Rodney the Foster Dog

I have been thinking about short-term fostering a dog for a while now, and Rodney had been at the clinic at Swan Vet for months on and off. He is a young (5 month old) pup and he needs to be out and about to learn human house rules and just generally how to behave in a domestic situation. I offered to take him out for the weekend so that he could get some home time.



When I picked him up he was very wiggly and happy. I put him in the back seat of the car but before I could get the key in the ignition he had come through into the front, stomped around on the dashboard and then climbed into my lap.

I had to put him in the back behind the cargo barrier, and I'm glad I did because he had a little accident which I needed to clean off the plastic 'hosable' floor in the X-Trail.

When I got him home, I left him in the car and shoved Bender and Barbie outside. I bought him into the house and they met through the door. Rodney is a very plucky and confident fellow, so the introduction was easy. He hit it off with Bender and Barbie right away.



The cats made themselves scarce for the first 12 hours or so, which is fair enough because Rodney was doing his best doggie tornado impression with Bender. Barbie even played chasey with him in the yard for a little while.



The cats finally came to check him out when he was eating his dinner in his crate. He didn't show much interest in the cats, and they decided that he was safe to be around very quickly. Froufrou sat on my lap whilst Rodney was hanging around and Mittens was rubbing her head on his face by Sunday morning.



The first night, Rodney tried to steal my dinner right off the plate, but after that he seemed to learn to stay away from human food. He seemed to be more praise motivated than anything else and was constantly trying to climb into my lap and mouth my arms. I managed to redirect most of his mouthing towards toys and I also got him retrieving balls and toys, though not with the over the top enthusiasm Bender has for the task!



I put him in the crate and he did whinge a little, but he did have another accident in the crate, which may have been why.

I took him to City Farmers and at first he didn't think he was allowed to go into the store. When I convinced him it was OK he was pretty good. I got some toys for everyone so that Bender wouldn't get annoyed about sharing his.

Did I mention walks? Rodney got two walks on Saturday night - one with each resident dog. He walked very well with Barbie, and he pulled on the leash a bit more with Bender. He was definitely modelling his behaviour on the resident dog he was with at the time. He also walked a lot closer to Bender. A lot of the walk they were touching. Bender didn't seem to mind. It was very cute.



Saturday night I fed him in his crate as is the routine now. He was very good, I left him in there until Bender finished his dinner, and Bender takes his time! He didn't complain though his tail and body went into a crazy wiggle every time he caught sight of me.

We all went to bed at 10.30pm and Rodney was quiet as a mouse in his crate. Barbie woke me up at 5.30am, so I let everyone out for their wees. I put Rodney back in the crate with some breakfast so I could get some sleep and went back to bed. I got up at 7.30am and he was lying quietly waiting. No accidents, his little tummy had settled and he did a proper poo outside.

On Sunday morning I took him to the river on Bender's long leash we used for tracking so that he couldn't get into trouble. He made a great impression on everyone there.



I overheard people talking about back yard breeding and puppy farms and how outrageous it was that dodgy people are still breeding dogs.



A lady said 'until every dog in Australia has a home, there shouldn't be people breeding them'. I took that as an opportunity to introduce Rodney to them. Everyone was impressed with him and how friendly he was with all other dogs and people.



The guy there said he would tell his friend about Rodney, and the lady who was originally talking about puppy farms gave me $10 for Rodney's care, which I passed on to Swan Vet when I returned him this morning.



I was pretty sad to see the little fellow go back but we don't have great fences and I don't want to take the risk. It might be better that he is at the clinic during the week anyway as it makes it easier for potential adopters to meet him!



He certainly needs some training, but I think he's so willing to please that he is going to bond really well with his new owners and the sky will be the limit with him. I can definitely see him doing the Canine Good Citizen test in the future!

LATE EDIT: Rodney is going to a more permanent foster carer tonight, but he's still looking for his forever home.
Anyone in WA who wants to adopt Rodney should check out his profile here.

Show off your dog's waistline campaign

People tell me my dogs are skinny. I tell them my dogs look skinny because up to 60% of Australia's companion animals are overweight!

So when I read over at Rescued Insanity that Dawg's Business were hosting a 'Show off your Dog's Waistline' campaign, I decided that I would participate to add to the healthy waistline examples.

You see it at the beach - fat labs, pudgy beagles, barrel shaped staffies.... all struggling to run on the soft sand!

Well my two are quite fit, and it's not like I do a lot to keep them that way, so I guess we are lucky. We walk for half an hour every night, they play with each other in the yard, and in the house, and I measure their food every night.

