Cricket’s best quirks

It’s been a while since I have posted about our foster dogs, and it’s time for a Cricket update. She’s settled into our house really well, loves playing with other dogs, and has been learning a lot. Our happy girl is now nine months old and is close to 70 pounds. I know this because I lifted her on our bathroom scale this morning – that’s probably the last time I’ll be doing that! For a nine month-old puppy, she’s amazingly grown up.

She spends all day in her crate while we are at work without any complaints. (She’ll actually go to her crate if you ask her to.) She sleeps through the night. And she’s learning a lot about how to behave like a good dog – sitting, waiting while her food is put in her dish, walking without pulling on a leash, etc. Still, there’s puppy in her and she keeps us on her toes! She loves to play in the yard, especially with other dogs. She especially loves to chase snowballs. If I take her leash out, she goes bananas with excitement. She’s a wonderful pet, and we’re happy to foster her.

Still, she needs to go to her forever home where she can settle into a routine with her new family and they can start teaching her all about being a family pet. If you’re considering a new pet, please consider adopting a rescued dog. You can apply to adopt Cricket or any of ARF’s dogs online.

I thought I’d share some of Cricket’s best quirks. Like every dog, she’s got her own special traits. Here they are.

 

Groaning and Squeaking

When Cricket gets really tired, she groans a lot. She also squeaks. Here’s a short video of it – not one of her best groans, but it is an example!

Eating dinner

Eating

Cricket loves food. We’ve worked with her a lot on “be polite” which means she sits in front of her bowl and waits until you say “ok”. Only then will   she start eating. One of her cute quirks about eating is that she prefers to lie down with her bowl between her paws and eat.

On the dog bed

 
 
 
 
Sleeping

Cricket is happy to sleep anywhere, and in any  position. Sometimes we wonder how she can actually be comfortable.

On the floor

On the couch

Meet Cricket!

Wow – it’s been a while since we’ve posted! After Parker was adopted, we took a bit of a break from fostering. Well, it wasn’t much of a break. I think it only lasted a few weeks.

We’ve got a new foster in our home now, and she’s settling in. Cricket is a 7 month old puppy in a fully-grown body. What does this mean? We’re dealing with about 55 pounds of pure puppy – and she doesn’t seem to realize her size. Having a dog this young and this big is a bit different for us. We usually have adult dogs (except for our one adventure into puppy-dom this spring!) Given Cricket’s size, we forget that she’s still just a kid at heart with lots of learning to do.

She’s fantastic, though, and has this amazingly expressive face. She sleeps all night in a crate (which is more than I can say for the little puppies, or even our own dogs.) She’s figured out that if she sits, we’ll scratch and pet her, and that if she’s standing or jumping we won’t.

Her reaction to the first snowfall was absolutely priceless! She wasn’t sure what to make of it, and spent the evening jumping around the yard. Not walking, not running, but hopping and jumping.

Most importantly, she gets along really well with Murphy and Symba. Murphy’s aging, and doesn’t tolerate a lot – he puts up with her. Symba is picky about who she’ll play with, and within a couple of days she and Cricket were chasing each other around the back yard. Quite a breakthrough!

This dog is going to be an amazing addition to any family. She clearly loves people, responds really well to training, and wants to learn. She absolutely loves playing fetch and chewing on kongs. She’s already part way there – she’s figured out her crate, knows how to be polite around people, and can walk on a leash. She’s a big girl, but is a definite cuddler.

Parker is adopted!

It took a while to happen, but we’re absolutely thrilled with the family we found for Parker. Last night, Parker happily trotted off to his new home! We know that J and G will love him to bits, and that they already adore this cute little guy as much as we do.

Parker is certainly a spirited dog – we were constantly laughing at him and how “busy” he was. Yesterday, before he was adopted, he spent about half an hour running up and down the stairs from the kitchen to the basement, moving toys back and forth. We’re not sure what he was doing, but he had some project he was working on.

J and G – enjoy Parker! He’s a great companion, incredibly bright, and a definite ARF favourite.

Why isn’t Parker adopted?

The short answer – we have absolutely no idea.

This dog should have been adopted ages ago. Out of all our foster dogs, he’s one of the most well-adjusted, fun-loving dogs.

