at the shelter

I took Hermes to the shelter all day on Saturday and 1 hour late on Sunday (today) and there weren't that many visitors at the shelter. I kept Hermes in the office most of the time with me so that he wasn't pacing around outside. It was a bit of a problem once or twice when other dogs needed to come in the office, but I put him up in his run or took him outside when I needed and we didn't really have any incidents. Monica brought out one of the new kittens to the office today and Hermes kept sniffing at it and checking it out.

Not much more to report.

What does a brother have to do to get adopted around here

According to my calendar, we are coming to the end of week 15 with Hermes. Don't get me wrong, it has been great and a nice break from the shelter for Hermes, but he needs to get a permanent home. He is bright, genuinely wants to be with his master (just not in the lap or kissing them), playful, and sweet. Yes, he is afraid of a shadow or the electric meters along the sidewalk during his walks and he does need something to do or he may chew a few things left around the yard, but that is not too bad. He gets along well with other female dogs. I just don't know what to think.

I spent last weekend at the shelter and while I was hanging out with Hermes, he was pretty good. Saturday morning was an Eagle project at the shelter for our scout troop and I went so we were there early. I put Hermes in the meet and greet run with KD and Valerie because part of the project was to take down the old shade shelter in their run and put up a new one. We worked on the stuff and the other dogs went into eat breakfast and I let Hermes out to roam around and he hung around us while we built benches. When the other dogs came back out, I put Hermes back up with KD and Valerie. After the Eagle project, I hung out with the 3 of them and Hermes had a visitor and he was good and came over and let her pet him. She fell for a puppy, so that didn't pan out for Hermes. Sunday I spent the day and we kept Hermes in the office with me part of the day and he just hung around and when he got bored he laid down and didn't bother to get up when people came in.

Oh well, that is my lament for today.

Finally a breather

Finished up the haunted house last night (with some cleanup today) and I went to pickup Hermes at the shelter at the end of the day. Monica told me she was showing him to a family yesterday and he was being standoffish as he can be. He was hiding behind her while the man was trying to get him to come to her. She sat down also to try to get him to come out and he stayed behind her, but decided to mark his territory by peeing on her shoulder and down her arm. She was a bit unhappy :-). Again, this is the problem with Hermes not showing well. He has to be with me so that people can see how he will bond with them.

Coming up on 13 weeks

I have been very busy with extracurriculars and haven't been blogging. Barktoberfest followed by the IBM Uptown Classic 10K and this week the IBM Fall Festival where I am in charge of the Haunted House. Sunday I will finally get a break. Hermes had to spend the entire weekend last weekend at the shelter since I spent the weekend working the race setup and teardown and the race. This weekend I have to be in the Haunted House from 6-9 on Saturday and won't be able to zoom out to CP to get Hermes from the shelter so he will have to spend another Sat. night at the shelter.

Hermes hasn't gotten the attention that he used to. I hardly find time to walk him and now that it is getting dark earlier, I use that as an excuse. I need to get back to walking with him in the morning and the evening. He is a good boy and affectionate in his own way. After a long day in the yard, he zooms around us when we come in and I have to take him out back and play with him or he dashes around the house like a madman and with the tile and laminate floors, he doesn't get a good grip.

Saturday will be 13 weeks we have had Hermes. He is such a sweet dog, I don't know why he isn't adopted. He doesn't show well at the shelter where he just paces around. I need to stay at the shelter and keep him in the office with me. He does well when he is with someone. That would help him show better. He is looking like he will take the longevity title (don't recall if it was Bubby or Sandy he is taking the title from). Of course, after having him for nearly 3 months, I start thinking about keeping him, but then I remind myself that the idea here is to help more dogs and to find good homes. All of the dogs that I have brought home have been sweet and affectionate with me, but the goal is to get them placed and I am just an extension of the shelter. Still, it can be tough. Well, I need to find some time to spend here at home and get back to Hermes training. He is obedient about staying with me when I am out working in the front yard, but he doesn't "come" to me, but will come back and come with me. He also doesn't come over to me when called in the house. I need to work on the come command.

Barktoberfest

Yesterday was a busy day with the 5th annual Barktoberfest fundraiser for the shelter. I brought the 7 canopies from the IBM Club and also borrowed 2 really big ice chests. Hermes and I packed up and left the house at 7. I slipped his harness on him when we got there and hooked him to running leash/belt. We setup canopies and other stuff and then wandered around helping where we could until 10:30 when it was time for the walk. There was a good crowd of walkers with dogs and Hermes did really well except for when he would walk up into a crowd of walking people and he got a bit scared and moved off to the side. There were water bowls for dog watering setup along the way and I let Hermes stop for a drink a few times, but he kept putting his feet in the water bowls and digging, so he had to stop. The shelter had brought out hoses and a kiddie pool and tons of water bowls, so Hermes had plenty of ways to cool down.

Hermes did quite well with all the other dogs. The only thing that freaked him out were dogs that were a lot bigger than him. There was 3 harlequin great danes there and he was just too timid to approach them. He shied away at the several chances he had to go greet them. He also was too shy to greet a mastiff that was there. We hung out and worked the education table from noon to 2 and then took down the canopies, cleaned up trash and moved picnic tables. It was an overall successful event and Hermes was asleep sitting up in the car. He came in to the house and crashed.

Thumbs, who needs em

I saw Hermes flipped onto his back playing with his lambs wool toy (not squeaky anymore as he ate those out of there) and grabbed the cell phone to shoot a short video. I didn't want to get too close and have him stop, so video quality isn't that good. I should have gone for the digital camera, but he would have followed me to the back of the house and it would have ruined it. Embedded video to follow:

Weekend

Hermes went to the shelter this weekend. I took him to the shelter on Sat. and took him with me down to our booth at Leander Fall Fest for a bit and then back to the shelter. He met a nice couple that is interested but can't have a second dog just yet.

Sunday I dropped Hermes off at the shelter and ran some errands. He is always happy to get home from a long hot day at the shelter.

In response to the email comment/question I got from Jackie, Hermes is a male, he is about 1.5 years this month. He does have a brother Zeus, but don't know of any sisters and he isn't 3 years old. Hermes was at CTSPCA (note: the shelter is now centraltexasspca.org instead of .com) when he was a pup with his brother.

Long time no blog

Things have fallen into a busy pattern around here and I just haven't seemed to find time to stop and blog. Herme's has garnered some interest at the shelter, but he just hasn't seemed to hit it off with a full family yet. Have had several sets of folks who have looked at him seriously, but he seemed standoffish to one of the couple or they to him. He is shy and it takes him a bit to warm up to you but once he does, he is very loyal.

