Sammie pUpdate

No picture today because Sammmie is still napping and it's just oh-so-boring!

Sammie and Kids: I should have had the camera on last night's walk. In front of us was a dad with his dog and a little girl about 7. Sammie spent most of the walk beside the little girl, plodding along as though they were the best of buddies. It was very sweet, and I think Sammie belongs with children. So far, she has never jumped up on one - she just seems to be really content each time she finds one.

Sammie's Secret: Sammie can jump into the truck by herself now - the secret was to get her to take a run at it and then she's up and in before she realizes what happened. I say "was" because Sammmie has figured out the secret, and has developed a counter-secret. Take a big run at the truck, but come to a dead halt once your front legs are up and then someone will come and lift your back end in, just like the good old days.

Jumping Bean Solution: There's something about food and walks that gets poor Sammie into a tizzy. I swear she levitates. But she also has a bad habit of pawing and jumping on the bringer of food and leashes. So far, I've been able to reduce the habit by about 40% with the Off! command, but there we hit a wall. This morning I think I found the solution. As soon as she starts pawing, I walk right into her and just keep walking. She immediately backs up and finally turns away. I'm going to perfect it and report back... my bet is she will be cured of jumping in two more days.

Breathing Blues: We should get some lab results back tomorrow to find out how to clear up Sammie's nose ... she's just like a kid with a bad cold. When she sneezes, I try my best to get there with a kleenex before she sticks her tongue out. I love her to pieces, but it's oh so disgusting!

Couch Pirate

Guess who finally learned to get up on the big chair all by herself!

Lazy Dog

Nothin' like a good snuggle to put a girl to sleep.

Can you guess....

... which one is saying, "Oh, you are just my best buddy in all the world!" and which one is saying, "Help! Help! ... ?

Toy Hog

Sammie's breathing has been way better over the past couple of days. Mornings are still noisy, but even that is down by a few decibals. Hmmm. The only new thing is hypoallergenic food. Maybe it's just allergies! She has way more energy too, and I had to kick her and Ginny outside this morning because they wouldn't stop fighting over the toy.

Test results should be back in a day or so -- fingers crossed!

What? Did you say "treat"?

This is how fast Sammie spins around when I say, "Sammie!" on the walks.

In case there's a treat, her mouth gets to the front while the rest of her is still coming around.

Sammie's Tuesday Adventures

Sammie was allowed to go for her walk off leash today, because she comes instantly when I call her. Except, that is, when we got back to the parking lot and she decided she wouldn't mind getting into a car with someone. Any car with anyone would be just perfect, said Sammie, and she went completely deaf.

Her respiratory tract check was been delayed until tomorrow morning, so until then, enjoy these pictures of Sammie's walkabout!

On the way to the dog park

This is Sammie's favorite position: right between the two front seats, head nestled right into the best Treat Receipt position. This used to be Iggy's spot, but you know what girls are like!

The doggie-train

You can't bite me, I'm biting you!

Sammie taking down Ginny taking down Iggy

Stopping to smell the ... uh ...

A new human friend

A new doggy friend

Sitting quietly for attention from a stranger

Sammy is still learning not to jump - this is her first voluntary sit while being petted. What a good girl!

How can you resist that beautiful eye?

Here is Sammie as she comes around and starts to feel better about her new pack.

She's had a very eventful day so far!

Waiting for food: This morning, she learned to sit and wait while breakfast was being prepared. To drive the point home, I worked in slow motion as I filled three dishes so I could keep one eye (of course!) on Sammie. Sammie jumped up and moved two steps forward every 30 seconds or so. And, upon the Sit! command, backed up and landed in her original position - also at top speed. Sort of like a jack-in-the-box. But in the end, she managed to wait until everyone got the okay to eat. One more day and she'll have it down to an art.

Recall: Today on our walk I put the leash down and let Sammie pick her route. She stayed very close, and as soon as we said her name, she spun around and came back - every time! Immediate recall, I think that's called. Sammie has it because she thinks "Sammie" is short for "Hey, Sammie! How would like a nice liver treat? You can have one if you come and sit."

