Rocky, Novelle, & Ollie

All the stars aligned yesterday, and I decided to take all my puppies on their first long walk.  I broke them out into groups of 2 for ease, which ended up being very smart.  First I took Hardy and Rocky.  Rocky had obviously never been on a real walk before.  He spent the entire time trying to jump up on me.  We went about 3/4 of a mile down the road before I got tired of untangling his leashes (I had him wearing two in case he managed to escape one...he didn't).  So we turned around and headed back.  Hardy got tired almost immediately after turning around, so I ended up carrying him.  Rocky got excited about that and must have thought I'd carry him too.  So to take advantage of that burst of energy, we decided to run home.  It worked for quite a ways until we got tangled in the leashes again.  We got home, and I switched to Novelle and Ollie.  They were a much better matched walking pair.  Neither was really great on a leash, but they stayed on each side of me and didn't tangle up, so it wasn't too bad.  They both wanted to sniff every plant/chunk of mud/rock on the walk.  So it wasn't a speedy trip.  I could tell they were getting tired, so we turned around just short of where I had turned around with Rocky and Hardy.  All in all, I think they'll all be walking pros in no time.  Considering for the past couple weeks the longest walk they'd had was to my mailbox and back, I was very impressed with all of them.

And one more exciting update: housebreaking is going extremely well!  Not a single accident yesterday by anyone! 

Zuzu (Queeny) update, Ollie, Rochester, & Novelle

Quick Zuzu update: she's having a blast with her family!  She's already mastered housebreaking, and is doing well at walking on the leash!  Such a good girl! 

Zuzu after her first visit to the groomer!

An update on Ollie's progress: his leash skills are still improving.  I've started taking him out for short walks when I get home from work rather than put him out on leads with the other dogs.  We only walk to the mailbox, but then we wander around the front yard until he does his business.  I find he prefers this than being on the lead in the backyard, all tangled up with the other dogs.  As far as housebreaking goes, he's the only one of my fosters who rings the bells to go outside.  But because he doesn't like the leads much, he pretty much just sits on the top step and watches the other dogs.  So I have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he does go, so we don't have any accidents in the house.  He's doing pretty well, only one accident in the last 24 hours!  And I was lucky enough to catch him in the act, so he stopped as soon as I told him "no," and we made it outside to finish.

I don't have much of an update on Rochester and Novelle.  They are also improving their housebreaking skills...no accidents in the last 24 hours!  I discovered that they really like chew bones, and they actually give me some peace if I give them one!  And I needed those few short hours of peace...4 dogs is quite the handful!

A few nights ago I was having a problem with someone having accidents while I was asleep, and not knowing who the culprit was, I put diapers on both Ollie and Rochester.  Neither one had an accident while they were wearing the diapers (but then again, there were no accidents left those nights either)...so I still don't know who dunnit.  But I caught this adorable picture of the two of them sleeping with their diapers on:

Novelle, Rochester, & Ollie

Ollie is my newest family member.  He was originally intended just to be a temporary guest.  I picked him up on Sunday afternoon, and he was immediately cuddly with me (such a difference from when I picked up Novelle and Rochester!).  I noticed right away that he isn't leash trained, but we've been working on it a couple times a day, and he's getting more comfortable.  He still tries to chew on it when he's ready to be done, but at least he's letting me put it on him now without any complaints.  He's also not crate trained.  I have to put him in the crate every morning when I leave for work, and he barks and barks.  But he's quiet by the time I get home.  I don't think it'll take too long for him to get the hang of crates.  Ollie is not housebroken either.  He's very shy about going outside without me, and even then he doesn't like to go potty.  But just last night, I was awakened by the sound of someone scratching on the door to go outside.  I'm really hoping it was Novelle (because I've been working with her the longest, and she seems like the type who would pick it up), but in all honestly it sounded like Ollie.  That would be extremely exciting!  In other good news: Ollie is very friendly.  He loves to cuddle and give kisses.  He is always laying on me when I'm on the couch.  He prefers to sit wherever Hardy is sitting, so that causes some problems between the two of them.  But he's just so darn cute, I don't mind.  Ollie is also very playful.  A little bit with me, if I toss a toy around, but mostly with the other dogs.  Ollie, Novelle, and Rochester could just run around playing with each other for hours if I let them!  The funniest part is how Ollie is about half their size, and he's the one doing the chasing most of the time.

Ollie is such a cutie!