We haven't had any big chewing incidents. My schedule is very erratic. Some days I can work from home more and/or come home in mid afternoon to work from home or finish my work later in the evening, but lately I have been working more hours at the office. I don't go in right away, so Hermes is here with me until 10 or so, but then he is out in the yard. He gets board out there. It is the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and we have a sukkah in our backyard. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a temporary booth structure where you can eat your meals. It is a friend's sukkah, but that is another story. Hermes has been leaving it mostly alone, but he has taken down a few of the fake flowers hanging in there and played with them.

I have been busy in the evenings and haven't been getting him out for as many walks. He gets playful and if I take him out back and toss a ball or a stick or his big tuff toy, he will run laps around the yard until he exhausts himself.

I picked up a harness at the shelter this weekend. I had gotten myself a hands-free walking setup from REI. That consists of a belt for my waist which is adjustable and has a metal ring on each side to attach leashes to. It came with a leash that is adjustable from 3-6ft. and which has the snaps on each end like you hook to the ring on the dog's collar and to the ring on the belt. Hook the dog to this and go for a walk or run (hopefully) with your hands free. Well, to take any strain off the dog neck, I figured it was best to not hook the dog end to Herme's collar but instead put him in one of those dog harnesses that go around the head and under the front legs and have the ring on the dogs back. He is afraid of it and runs from me when I want to put it on him. I did hook him up on a leash the other day and then put him in the harness and switch to it and we went for a walk and it worked great. Much better control. Now if I can just get him to put on the harness as willingly as he goes for the leash.

Boredom/Separation anxiety

I need to start working on separation anxiety exercises with Hermes. This morning when I ran Ben to school and left Hermes in, he got my sunglasses off the kitchen counter and put a tooth through the lens. I left him out today and he did fine. Ben played in the yard with him until he was panting hard before we went out to dinner and we left Hermes in. While we were gone for 1.5 hours, Hermes took some of Ben's magazines off the couch and chewed 2 of them up (luckily, he had 2 copies of those ones for some reason) and I think Hermes must have seen some couch stuffing coming out in a spot because he pulled out a couple of handfuls of cushion stuffing from one of the broken sofa cushions. Don't know if this reflects boredom or separation anxiety. Fostering dogs is one reason I haven't replaced the sofa (it is in poor shape but why buy a new one). Have been considering getting a used one on Craigslist since I plan on keeping on fostering. I looked into slip covers, but the pillow type arms on this sofa don't go with slipcovers. Dana had recommended some separation anxiety exercises for Bubby, so I think I better give some of that some work.

Not a lot of action this weekend

I left Hermes at the shelter on Saturday and then again on Sunday. He had someone coming to visit on Saturday and I don't know what happened on Sunday. He sure was glad to come home at the end of the day. I had Petco adoption day at Petco Lakeline and I took Amber for the day. In 2 weeks, I have Petco Great Hills and I will bring Hermes there again.

Jeanette gave me a copy of the Austin Pets Directory with Hermes on the cover. There was a cute interview with Hermes about the Barktoberfest in the issue.

Tough dog toy

Well, Tuesday the Mega Tuffies ring came and it has been very good. He plays with it mostly outside though he carried it around inside. The thing is very big. It is about 14" wide and he picks it up and carries it in his mouth, but it isn't small enough for him to get a good chew on it. The 4 squeakers in it are in separate pockets inside and they are pretty quiet. If you grab 2 sides and squeak it, you can hear it, but the layering keeps it from being very loud. If I take it in the backyard with him and fling it across they yard, he runs over there and chases it down and runs around with it in his mouth. Sometimes he tips it up and it surrounds his face. It is pretty funny looking.

Toys

Why is it again that I spend money on toys. Today, Hermes chewed up (I gave it to him after finishing drinking it) my water bottle at the adoption day. I put some food pieces in it to entice him. This evening, we are sitting outside and he is chewing up a piece that he broke off a tree limb. He is also pulling pieces that are more "carriable" off the tree limb. Seems that buying him toys that squeak is probably just overly indulgent.

Dog of the month

Not just the cover dog for Austin Pets Directory, but Hermes is this month's dog of the month for the shelter. He is available at a specially discounted adoption fee. For $29, he is a downright steal. We went to Petsmart adoption day today but nothing too interesting there. I ordered Hermes a Tuffies ring and am waiting for it to come in to see if it is as sturdy as they say. I expect it in around Tuesday. I got him something called The Brute last week and he had ripped the seams in about 1 minute. He loves a squeaky toy, let's hope this new one is "tough".

Cover dog

Well, the new issue of Austin Pets Directory is out and Hermes is the cover model. Check him out.

The weather has been kind of dreary and I have been leaving Hermes inside the past few days with all the bedroom doors closed and he has been great. Even with a case of diarrhea, he hasn't gone inside and he hasn't chewed up anything.

Rain and the threat of rain

There has been an increasing chance of rain as the week went on. I have been leaving Hermes inside with the bedroom doors closed so he doesn't get into anything in the bedrooms and he has been fine. The only thing that I can see that is wrong is that he left an indentation on the cushion on the couch from where he was apparently sitting. His rear print looks different than the one I leave when I sit on the couch and I don't leave dog hairs. No harm no foul.

Hermes and the toads video

I took the digital camera out tonight and shot some video of Hermes playing with the toads. I uploaded it to Google video as it is somewhat huge. Video Link



Shorter YouTube version:

Toads don't taste good

So, Hermes was chasing the toads around the yard as he has the past few evenings we have been home. He finds one and he sniffs at it and it usually hops away and he follows it and sniffs it some more and so forth and so on. They usually seek shelter in the brush under the cedar trees and he paws at the ground there and walks around until he flushes them out. After about 10 minutes of following around a toad and flushing it out, Hermes picked it up in his mouth and immediately dropped it. He kept making a smacking sound with his mouth and he drooled a bit and was dripping from his jowls (and had a bit of foam there too, which is typical when we go for a long walk). I got a bit concerned, but he didn't go for any water and he was fine after a few minutes. I know he does get the foamy jowls when we walk, so I wasn't too concerned, but I did google toads and dogs and I found that all toads secrete a bad taste from there skin and but some (especially in Arizona) are toxic. Luckily, it appears that our toads aren't toxic, but taste bad. Hopefully, Hermes will learn his lesson.