For anyone considering adopting Parker, here are some things you should know about him:

• He sleeps all night in a crate. Not a peep out of him (unless you count his snoring.) He waits until we’re up in the morning to get up, so no early morning crying or barking to be let out of the crate
• He’s not too big – about 50 pounds. I can lift him into our SUV if needed
• He’s got this adorable floppy ear. One stands up, the other flops over.
• He’s completely food-motivated, which makes him really easy to train. He already knows:
  • Sit
  • Down
  • High five
  • Leave it – he won’t eat his dinner until given a cue to do so
  • Spin
  • His name – he’ll come every time he’s called



• He’s learned what he can chew and what he can’t. He’s got some nylabones that are his favourites
• He’s amazing at the offleash park – he checks in, plays really well with other dogs, and comes when called
• He gets along really well with dogs, cats, and children
• When we’re at work, he says in his crate
• No accidents in the house!
• He loves snuggles and cuddles
• He’s still got lots of puppy left in him, so he’s happy to play for hours if you want, but is equally content to lie at your feet

If you’ve been looking at Parker and thinking of applying to adopt him, I’d strongly encourage you to do so! We love this guy, and know he’d be a great dog for someone. Apply for Parker here.

Meet Parker!

Our latest foster dog, Parker, arrived last Friday. He’s about a year old and is about 50 pounds. That’s a bit smaller than a lot of our fosters, so it’s a nice change.

He’s a great dog and we’re having a lot of fun with him. His whole body wiggles when he’s happy, and it’s quite a sight to see. He’s learned sit and down and really seems intent on pleasing us. We think he’s a pretty smart little guy.

I managed to capture a couple of videos of him with one of the dog toys in the house. It’s a big kong that you filled with treats. The dog has to knock it down just the right way for a treat to come out of the little hole. Our two dogs (despite their brilliance) can’t seem to figure it out and instead bang on the top of it for a few minutes before wandering away. Take a look at the video of Parker to see how he fared with it. He definitely keeps us entertained with his antics!

River is adopted!

Most people who follow the ARF website know that River was adopted last week. We were so excited to have her go to her new home! We know that F, M, J, and K will all take very good care of her.

When I drove River to her new home, she recognized the house from the street and could barely contain herself while I parked. I always take that as a good sign – when the dog is so happy to see their new home that she completely forgets about you (I must admit to feeling a bit slighted, though!)

Normally, River gets pretty upset when I leave. That wasn’t the case when her adoption was finalized and I left the house. She barely noticed – again, it really shows me that she is with a great family.

J and K, the two children, are absolutely wonderful. K stood next to River and didn’t want to stop hugging her. J, the older one, didn’t even notice she was missing a leg for several hours. It really shows how little the missing limb affects her!

To the entire L family – all the best with your new addition!

Walk n’ Wag

And now for an ARF plug… ARF is proud to be hosting its first annual Walk n’ Wag this September 26 at River Park in Calgary. This is a wonderful opportunity for all dog lovers to come out, enjoy an afternoon in the park, and support ARF’s “Pad for Paws” campaign. You don’t need to have a dog to join us, and we’d love to have as much support as possible.

Register online or donate to support the effort.

It’s shaping up to be a really fun event and a great opportunity to get out and support a great cause!

Former foster updates – Tucker and Oliver

I love getting emails about our former foster dogs and how well they’re doing now. To all adopters – keep those updates coming! Here are a couple of items I’ve received.

Tucker

Tucker was a foster dog from 2009, before I started blogging about our dogs. He was one special little guy. When he came to our house, he was covered in mud and absolutely starving. He certainly has found a perfect home for himself.

“Just thought I’d send you over a couple new pics of Tucker!!  As you can see, he’s made some good friends   Him and Dax (the grey kitty) are completely inseparable.  Dax follows him EVERYWHERE.  It’s pretty cute to watch “

Oliver

It’s been awhile since I have written you about sweet Oliver, and I just want to tell you how loved he is!

He is so much a part of our lives now, I can’t imagine him not being with us.   He is such a trooper, is up for anything and everything.   Yesterday we took him on a 10km hike up and down hills to an abandoned mine and up and down coal slags and he just loved every minute of it.

Tonight he was outside before dinner, and I looked out the screen door to see him getting his water Kong.  I missed capturing a picture, but he did eventually stand up on the table to get the Kong.   He makes me laugh every day, he is always up to something.   Oliver has lots of friends, both human and canine and he greets everyone with enthusiasm.  He has grown a lot, one of his nick-names is Oliver Long Legs, as he is long and lanky.   I last had him weighed at the vet on July 13 and he weighed 35 lbs, and I bet he is up another 5 lbs by now.  He is a cuddler and a ball retriever and a digger.  He sleeps through the night in his crate, he rarely barks even though other dogs are barking around him, he does all his business outside.   I could go on and on about how wonderful he is!

Oliver graduated from puppy school on  July 12th, and starts obedience at Dogma next Monday evening.    He is quite a smarty pants.

