Rochester, Ollie, and Chateau

Last week was a hectic one.  We seem to have an outbreak of Kennel Cough.  I think I've deduced that Chateau must have come in with just the tail end of it, because I've had all the others for too long for it to spontaneously show up and they haven't had any contact with any other dogs recently.  Chateau never showed any symptoms while she was with me though, so that's why I assume she was just at the tail end of it.  Then I believe Ollie got it next.  He never had the typical goose honk cough though, which is why I didn't detect it right away.  He just had the terrible hacking, so I just assumed he ate something he shouldn't have.  But it only lasted about a week for him, so he's all good now.  Now my dear Hardy has it, and he has the goose honk cough.  Without that I never would have even known it was in the house.  He's getting better every day though, and he's had it for a little over a week now, so any day we should be Kennel Cough free!  Rocky never seemed to get it, so I assume he already had an immunity to this particular strain.  Once Hardy gets over it, all the dogs should have their immunities built up enough that they'll never get this strain again.  So that's good news for their forever homes!

I was also sick this past weekend with a bad cold.  So I wasn't up to giving the dogs baths, and bath pictures will have to wait.  I did, however, get a few (maybe more than a few) outdoor pictures I'll post below.  Thank goodness it was so nice out this weekend...I was able to just leave the backdoor open so the dogs could run in and out at their leisure while I moped on the couch.

I'll start with Chateau today.  It's about a week and a half since she got her heartworm shots, and she's getting her energy back.  So I really have to work to keep her calm now.  She's very good at listening, so if she starts to get riled up with the other dogs and I scold her, she'll jump up on the couch and lay down with me.  I've also got her back sleeping in her crate at night.  She hasn't been stretching out as much lately, so I assume her hips aren't hurting as much.  And she's not complaining at all about going in her crate, so I think we're all good.

Chateau loving being outside! 

 Chateau trotting out to the backyard. 

Chateau checking out the landscape. 

Chateau showing off her good girl skills.  

 

Chateau laying in the sun.

Rocky got a haircut this weekend!  Nothing short, just a trim to get him looking his best.  I think I would like to get his head and chest again with a shorter cut, because they still look a little scruffy.  But overall he looks just adorable.  And he's been getting so much better about following me around...as in he's not.  Well, I can't say not ever, but we're pretty close to that.  He didn't even follow me to bed last night...and that is significantly out of his viewing/comfort zone.  

Rocky loving being outside!

Rocky checking out the landscape.  

 

 Rocky, the mountain climbing dog!

 

 Rocky being a ham!

Rocky's new haircut! Front view

Rocky's new haircut! - Side view

Ollie is still improving on his housebreaking.  We still have our moments, but it is getting better.  The warm weather and keeping the door open this weekend definitely helped.  He's also getting better at his crating.  I've learned that if I throw a treat in for him and then walk away to get the other dogs, he'll walk in on his own.  He's also getting better about barking at night.  Last night: not a peep.  

Ollie, the mountain climbing dog!

 Ollie's cute face.

 

How can you not want to adopt this face!  Ollie is such a people person!

Ollie got himself a leaf on Saturday.  Very exciting!

 

 Ollie laying in the sun

Rocky & Ollie making sure the neighborhood is safe.

 

Ollie and Chateau fighting over Ollie's leaf. (Ollie won)

Rocky & Ollie jumping for snacks.

All the fosters enjoying the sun!

Rochester, Ollie, & Chateau

Well I'm a day late on my typical posting schedule.  I had a death in the family last week, and yesterday was the funeral.  So this last week was a tough one for me, but the dogs were so well behaved and I truly believe they could sense my sadness and were extra loving toward me.

Chateau had her heartworm shots last week.  The vets said she did very well getting the shots, and she was very good for me afterward.  I have noticed she has a fear of cars.  She is terrified of getting in them, so I've always had to pick her up and put her inside.  But both times after the shots, she jumped right in the car on her own.  I've been trying very hard to keep her calm at home (since any excitement could cause the dissolving hear worms to break off and kill her), and it's going very well.  Most of the time she is content to just lay on the couch.  I did notice she likes to stretch out when she lays down, probably because her hips hurt from the shot.  And her crate isn't long enough to allow her to stretch out in it, so at night I let her sleep with me (I know, I'm a terrible person).  But she does really well not crowding me and giving Hardy his space (yes I let him sleep with me too...it's his perk of being my baby and my way of compensating him for making him share his house with 3 other dogs).  The only time I have trouble keeping Chateau calm is when we get up in the morning.  She gets excited when I let Rocky & Ollie out of their crates.  I've found that a gentle scolding and then calmly rubbing behind her ears helps to calm her down.