A couple of things

On Tuesday, I took Hermes out for his morning walk after my first conference call and dialed into my second via cellphone to listen. When we started down the driveway, I saw a dog coming down the sidewalk in our direction loose. She stopped to check out a woman walking and then headed down to meet Hermes. I took him back to the door and asked Ben to give me a leash and I started to walk them both back the direction from which she came to see if anyone was looking for her. I saw posted on the corner a sign saying "Found....." and describing the little girl pitbull pup that I had, so I hung up on my conference call and called the number. The people live just down the street and had found her the day before. I returned her to them and was talking to the woman and said I could get the microchip scanner from the shelter to see if she had a chip that identified her. I told her I would call her later. I talked the shelter manager to get the phone number of the daytime dog caretaker during the week as no one answers the shelter phone during the week and it just rolls to voicemail. I also asked her if we could take in the stray and put her on stray hold as the neighbor found her to be trying. She said yes. The neighbor called me a bit later to find out what the answers were and I said that if she was being too much trouble, to bring her down to my house. Later on, she did and the little pup and Hermes ran and wrestled in the yard and house. I had given Hermes a knee bone that he had separated into its two pieces and she ate at one and he got jealous. I gave them both treats and he was growling. I told him no and left her alone but kept looking for opportunities to steal her treat. Later in the evening, I took her over to the shelter to go on stray hold.

Over the past few evenings, Hermes has come across some of the toads that live in our little pond in the grass or the rocky area between the cedar trees. He sniffs at them and they hop away and he follows. If they don't move when he sniffs, he paws at the ground. They go into the higher grass and eventually lose him. He finds it amusing. Well, tonight he was playing with 2 earlier and then just now when I took him out, he discovered that there are 5 that hang out in the pond and under the big rock where the water comes out for the fountain. He saw a couple swimming and chased them around and he finally ended up sending them all packing for shelter under the big rock and he kept circling and sniffing at all the cavities that lead down there and sticking his head sideways under the rock trying to get them to come out. He even stuck his head in the cavity where the water stream comes out a few times. It was quite amusing. The toads are back out there now ( I can hear the loud croaking) and I think I will let him go play again.

Hermes rides shotgun

I took Hermes to an adoption days a few months back, well before I was fostering him. I put him in the car and the stuff in the car and he hopped up front to ride shotgun. I had to stop the car, take him out, block the front and then put him in the back. I had some good luck putting him in the back since fostering him but have used a gate to keep him out of the front. Last week when he had KD sleep over, I was taking them back to the shelter and put both of them in the back of the car and went to get my drink in the house. I came back out and KD was still in the back, but Hermes was in the front passenger seat. He rode well that way all the way to the shelter and so this weekend, I put the dropcloth over the seat up front and let him ride shotgun with me. He is very funny. He sits sideways looking at me and leans against the seat and lays his head on the top of the seat next to the headrest. At the end of a long hot day at the shelter, he does that and closes his eyes to nap. He did curl up on the seat a few times, but mostly sits up trying to nap sitting up and leaning back. I took some pics with my cellphone camera and will try to get them onto the computer and post one here.

Weekend at the shelter

Hermes and I spent most of the weekend at the shelter. Saturday was my monthly Petco Lakeline adoption day and since Ben was at a friend's party, I was solo. I was just going to take Hermes and do the noon - 3pm time, but I got a call from the shelter president on Friday and she wanted to take Hermes to a photo shoot for the cover of the next Austin Pet Directory. I went to the shelter and Amber had gotten out of her run and into Elvis's and was being kept inside. Since she got passed over for the photo shoot, I took her to my adoption day. She was very sweet and did fine. After Hermes was done with his photo shoot, she dropped him back by Petco for me and he and Amber seemed to be getting along, though Hermes black undercoat hairs were standing up, so she took Amber back to the shelter and Hermes and I hung out. I got the canvas drop cloth that I use to cover the seats in the car and put it on the floor and Hermes got tired and laid on it. My officemate came to visit with Hermes and Hermes was well behaved.

On Sunday, I took Hermes to be at the shelter and brought my work to do. I put him out with KD in their outdoor run. He had a couple of visitors who were interested and met with him in the meet and greet run. None of them put in an application. There was someone who called on Saturday to ask about Hermes and was supposed to come in from Killeen to visit him on Sunday, but I never saw them. I took Hermes in the office later in the day and he was being pretty well behaved, but some people came in and wanted to visit with Lacey and she came through the office and Hermes growled and barked at her. They wanted to visit with Amber also and that went fine. Hermes and Amber just sniffed at each other and behaved nicely together. It was a long hot day at the shelter, but no real progress on finding Hermes a home.

Sawing logs

Did I mention that Hermes snores? I keep my computer power brick in the bedroom and come in here to work and Hermes hangs out on his dog bed against the wall at the foot of my bed. In the evening, when I usually work from 9-11 or whatever, he goes to sleep and I hear him snoring. I woke up at 2am last night and I heard him snoring. It is not just a one time thing, the dog is sawing logs.

Definitely some boredom issues

I have started leaving Hermes outside for the day while I go to work. I haven't had any marking in the house since those initial couple of days when he was here and getting used to the house and perhaps smelling the old foster dogs. In the backyard, he has gotten into a little mischief by chewing up a frisbee, the bottom of one of his water dishes and some other stuff laying in the yard. I gave him some toys today to see if he will play with them and not get into other things. That was one of the reasons I brought home KD on Friday was to see how this would be, but I didn't end up having time to leave them home together and see how that goes.

Hermes is like Bubby in that he will follow me around the house and be in the room where I and will lay down on a dog bed. He wants to be with me, but he is still nervous about being approached. If I am sitting down, he will come over and if I don't approach him with a hand on top of the head, but instead put my hand down and start petting the side of his head or his neck, he is fine. If I stand over him and come over his head, he will stay away. He is doing better on his walks. We take about 3 a day, 1 in the morning and a couple at night. In the morning, he hasn't been fearful and just stopped and tried to turn around anywhere anymore. He is more confident when walking by fences with dogs barking though he still looks concerned. I have made some more attempts at running with him. I have seen him run in the backyard and he has a really nice stride when he gets going. He is quite fast. I take him on the retractable leash and after he does all his business and has marked a few places, I start a slow jog and he stays a bit behind me. If he gets in front, then he keeps looking back and is worried that I am running after him. If he is behind, he stays pretty close and doesn't stop too often. I tried to pickup the pace and he didn't lag behind anymore, but he never got his stride going, he just trotted a bit more. He isn't the ideal running dog, but he does come along.