Not jumping up: She still jumps up on me sometimes (the primary giver of treats and Big Suck) but Don the Dog Master is slowly but surely ironing that out of her system. Today on the walk a stranger stopped to pet her and she sat her little bum down on the ground instead of trying to leap into his arms. A big step forward!


Everyone is snoring now during their post-walk naps (well, actually it's just Sammie the water buffalo, but it just makes more sense to spread the noise among all three dogs).

I don't want a toy. I want you to pet me!

I think it's a pretty safe bet that Sammie won't bite. She HATES having a bath and spent the time leaning as far as she could out of the tub in case I gave her room to wiggle away. She wouldn't take a treat from me until she was safely out and towelled off, but she kept her gentle nature throughout.

Today's walk was much better. She didn't pull at the leash at all, and didn't try to jump up on anyone. She's learning to stop and sit when she hears her name, because chances are there's a treat involved! In the afternoon, she went to the pet store with me and was pretty nervous. But she did well considering how much difference there is between "under the trailer" and "in the middle of a big store with all kinds of people milling about".

Oh, and last night we just gave her a blanket and went to bed. But when we woke up in the morning, she was asleep in the crate, so yes - she's crate trained!

Meet Sammie...

Here is our first adult foster dog, Sammie.

We have had her for only one night, and this is what I know about her so far:

1. She is about 2 1/2 years old. When she was rescued, she was living under a trailer, without food or human pack members to care for her. She had a severe respiratory tract infection that made breathing a struggle.

2. She has only one eye. I wonder what happened to the other eye.

3. A week ago, she had 11 puppies and only 3 survived. Sammie was too sick to produce milk, so the 3 surviving pups had to be given to another doggie-mom. I wonder if dogs feel any sense of loss when they lose all their pups.

4. Sammie's respiratory infection hasn't responded to treatment yet. I wonder how she manages to be such a happy dog in spite of the fact that she has to work so hard for every breath.

So I think Sammie is a wonder dog.

She slept in the crate for her first night, and wasn't very happy about it at first. Quite a bit of crying, so I took her out and carried the crate upstairs to the bedroom as we used to do for the puppies. Sammie was pretty pleased with that idea, and slept in the crate all night (no, not quietly because of all the "snorfing" - but no crying or trying to get out).

We went for a long stroll this morning, and Sammie learned to walk beside me on the leash instead of out in front. Also, I think she figured out that you need to finish the walk with the pack you start with, rather than changing direction each time someone passes by.

This afternoon we went to the vet and Sammie got a check-up to see where to go from here. There are lots of things planned to get her better physically, so her little tired body can keep up with her enthusiastic doggy brain. I think once she's feeling better, she'll even be able to jump into the truck. And as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap, she's going to have an oatmeal bath.

That's it for today!

Another "awwwwww" moment !

This new picture of Ivy (now Sheba) should bring a tear to my friend Debra's eye.

What a joyful picture - I'm so happy for Sheba and her new family. It makes me want to foster another puppy even though I swore I would take a break for the summer. (Loralee and Julie, no matter what I say, don't bring me another puppy until September!!) (Well, maybe August.)

Thanks so much to Sheba's new mom for recognizing what a sweet friend she's going to be!

Sheba-Ivy and her new big brother

Ivy has been adopted!

Here are Ivy and Ginny, waiting for Ivy to be picked up to go to her new home. Both of them are very excited!

Ivy (whose new name is "Sheba") is excited because she is going to live on an acreage near Golden, BC, and she will have an older brother with four legs and a tail to chew on.

Ginny is excited because Ivy is going, and Ginny's four legs and tail can have a rest.

Leaps and Bounds Part 1

Ivy loves to sleep between walks, and you can imagine how irresistable is a sleeping puppy.

A couple of days ago I started sneaking up and snuggling her before she had time to wake up, which made her go all tense and grumbly. But she wouldn't move away because of the tummy scratch that went along with the snuggle. (With Ivy, when you scratch her tummy, she just tips over like an outhouse in the wind.)

After a few of these snuggles she seemed to expect them, and even get to like them. And then ...

A Leap and a Bound Part 2

Here she is now!

It started this morning when I was sitting on the couch talking on the phone. Ivy clawed her way up and curled up next to my leg. She stayed there the whole time I was on the phone. Then tonight she climbed up again and snuggled in with Megan to watch Wipeout.