Barbie, being a Greyhound, has a lovely svelte figure, and compared to the infographics on what dogs should look like, she might be on the 'skinny' side of ideal. She has put on a couple of kilograms since I got her though, and it's all muscle mass as Greyhounds tend not to carry body fat like other breeds.

You can see her ribs, but vets are all generally happy with her weight, appearance, appetite and shining bright eyes.

Bender also has a nice little waist. He has been wider in the past, but I reduced his dinner portions a little as he has a problem with his right wrist and does pull up stiff in the hips after too much running. The lighter the better for Bender-man.

You can't really see his ribs from the side but you can feel them easily. He does tend to carry more fat than Barbie - he is a couple of years older so perhaps he has a slower metabolic rate now.

I couldn't really get good photos of the cats as they are both very fluffy, and I wasn't going to wet them for the purposes of a blog entry.

Mittens is on the skinny side, and she is fussy about her food, so we have to make sure she eats all her dinner.

Froufrou is the only animal in the house that the vet has ever really expressed concern about when it comes to weight. Unfortunately she gained quite a bit when she became an inside-only cat, so now I allow her day time sojourns into the garden, where she runs, jumps, climbs and balances on fences. She has lost a bit of weight since then and has regained the rock hard athletic body she used to have!

I really think the secret is watching their food intake. Treats do add up. Regular exercise is good for their mental and physical health as well.

I am glad that I don't really have to worry too much about the weight of my pets, for now, but as always I will stay vigilant for changes as they age.

Wordless Wednesday - New Heights

Boxed Mittens

Mittens has never lost her kitten like obsession with boxes. Recently I got a full bike sized box which contained a frame I had shipped from the USA. Mittens had been curious about the box but I didn't think she would be able to jump high enough to get into it.

Well I guess I was wrong. She must be a brave kitty to jump into a box without being able to see what is inside. I wondered how she would get out so I waited with the camera ready. She spent at least 10 minutes just sitting in the box. I think Frou prowling around on the other side of the cardboard was disturbing her though.

Like the action shot?

She leapt for the opening, held on to the edge and kind of scrambled out. I think I will find her in the box in future, until I get rid of it anyway. It is a pity she doesn't like her 'carry box' so much that we use to take her to the vet! ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Magic Drive Thru Food Window

Playing with Boats - Bender and Barbie Kayaking

I have mentioned before that I want my dogs to be more involved with my hobbies. This weekend we took both the dogs down to the river to join in on a little paddle in the 'dog kayak'.

Bender still isn't convinced about the kayak. This is his fourth time out, admittedly, with a big gap between this weekend and his previous trip. I managed to get him in and paddle a little, but he decided that he would jump off the back this time.



It resulted in the shot of the day! Though I also got an action shot of him chasing his ball that was pretty good.

When I went for a paddle down the river, he actually followed me along the shoreline. Perhaps that is the way to exercise him, to motor along the river in my kayak with him running along and taking dips in the water along the way. There are a couple of stretches of river where this would be quite possible.



He chilled out on the sand when we had a rest. He was very good, apart from sprinting off once to chase a pelican which was hanging around a guy fishing, hoping to get his fish. Cheeky bird. Well Bender put a stop to that!



Barbie probably had a boring day, mostly. She wasn't allowed to run along the shore because I think she would get distracted and wander off. She did have a very short turn on the kayak though.



This kayak is too small for her to lie down in though, she is just too long. I think with dogs the size of my guys a tandem kayak would be a lot more comfortable.

We shall have to try one out next weekend, perhaps.

Christmas heat and lobster snobs!

N got some Rock Lobster for Christmas lunch and removed it from it's shell in the morning. There were some scrappy bits which N said the furkids could have. I thought the cats would appreciate the seafood the most, so she divided it between their food bowls. They both turned their nose up at it. Apparently they prefer processed 'seafood' that comes in tins over fresh, expensive rock lobster.

Bender has never been a fan of seafood of any kind, so I wasn't surprised when Bender refused to eat any. Barbie was sceptical at first, but true to form she gave it a tentative nibble. After that first nibble she decided she liked it and ate all the scraps herself.

It was forecast to be 40 degrees Celsius, and we expected it would be a few degrees cooler further south where we were having Christmas lunch. We decided to take the dogs with us so that they could enjoy the cooler weather and the air conditioning.

They did have a bit of a run around the garden, but they were not outside for long! I got this very handsome photo of them both.



Then they decided to pull their best ugly faces for the next shot.



There are three cats at this house, but two of them tend to go AWOL when Bender and Barbie come to visit. The third kitty is relatively new to the house, and she is an inside cat, so she didn't really have anywhere to go. She is a stunning kitty, but she was not impressed with the interlopers.