Slumber Party

KD came to visit last night. I decided that Hermes was getting into mischief because he didn't have anyone paying him any attention at times and then he would get into some trouble. I asked Monica if I could bring KD home. KD and Hermes share an outside run at the shelter when he is there. I figured they already get along well and are familiar with each other and might play. They got along just great. I took them out for a walk a while after she arrived and it was like flying a 2 line kite. I put a old comforter that I purchased from Goodwill, for just such a thing, onto the floor as a dog bed for KD. Unfortunately, she must have slept in the bed at a previous owner's house, because she kept hopping in bed. The dogs played musical beds back and forth between the 2 dog beds, mostly Hermes taking over the bed he wanted and KD just going to the other. The slumber party was a pretty good success and they are getting along fine. They play together some and lay down in separate corners some. The worst part of the experience is that KD had diarrhea. She seemed to be trying to get outside to have it since it was only in the living room on the stained concrete floor by the back door. A little cleaning and a breakfast of white rice and it was taken care of. The dogs seem to be napping now which is little wonder since they didn't settle down until past 3am and they were up before 7am. I should grab a nap too, but I am not sleepy now, maybe later.

Do you have anymore foam stuffed things I can eat

Well, Hermes has been getting a bit bored at home with just Ben there and Ben mostly focused on playing WOW and the other day he ate the corner of the big flat dog bed that he lays on in the family room. Ben caught Hermes doing it and made him come stay in the computer room. The next day, Hermes must have been bored because he chewed up the little round dog bed he sleeps on in my bedroom. It was a mess of foam pieces and cloth and had to be tossed out. His personality profile from the shelter did say eats towels (which are his bedding in his inside run at the shelter), so it isnt' a big surprise. I was ignoring him the other night working on the computer and he took one of my slippers and started running around the house with it. I caught up with him and he dropped it and ran away. I put my slippers in the back of my closet and closed the door, but yesterday the cleaning people were at the house and left my closet door open and Hermes gnawed on one of my slippers. It isn't a total loss, just a bit messed up around the top edge. So, it seems he needs something to keep him busy when we aren't paying attention to him. I went out and played ball in the backyard with him last night and he ran around like a mad man and then played ball and ran around like a mad man. I knew he was done when he hopped into the pond and had some water. I am curious as to whether he would be more occupied if there were another dog to play with. I am going to see about bringing KD home from the shelter tonight. They share an outdoor run when Hermes is at the shelter and so I want to see how the dynamic plays out at the house. I need to call the shelter tonight and see about a sleepover for KD.

Running of the hounds, umh, no

Well, we tried running again the past couple of days and I gotta tell you, foxhounds may run well after a fox, but Hermes isn't a foxhound. He is too nervous that you are coming after him or he is lagging behind sniffing at something. We have been taking a lot of long walks and I have been keeping at the running tries.

Not so much for the running

Well, I have tried a little bit the last 2 days and I am not giving up yet, but Hermes doesn't seem to be a good running partner. 1 issue is his nervousness. If I don't start right alongside him (if he is ahead of me at the end of the leash), then he thinks I am after him and I have to work to get right beside him. Another issue is that he likes to just stop. He is all hound. He has those amazing jowls and he must be pulling in all sorts of smells and he will just stop suddenly. I have some experience with this, but he takes it to another level. The third issues is another nervousness thing. He will stop and then refuse to go the way we are going. I have to coax him and pull him. That doesn't make for ideal running. As with everything, it is something to be learned, so I need to just keep at it. Guess I have gotten spoiled by Sandy and Bubby.

Another dog, another mini blind

A bit of separation anxiety I think today. Ben and I went out for an appointment and were gone for a bit over an hour, maybe 1.5 and when we got back, I discovered that Hermes had "marked" the foot high wall in the front hallway and when cleaning it up, I discovered that the small mini-blinds in the thin window next to the door was pulled up and very mangled. A few of the blind blades had been chewed up. I don't remember it being like that. I am certain that Hermes got antsy and chewed the blinds and pulled the strings. I am not too upset about the blinds, it shouldn't be too pricey to replace. I am pretty unhappy about the marking in the house. Hermes marked near that spot the other day when I left the house. I know he is house trained and he does great at night, but he hasn't done that well with me leaving him. Dana had given me some information about training for separation anxiety when we had problems with Bubby and I think it is time to bring it out and put it to use.

Hermes settling in

Hermes seems to have taken to the dog bed in the family room and also in my bedroom. He is a bit big for the little dog bed, but when he curls up he fits and when he stretches out, he spills out of the bed onto the floor. He seems to really like to be petted or rubbed down. He is a bit of a nervous dog but not too badly. We went out back tonight and hung out in the backyard and he was running around a bit nervously when the dog behind us was barking through the fence, but he was okay. I need to start getting him out running with me in the morning. His leash manners aren't what they show in Cheri's YouTube video, but I haven't been trying too hard. I will have to see how he does as a running partner. I am a bit nervous that he will bolt out and be pulling me along, but I will try to reign him in and get him in sync with me.

Welcome Hermes

Ben and I went to the shelter today with my friend Lori and we looked at dogs to foster. April had said Scooby could use some work, so he was in the running. Holly was pushing a new Wolfhound mix that just came in as an owner surrender, Elvis. Elvis was a cutie, but he was setting off allergies in Lori and that is why she came with us. We looked at Scooby (same allergy issue), Shipley and Hermes. We decided on Hermes. Hermes is already pretty famous. You can see some of his videos on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/group/Hermesdog. Cheri did an awesome job with him and I hope that we can pickup where she was at and get Hermes back in the swing of his training. He seems to be settling in nicely this evening. He found the big dog bed in the family room that April gave us back when we brought Sandy home and I brought in the little round dog basket/bed to put in the bedroom so he can sleep at the foot of the bed (well, across from the foot of the bed, by the wall). He curled up in there and laid down, so I hope he will snooze the night away as I do.

Bubby has an approved application

I heard from Monica last night that Bubby has an approved application. The family met Bubby over the weekend while she was in the office. They wanted to meet her again and so I called and setup a meeting tonight at a park. The timing is pretty good since I am going out of town on Thursday and had to leave her at the shelter for a few days anyway. She can go to the shelter Wed. night and if all is good with the meeting tonight and the adoption is going through, then she can go home with her new family on Friday. Hopefully, another foster success story. Ben will be home in 2 weeks, so I will hold off on bringing home another dog until he gets here.