So there. Ivy is officially a Snuggle-Puppy.

Waiting for Supper Part 1

This is how Ivy used to wait for supper. This is her Oh, Poor Little Me. I am so hungry and it's not fair that I have to wait pose.

Waiting for Supper Part 2

Now she has learned to sit and wait politely.

Ivy Update

Ivy is just fine, and getting better every day. She now comes when called, and runs away only from sudden movements. She can claw her way onto the couch now, and does, only to be overtaken by sudden confusion: what am I doing here, and why are the humans so close? But a little scratch on the tummy will win you a snuggle. She's a happy, animated little girl who loves her walks, sleeps through the night and sometimes pees on the floor.

Okay, so that last one isn't in her favor. But she's learning.

I, on the other hand, am decidedly not getting better every day.

Case In Point: I read the most interesting article today while waiting to pick up my daughter from an appointment. In fact, while reading it, I actually thought to myself, What an interesting article this is! I'll have to tell Don about it. I even went so far as to think, Waiting is not so bad. Were it not for waiting, I would never have read this article.

Tonight, while leafing through another magazine, I remembered this event. I said to Don (as planned) "I read the most interesting article today."

And then I realized I have not a clue what the article was about. Not only that, but a few moments of pondering failed to bring it to mind.

Which raises questions, in addition to the obvious Do I have Alzheimers? one.

Why read articles at all?

Why do I have so many books when one will obviously do?

On the good side of things, I recall that I didn't get to finish the article because the waiting period ended suddenly and my mind was taken up with other things. Secondly, a number of unrelated, stressful events popped up between the reading and the failed telling, which could account for the missing data. At least I remembered that I read an article and that it was interesting.

I have also heard that old people become cantankerous. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone, and have conversations like this:

I had an interesting day.
What did you do?
None of your business.

A Message from Ivy's sister's new family

I thought this comment should be part of the main blog...

Hi! My name is Amber and we adopted Grace(ivy's sister) just two weeks ago. Looking at that picture is like looking at Grace. Your stories sound very familar as well!! She was really really shy when we first met her but she has turned into a terror when she wants to be. Crazy dog and then instant sleep!! But she is a very very funny dog to watch especially when she starts chasing her tail and doesn't stop! I hope that Ivy comes out of her shell a little more and can be as entertaining as Grace is!!

Lounging in the grass

Stealing a pet

Ivy will always come for a pet if she can keep Ginny between her and the human attached to the petting hand.

We took her for a long walk today because her endless energy drives poor Ginny around the bend. To make it as much like an off-leash experience as possible, I just let her go and kept up as best I could. She had a great time and fell asleep on my lap on the way home.

Maybe tomorrow she won't be as hard to catch at walk time!

Ivy after her bath

Here is Ivy drying off in the afternoon sun. It took me a long time to catch her for the bath, because she has decided that every time I catch her something bad happens.

And it's almost true... yesteryday she went to the vet and had a thermometer pushed up her little wazoon. This morning I had to put ointment in her eyes, and of course there's bed-time, which means going into the crate.

But she didn't seem to mind the bath very much. As with everything else, once she's in tow she settles in and puts up with whatever comes next. Now her pillow is in the laundry and the floor is about to be washed so that everything gets cleaned up at once.

Before and After

Deb thought I should post the "pre-happy" picture so you can see what a difference a day makes in a puppy's eyes.

Ivy's First Day

Ivy had a perfect day. Perfect means:

(1) She still smells like puppy pee and poo, but so do we from carrying her in and out of the yard this morning; and so does the TV room, from having her and the crate in it for 24 hours. So we don't even notice it anymore. As long as we don't have any company, it's just perfect. And tomorrow she'll have her first bath.

(2) She's free to run about now without her leash. She likes to come back in the house with Ginny, so we don't have to worry about losing her under the deck. And she'll let all of us approach her as long as we do it slowly. That means she doesn't fall down anymore from tripping over her leash, which is perfect.

(3) She pooped in the yard! And not in the house! You can't get much more perfect than that.

Tomorrow she's going on her first doggy walk. She'll have to go in the carrier, but I think she'll relax and enjoy it after the first little while, because she seems to love any kind of activity.

