So it ends; so it begins.

I prepared lists and typed out tables. I met with a behaviourist from the humane society. I was ready to post all the details of the decision that lay before me. The thought of that made me really tired! What I really needed was to think and to talk to my husband. And that's what I did. I think I knew the whole time what the right decision was. It just hurt to get there.

Sometimes, you need to do something even if it goes against rational thought. Horse of Course's purchase of her lovely Fame is a perfect example. But it works both ways. I could have justified any reason to keep Mattie! I could rationally refute every con on my list. But I let her go, and it was the right thing to do.

I'm really going to miss those yellow eyelashes.

We did a really good job socializing Mattie and helping her gain confidence. That is the whole point behind being a foster parent, giving them a better chance, NOT adopting all of them! The fact that it breaks my heart sucks though. I've been crying on and off since dropping her off yesterday.

Besides, I'm really not ready for the long-term work a puppy needs to become the kind of dog I want!

Whatdoyamean?? Puppy doesn't need work, just play!

I'm going to go hug my dog now.

Mattie's Progress

Mattie is doing very well! She has come a long way in the two weeks we've had her. She is much more adventurous, less timid and much more playful. She is still wary of new people and dogs but no longer tries to flee in terror. She really likes to approach people when their back is turned.

Hazel injured her paw so I am doing my best to keep her quiet in between soaking her paw and dishing out antibiotics. It's not working out too well :), she is used to a total of about 2hrs walking/running per day! Sasha was out of town this week too, so I have had my hands full!

We are considering adopting Mattie. Just considering!! I am torn because the whole point is to help increase the adopt-ability of these guys so that more of them will find permanent homes. If we adopt them, we can't help as many. It's just Mattie is such a good fit for us. Her and Hazel are a really good match both energy and temperament wise. As I type this, they are dreaming in unison *sigh*.

Here are some photos of them playing around.

It's amazing they can look like
this and still be incredibly gentle
with each other!

Hazel getting a better grip. Just look
at those beautiful teeth. Not bad
for a dog who is almost 3!

Mattie's turn.
"Wait. I think I found some
cookie in your teeth!"
Settling down.

All tuckered out. Seriously, how
can I send her back??

Mattie the Foster Puppy

We have a new foster puppy who will be with us for the next 3 to 4 weeks. I got the call asking if we could take her yesterday morning and we picked her up in the evening.

This is Mattie. She is very
happy in her crate.

She is a four-month old lab cross...I was thinking Greyhound yesterday and after watching her run off leash today I am quite positive I'm right on that. Mattie is an extremely timid dog and is in serious need of socialization. Hazel is the right dog for the job on the canine front and since we don't have children it's a good environment to slowly ease her into normal noises etc. She has been extremely quiet so far and barely shows interest in Tonka (cat). Tonka actually approached her right away and gave her a good sniffing-over so he must have sensed that she was no threat.

When we first brought her home, she was terrified of pretty much everything. She would look at the wall as if trying to figure out how to disappear into it. It was very, very sad to see. I've never seen a dog try to make itself so tiny.

She figured out she could wedge
herself between Hazel on her bed
and my little laptop table.

Today Mattie was starting to relax a fair bit. I let her run off leash during the evening walk and after the first few minutes she really started to enjoy herself. The tail started coming up, she was sniffing around and following Hazel's every move. She is very clumsy! She bombed through the bush without much regard for branches and tripped a fair bit. She also doesn't watch where she's going and often stops by running into Hazel's butt. Well, Hazel's butt IS where all the Ruckus happens, after all, hee hee. I will have to get some video of her running to show the racing dog gait.

Here she is, starting to relax
and enjoy herself outside.

The good, the bad, and the yummy.

The Good.

Xena is doing very well. The first day she was here she whined so much I thought even I would go crazy! She is just so insecure and any time you paid her the tiniest bit of attention she would just get so worked up. It broke my heart, but I had to ignore her any time she started. You can't reinforce that kind of insecurity with touching or talking of any kind, you need to just go about your business and demonstrate there is nothing to get worked up about. She has gotten immensely better and now only rarely gets into whining which only lasts a few seconds before she realizes it isn't getting her attention. I tell you though, that first day it was SO hard to find moments to reward the behaviour I wanted (i.e., quiet, calm).


Fortunately, I caught a couple excellent opportunities to give her lots of affection while she was relaxed. She soon realized that she got all kinds of lovin' except when she was stressing out about nothing. I really, really hope whoever adopts her will realize that coddling her is the worst thing you can do for her. She is still super submissive but is less nervous, more confident and much more playful. She really had no idea how to play with a toy. How sad is that?? Sasha told me how Hazel (our dog) showed Xena how to play by repeatedly throwing the ball at her. Too cute! Now it is her favorite thing to do.

I also did two 5-minute training sessions with her today, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. She knows nothing basically. She is like a 3 month old, not a 10 month old AND she is not highly food motivated. She will ignore a Kong full of peanut butter if she's the least bit stressed. I honestly didn't think it was physically possible for a dog to ignore peanut butter, lol. Fortunately, she is also smart and learns fast. She also likes my Zukes treats. I think roll-over or something would be even better for her.

Yikes, I gotta go right now. The bad and yummy to come...