NorCal GSP Rescue

Just had to come on here and post that Kera DOMINATED the “Wedding March.”  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, this is basically the lead up to heeling.  The dog has to sit every time you stop walking and has to sit at your side.  Kera got this in ONE NIGHT.  Cheese is a powerful motivator.  (for reference, we’ve been working on this with Biscuit for about 2 weeks without real success). 

On the down side, the rain kept the dogs inside all day and I wasn’t able to get home at lunch to let them out due to an emergency at work.  I feel so bad!  I ruined her streak!  Kera had her first accident in about 2 weeks =(  8 hours is definitely her limit.  We’re trying to figure out a game plan for winter.  It’s not ideal to let them have free access to our muddy backyard all day and then free run in the house - it’s a recipe for frustration . . . 

Today was my grandmother’s 92nd birthday and we had a big family party.  Kera LOVED it!!! She was really enjoying all the attention.  The whole family was there and she took turns snuggling with everyone.  EVERYBODY loved her.  They kept saying “aw, you guys should keep her!”  It was hard to say “we think she’ll find a forever family that will love her just as much if not more.”  She spent a good part of the evening laying on the floor with the kids (ages 4, 6 and 9) they just couldn’t get enough of her soft ears and Kera soaked up all the attention, calmly tolerating all the excitement and hugs from excited children.  Even when Biscuit was searching for a way to snag the last piece of cake when no one was looking, Kera just snuggled up with my grandmother on her wheelchair.  It was very adorable and it really made my grandma’s birthday extra special.  She loves Kera and told me several times how nice it was to have a dog who wanted to snuggle with her and wasn’t afraid of the wheelchair =)  I was so happy that Kera was  here to share in the festivities.  When it was time to leave, several people picked up her leash and said “time to take our new dog home,”  everyone was wishing they could keep her!  What a sweetheart.  Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera, but I’ll try to get some pictures from someone and get them up.   

An update on the training.  We are increasing Kera’s freedom bit by bit and I’m happy to say that she’s still housebroken!!!  In the morning, she patiently waits by the door to be let out to go to the bathroom!! YAY!!!  She’s got “sit” down like nobodys business and will even do it without the treat now!! Unfortunately we had to give up on “down,”  she just would not be lead down, for some reason she’d rather let the treat move away than follow it to the ground.  So after weeks of trying, we decided to switch to “shake” she kind of seems to be picking this one up.  She makes it easy because she points at whatever she’s interested in, so if she’s interested in the treat in your hand - so easy to grab the paw! 

The dogs are now wrestling over a sock in the livingroom so I’ve got to run - more updates to come! 

Here’s a picture of tonight’s PUPPY PILE!!!!!

Sadie’s a great girl, as you should be able to gather just by looking at her pictures!

If I pick the apples, would you make a pie?

Hair on my paws and hardwood floors don’t mix!

I’ll be right here–and remember not to open the door too fast!

Hey, I know I saw something move in there, are you telling me I’m wrong?

A Roomba? It doesn’t eat dog food does it?

Sadie loves it here with her friends, but you can tell that what she really wants is a forever home she can call her own.

OK, make that a home, and a sofa, she can call her own.

Howie is so much fun.  I just took him for a walk in the woods and while my two shorthairs are running wild, Howie is right there within 20 feet at all times making sure I’m ok and trotting along like he was trained to do it.

He does everything right.  Sleeps all night by our bed.  Stays all day happily on a runner.  Is well mannered, and is a happy, puppy-like big boy. 

He can’t wait, I’m sure, to find a permanent home.  We love him so much, but we also know there’s another family out there who will love him as much if not more.  He’d be a great dog to take to work, if you have a construction job, or an outdoor kind of job.  He wants to be near and hang out.

Come visit Howie in Camino and enjoy Apple Hill while you’re here!   

We took Kera to dinner with us tonight at an outdoor cafe.  Unfortunately, no camera.  It went pretty well, but she did get scared every time the waiter came.  I think she needs more practice going out.  She was skittish the whole time.  

On a happier note, no accidents since our last post, “sit” has become very consistent when she wants something and we’ve started working on “down” to which she seems very resistant - she’s not really into the idea of holding still =) 

I’m attentive and well-mannered.

I pay attention.

I’m good off-leash.

Howie loves hugs.  When we first picked him up, we knew he growled when he was hugged, so we decided to ease him into the world of hugging.  He’s so lovable, we couldn’t believe he wouldn’t like hugs.  We’ve been hugging him non-stop for the two months we’ve fostered him, and he loves it.  I still think small children wouldn’t be a good idea; and easing Howie into hugs with a new family will work just like it did with our family.  And, we hug a lot!

Velvety ears, beautiful eyes.

I’m listening.

Mmmmmm.

Lovin’ the toy!

We’ll we just got back from the dog park, so the house will be quiet for the next couple of hours and I thought I would come and update Kera’s progress. For one thing, she seems so much happier, she’s definitely getting comfortable here and learning to play a lot.  Here’s a couple of pics from an early morning squirrel chasing session.  This is quickly becoming a favorite activity of both her and Biscuit.  Those poor squirrels!   They used to have the run of that backyard!

Well after 5 days without an accident, I figured she was housebroken and gave her full reign of the house and yard while I was at work, and unfortunately, I think it was too soon =(  She had an accident last night and again this morning, so she’s going back to her potty schedule and limited access pass.  Once we’ve got a few more days under our belt, I’m thinking I’ll give her a little more freedom at a time and work up to the whole house and yard over time, rather than just letting her roam.  But never the less, she is MOSTLY housebroken.  She’s also getting pretty good at “SIT”  She will do it very consistently if you’ve got food and consistently when she wants to put her leash on, but she pretends not to hear me when I don’t have anything good in my hand =)  We’ve started working on “lay down,”  But so far, she’s needed to be led every time.  I’m pretty sure she’ll get the hang of it in a few days though.  Here she is showing off “SIT”:

Most exciting was her trip to the dog park today.  She actually got out there and played with a few small dogs and even chased some kids on skateboards.  She definitely is warming up there and of course, everyone loves her.    Then she fell asleep in the car laying ON TOP of Biscuit.  IT WAS SOOOOO CUTE!  We were able to snap a quick pic.  It woke her up, but she fell right back asleep. 

It’s been 2 weeks as of today that we’ve had Kera and we’ve really enjoyed having her around, Biscuit I think most of all.  We’re starting to get sad thinking about her moving on to her forever home because we will really miss her, but I know it will be for the best for her and that she’ll find a really great home.  We would love to see Kera go to someone who would let her sleep on the bed with them.  She’s really such a snugglebug and her absolute favorite place to be is on the bed or couch with us.  We don’t actually let her sleep in our bed though; she’s in a dog bed right next us, but I think she would really love it if she could find someone who wanted to snuggle as much as she does.  She’s really good at “OFF” though, so it’s easy to let her up on the furniture and have her make way when you want to join her, or maybe if some guest isn’t a dog person (we don’t know any of those people though).  She loves laying on our laps as we watch a movie, read a book, or work on updating her blog =).  Those velvety ears and big beautiful eyes are hard to resist!

Just out of the shelter, and happy to be out!