Llouie didn't look like much on Petfinder, as he had been clipped very short to get rid of some mats in his coat. But the description said he was "a bundle of fun". That was just what I was looking for as I do Agility and Musical Freestyle with my dogs, and all training is done with fun games and rewards.
Llouie took to these training games immediately. In the first 3 months, he had made as much progress as I would have expected in 6 months or a year! In Agility, he had learned to do jumps, tunnels, rings, weaves and a teeter totter. And in Musical Freestyle he was prancing along beside me in time to the music and doing tricks.
Llouie was also chosen to be a pal and playmate to our lonesome older dog Sherman. They took to each other at first sight, and the first night as Llouie was asleep in his bed, Sherman kept going over to check and make sure Llouie was still there.
Llouie's coat has grown out now and he is a very cute little dog who gets loads of compliments.
He is super energetic (the "Ll" in his name stands for Leaping Louie), and will love doing competition Agility soon. And look for him doing a Musical Freestyle dance on youtube before too long. He has turned out to be a perfect dog for us.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Bucky's Fairy Tail Ending
We lost our dog TJ just before Christmas 2006. Our hearts were broken and we were pretty sure that we weren't interested in going through it again anytime soon. How fast things change. We are in the pet industry and at the trade show in April, most everyone asked us what kind of dog we had. It was then that we realized that we were ready and that we missed having a four legged friend in our home.
When we got back, we decided that we would start looking for that new addition. Our friend Pat led us to Amanda, Natalie and the Prairie Dog Canine Rescue. I made contact with a complete list of requests for our perfect companion. Amazingly, Amanda had just the ideal candidate in mind. His name was Buck but Amanda was not very forthcoming with his heritage... I guess some people tend to shy away from big black dogs that are part Rottweiler. (There is actually a syndrome written about in our pet magazines, they call it Big Black Dog syndrome, BBD for short). We love all dogs, big and small and were not daunted by Buck's seemingly questionable lineage. We were up for the challenge, bring it on.
Natalie set up our first meeting at her house. Out comes this big black German Shepherd cross with enormous amounts of energy. The first people he ran to were our two young boys, he stopped dead in his tracks and dropped to the ground in front of them for a belly rub. That was it, love at first sight. We brought Buck home on a trial basis a few days later. It didn't take long for us to know that he was the one and that he would not be leaving.
A few weeks later, Buck (now called Bucky) tested us. He quickly found out that the trampoline net chew job wound him up in a bunch of trouble. He found his own way to the dog house quite quickly after that.
A month or so after that, we tested Bucky right back. With a family reunion planned in Fernie, with no place for Bucky to go, we decided that he would have to come with us. Forest smells, critters running around in the woods and then the moose walking right past the wide open front door didn't tempt Bucky. Our new boy stayed put despite all the temptations making us very proud.
Bucky is a very treasured and much loved member of our family. We can't imagine our lives without him nor do we want to. We are so happy with our Buckster that we decided that we needed to open our homes to other dogs that need help. We are a now a proud foster home. Everyone should do it!!
When we got back, we decided that we would start looking for that new addition. Our friend Pat led us to Amanda, Natalie and the Prairie Dog Canine Rescue. I made contact with a complete list of requests for our perfect companion. Amazingly, Amanda had just the ideal candidate in mind. His name was Buck but Amanda was not very forthcoming with his heritage... I guess some people tend to shy away from big black dogs that are part Rottweiler. (There is actually a syndrome written about in our pet magazines, they call it Big Black Dog syndrome, BBD for short). We love all dogs, big and small and were not daunted by Buck's seemingly questionable lineage. We were up for the challenge, bring it on.
Natalie set up our first meeting at her house. Out comes this big black German Shepherd cross with enormous amounts of energy. The first people he ran to were our two young boys, he stopped dead in his tracks and dropped to the ground in front of them for a belly rub. That was it, love at first sight. We brought Buck home on a trial basis a few days later. It didn't take long for us to know that he was the one and that he would not be leaving.
A few weeks later, Buck (now called Bucky) tested us. He quickly found out that the trampoline net chew job wound him up in a bunch of trouble. He found his own way to the dog house quite quickly after that.