Conditioned response

Like I said last time, we have fallen into a morning routine of petting, eating, running a 1.5 mile loop. Often, after the run, I will go get on the exercise bike in the bedroom and use the computer to do work. When I get on the exercise bike and start peddling, Bubby will go lay down on the floor in the bedroom. If I slow down or stop, she hears the change in the sound of the bike and hops up to come see me. If my foot slips off the pedals and I slow or break the rhythm, she is up like a shot.

Rain rain go away

It sure has rained a lot lately. Bubby goes and lays under the tree or in the back corner under a tarp shade area I set up for her when it is raining, but when it is really coming down, she is smart enough to come in and get me to towel her off. Yesterday for the forth, I was supposed to go to a friends for burgers and maybe to see the fireworks, but it was pouring down rain and I didn't want to put Bubby back out. I talked to my friend and she said I could bring Bubby over with me to her apartment. I didn't want to mess with getting Bubby in the car, so I opened the car back remotely and when we walked out into the garage, I just picked her up and carried her back there and put her in. She is normally way to slow and passively resists. We drove over to the apartment and parked under a cover. I took her for a brief walk to let her have a potty break and then we went in. She wandered around the apartment for a bit and then just settled down on the floor and hung out. She got up when people were moving about, but for a good bit she just hung out laying on the floor. My friend's son took her for a walk, but she went right to the door of other apartments trying to figure out where I was. I went outside and got her to come back in. We went home and she went outside while I was cleaning the pond from all the rain overflow, but when I headed back in, she came in with me because of the fireworks going off. She stayed in a for a good long time while I was napping on the couch and then she came to get me later and wanted to go out again to sleep. I let her and she was fine the whole night.

Mornings have gotten into a rhythm. I get up and let her in the back door. She is very excited to see me and wants to be petted/rubbed down. Then she excitedly dashes to the kitchen for food. If I am not trailing right behind, she dashes back and forth. She eats and then follows me around the house excitedly dancing waiting to go for a morning walk or run. She is looking pretty healthy and I weighed her yesterday and she is 66 pounds of happy dog.

Out and about for the weekend

Well, Bubby got out and about plenty this weekend. We went to the shelter on Saturday morning to pickup the stuff for the Petco adoption day and she got to hang around the office and go out to the playpen while I got stuff gathered and in the car. I took to puppies with me for the other 2 volunteers. Rosemary and Cilantro went in the crate in the back of the car with Bubby and she pretty well ignored them. We setup out in front of Petco Great Hills and that always gets us more foot traffic. Bubby was good, but panted and drooled the whole time we were there. The puppies were about 4 months old and are small breeds and I got applications for both of them, but nothing on Bubby. After adoption day, we all went back to the shelter and I put Bubby out in the playpen for the rest of our visit. We had a number of visitors, but no solid interest in Bubby.

On Sunday, I took Bubby for a longer walk (no run) and then we got ready and hopped in the car to go to Pedernales Falls State Park (well, I had to pick her up, she still isn't getting into the car by herself though she does jump up at the fence when I leave her in the playpen, so I know she can). We went hiking up and down the trails to the Twin Falls Overlook (there are a number of rocky areas and first she was afraid to climb up or down, but then she got the hang of it and was no problem. We hiked over to the main river overlook and sat there a few minutes. Bubby did well on the long car ride out there and back. After relaxing a bit at home, I noticed she was just napping in the yard and decided she could do that at the shelter. I packed her into the car and we headed to the shelter and I noticed it was drizzling a little on the way there, but decided to keep on anyway. I had to coax her into the playpen at the shelter and then I went inside. After about 10 minutes, another volunteer came in and said it looked like it was going to really storm, so we brought in all the dogs and the sky opened up and Bubby was the last dog to come in. She was a bit wet, but happy to be in with me. We hung out in the office and after a while she got bored and dozed off for a few minutes. The shelter was very quiet with almost no visitors and at 5 we packed up and went home.

Still outside

Well, Bubby has been staying outside without incident. We have been having a lot rain and she goes to the corner of the yard and stays under the tarp. She hasn't gotten too soaked. She comes in for dinner and likes to go out with me for walks. I have taken her for a run the past 4 mornings and she seems to do okay there though she can get spooked but doesn't pull at me hard when she kind of jumps at the end of the leash.

I started trying to take Bubby places as part of the 12 environments in 14 days training that Dana promotes. We went to a park on Tuesday and we went to a different park by car yesterday. Today,I was just too tired to get her out and about. Tomorrow, I think we will try another park and then on Saturday we have Petco.

She wanted to play this evening and I just am not sure how she likes to play. I haven't had any luck with her and a ball or frisbee. There is a soft pull toy with a squeaker in it that she likes. I squeaked it and she played tug a little with it in the house and then went to the door to ask to take it out. I didn't want it outside so squeaked it and threw it into another room. She finally went and got it, but fetch isn't her thing. She is still a bit timid in the house. Perhaps if I get the crate out of the dining room, that might help. She took the toy to the back door again and was jumping up and rearing up on her hind legs like she really wanted to take it out and play so I let her but she just ran out and then ran over to a muddy spot and lay down with the toy. I collected the toy and brought it back in, it is not a good backyard toy.

Saturday and Sunday at the shelter

Well, things seem to be going much better with the understanding that Bubby wants to be an outside dog. I keep the pond full of fresh water, I have a shade area setup in the corner of the yard where she likes to lay and I leave her out whenever I am not here or when she starts getting antsy. I took her to the shelter on Saturday afternoon and she did well in the outside run and seemed fine also in the indoor run. She almost jumped up in the car when we left the shelter, but just put her feet up and didn't jump. I took her by the Petco on the way home to pickup some food. On Sunday, I took her to the shelter again and left her there for while I did some stuff and she was fine outside and also when she was taken in and put in a large wireframe crate in the infirmary. On the way back from the shelter, she hopped up into the car by herself. She has been doing well working on her obedience outside. She does her down when outside, but just rolls over onto her back for belly rub.

Outdoor dog

Through numerous emails back and forth with Dana (thanks Dana),I think we are ruling out separation anxiety and are focusing on Bubby just having some negative association with being inside the house and being anxious in the house and wanting to be essentially an outside dog. Bubby's energy level is up from her being on the mend from HW treatment. Tomorrow is 6 weeks and she is supposed to be "okay". I have started to take her for walks on the leash and she seems to do very well there. She has nice leash manners and is holding her tail up and not tucked under so that is a positive sign. She does get a bit scared when dogs on the other side of fences bark at her, but she is doing better with that. I started working on Sit and Come. She sits quite well for a treat in the house and has already figured out that she has to sit for the leash at the front door, but she doesn't seem to be confident enough inside to do the come training. I did it outside on the back deck last night and she gave me good eye contact and pretty well came to me (I only moved from one bench to the other), but she didn't come and sit. Not a bad first start.