 Chateau after her first heartworm shot.  See how she likes to stretch out?  Poor girl was not feeling well this day.

Rocky is slowly but surely giving me more space.  I'm sometimes allowed to go to the bathroom by myself, or go in the kitchen for a quick second by myself.  And this morning, he even let me go into my bedroom for a few minutes by myself!  I'll come back, and he's just calmly sitting on the couch, waiting for me.  He's also doing well with the Chateau situation.  He'll sometimes try to start playing with her, and I'll tell him not to bother her, so he'll just run off and play with Ollie.  I think he understands.

Ollie is doing well too.  Still working on the housebreaking, but I'd say it's still going very well.  No accidents in the last 36 hours or so.  He even let me know twice yesterday that he wanted to go out (by hovering near the back door).

This week I want to take some new bath pictures (I don't think I have pictures of any of these 3 after bath time!).  I also want to give Rocky a little bit of a trim.  He's looking kind of scruffy.  I gave Ollie a trim on Sunday and he looks magnificent.  Unfortunately I didn't get any good post-cut pictures, and it's not a huge difference anyway.  But I'll for sure get some after his bath.

Chateau, Ollie, and Hardy found a sunny spot on the floor to lay in.  

Close-up of Rocky, Ollie, and Chateau in their sunny spot.

Oh!  I also wanted to post a link to this article.  It's a good read, and describes how I feel sometimes when I hear the stories of why I'm fostering certain dogs. 

Rochester, Ollie, and Chateau

It was a relatively quiet week at the house.  I hope that continues as Chateau is getting her heartworm shots this week and will need to stay calm.

Let's start with Ollie today.  Ollie is back on track with his housebreaking!  He hasn't been wearing his diaper all week, and he's only had one or two accidents in the house.  Significantly better than the one or two per day that he was having.  And I noticed that his accidents were very situational...for example, this morning it was raining outside and Ollie had an accident when he came back in.  Hardy was the same way when I started housebreaking him...he hated going outside in the rain and would rather get scolded for having an accident than go outside and get wet.  So if Ollie is the same way, we should be able to get him over his fear, it'll just take a bit longer than a normal dog.  Other than that, he's still not letting me know when he needs to go outside.  He is starting to wander towards the back door once in awhile though, so I'm thinking he might be starting to understand.

Chateau has been with me for a week now, and she is such a sweetheart.  She is crate trained...my initial thoughts were correct in that she just wasn't used to a new crate yet.  But now when I tell the dogs to go in their crates she goes right in and doesn't make a peep.  She's also housebroken.  She had one accident the day after I brought her home, which I attribute to nerves.  She hasn't had any accidents since and she does let me know (by ringing the bells) when she wants to go outside.  She loves getting attention, and if I even look toward her her tail starts wagging like mad.  If I pet one of the other dogs, she'll come over to me so I can pet her too.  Chateau does not do tricks...must have been a coincidence with Julie.  But if she's doing something she shouldn't and I sternly say her name, she will stop.

Rocky is my boy.  He's getting so much better just in general.  He still barks at strangers, but it's taking him less and less time to get used to people once he meets them.  Still no accidents in the house, and still lets me know when he needs to go outside.  With the exception of Hardy, Rocky is the first one in his crate.  He's silent while in there, and he waits patiently for me to let him out.  He is still a big fan of kissing on the face, and doesn't like to listen when I tell him no.  Other than that, though, he's a pretty good listener.

Hardy and Rocky standing guard from the squirrels.

Lazy afternoon (Rocky up top, Chateau and Ollie at the bottom).

I can't imagine this is comfortable, but this is how Chateau wanted to watch the squirrels.  Rocky was napping next to her until my camera noise woke him up.  I caught him mid yawn here.

We spent Sunday morning playing, so all the dogs napped all afternoon.  It was so quiet for once!

Breakfast time!  Rocky likes to be fully in his crate while he eats, but the others all stick their butts out.