A month or so after that, we tested Bucky right back. With a family reunion planned in Fernie, with no place for Bucky to go, we decided that he would have to come with us. Forest smells, critters running around in the woods and then the moose walking right past the wide open front door didn't tempt Bucky. Our new boy stayed put despite all the temptations making us very proud.
Bucky is a very treasured and much loved member of our family. We can't imagine our lives without him nor do we want to. We are so happy with our Buckster that we decided that we needed to open our homes to other dogs that need help. We are a now a proud foster home. Everyone should do it!!
Maggie
At the time we met "Brooks" one of the "cardboard box" puppies we had been looking for a more mature dog to add to our family.....one that didn't need housebreaking, didn't chew shoes, furniture, underwear, books, and leave "little presents" in the corner.
We had gone down to PDCR and met a couple of the beautiful dogs there but none we felt would be a match for our family. On one visit "Brooks" was at the daycare while the girls were trying to line up a foster home. One look at this beautiful baby and we decided we could help out a little and foster her until they found her a home.
After about a week we knew if someone wanted to adopt her we couldn't let her go. So here we go again, my husband has now replaced his runners, I am noticing little teeth marks on various pieces of furniture, and we have to make room on the bed at night for one more. Did I mention the many "little presents" we have received?
Her name is now "Maggie" and she has wiggled her way into our hearts including the heart of our Bichon Shih Tzu, Abby, who usually pouts when another dog comes into our house shows her displeasure by ignoring them. To our amazement you can often find Abby happily wrestling and playing with Maggie in between naps.
We are thankful that organizations exist like PDCR so that dogs and puppies like Maggie get the chance they deserve to find a home that will keep them safe and love them for the rest of their lives. Wherever you are, please support your local rescue organizations with donations of cash, food or supplies...they truly are the angels that walk among us....thanks PDCR (Maggie barks in agreement)!!!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Casey
I spotted Casey on the the internet one day and wondered how many people, other than me, were interested in such a sweet looking dog, so I took the chance and I made a phone call to Prairie Dog Canine Rescue and to my surprise was told as soon as the others had heard of his separation anxiety, that they shied away. Silly people.
So we had a meet and greet, and found Casey to be so gentle, sweet, smart and oh sooo friendly, and decided to keep him on trial and work on his one small flaw. Well, after a week with us there was just no way he was going back he was just to cute,.
Even though there was, I admit, some destruction, (scratches on the door, cupboard doors and drawers opened up) but with the right training and loads of encouragement he is now happy, maybe "content" is the right word to be left alone in the house (he does get to share the house with two cats but you know how cats are) .
However, he has developed another small flaw, Now when we leave, he gathers either shoes or articles of clothing, usually from the laundry basket, to have near him in our absence, he never destroys anything, just needs to be close to it. He's just so smart
We now have him enrolled in dog obedience school, every dog can benefit from obedience, but we did it to also stimulate his mind and develop thinking otherwise he really does get bored, and that's when the destruction can begin.
My words of wisdom - Dogs give us so much happiness, we should give some back, Give a rescue dog a chance - they would love to love you.
So we had a meet and greet, and found Casey to be so gentle, sweet, smart and oh sooo friendly, and decided to keep him on trial and work on his one small flaw. Well, after a week with us there was just no way he was going back he was just to cute,.
Even though there was, I admit, some destruction, (scratches on the door, cupboard doors and drawers opened up) but with the right training and loads of encouragement he is now happy, maybe "content" is the right word to be left alone in the house (he does get to share the house with two cats but you know how cats are) .
However, he has developed another small flaw, Now when we leave, he gathers either shoes or articles of clothing, usually from the laundry basket, to have near him in our absence, he never destroys anything, just needs to be close to it. He's just so smart
We now have him enrolled in dog obedience school, every dog can benefit from obedience, but we did it to also stimulate his mind and develop thinking otherwise he really does get bored, and that's when the destruction can begin.
My words of wisdom - Dogs give us so much happiness, we should give some back, Give a rescue dog a chance - they would love to love you.
PDCR Note: Casey was known as Charlie when he was in rescue. He had pretty severe seperation anxiety due to being abandoned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