Ivy and her leash

Ivy and the drawing table

Ivy and air

Ivy taking down something wild

Okay, not wild. A stuffed sheep.

Ivy and Ginny's tail

Ivy and her sheep

This puppy loves to play. The only time she stops playing is when she collapses for a nap.

Ivy's first tummy rub

Ivy seems to trust Megan more than the rest of us. Here, she's saying, Okay, I'll let you rub my tummy as long as I don't have to look at you.

A Growing Inventory

As the day wears on, Ivy collects more and more toys. She doesn't spend much time in the crate anymore - maybe because it's just too crowded in there.

A Secret Nap

Here's Ivy after a very busy morning. Notice that she's more "behind" the pillow than "on" the pillow, but she's in my space by choice now instead of hiding in her crate.

She did a whole bunch of puppy bounces (at me, strangely, instead of at Ginny) this morning and lots of "Let's play!" barks. But she wouldn't come any closer than about 3 feet away.

She's really happy to be in a house. She races from one room to another and I can tell she no longer thinks something bad is going to happen. She still runs away from us, but it seems like more of a game now, and I think it will be gone in a couple of days.

The Toy Store

Earlier this morning I left Ivy's door open while I worked in the other room. I could hear her scuffling about, and when I to check on her she was in the crate as usual... but she had made at least three trips out to collect some toys from the puppy toybox.

In this picture you can see what a good-looking girl she is.

Hmmmm, THIS smells good!

Here is Ivy on one of her Big Explores. She has free reign of the house this morning, because she just can't get enough rambling and sniffing in. Plus, she needs lots of space between Ivy and any humans who might wander by!

She's come a long way in the past few hours - all that puppy stuffing keeps bursting out and taking over.

She's going to be a beautiful BIG girl!

Baby Steps

Hey, it may not look like much but it's something! Ivy is now facing the front of the crate and she has been going in and out of it all morning. She sticks to the periphery of the room where she can safely dive under the table or the coffee table or the plant stand, or - if the way is clear - back into the crate.

Last night was a trial and error night.

Trial: I decided to let her out of the x-pen, because she loooked as though she wanted to play with Ginny.

Error: I didn't put a collar on her first.

The result was a wild puppy running frantically through the kitchen (at least I had the sense to put the gates up). The corner cupboard has no door on it, and of course Ivy immediately shot into the cupboard, sending the pots and pans into a tizzy. She finally came out and lodged herself between the couch and the wall, and I was able to clip on a collar and leash.

For a small puppy (she only looks big because those sad eyes make her look like an adult) she has a very big woof. It woke me up in the middle of the night, and out of habit I was down the stairs and carrying her outside while still half-asleep. Of course she didn't do anything except stand on the grass and shiver, but it's all practice.

By this morning she had used the pee-pad (no poo yet, though, so we're in for a big explosion at some point today!) and she gobbled down her breakfast with no hesitation.

We'll see what the day brings. Ivy desperately wants to play, and every little while she falls into a few seconds of normal puppy-action, like a tail-wag or a toy-chew. Things are looking up!

Our New Little Lamb

All right, so this isn't the bouncy ball of fluff you usually see on DogSpot. This is Ivy about four hours after she arrived. She hasn't talked to us yet, or had anything to eat or drink. But she did go to sleep for about an hour, which meant she had to close her eyes and stop watching for trouble. And that was a big step for Ivy.

I set up the X-pen around the crate, and put in some of water and a tiny dish of puppy food and rice. I think maybe she'll come out and have a drink once we all go to bed, and maybe a bite to eat. And for the first time, I bought some of those puppy pee-pads and put one inside the pen because I think it's best not to disturb Ivy until she's feeling a little braver.

Ginny has been very respectful - she doesn't go too close to the crate, but kind of looks in from a distance with her head tipped to one side. I think it will be Ginny who brings Ivy out of her shell, but all in good time.

Back to Business: IVY

Okay, so much for the yard work.

This is Ivy, who is three months old and a little bit (okay, a lot) sad and frightened. She will arrive on Sunday, and my job is to introduce her to home life, which she hasn't yet experienced.

Keep an eye on this one! My goal is to turn her into a happy, friendly little girl who would like nothing more than to belong to a human family.

