goodbye willow

Well, Willow has been adopted. And not by me, although I did get to re-home her myself. It was a sad day, but to be honest, it was a long time coming. She was never meant to be mine, and although I will miss her very much I think she is better off. At least I hope so.

Willow was adopted out to an older, retired woman who lives about an hour away. She has two new collie siblings, a seven year old rough tri named Weston, and an eight year old collie cross named Keely. I think Weston and Willow will be great friends, both are exceedingly gentle personalities and love to play chase! And since Willow is the only one of the three agile enough to jump on her new owners bed, I'm sure she will get lots of special cuddle time.

I've been trying to encourage Willow's new owner to continue to feed her Acana (which I switched her to once she was DQ'd), however she is not sure about switching off her vet food (yuck!). I hope Willow and Keely's continuing allergies will help her decide to make the switch.

However, I know she will be loved to death, and that is the important thing. She will be brushed, taken on walks, and treated with respect and affection. And her owner has promised to send me updates of her welfare, and even suggested I go visit in the spring. Yay! After loving and training Willow for almost a year and a half, I'm glad she will not completely leave my life.

December Update

 To the People Who Read My Blog:

I apologize for not writing in so long. Computer troubles, combined with end-of-term madness helped the month of November to fly by without any blogging. I have no excuse for December though, I've just been lazy!

Here is my news for the month December:

1) I officially finished term one of my masters! Only two and a half years left. Sigh. Why did I choose this route again?

2) Willow was recalled on December 2nd, a very sad day for both of us.

3) Last week I visited my parents in the country, and realized that it is actually way less safe than the city! Everywhere I walked Ace, he was at risk of getting shot by stupid hunters or grouchy landowners. Let me tell you, he was all decked out in red ribbon in order to be an obvious pet!

4) My poor little Willow was disqualified from ADS due to her allergies. Although I wish they would have been willing to try her on a better food, I understand that they don't want to place an unhealthy dog with a child who has a disability. My mission over the next few weeks is to find the BEST possible family to adopt her.

Life goes on, as it always does. I am continuing to work at the pet store, which is madness this time of year. I never realized so many people buy their pets Christmas presents.

More posts coming soon!

where is the line

...between rough play and dog aggression?

Tonight I took Ace and Willow over to a classmate's house to play with her one year old bluetick coonhound. First impression: absolutely adorable dog, just a little smaller than Willow. Next impression: guarder.

No no sooner arrive than the dog is snarling and chasing Willow away from her toy. The toy gets taken away, and the two girls play pretty well for the next 10 minutes, although it is clear that this dog is fairly dominant. At this point my classmate tells me that she is also possessive of the deck, and the space under the deck. Wonderful.

Shortly after, the snarling begins. Willow is soon pinned and yelping, fights back to get up, and is promptly pinned again. I start yelling and run down to break it up, trying to grab my classmate's dog by the back end (note to self - research how to break up a dog fight without getting bitten). My classmate comes down to get her dog, and I expected to hear something along the lines of "I'm so sorry, she's never done anything like that before!" Instead, she tells me that they just needed to work it out, and not to worry as there was no harm done.

I don't know this classmate super well and I'd never met her dog before, and I didn't want to be rude, although my instinct was telling me to leave right then. We stayed for another 10 minutes or so, but the two dogs didn't really play again until Ace started to play. Willow joined him (as per usual), and I had to step in a few times as they tend to gang up on other dogs. I made it clear through my actions that I did not tolerate humping, and once the other dog was down I called mine off. I believe that bullying between dogs is not to be tolerated.

This situation reminded me of an article I read, off a link on the ARPH website (http://www.ontarioaussies.ca/Aussie%20Links.html). The article is about managing a multi-dog household (http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/many.txt), and specifically I thought of this section copied below:

Every time pack management questions arise, several people will suggest
that you allow the dogs to work things out alone.  They'll assure you that
this is the only way to go.  Sometimes this can work, but this is dependent
on the breed, individual temperaments and respective sizes of the dogs
involved.  Use your better judgement.  Don't let a Rottweiller freely go at
a Yorkie or a 2 year old pick on a 15 year old.  Often these remarks are
followed by someone telling how they lost a dog (evenly matched in breed
and size to it's opponent) to a dogfight by following this philosophy.

As I left, my classmate suggested next time we meet somewhere else and let the dogs run. 

I agree, but in my head I think "not with Willow". Interestingly, this is the second dog I've 

introduced Ace to in the past month, and he has reacted with indifference. I wonder if this is 

part of the maturing process, or is he just feeling beaten by my constant corrections for 

humping and rough play? Will have to test these theories. 

To conclude, in my classmate's mind the dogs were just playing, however to me it seemed 

an awful lot like a dog fight.

the saga continues

So, you know how a few weeks ago I posted about being ready for Willow to leave?

I lied.

As health problems arise, I feel a desperate need to keep her with me. Although no decision has been made yet, disqualification has been brought up. And as much as I love her, I cannot afford to keep another dog.

My fingers are crossed that this is just another blip in her life, and that she will go on to become a successful service dog. I hope that making a difference in a child's life will make it easier for me to lose her. Otherwise, what is all this heartache for?

destruction

Ace is not my favourite pooch this week. After leaving both dogs loose during the day for the past two weeks, we had some destruction the past two days. Yesterday I came home from an 8 hour school day to kleenex scattered around the floor, and two pairs of now un-wearable underwear.

Nice.

This morning I thought maybe it was a fluke (they've been so good lately!), and left them loose for a shorter amount of time, around 6 hours. I lost another pair of underwear and a bag of tortillas which was sitting on the counter.

I was also short a crate today (I gave away a crappy one yesterday, and was not able to pick up my new, but still used, crate this afternoon), so since I suspected Ace was the culprit, he was crated. Willow was left loose, to great success.