I guess it is just a bit of a different thing for me to have an outside dog. She spends most of her time in the yard. She comes in to eat and will hang out inside a bit, but spends all day and sleeps out at night. I setup a tarp in the corner of the yard where she lays against the fence when it is raining to provide her cover and it will be interesting to see how it holds up in the rain.

Saturday at the shelter / Sunday in the rain

Saturday was my monthly Petco adoption day. Since Bubby theoretically has 1 more week of "quiet" time (not sure how that can happen) and she is having some behavior issues, I decided it wasn't a good thing to take her. I discussed it with Monica and she thought I should bring Bubby by the shelter to see how she would do with a confident dog as a run-mate. I brought her by and left her in the large play area out back and went off to my adoption day. When I came back, I heard she did fine in there and then they needed the area for a "meet and greet" with a pair of dogs and they went to get her and she rolled over. The volunteer who tried to get Bubbette didn't know what to do so went for help from Monica and somehow they got Bubby to get up and move. They didn't know what specifically they did, so I didn't learn the trick to doing it instead of lifting her up.

It is 6:20 on Sunday morning now. Bubby came to see me upset about 5:40 and I heard the rain. In my groggy state, I went to let her out so she could do her business in the rain and come back in. Well, she didn't come back in. What to do, I thought. I went and switched into a swimsuit and flip flops and went to see where she was. I found her just laying there along the back fence line as calm as can be. As I approached her, she rolled over to show me her belly, but I declined to give her a rub. I figure, a little rain won't hurt her, she needs a bath anyway, so I am just hanging out here waiting to see when she decides to come inside. The wait is killing me. I have the urge to go try to coax her inside, but she does seem to be relaxing out there as far as I could tell and everything I read about thunder/lightning (which we aren't having, just plain old rain), says that you should make a "safe - place" for the dog and let them go there. Since she didn't look panicked out there in the rain, I guess it is best to just let her be there.

Friday and some time outside

Friday I worked the morning from home. Bubby seemed okay most of the morning but when she seemed to be getting a bit anxious, I let her out and she went and hung out (laid down and just hung out) by the side fence. I thought that was fine until I started to hear a bit of thunder. I went and picked her up and brought her in just in time for a downpour. I gave her 2 benadryl and she was fine for a while. She wanted to go out a bit after the storm and when it was time for me to leave to go by the office for a bit, I just left her out and told Ben to let her in later. No problems there (other than me waking Ben up which didn't sit well with him).

Thursday and the crate

Well, based on the problem behavior, I figured the only alternative was to crate Bubby. I crated her when I left Thurs. morning and Ben let her out when he got up. Everything seemed fine there. I came home early to take him for a haircut and after finishing my last conf. call, I put her in the crate so we could run him over to the haircut place and to shop for dinner. Our friend Lori was coming over for dinner with us and she called to say she got to the house when we were finishing our shopping. When we got home, she told us that she found Bubby making a lot of noise and struggling to try to get out of the crate. The crate is one of those really big plastic ones that I got from the shelter and it had a little crack at the front bottom. Well, Bubby had started chewing on it and made the crack somewhat bigger and cut her mouth and bleed in the crate (you know how mouth cuts are, blood seems to get everywhere) in the process. There were bloody footprints all over the freshly cleaned house (it was cleaning lady day) and blood all in the front of the crate to clean up. So much for crating her.

Could I be any more stupid

Bubby was fine Monday and Tuesday when I left her home and Ben wasn't up and I just figured the window sills all happened one time and it was just a fluke. I left the house at 7am this morning and Ben called about 10:30 to tell me that Bubby had woken him up because she was eating the mini blinds in the computer room. That was the only room open in the back of the house. That is where she has been spending all her time during the day with Ben. Yeah, fool me twice, I know. Well, I have an email into Dana about the behavior. I tried to get Bubby interested in puzzles in the kong and in another rubber toy with food in it but she just wasn't interested. There are lots of "chew" toys around, but she is obviously bothered by something. The mini blinds were pretty cheap and had a few kinks in them and could have used to be replaced. The loss of the blinds will actually be easier to deal with than the window sills. I think I can sand down 1 of the sills, but the other 3 will take a bit of woodworking to make serviceable or will need new pieces cut.

The plot thickens

A new piece of data and don't know where it fits in the timeline. When I came home from diving yesterday, I noticed a small chunk of wood on the floor in my bedroom. A closer look showed that Bubby had chewed to various degrees (teeth marks up to chunks taken out) 3 of the window sills in my bedroom. The problem is, I didn't do a close inspection of them when I found the well chewed up one in the laundry room on Friday. For all I know, they could have been chewed up at the same time since I always have my bedroom open. Likewise, for all I know, they could have been chewed up previously. I would guess that the cleaning lady would have said something and the last time she came was a week ago. So, we have more chewing and not sure when. I don't think it happened yesterday between the my leaving for diving and Ben getting up later in the afternoon because I gave Bubby 2 benadryl and she had multiple chew toys, but it could have. This could be separation anxiety related and Ben gets up pretty late in the afternoon after staying up so late playing online games. There was a window of time while I was gone and he wasn't up. I think that today I will give her a couple of benadryl and crate her while I am gone diving and Ben can let her out when he gets up. She has a raw hide, a pigs ear, and a ham bone to chew on, let's hope that if she gets the urge, that she opts for one of those things.

Vet visit

Bubby and I visited the vet this morning and she looked at the broken tooth. She pointed out to me that the top incisor comes right across it and the other bottom canine and that the other bottom canine is cut into from the incisor. She suggested that the broken one was probably cut into also and predisposed to break. She didn't think we needed to do anything for the tooth except watch it. She said if the pulp in the tooth becomes inflamed, it will be painful for the dog and the tooth will look pink. That would be an indication that we need to do something. In the interim, she thinks that the tooth is starting to recalcify and cover over the spot. The doctor said that we could put a sealant over the spot, but that it was likely to be knocked off in general usage.