I went to pat her in her room, and she went from purring and meowing at me to standing in the corner with her tail twitching. I didn't know why until I turned around and saw three dogs standing behind me - Bender, Barbie and their dog Harry.



Barbie seemed to be a little irritated that we didn't bring her bed, and there was no room on the couch. She eyed off Harry & Nudge's dog beds but decided they were too small.



She found a nice spot on the tiles but she was pretty restless. She seemed pretty happy when we headed home! I am so glad she tolerates our outings. I am sure next time she will find some way to demand that we put her fluffiest bed in the car.

Wordless Wednesday - Cooling Off

It's Froufrou's birthday!

I tried to explain to Bender and Barbie that cats are not like dogs, they aren't so much into big celebrations, or road trips, or anything much other than lying around on the couch. They didn't listen to me and insisted that we do a birthday photo shoot for Froufrou, who turns 7 somewhere around Christmas time.

I consented, if only because I thought it would be cute for the blog. I had to tie Barbie's party hat elastic into a knot so that it would stay on her head.

They protested that I took too long to take the picture, but it's done now.

Happy Birthday Little Frou Cat!

Road Tripping Dogs - Dunsborough, WA

Last weekend we went on a 3 hour road trip with the dogs, down to Dunsborough WA for a wedding. We stayed in a dog friendly house so that we could leave the dogs there while we attended to the wedding formalities.

There was a problem with the house though - it was two stories, and both the sets of stairs were scary! Out the front of the house, they had what Honey the Great Dane calls 'skeleton stairs'. They are scary for doggies because they sort of 'disappear' when the dog looks at them.

If you look at them from this angle you can see what I mean. Barbie hates this type of stairs. She tends to lack confidence putting her back feet down. She did manage to get up and down these stairs many times but she really did not like it.

Inside there were shiny, steep stairs.

We drove to Dunsborough after work, and the traffic was shocking, so we were all tired and it was dark by the time we got there. I let Bender run up the front stairs, and N got into the house. I went back down to get Barbie.

While I was coaxing her up the stairs, and we were about half way up, I heard a monstrous crash. N started yelling at me to come and help her. I thought something really bad had happened but Barbie got spooked and refused to move.

I got her up the stairs in another minute or so with a lot of excited happy voices, and discovered Bender and N at half way point of the shiny stairs. Bender had just charged into a dark room and fell down them. He was OK, and he came up the stairs when I called him.

Unfortunately, no-one has ever accused Bender of being a fast learner. He fell down the steps a second time that night. After that he didn't go near them again.

When they needed to go for their toilet break, I had to leash them up and get them up and down the front stairs. I had to do this twice, once just before bed, and a second time at dawn.



The dogs did enjoy the little backyard though, which of course, was down stairs and around the back.

We decided after the first night that the dogs and I could live downstairs and save all the dramas. It was much more convenient.

The wedding was in the evening, so we had all of Saturday to take the dogs exploring. We found a really lovely dog beach with a sand bar, and Barbie and Bender loved it so much.



Bender spent at least an hour just fetching his ball, over and over and over and over and over and over.

Barbie and I went for a walk, and then I decided, after checking out the beach that it would be safe for her to go for a bit of a sprint. I had my GoPro, so I managed to capture her in action. There was a group of people up the beach, and I could hear them cheering her on, though as usual they assumed she is a boy dog.



As she ran towards them I heard them saying 'go, go, open it up big fella!'



She decided she needed a rest, so she dug up the sand a bit to make it nice and soft. After a while, we packed them up into the car and went to the next dog beach. We went for a wander along the second beach without Bender's ball. It is always a bit strange having him trot along side us without having his eyes fixed on a ball. We can only do this on deserted beaches, as if any other dogs have balls and he doesn't he will go and steal theirs.

After all the running they were very happy to settle down on their beds whilst we went out.



The wedding was on the beach, and it was lovely. We popped back to the house before we went to the reception just to make sure everyone was behaving. They were.

Sunday morning the dogs were keen to go out on another adventure. We were intending on coming back via Dwellingup to check out the Murray River at Baden Powell, as we had a great December storm and the river was up.

We went out for breakfast first though, and the dogs were very patient with us. We drove to the Gecko Cafe and Gallery in Quindalup which seemed like a lovely laid back place.





Bender did decide he wanted to greet everyone who came in though! They were all very nice to him. Breakfast was expensive but yummy.

When we drove to Dwellingup after breakfast with a stop for the doggies to stretch their legs at a road house.

Turns out the river was too high for the dogs to swim, and I got scared off taking it on in my kayak as well.



We drove home from there without much more than a little walk. There were a lot of horrible March flies around and they were trying to eat us all.

The dogs were so exhausted when we got home that Barbie went into this pose for at least 48 hours.