One of our random chases around the house.  They usually don't end until someone runs into the coffee table and I yell at them to be careful.

Rochester, Ollie, and....Chateau!

Well, I've taken in another dog.  I wanted to stay at 3, but I just can't say no when there are lives at stake.  So I now have Miss Chateau.  

 

Chateau is a gorgeous Schnauzer, and they gave her a Schnauzer cut when she was groomed, so she really looks the part.  I picked her up at noon on Saturday, and within a couple of hours she was already warmed up to me.  She is very quiet, very calm, and very sweet.  Here's a video of her meeting Rocky, Ollie, and Hardy for the first time:

She's still getting used the the new home and everything.  We have only had one accident so far, but that's not bad for 2 days in a new home.  She also got sick the first night, my guess is just nerves because she didn't eat anything.  But that seems to have gone away.  Her mood is much more cheerful too.  She's started playing with Rocky & Ollie.  She's the biggest of the 3 of them, so I think the boys are a little gentle around her.  When Rocky is trying to win a play fight, he puts his paws on her shoulders like he's giving her a hug.  It's the cutest thing.  I wish I had had my camera handy, and I knew if I got up to get it they'd follow and the moment would be gone.  Maybe next time I'll be more lucky.  It's too soon to say if she's housebroken yet.  She has only had the 1 accident inside, and she did stand near the back door last night and went out when I opened it for her...so I'd say there's some positive indications.  Another thing I need to explore further is if she can do any tricks.  Julie came over yesterday to get some photos, and at one point told her to 'sit,' and she did!  Maybe just a fluke, or maybe she's actually trained!  Yet another area needing further exploration is crate training.  Her petfinder description indicates her previous home thinks she is crate trained.  But I have had a hard time getting her in the crate.  Once she's in there she's fine...but getting her in is a struggle.  Perhaps it's just the crate.  And now the worst news...the poor girl is heartworm positive.  So we have 3 vet appts set up in the next couple weeks for blood tests and shots.  And then I need to keep her calm so the heartworms can dissolve.  I've never had a heartworm positive dog before (in my whole life!), so I'm very nervous.  Mostly because I'm afraid she'll want to play after she gets the shots, and I'll have to be the bad guy that makes her just lay down.  Luckily for the other dogs, heartworm isn't contagious, so I have no concerns about them getting sick.  I just don't want Chateau to feel sad and lonely.  But I know in the long run this will be the best for her.  And in a month she'll be up and playing again.  Or maybe she'll find her forever home and will get to leave with them once her month of bedrest is over!  She's so cute, I know a lot of people will want her.  The hard part for them will be waiting until she's healthy enough to leave!

Ollie is still my rambunctious little guy.  Because of the weather taking a cold turn, I've had a few flies make their way inside.  Ollie has taken it upon himself to chase them.  Last night he finally got one!  He was so proud of himself too.  He happened to be sitting on my lap when it flew by, and when he knocked it out of the sky his ears perked up and his tail went up and wagged.  He was so happy.  It was adorable.  Ollie is also getting better at night crating.  I've moved the crates into my bedroom, so I think he's more comfortable now that he can see me when he's in there.  So there's only a few minutes of whining before he settles in for the night.  And he's not even barking me awake at 5am anymore!  Housebreaking is still not perfect, but it is improving again.  I made him wear the diaper again last week, and I think that helped.  We still have had a few accidents, but it's definitely getting better.  Almost back to where we were.  So I'll keep working with him on that, and hopefully will have good news soon!

And then there's my tag-a-long, Rochester.  He still follows me everywhere.  He doesn't get under my feet, so I don't mind.  Last Friday happened to be my birthday, and I had a few girlfriends over on Saturday to celebrate.  After a short introductory period where Rocky barked at them, all was calm and he even got close enough to each of them to sniff them and let them pet him.  From where he was when I first got him, that is a HUGE step.  Even better, by the end of the night he was napping on my friend Jaime's lap!  Still housebroken, still crate trained.  No complaints with this little guy!

Chateau!  So photogenic! 

My friend Angie wasn't feeling well on Saturday, so Ollie laid with her.  (There was a picture of him curled up in Angie's arms, but she'd kill me if she ever found out I posted that picture!)

My couch last night.  All I wanted to do was lay down and watch some TV.  :-(