Sunbeam Back in Foster Care....What Happened?

Sunbeam is my first foster dog to be returned. One of the things I love about New Rattitude is that we have a really good adoption process that is 4 pronged and in the end what the #1 goal in finding a forever home for any of the rescue dogs who are in our care is to make sure the family and home setting is a good fit for the dog along with of course, commitment, love, stability and all the other qualities a forever home needs to possess. Otherwise what is the point in rescue if the only goal is to save a dog from certain doom only to shuffle the dog back out into another situation where he or she is not cared for properly or even abused or neglected again. But even a bad fit for numerous reasons can be hard on the dog as well.

I am also Adoption Coordinator and process applications for most of our PNW foster dogs. Part of what I do is adoption counseling with each applicant where I do an hour or so phone chat with an app and we discuss everything that adopting a dog means for them and their unique situation. We talk about the individual dog they have applied for and go over any issues that dog might have and try to figure out if there will be a good fit between the applicant and the dog. I also do feeding and training education. I also call references and do vet checks. This is my part of the 4 pronged adoption process.

The entire adoption process was followed for Sunbeam and she was adopted by a loving family. But even all the best intentions in the world can not guarantee that everything will work out every time! Life is not perfect and no matter how hard we try sometimes something breaks down. When adopting a dog from New Rattitude the adopter is required to sign an adoption contract and part of that contract says that if the adopter needs to give the dog up or needs to return the dog that they return the dog back to NR. So when things were not going well for Sunbeam her adopter let me know that they were broken hearted but they felt that Sunbeam would be better suited in a different home. I can tell you I would much rather have my foster dog back with me if things aren't going well and this way I can assess the dog and make sure that the next family will be a better match. This is where we are with Sunbeam now.

Sunbeam experiences submissive and excitement urination, SU/EU,  which manifests as literally uncontrollable peeing, or "piddling", when she gets really excited or feels the need to show people or other dogs that she is submissive and means them no harm. SU/EU is not a house-training issue, it is a physical response that puppies who are submissive by nature, or even mature dogs who have had extreme trauma which has damaged their self confidence or made them extremely fearful can experience. In Sunbeam's case she is a submissive puppy by nature. This doesn't mean she doesn't run up like a crazy puppy to get in my dog's faces and try to play with them because she does! But when one of them corrects her, she immediately will crouch down, roll on her back, and sometimes depending on the correction coming from the dog she will piddle. In dog speak this is totally normal and is meant to convey, "I am being submissive to you, I mean you no harm".  The other time Sunbeam piddles is when she is super excited and here is what happened in her prior adoptive home. She was in a home where the atmosphere seemed to be too high excitment for her to be successful in working on the SU/EU. We think the combo of a younger child and all that goes along with kids wanting to play and move quickly exacerbated the SU/EU. Then because she was piddling on the floors, furniture, beds when getting excited this created frustration in the household and this was a recipe for disaster. Once there was an air of frustration and then lots of excitement, her SU/EU was getting worse, and although she was loved her adoptive mom felt it was in Sunbeam's best interest to come back to our home, and for us to find her a better suited home where she has the activity level a Rat/Jack 5 month old puppy needs but also the calmness in the home that she needs to be successful, and the patience it will take for her to grow out of this. She will grow out of this but it could take some time so she needs to be in a place where she is given that time.

Our home is pretty calm with just two adults and a dog pack and Sunbeam is doing well. We are learning what works and what doesn't work and there is a learning curve but Sunbeam is worth it! She is such a dear puppy girl and we are committed to making sure her next adopter truly is her forever home.

Here is a really great explanation of Exited Urination, http://suite101.com/article/excitement-urination-in-dogs-a71041,  and it also speaks to Submissive Urination and what the humans can do to help a dog with this. And as always is comes down to training our selves to do things differently to help the dog be successful. This is why I love dogs, they help me to become a better me by forcing me to change the way I relate to them so I can help them blossom, and in turn I am can blossom too.

I am committed to Sunbeam to make sure her next home will be the perfect fit. All I have to do is look at this face and my mission is clear.