In Celebration of Our 2013 Adopted Foster Dogs!

It is that time again! Where we celebrate the foster dogs who have found their forever homes. We have learned a lot this year as many of our foster dogs this year have been under socialized. What a journey fostering for New Rattitude has been. When we think of what we thought we knew about dogs and what we have learned and are continuing to learn, it really has been an eye opener.

I want to thank my Northwest New Rattitude team for all the support this year, and let them know how we realize this is a collective effort. Fostering these rescued ratties is a lot of work and I know how all the foster parents have changed their lives to accommodate their foster dogs. We support each other in so many ways and for this we are thankful.

I also want to thank the wonderful adopters that have adopted our foster dogs. Letting them go can be hard but when we know they are going to be so loved and cared for in their forever homes where they can continue to blossom and become the dogs they long to be it truly makes this all worth while.

And a HUGE shout out goes to our personal dogs Birdie, Jenny, Skip, and Liza for being such great sports, well most of the time, lol,  with our fostering en-devour.

Happy New Year everyone! Here are pictures of this foster home's 2013 adopted dogs!

Landau

Sunbeam and Morgan

Isetta and Hudson

Moon

Pixie

Nash

Sierra

Cony

Dressed For Success

Belly Bands are an awesome tool in working with house training in male dogs. Such a simple thing, a band of fabric that helps to keep them in check when lifting a leg to pee or mark in the home. Due to the fact that Tim has some anxiety we use belly bands off and on depending on if we can watch him in the home or if something new to his environment gets him thrown off, like a new dog coming into the home or visiting a friend's home where he tends to get a bit over anxious. Of course we keep him on a very regular schedule and he gets lots of praise for going potty outside. He is super duper in the morning now, upon being let out of his crate he will run all the way downstairs to the front door and wait for me to let him out so he can go do his business outside. Timken has also experienced some submissive urination in the beginning with us while he settled in. The belly band helped to catch the pee that he lost when he felt nervous about us handling him.

I keep telling him belly bands are not to be ashamed of, they are just part of him being "dressed for success", and this way we all can work on what is important, him learning he can always trust us and that we are always trying to find ways for him to do the right thing without there being an issue about it.

Tim does not need the belly bands nearly as often anymore and the more he shows he is reliable the more freedom he gets. It is a win win!

Poor Tim, not quiet sure what to think of the belly band at first.

Well he found he can still move about and still ask to get up in foster dad's chair! Hey his tail still works with the belly band on too!!

Here is Tim and Jack (Cony) who had visited a couple of weeks ago. They are both dressed for success and I am happy to say that we had no accidents or wet belly bands while they acclimated to each other. Jack is pretty much belly band free in his adopted home with his dad but sometimes new situations can cause a slight set back, that is when we make sure the boys in our house are dressed for success! Eases the issue for everyone involved.

Jack in frog position with his belly band on.

Jack aka Cony Visits and Meets Timken

We have a visitor for a couple of days! Jack (who was Cony) is in the house. His dad had an engagement and he has been doing so much good work with getting Jack and his confidence level up that he wanted to leave him in a place where he was familiar to Jack and it worked out that we could squeeze him in. lol

He has been doing some training with his dad and a positive trainer, he has his "sit" down and we are practicing his "down" with him as he still needs to do his homework even if at a sleepover.

Jack (L) and Tim getting to know each other

Jack really wants to engage Tim and Tim is not sure about it.

Tim (L) is still working through some low confidence stuff. What handsome boys!

Jack (11 o'clock) demonstrates his awesome "sit" with Skip, Birdie, and Jenny, while Tim hopes he can have a treat just for being cute.

Such good dogs!

Woo Hoo Cony Has News To Share!

Well that didn't take long...in fact Cony never even made it to Petfinder. As an adoption coordinator for New Rattitude-PNW sometimes I have applicants who have applied for a dog that already has an application in process. But when the applicant is a good one I try to keep in touch and see if I can help match a dog to them from new dogs who come into foster care. This is the case with Cony's new dad. We kept in touch by email and he agreed to let me play match-dog-maker and as it turns out my foster dog Cony will be a wonderful companion for his new dad. His name will be Handsome Jack and he already knows his name as Jack as we have been calling him that since he came into foster care with us as we had a feeling that he was going to be a good fit for his new dad from the start. Jack's dad is newly retired and has nothing but time on his hands for long walks, trips to the dog park, training, cuddling in his chair while watching football, playing with toys, and going all over the place visiting friends who live in groovy places! Jack will be a snow-dog and he will winter in Arizona where he will have a furry buddy who can show him the ropes of the sunny state and the walking trails they will go on. We are so happy for our little guy and his dad. Happy Tails sweet baby boy.

Cony (Jack) is so happy he was adopted!

Cony Hits The Trail

With petsitting puppies and then Cony getting his neuter surgery and recouping from that we hadn't the chance to get out to our trail with him as much as we like to do with our foster dogs. But today the stars all aligned and out we went. Cony has been here once before and he was a little nervous of grass and fern fronds in his way, but he is feeling much more confident as time goes by and he did awesome today. He walked through tall grasses and let things touch his face along the trail. I managed to get a few pictures that weren't too blurry.

Cony is ready to rock this hike.

Foster mom I was in the middle of getting a pet from foster dad, take the picture already.

Liza teaching Cony how to scout out front

Cony hanging with the other ratties, Birdie and Jenny

Very alert boy checking something out

Again with the pictures? Let's go!

OK I do look good from all sides, go ahead and take the shot....

I'm just throwing in a glamour shot of Cony for good measure. Is he not the cutest rattie ever???

