Good Buddy

Linda wanted to help me with the blog tonight. So, here we are hard at work.

She is recovering very well from her surgery on Friday. I could not have expected her to be doing any better than she is on all accounts. It's been a week since Linda arrived. She is doing so well with potty training. She's actually going right away when I take her out now. I did not really have any expectations of her and that seems to be working well. Every thing we do is an accomplishment. She loves to follow me around to see what I'm up to. She is pretty curious too. Sometimes our fosters never even go upstairs, but she has gone in every room of our house on her own. Even the basement. I couldn't believe she did stairs. That can be a big deal for some dogs. It's impossible to know what kind of living situation she was in before, but we can only guess it was pretty horrible. Even without taking that into consideration, she is just wonderful. She'll be a really great buddy for the person who adopts her. Hopefully it's soon, because there are always more dogs who want to be Fluffy Dogs!

Coton de Tulear

A quick note regarding Linda's breed. The breeder she came from is who said she is a Coton de Tulear. Who knows if this is accurate, but here is a nice video link regarding the breed.

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/videos/coton-de-tulear.htm

Linda

Welcome Linda!

Linda is settling in great. She has found her favorite spot on the couch as you can see. We're very careful to help her down though. She's so tiny that we don't want her to hurt herself jumping down.

On Friday Linda was spayed. She is officially retired from breeding. Yay! What a great story for her. She also had a couple of teeth pulled, but the rest were all cleaned up. She is recovering for the next few days, but looks forward to being spoiled. I've been carrying her around and she gets soft food until her mouth feels better.

We've had her about a week, but I can tell already that she will be totally loyal to her owners. She isn't as scared as when she first arrived. Stay tuned for more progress.

Happy Mother's Day

Pirate wants to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. He's a little sad because he doesn't have his own mommy yet. I'm just his Lady. He does love my husband and his name is Mister. We don't want him to get too attached by calling us mom and dad.

He's been very happy with the nicer weather. He is so cute and will find a sliver of sun to relax in when he's in the house. Quite a bouncy little guy, but we've made sure it's not okay for him to jump on us. Here he is in his favorite spot. On our laps. He's not always on our lap. He likes to curl up and lean into us and make a little nest.

Pirate also is very attentive to his buddies. He always wants to be by his foster brother. They are best buds. When brother lets him, Pirate love to preen him. Cleaning the other dog's leg like he would his own. He is such a happy little guy and can't wait for a new home.

My buddy!

Sit still

It's very hard to get a great picture of Pirate. 1. Because he's black and fuzzy it's hard to get his features and 2. He's a wiggle worm. Here are a couple that are pretty good. He's really a tiny fella. About 12 pounds.

Stealing Hearts

I pick on Pirate about stealing treasures because that's what pirates do. This Pirate is guilty of stealing hearts. Awwww! I can say with confidence that he is 100% housebroken*! *In our house. :) We've gone on a few walks and he is very curious about all the new sounds and sights. He is very confident in our house, but walking will take a couple of weeks practice. He isn't scared, just cautious. Pirate loves to play with our dogs and will go crazy for a short time, but loves to settle in for a nap after 1/2 hour. He's a good snuggler and loves to curl up in a ball on our legs. Some dogs don't like males, but Pirate loves my husband equally. He can't wait to make it to his forever home.

Happy PI-rate Day!

Not only is it Pi day, but it's Pirate's big day as well. Here's why:

Pirate was treated for his heartworm 30 days ago which means today he's off of "rest". Thank goodness. If you've ever tried to keep a toddler calm for 30 days, you'll understand. I've felt so guilty when I know he just wants to run and play and wrestle with the other dogs. But that's over now. If you don't know what's involved in heartworm treatment, I'll spare you the lecture here but please understand the importance of heartworm preventative.

Trying to sit still in the sun!

Pirate is our little monkey. That's just what he looks like. His potty training has progressed so well during the weeks we had him. Praise, praise and more praise. Now he goes right away when we take him out. At first we would have to stand outside for a long time in the cold before he would go. We're very please with his learning ability.

The information in Pirate's profile is from his foster home in Alabama. We crate him here so I cannot attest to how he would be during the day if not in a kennel. He can hold his potty for a very long time though.

A poodle doxie mix?

Coleman, whose real name is Oreo but also responds to Co-co and poodle-head is quite a lovely dog. The poor guy was very nervous for his first week with us, but now is right at home. He was surrendered in Alabama because his owner had to move. The owner listed him at 10 years old. I'm not sure how this happens, but it does and we are here to help him now. We can surely understand why he was so unsure when he first arrived.

So far we've learned that he is very much housebroken! Yay for him and for us! People often don't consider adopting a dog who is 10, but I love them. Don't be fooled though, Coleman is not a couch potato. He sure loves to snuggle, but he has found a ball that is just perfect size for him. He loves to play fetch. He will fling the ball in my lap when he wants to chase it and could do this for hours. He sleeps in a kennel at night and as soon as he gets out in the morning, he runs around looking for his ball. I think we will need to send that ball with him when he gets adopted.