The doctor's bigger concern was what started the episode that had Bubby chew up the window sill and break a tooth. She noted that Bubby is overly nervous. I told her that she has been a "panter" ever since she came to us and we didn't have a history on her before she was dumped at the shelter. The doctor suggested that we needed to treat whatever was causing her to be so anxious. She said that we could try 2 Benedryl tablets to make her more relaxed or that she could prescribe valium. She also mentioned that we could try some anti-depressants though she warned that it is hard to find the right thing. Overall, I am not sure how to proceed on this one. I don't think that benedryl or valium on a regular basis is something that an adoptive owner is going to want. I think it is time to consult a behaviorist.

Broken Tooth

Last evening, while I was sitting at the table playing cards with Bubby standing next to me panting (she is a panting machine), I noticed that she had a canine missing. Looking closer, she seems to have broken off the top of her bottom right canine fang while chewing up the window sill in the laundry room. I went back there to investigate a little further and found the missing piece on the floor. I did a little searching online and it appears she will need some dental work. I sent an email to the shelter to let them know and I need to get a call into the vet today. I touched the tooth in her mouth and she didn't seem to be in pain, but it has to be taken care of soon so that it doesn't become a problem. She is still eating, so it must not be a big issue for her, but don't want the pulp of the tooth to become infected and carry the infection down into the bone of the jaw.

Full Disclosure

Don't know what was going on today, but seems a bit high strung. Ben was home playing on the computer all day, though he probably got up in the afternoon and I left for the day at 8:30. When I got home this evening at 5, I went to put the dirty laundry I had left in my room into the laundry room and I found that Bubby had chewed up the wood on the window sill in there. This is the first incident that we have had with her. She did a number on the sill which is only about a foot off the ground. I will have to trim it off and sand it down or maybe just replace it. I don't know what got into her, but as I walked to the front door to let a guest in, I noticed that she had been drooling in the front windowsill (which is only about an inch off the floor). She must have seen something out there today that upset her. The window sill in the laundry room is at the same height as the ones all over the house, so I don't think it is an access thing. She regularly has access to them all over the house. There must have been something outside that got her riled up. I don't know why Ben didn't check on it. He seemed to know something was up because he told me she had been bugging him all day and asked what she was doing there in the laundry room. Oh well, a little bit of fix it work and this will be patched up. I guess I need to keep the front bedroom and laundry room doors closed.

3 weeks and counting

Bubby is still doing very well. No signs of side effects from the heartworm treatment. This past weekend was 3 weeks since treatment and her energy level is good. I worry that she gets too excited when I come home. She still needs a few more weeks of quiet time. She spends almost all day just lying in the hallway or a back bedroom hanging out, so that is good. She will be ready to get out of the house on 6/22. I have a few things I already know she needs to work on. She doesn't like the car. Little wonder in that she was dumped at the shelter, brought here, taken for heartworm treatments all in her last car rides. When she is good to go, we are going to take some car rides to the park, to the Petco for treats, etc. She needs some good associations with car rides. She could also use some training. She is very sweet and she can sit on command, but I don't know that she has any other commands. While she recuperates, I think it best to leave that alone, but when she is better, I will work on down, come, etc.

A long slow period

It has been a week since I last posted. Not much going on here. Bubby seems unphased by the treatment that she underwent. I guess she seems to be feeling a bit better in that she is a bit more animated, which I am discouraging. She needs to stay quiet. At the end of this long 6 weeks period, it will take some work to get her to be active again and playful. She needs some work on going in the car. She hasn't gone much and the times she has were stressful. Well, can't worry about that until July. 1.5 weeks down and 4.5 to go.

No more towels in the crate

Bubby really doesn't like to be put in her crate during the day when we are gone. She lays down on the floor in the bedroom when we are ready to go. She seems to be passively resisting. I have to pick her up and lug her to the crate. I started the crate with some towels on the bottom and the old white dog blanket on top. When I let Bubbette out of the crate the other day,I saw a white thread in one of her claws. I pulled it out, and then went to look at the white blanket which was in shreds. I removed the remnants and yesterday put her in with just the towels on bottom. When I got home, there was a big hole in the top towel. I removed that towel and left the bottom 2 today and a chew toy in there with her. Well, the bottom two are both ripped up and not the chew toy. Tomorrow, no blankets on the bottom, just the crate. She never lays in a dog bed anyway, just the floors around here, so wont' be a big hardship.

6 weeks

I picked up Bubby from her appointment yesterday and the tech said she did fine. They gave me some pain killers for her to take 2 times per day for 3 days and said keep her quiet/comfortable for ....................... 6 weeks. Yes, there is a fill in the blank for the aftercare form and they filled in 6 weeks. That is a long time. Well, she will be with us at least into July. She is due for a followup test in 4 months, but if she is adopted after completing her recuperation, that can be a condition of the adoption.

I decided that she can lay around the house wherever we are when we are home,but when we are gone, I can't guarantee that she is just laying in the treadmill room, so I will have to crate her. She doesn't like it and will lay down and try to dig her claws in, but the floors don't let her get a grip and I can pick her up and push her into the crate. That is going to be a lot of fun for 6 weeks. I need to call the cleaning lady and let her know what I want her to do when she comes this week.

Oh well, she doesn't seem to show any ill effects of the treatment and that is great. We will just dig in and try to keep things calm around here for the next 6 weeks.

Fences

I went to the shelter on Monday and got some chain link fence sections to use to keep Bubbette in the kitchen. Well, it worked. Monday night she didn't get out of the kitchen. She cried a bit at first complaining about being confined in the kitchen for the night, but in the morning she was fine and very happy to see me. She had apparently tried to see if she could get out because I found a post it note on the counter had gotten crumpled by her paws. Tuesday, she spent most of her time laying in the sitting room off my bedroom. I decided to let her sleep in there while I slept and she only got up once or twice and didn't wander around much at all. I let her stay in there on Wed. night also and it went fine too. The real question is what to do tomorrow after her treatment. For now, I can worry.

Escape artist

I have been using a superyard xt play yard as a fence to keep the dog confined to certain rooms at home. She has become somewhat of an escape artist. We have come home a couple of times to find her "free" in the house. I attributed one of them to her climbing over a chair and another one to climbing on the sofa, but last night I had her penned in the kitchen and I woke up about midnight with her standing panting in my bedroom. I fixed up the gate and picked her up and put her back in the kitchen. I added some bungees to secure the fence. About 4:15 this morning, I found her standing in my bedroom panting. She had been able to knock free 1 bungee and slide by the gate. This is a very bad sign for once she gets treatment. I can crate her, but I have to pick her up and force her into the crate. This is no mean feat and at 65 pounds, she isn't even a big retriever. Today I setup the play yard as a hexagon and added a couple of extra panels and put her in it in the living room. I hope that I will find her in there when I get home. If not, I am not sure what we are going to be able to do for her once she gets treatment. I guess the next solution would be to get a dog run setup in the house. The problems that I see with that is she doesn't lay calmly when penned up. She needs to be calm after treatment and I am not sure how much better it will be penning her at home versus the shelter. The only upside I see to home is that she doesn't have the other dogs getting her riled up.