To be fair ...

(see comments under Entry #2)

I should point out that Don didn't actually say Ginny won't pee in the doggie toilet. What he did say, repeatedly, was "hahah". Which is a good indication of what's going to happen if I can't get Ginny to pee there.

On the plus side, she did enter Poo Castle on her own this afternoon. She skulked about as though expecting to be attacked at any second, so I doubt if she peed. But at least she went in.

5. Dog Toilet - Complete

I decided to disguise the dog toilet as a large garden, by placing a small camoflage garden in front of it. Thus the unfinished bit in the foreground.

I am happy to report that Iggy has peed in the dog toilet. Of course Iggy will pee anywhere,especially if there's a treat involved.

Ginny, on the other hand (the dog for whom the $200 cost and two days of labor was incurred) will only enter the doggy toilet on leash. Off leash, when I stand in or near the doggy toilet and call her, she runs into the house and hides. I don't think this increases the odds of her actually peeing in it.

2. The Doggy Toilet

This is my partially built doggy toilet.

I read about it on the internet. It should be 8' x 8'. You should dig out the sod, build a retaining wall and fill the area with hardwood mulch.

Digging out sod isn't easy. Well, it is easy, I suppose, but it takes a very long time. So I decided to kill it with landscaping fabric.

And why is the doggy toilet L-shaped instead of just 8' x 8'? There is an answer to that question but I don't want to talk about it.

Anyway, I laid out my landscaping fabric and pinned it down with little green stakes. Don measured and cut the landscaping ties (as these particular "boards" are called). He said, "Hahah. It's not square." He wasn't referring to the L shape, but to the two front corners which, yes, I must admit, are not "square".

He said, "(Hahah.) Why is it so big?" I said, "It's supposed to be 8' x 8'." Well of course he had the tape measure in his hand as all handy-men do. "It's about 8' x 12'," he said. "Hahah. You're supposed to measure."

Well I don't think the dogs care if it's square or exactly 8' x 8'.

I bought 11 bags of mulch at Home Depot. What you see in the doggy toilet is all 11 bags. Don said, "You should just get a truck full." Oh, and of course, "Hahah."

I can just imagine how funny it will be if Ginny refuses to pee in it.

1. Female Dog Pee Spots

Here, Ginny and Kona are resting quietly after a long evening of chasing each other (around the yard of course).

And all those yellow patches? Ginny is now two years old, and this is what adult female dog urine does to grass. There are ways around this, I understand - for example, watering down the grass right after said adult dog pee has landed on it.

But I have a better idea ...

Cona the Dignified Doggy

Yes, it's the same dog, but I have to get used to calling her Cona because that's her new, more dignified name. She goes to her new home at the beginning of June.

This morning I started an exercise regimen. It's called Yoga and Weights with Dogs because Ginny and Cona were flopping all over each other and me the whole time. So the meditative part was missing, but it was more fun than most exercise plans.

Cerise (now Cona) has been adopted!

And Ginny says, Fine, then! I won't miss you either! (Iggy said the same thing, but he really means it.)

Cerise vs. Chew Toy

The Puppy Bed

For some reason, the puppies all seem to gravitate to this little stool. I think I should get a round little cushion to put underneath it...

Iggy and Cerise

Oh, Iggy, you are so big and handsome!

Cerise bites off more than she can chew....

Cerise is adjusting happily to pack life. She even sleeps through the night now. And this morning she went back into the crate after her morning pee and slept for another hour. Bonus!

I've left her on her own in the crate a couple of times, just for an hour or so. She doesn't protest going in and both times she was asleep when I got back. I think we can safely say she's a crate-trained puppy.

We've been hitting the bike paths for the past few days, because Cerise has way too much energy to be carried. Today she fell into an almost perfect heel for over half an hour - she's learned that reaching the end of the leash, either by running ahead or falling behind, means a gentle tug that interrupts her little puppy flow.

We took her off-leash just once to let her fetch the ball, which is usually Ginny's full-time job. She looked so forlorn when Iggy got a turn that we just had to give her a turn too. She knew exactly what to do, and fetched like a trained professional.

And now she's having her giant post-walk nap, so it's time for me to catch up on some work.