1 point for Willow, the foster
0 points for Ace, the pet

I'm going to have to test Ace a bit, to try to figure out if this is behavioral or if he is just not getting enough exercise. Maybe both?
Time will tell.

willow at the cottage

Last weekend at the cottage I kept Willow out of the sand and the water, since she had open sores caused by excessive itching. Although not a happy camper, she still managed to relax and enjoy being outside!

happy hikers

Just look at those smiles!!!
If only my camera was fast enough to catch the actual hiking... 

Willow smiling at the camera, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth.

Ace coming towards me through the field of goldenrod.

Willow and Ace smiling for the camera. What happy dogs :)

willow

As much as I love Willow,  I am definitely ready for her to be recalled. I feel like I have spent so much money on her this summer (wet food, dry food, treats). Now her constant itching is driving me crazy. Pretty much any time she is awake, she is itching. I have to double check for fleas, but I'm pretty sure it's seasonal allergies. So now I have to decide if I should try getting her benedryl (although I'm worried about her getting sleepy), or a more natural anti-itch supplement.

I will also not miss her whining in the car, how picky she is with her food, and her lack of a bowel movement schedule, among other things. She is unfortunately just not a good match for me, personality wise. However she is not all bad. When she is recalled, I will miss her dependency to sleep on my bed, how cute she is when she plays with Archie, and how she stops right in front of me and stares with her tail wagging. She is a very sweet dog, just not the perfect fit for me.

I am hoping to book her for her spay in two weeks, then she will go directly to the head trainer once she has recovered. I will miss her, but I am ready to move on.

oops

Wow, have I been negligent, or what?
I've spent much of the last month travelling, working, and preparing myself for the next phase of my education. I still have massive lists of things to do in the next week. Yikes.
In the meantime, here are some photos of Ace and Willow at my friend's cottage, playing with her husky, Lynx.
Enjoy!

new collars

A few weeks ago I bought a new collar for Ace. I like his martingale, and he behaves better with it on, however he hates it when I pull it over his head to take it off. I very much dislike making Ace do things he doesn't want to do, so I began looking for an alternative. I decided to forgoe the cute, patterned collars in favour of a more mature option. I bought him a black rolled leather collar, as pictured below.

This collar is great because it doesn't leave a ring around his neck, where his fur normally rubs on the collar. What does this mean? I have a nice, sleek looking dog all the time! When I find/buy a camera, I will post pictures.

Willow also has a new collar, more out of necessity than choice though. Willow and her brother Wizard have very narrow heads, which means they can easily back out of regular flat collars. Willow is also very sensitive to corrections, which could cause problems when she is recalled. I was worried a chain martingale would upset her, so set out to find a soft martingale. Let me tell you, it's no easy feat. After searching a few stores and websites, I finally found a simple red one that ADS was willing to purchase for her.

Appropriate collars are important when training a dog - the wrong collar can invite disaster! Flat collars are preferable, however often dogs will require a collar with more correction, such as soft martingales, chain martingales, chokers, and even prong collars. Personally, I dislike using any collar harsher than a chain martingale (Ace's old collar), however depending on the circumstances more severe collars may be required.

mirror image

                                              Willow and Archie hanging out in my bedroom.

Willow Meets the Boar

dogs and family

A friend of mine has been involved with the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival for the past several rounds, and has encouraged me to participate, even though I am a new blogger. The topic for this Carnival is "reactions". I have decided to write about my family's reactions to my foster puppies. My family has always reacted negatively to my fosters, they think it is a lot of work and don't really understand the joy I get from fostering. I live on my own, but like to visit my parents every few months.  



When I brought home my first foster (Honey), she was a year and a half old and pretty much a terror. She stole food, would shove toys in their faces, and generally make a mess. She was definitely a work in progress, but for a dog that had been a rescue she was very loving and outgoing. After the first weekend I took her home, they decided that Honey could not come visit again. I was very disappointed that my family did not support my involvement in the program, and that they were not willing to make accomodations for my foster puppy.



c

Honey (fostered February - April, 2009)



My second foster followed shortly after Honey (who was disqualified for the reasons above). Ace was an adorable 9 week old puppy, and I was so happy when he was welcomed with open arms. Until he grew up. My parents would get upset when he would get excited and scratch the hardwood floors, pull sticks from the forest and leave them on the grass, and get hair all over the back of the car. When Ace was disqualified for having a health issue, I decided to keep him, so these issues continue today.



Ace (fostered June 2009-Feburary 2010,
then adoped)

When I told my family that I was going to get another foster puppy, they were very upset. Their comments went something like this: "you already have a dog, why do you need another one?" "You are wasting your life with these dogs" "Well it can't come home, so you'll have to think about that". To be honest, if they were not going to support my decision, I decided that I just was not going to come home. Fortunately I found out I was going to get Willow when she was only about 2 weeks old, so I had lots of time to prepare my family. In the 8 week period before I brought her home, they decided that maybe she could come to the cottage, and then maybe she can come home when my dad wasn't there, and finally "ok bring both dogs". Willow was allowed to come home with me from when she was 10 weeks until 10 months, and now my parents have decided that it is just too many dogs (what!?!) and that she cannot come.



Willow (fostered August 2010 - present)

I should mention that my family had a lab/shepherd cross when I was a kid, and currently has a small poodle cross, so overall they like animals. My mother was also an Educational Assistant (EA) for several years, and has a degree in Disability Studies. She is always promoting rights for the differently-abled, but cannot understand why I would want to spend my free time socializing a puppy to help children with autism. She supports service dogs, but just thinks someone other than me should raise them. This type of reaction has always baffled me, as I don't understand how you can support an end result without supporting the process.