Rochester, who I've now started calling Rocky, is doing well also.  With Ollie around he's really become much more playful.  I hope once Ollie's gone, Rocky will still play with Novelle.  Rocky is still very clingy.  He tries to jump in bed every night, and every night I have to tell him to get down.  He listens, but I doubt he's happy about it.  When I sit on the couch, Rocky has to have a paw on me.  He'll either sit next to me and just rest a paw on my leg, or he'll sit on the back of the couch and put a paw on my shoulder.  It's very endearing.  I've also discovered that he smiles when he's happy!  He curls his upper lip to reveal his teeth, usually when I say his name or pet him, but sometimes when he's looking for attention.  I wish I could get a picture of it, but he's too quick for me.  We're still working on crate training.  I still have to force him into the crate, but once he's in there he's perfectly calm.  So I don't think it'll be too much longer and he'll be going in on his own.  We still have some work to do on housebreaking.  He's getting better about going outside, but he still has his accidents inside.  Leash training I think is going very well with Rocky.  He still gets excited when I'm putting the leash on or taking it off, but once it's on he's very good and doesn't try to pull out of his harness.

Rocky in the front, Novelle in the back, and you can see Hardy's head poking out in the middle of Rocky's back.

Novelle is still doing great.  She's kind of taken a backseat to Rocky and Ollie, because they are so clingy.  But every once in awhile she will seek me out for attention, and it is so cute.  She is a sweetheart.  When I leave for work in the mornings and tell the dogs to go in their crates, all I have to do for Novelle is tap on the top of her crate and she crawls right in and lays down.  No complaining, no whining.  Housebreaking is still a question with her.  Like I said, I'm hoping she was the one who scratched on the door last night, but I'm not so sure.  I guess we'll find out if it continues after Ollie is adopted. 

 Novelle being a cutie.

 All 4 of my babies!  It's not easy getting a picture like this!  But aren't they cute?
(Top left: Novelle; Top right: Rocky; Bottom left: Hardy; Bottom Right: Ollie)

Queeny, Novelle, and...Rochester!

Sorry for the delay in posting...It was a busy weekend!  A lot to get to today!

Queeny was adopted on Saturday morning.  She now has a family that I think is really going to be great for her.  They've renamed her Zuzu, after the cute little girl in It's a Wonderful Life.  So happy for Dan & Julie, and for Zuzu!  If you're still reading, feel free to send updates and pictures whenever you want!

Zuzu being happy at her new home!

Novelle is still making progress.  She was just starting to get playful with Queeny, and I think she's afraid to break Hardy, so she's been pretty calm lately.  She's getting very good at being on a leash.  She no longer pulls away when I'm trying to hook her up, and she doesn't run as soon as we get back in the house.  She waits for me to take it off, which is wonderful.  She's also getting used to my schedule, and is starting to go in her crate in the morning when I leave for work without me telling her.  I'm trying to work on 'sit' with her, but for some reason she thinks it's punishment and will run away when I say it.  Even if I'm holding a treat.  When I coax her back, she has her tail between her legs and will submissively roll on her back.  Not sure what that's all about, but we'll keep working on it.  I'm still maintaining an ear cleaning schedule with her.  Her ear is slowly clearing up, but boy does she hate it.  I have to hold her down with all my force and then somehow manage to get a q-tip in her ear.  Quite a feat!  But she knows she gets a treat when she's done, so she's learning to cooperate.

Novelle on my couch back (she thinks she's a small dog).

And the newest addition to our little family is Rochester!  He actually came from the same hoarding family as Novelle, and I think could actually be her brother.  They don't really act like they've lived together though.  They don't play...yet.  So I initially went to pick up Rochester at the daycare facility at 12:30 on Saturday.  He wouldn't come near me, and I was there for about an hour.  Lisa and I had to team up on him to get him in the car to leave.  I think the car ride was so scary for him that he immediately bonded with me.  Within a couple hours of being home, he was laying in my lap.  And now I can't keep him away from me.  Rochester has some very serious boundary issues we're working on (He likes to give kisses on the mouth, which I do not like.  He wants to sleep with me, which I do not allow. etc.).  He's still afraid of his leash.  I have to fight to get it on him (he's very antsy), and once it's on him and I go to put leashes on the other 2, he just runs around on the 4' of leash and usually wraps it around my legs.  Being outside on the leash isn't a problem.  He's perfectly fine.  But coming back in the  house is just like leaving.  Something we need to work on.  He also is not yet crate trained.  He's like one of those sticky frogs on a car window, with the paws all splayed out so I can't push him in his crate.  I have to put him in one paw at a time, and then shut the door as fast as I can.  But he is such a sweetheart, and once we can get him to channel his energy into playing with the other dogs, I think he's going to be perfect for some family out there!

 

Rochester on my couch back (he thinks he's Novelle).