This is what he has learned so far, as many as I can think of right off the bat:

• to fetch ( thanks to you! )
• sit
• down
• come
• okay
• shake a paw
• go pee
• go to bed
• go home
• where is your ball?
• get your ball
• let’s go
• leave it
• drop it
• he rings the “poochy bells” when he needs to go out

So, just passing along some Oliver love and thanking you for giving us the opportunity to have him in our lives.

Karen and Greg

River Update

Time flies when it’s summer and you’ve got a houseful of dogs. River’s been a great addition to our house and has settled into a routine with us very quickly. When we’re not home, she spends her day in a crate. At night, she’s found a dog bed she likes in our bedroom.

We know River will make a wonderful pet for someone. She’s got some really sweet characteristics and quirks. River likes to ‘sit’ on the steps at our house. She’ll plant herself on the deck, but likes her front legs to be on a lower step. She doesn’t bark very much, but will make these funny grunting noises when she’s really happy. When she wants your attention, she puts a paw on your knee and imploringly looks at you with her beautiful brown eyes. She’s really won our hearts quickly.

River’s a really loving dog, happy to have attention and be involved in whatever is going on. We took her hiking with us a few weeks back. She’s very athletic and kept up with everyone. We figure she went three times as far as us, with all the back and forth she did on the path to check on all of us. Of all our dogs, shes the one we worry about least off-leash. She really likes to be connected with people, and stays really close.

In fact, her connectedness to people is something we’ve had to work on a bit. River really doesn’t like being left alone, and we’ve had to work on making her less anxious when we’re not home. She’s doing really well with this, and we’ve found a crate and techniques that work really well for her. We’ve moved the crate into a quieter room for her, and she feels a lot safer there. We’ve also discovered that she loves kongs filled with peanutbutter that are then frozen. She’ll happily go into a crate for hours with one of those!

Last weekend, we took River to our cabin at a lake. Can that dog swim! Murphy and Symba spent most of their time in the lake, with River right behind them. All three dogs played really well together, fetched countless balls and sticks from the water, and then Symba and River crashed out on the deck, practically on top of each other.

River’s still waiting for her perfect home. We know that all it will take is for one family to meet her and fall in love the way we have. She’s wonderful with children and other animals. She goes bananas for walks, and is a dream dog in the house.

Meet River

So this is another ARF first for us. We are fostering a dog with three legs. I was expecting all sorts of challenges, but River is just like any other playful dog. Most of the time, we forget that she’s missing her right hind leg. And most people don’t even seem to notice. When we’re walking her, we often hear people exclaim after a few minutes, “Oh! She’s missing a leg!” I guess people see this dog’s spirit first and her legs after.

River is six years old and was recently surrendered to ARF due to her family’s circumstances. It’s obvious from having her in our house that she was well-loved and very well taken care of. She’s a spunky thing with a lot of energy. She is also a complete suck, and will try to crawl into your lap for cuddles whenever she can. This is not a small feat, given she’s a 50 pound very fit dog. Still, she’s pretty sure she’s a lap dog! And if your lap isn’t available, she’ll happily sit right at your feet.

Some brief details about River:

• She knows sit, down, stay, and come (she has a better recall than our two dogs)
• She’s a great dog at the off-leash. I usually don’t take our fosters off-leash, but I made an exception in her case. She stayed with me, played with other dogs, and listened very well.
• She sleeps on a dog bed next to ours.
• River is a bit of a Houdini – an escape artist. So far, she’s gotten out of her crate twice. (We’re working on that one!)
• When she’s excited, she’ll carry one of her stuffed toys around in her mouth. I find this particularly endearing since Murphy does it as well.
• She rarely barks. She’ll grumble at you when she’s excited, but that’s about it.

Apparently, she’s a great swimmer and fetcher. We haven’t seen this yet, but I’m hoping to get her out soon.

I guess I should mention something about her leg, but since it really isn’t an issue for her this will be the last time I do. River came to ARF when she was five months old and her leg was very badly broken. It was amputated at that time. We heard that from the start, she was running and fetching. She hasn’t looked back since.

Stella and Oliver are adopted!

It was a happy day for weekend for us. On Friday, Stella went to her forever home. We know that she’s going to have a great life with F and C, and we’re thrilled that they think she’s the perfect fit for their family. Somehow, it seems like the foster dogs know when they’ve found their family. Stella seemed really happy to see F, and trotted away with her without a complaint.

Oliver seemed to take his sister’s disappearance in stride. He didn’t spend much time looking around the house for her, and became much more adventurous on his own. He even tried to get Murphy and Symba to play with him. Oliver went to his forever home on Sunday. And like Stella, we know that he’s found a great home with K, G, and the two cats. He seemed to know his new home immediately and settled into his bed quite happily.

F and C, K and G – we know you’ll love these two dogs as much as we do and will do a wonderful job with them. Stay in touch!