There is Something So Sweet About Cony

Cony is a wonderful dog. As I mentioned he was found as a little puppy boy by a river in Sacramento, CA. He had been attacked by something and was in bad shape. He was found in the bushes. His rescuers took him home even though they had not been looking to add a puppy to their houshold with a baby on the way and living in an apt. but they did it anyhow as they just did not want to leave the poor boy to fend for himself. His past mom and dad and I have been in contact and I just want them to know how much Dave and I and Cony all appreciate what they did to give him such a good start in life. Healthy food, love, and walks with his dad to a place Cony could run up and down a big hill to get his wiggles out. Cony is a gentle boy and a happy boy too, a testament to the loving and healing care they gave little Cony boy.

Surrendering Cony was hard for them to do but they felt it was the right thing for him and so they made sure he got into a rescue group who would help him find his forever home. A big Thank You to his past mom and dad!!!!! Please know Cony is doing well.

Such an alert boy always ready to please...

Cony hardly ever gets tired of playing.

Cony loves belly rubs..

Cony in the bed by my desk

Cony Cone Head

Although things are going well with Cony post surgery, he just was having a hard time leaving his bandages alone on his back legs where the dew claws were removed, after all it just plain feels weird to have tape wrapped around his legs and he could be so sneaky at finding a time to bite at them. So unfortunately he had to be coned. The only cone we had was a little short in the snout but it seemed to do the trick. He wasn't that happy about it but he is such a good natured boy he just decided to go with it.

Cony in my chair wondering what on earth his foster parents have gotten him into.

Do I have to HAVE a picture of this foster mom?

Don't let this relaxed Cony fool you, we have had to really monitor him with the puppies Juniper and Mesquite because he thinks he should be able to run around like a maniac and play. We do let him play a little but then have to settle him back down again. He will be as good as new in a few more days and this will all be behind him.

Poor Little Cony, Neuter Day Today

Well it had to be done and today was the day. Today Cony was neutered and also had his rear dew claws removed as they were very flappy and could catch on things and tear. So he had the works, chip inserted, nails clipped, and the neuter and dew claw surg. He also had a bump on his nose that turned out to just be a cyst that needed draining. He had been found by a river by his previous person and it was obvious to her that he had been attacked my something as he had wounds all over his neck. She nursed him back to health but our vet thinks the nose bump might have been a remnant of his attack a few months ago. Poor baby. Anyhow he is all fixed up now! He is resting in his foster dad's lap while he reads and so that helps him a lot I think.

Poor baby, not only did he have to endure all those things from the vet, but he is wrapped in a pink towel too!

Foster mom go away with that camera, I don't feel so good.

No doubt we will be back to this Cony in just a couple of days. Less the bump on the bridge of his nose.

Cony and Mesquite Tear Up the Town (King of the Rat follow up.....)

When I first offered to petsit Juniper and Mesquite I was a bit nervous. Puppies have a lot of energy and they are a lot of work and I only have a small amount of experience with puppies this young. Luckily we have had wonderful sunny weather so have been able to get them outside in the yard a lot and so that helps with the accidents in the house that comes along with puppydom. The two tykes do play together as well and so it has actually been very enjoyable to have them here and they make us laugh constantly!  Then Cony arrived and the puppies....,especially Mesquite, ended up being a true blessing! Cony and Mesquite could play for hours on end and they do just that! Juniper gets in there now and then but she is too little for it to be safe for her if the boys are really tearing up the town, but she is smart and when she has had enough she goes to lie down on the bed on the porch that she loves where she can watch the silly boys spar and wrestle, and chase from a safe distance on her thrown. Both boys love the Tail Teaser by Kyjen something fierce. (Junie loves it too and we need to play with her when the boys are out of the picture so they don't trample her, stay tuned) They can practice all their vermin killing moves and they can go and go and go.

Mesquite says "I am now King of the Rat!"

Here comes Cony on his way to claim back "his" rat that Skeeters managed to get from him.

Skeeters first surveying the toy booty.

Mesquite putting the moves on Mr Squirrel. Who knew such a young puppy would know how to do a rattie death shake? Pretty impressive I say.

This made me laugh! When the boys were in the house finally tuckered out from all that nonsense I went looking for Juniper and there she was......she had somehow found the rat when the other two hooligans were back in the house, so in the end Juniper is King Of The Rat! You go girl!

Cony IS King of the Rat

What a strong muscular chest this boy has!

This rat that came in one of the monthly Bark Boxes a couple months back seems to be a hit with Cony. One of our dogs, probably Birdie, bit part of the poor rat's tail off but hey it is still good enough for Cony to chase and kill. :)

I will kill the rat!

Gotcha rat, you aren't going anywhere any more...

But then that isn't the only toy Cony enjoys playing with! After all he is only a 6 month old puppy with lots of energy and fun ahead of him! He doesn't seem to destroy the toys so far, just likes to mouth them and run after them if you throw them for him.

I love that he strikes the play bows all the time.

Cony loves to run after these blue egg babies too. Skip doesn't let him get a ball in edgewise but that's ok, the egg babies suffice. He brings them back too!

I love they way he leaps every now and then when he runs out to get the egg.

Cony Settles in Like a Pro

Well that didn't take long, Cony has only been here 1/2 a dozen hours and he is doing rattie runs and getting lots of lovin' What a sweet little guy this is! He is fast too, then of course he has the rattie off switch. Perfect....

He's figured out already foster dad is pretty cool to hang out with.

Beautiful brown eyes...

Relaxing with foster mom on the stairs.

What a muscular little guy!

Cony meets Juniper the puppy girl, he wasn't too sure what to think of this munchkin at first.