Retriever mix

Lab mix, golden mix, how do I tell? I looked in our dog book and stared at Bubbe and I can't guess. The hair isn't that long, so that makes me lean toward Lab, but the coloring is more golden. It is always a mystery with these mixed breeds.

That girl sure can pant

I know I am supposed keep Bubbette calm, but she isn't staying calm tonight. She is panting away at the storms. She is making little drool puddles and shaking a bit. She just isn't liking this storm. Not much I can do for her.

Treatment cost

I spoke with the office manager at my longtime vet yesterday and she enumerated in great detail the cost of a full diagnosis and treatment for a dog with heartworm. Let us just say that even with some optional items excluded, ATA is providing a low cost treatment. I have great confidence in my vet, but after some contemplation I have decided to just follow the course of treatment already arranged by the shelter for Bubbette.

Gotta relax a bit

Every dog is different. Sandy took a day or so to even come out of the front hallway. Bubbette has been timid in her own way. She ran away at first and has been standoffish. I got a bit concerned when I came home from a full day at work with her in the kitchen and she hadn't wet the floor but she didn't go to the bathroom when I took her out. Perhaps the heartworm thing has me a bit paranoid, so I called the shelter. They told me the vet to see and faxed over a voucher and gave me the number to call for an appointment. Jeff at the vet was great and he took my number to get the doctor to call me back. Dr. Barnett called me and talked with me and told me that it might just be her adjusting to being here and to watch her a bit more to see if she was having kidney issues or what. I said she had eaten a little and we talked a bit more and I decided to wait and see.

Bubbette has only been drinking from the pond. She hasn't touched her water bowl in the kitchen, but she gets a big drink from the pond each time I take her in the backyard. She doesn't seem to want to go into the kitchen when she isn't trapped in there, so I brought her bowl of food out this evening and added a touch of plain yogurt and she ate. I gave her the rest of her bowl of food and she had a good meal and in a bit went out to do the full compliment of potty activity and it gave me a big sigh of relief.

Like I said, every dog is different. I am used to dogs that want desperately to go out and do their business and that isn't every dog. I need to relax, learn Bubbette's ways, and keep her calm and relaxed while she awaits treatment and then after treatment. She seems to be warming up to us a bit, so that is good.

I spoke to Angie who works at my vet today. She volunteers at the shelter and was going to check to see if we could get a good price and earlier appt. for Bubbette. She told me that the office manager wanted to talk to me directly, so I will call in the morning. Here is hoping.

Treatment

Well, I was wrong. Bubbette has only had the blood work thus far. She is scheduled for treatment and is scheduled for back to back treatments, but she hasn't had treatment yet. She needs to remain as still as possible, but it isn't that she has arsenic in her body now breaking up worms. Today, we have kept her in the kitchen most of the day except when she was out for a walk on the leash. She seems to be intimidated by the gate, so she stays in. We crated her last night which she didn't seem to be into. I had to drag her to the crate and pick her up to get her in there. Oh well. I am checking with my vet to see how much extra it would cost to take her there for treatment instead of waiting for her appointment at ATA. I hear it can be quite expensive, but I will find out tomorrow.

Serious Doubts

I had no hesitation when Monica asked if we wanted to take Bubbette home. She looked like such a sweet girl, size isn't an issue for me and we have the perfect house for a foster dog since we don't have any carpet so no issues for vomiting or other side effects of hw treatment.

Then Bubbette slipped out the door to the open garage. We caught her after a few blocks, but she is supposed to be still and she took off running. I googled heartworms online and they are nasty things, can be up to 6" long and they are killed off by the treatment that she got, but they have to break up and get through her system without blocking off any arteries. She needs to be crated as much as possible. She was nervous around us and saw her chance and made a break for it and I just can't know yet if that did any serious damage. I have been reading about symptoms and I will try to check her temp in the morning (that's gonna be fun), but she already has me second guessing our choice to bring her home. At the shelter, she has a small run, here at home, she either has to be in her crate, or we can put her dog bed (which she has yet to try) in the laundry room and that will be small enough. She isn't comfortable around us yet and I don't see confining her like this as a way to improve our relationship. We will see what the morning brings. I have to go to a meeting while Ben is at Sunday school, so I have to put her up then, but I am not sure what to do with her while we are home. This evening, she pretty well laid on the floor and we stayed in the same main room of the house and she didn't move around too much, but I am not sure we kept her confined enough. Doubts, doubts, doubts. Well, we will see what the morning brings and I can call the shelter in the morning. Sigh.

Bubbette comes to "rest" at our house

Bubbette is a heartworm positive 2 year old female Golden mix. She is very sweet but a bit shy right now. We need to let her warm up to us.

Charlie went home

Charlie was adopted and he went home with his new family today. Woo hoo.

Wondering if Charlie is adopted

Since the shelter is only open on Fri-Monday,I haven't heard what is going on with the adoption application that came in for Charlie. There is a real possibility that he could be going to his new home this weekend, but I just don't know. I guess the best thing is to call the shelter tomorrow when they are open and check the status.

Just a happy, nice little puppy

What can I say, Charlie is just a nice little puppy. He is relatively house broken. By that, I mean that if the backdoor is open, he will go outside to use the bathroom. I know that in the morning that he needs to go out and do everything, so if I take him out and he only pees, then I know that he still has more to do sometime. I don't have a doggy door, but if I leave the back door open a bit, I can go off and shower or focus on a conference call and he will go outside when the urge hits. He is very loving in the morning and when I come home. He comes and hangs out with me and wants to get in my lap, wants to be rubbed and he likes to play. He loves to play fetch. This is something new to me, not the concept, but having a dog that actually likes to do it. You can throw Charlie a ball or a toy and he will go run and get it and bring it back. He likes to do it over and over. This makes it easy to tire him out.

Being a puppy, Charlie does mouth a bit on occasion. He gives you a little nip. I took a tip from the Shelter weekly newsletter a couple of weeks ago about Cha Chi. If Charlie is nipping at me, I yelp loud. He looks and then he stops. He realizes he is hurting me (well, he isn't, but I don't want it) and he stops. This was a great tip, thanks Geneve.