Foster Dog Woes

I foster and train shelter dogs. This is where I rave or bitch about what is going on with them.

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1 week to the day that Mabel has been in our house. She is sleeping on the bed with us through most of the night and coming up to us to be pet. She’s still terrible in the crate (shreds the bedding, howls) but I didn’t come home to find that she had pooped in it!! Yay for the small miracles!! 

ANNNNNDDD. While I was at work today I got 3 different emails of people wanting to adopt her! 1 home sounds like it won’t work. But there are 2 potentials...and now on to the meet and greets. Ultimately it depends on if they can handle her fear and escapism habits and then how the dogs get along. (It’s ALWAYS up to the dogs.) Hopefully this pretty girl might get a forever home soon.

I’ll be sad to see her leave, cause she’s sooo sweet....but I am REALLY not a hound person. They’re great dogs...but the howling/baying really hurts my head.

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Mabel willingly got on the bed and cuddled me today!! It was my leg that she cuddled....but it still counts!!! And while she was on the bed, she rolled over asking for belly rubs!! AND LET ME RUB IT WITHOUT FLINCHING!! :D

I am so proud of this scared little dog. She’s still scared of everything that moves outside, but if she’s comfortable in the house, then we can tackle the outside at a later date.

[trainingafoster]

After 3 days of Mabel being in the house she’s starting to show us little moments of her goofy personality! She’s still very scared of everything, but she’s initiated play with our dogs and today when I came home from work she actually came up with my own dogs to get pet! Granted right after that she tried to steal my dinner, but I will take her having the courage to come close enough to take my food. 

She’s a weird little dog though, as she’s still too nervous to pee on leash in the front yard, but thankfully putting her on our long line and letting her go into the woods behind the house works. She sleeps in the room with us at night, but when we leave her in the crate she has major separation anxiety, but we’ll cross that bridge after she’s more comfortable around the house.

Reasonable expectations! That’s pretty much my mantra right now.

[trainingafoster]

After a week of contemplating and thinking, we have decided to take on another foster dog, even though part of me feels like it’s too soon. But sometimes life has a way of calling for you even when you’re not 100% ready for it.

We have taken on a hound (I will learn later if this is a good or bad idea). Her name is Mabel and she was shut down in the shelter setting. She’s terrified of people, but loves other dogs. We picked her up this morning and she isn’t actively seeking my attention, but she will walk past me willingly and is currently sleeping in the living room next to Nax. Photos and more info about her to come soon. 

Also, I’m calling her “Maybe-Baby” because it’s almost like she says maybe to everything we do and I’m pretty sure she was very babied at the shelter by the volunteers. 

[trainingafoster]

Today I returned Herbert to the shelter. He has to go on a 10 day bite quarantine since I was bitten while breaking up the fight between him and my boy. I talked with some of the staff members at great length about him and we all came to the conclusion that he is just too far gone and he is too much of a liability to adopt to the public. I think everyone knows what that means. And before anyone comes after me saying that I should have tried harder, given him more time, or sent him to a sanctuary, I will say please don't bring that shit up. In the week I had this dog he went from slightly bad to overly aggressive and unpredictable. I tried everything I know and then some, and at a sanctuary he would be alive, but living in a kennel for the rest of his life (and being only 2, that will be a long time). It sucks that this was the outcome, but I know I made an educated decision and talked to many people at length about it before we all came to the same decision.

[trainingafoster]

So after a walk I tried to work Herbert with some basic commands, this dog is so fucking smart, but has next to no manners with people or dogs. He learned “touch” and would repeatedly do it within 15 mins. I need a rather confident male that will teach him a lesson or two and won’t be fazed if they get into a spat...my male is afraid of him after their couple of spats and don’t want to ruin his training for the sake of Herbert’s. This damned dog knows sit, down, touch, roll over. All in the span of a week. 

I need some kind of creative way to teach him manners. He’s mouthy, needy, easily spooked with loud noises, has prey drive, and won’t settle down even after long walks. Any ideas?

[trainingafoster]

Meet Herbert

Herbert is my current foster dog (the one in all the pictures). He has been in a shelter setting since early October. He’s a door dasher in his kennel and is very rough and mouthy in doggy playgroups. This boy is very stocky, but makes up for his short stature with a beefy frame. When I brought my dogs in for a meet and greet, they seemed to get along pretty well and mine began to teach him some manners rather quickly. 

In the home, Herbert wants to eat my cat. We have had to keep Cicero upstairs to keep him safe. This boy also began to mark my couch (which made us have a very strong ‘come to jesus’ talk). But after the first few days he seemed to settle in a little. Come to find out, he’s a resource guarder and food aggressive with other dogs (not people). Because of that (and probably some dominance issues), we have had 2 fights break out between him and Nax (my male). Both ended as soon as the dogs were broken up with no major injuries to either dogs. 

The first time was better than the second. The second fight ended with my arm bleeding. Now if anyone is wondering, yes I do know how to break up a fight without putting my arms/hands in the middle, but it’s rather difficult to do that when it breaks out right on top of you and you’re the only one home. I don’t know which dog got me, nor do I know if it was a bite or a scratch, but I’m not mad at them for that, shit happens sometimes. 

But Herbert’s training is about to be kicked into high gear. Originally we were concentrating on walking and remaining calm since he’s about to start heartworm treatment, but we’re going to add a little bit more to that list once my arm stops throbbing.

[trainingafoster]

New Blog!!

This is where I’m going to post the realistic bits of what I do with my foster dogs. From training and adoptions to fights and set back. It’s gonna get down and dirty, cause I need a place to post all of this stuff.