Mr Cheese - 15th January 2014

We collected Mr Cheese on Saturday evening from Natalie.

He'd been kept in a bathroom for months with 3 other chihuahuas and they were all in various states of malnourishment and sickness. Mr Cheese himself is painfully skinny with advanced oral disease and claws that curl all the way around to his pads. He was frightened of everything and didn't want to do anything but sit in the dog carrier. He's got a mild case of collapsing trachea which inhibits his ability to eat and drink. He would urinate in fear if you bent down to pat him or pick him up.

4 days later he's learning how to be a dog again. He's found some confidence and starting to wag his tail and vocalize. He eats like a horse and will scoff down anything you pop into his mouth. His collapsing trachea appears to get better the more exercise he has. He's still cautious of people but he'll bond quickly with those he likes, and he'll follow you anywhere you go without needing a leash, including running and swimming. He's very affectionate and bright eyed, and gets along well with all other dogs he meets. A fantastic little dog and he'll make a great pet for anyone who wants him.

Jade - 19th December 2013

Yesterday Jade met with our regulars again. It was nice to see that some remembered her. We kept her on a lead for most of the walk but let her off for a little run with the pack when she was more focused.
Later we took her and Tashi to the beach. Jade loved the water and jumped around in it. She tried to eat the floating seaweed as well. Jade was looking for dogs to play with. She was boisterous with the dogs. She displayed a little nervousness when she was the one chased.
She needs to learn to be gentle when playing. Her size and strength may not be something she is particularly aware off. She also needs to learn how to read other dogs for when the game is over - body language, growl, retreat,  etc. She listens to some but not to others. We are currently reinforcing the other dog's wishes with a stern disapproval.
At home she sits in her crate and comes up to us for attention. We also took her in our car for a night drive. She sat nicely in the back on the dog bed.
She seems nervous about people suddenly approaching when she wasn't aware of then before. She growls softly or barks. Would be a good trait for a guard dog.

Today we went to the park with our pack. There wasn't many other dogs at the park. It was a little bit hot. Jade had a second wind once we soaked her in water. She galloped around feeling much better.

Jade - 17th December 2013

Jade was dropped off at the park today for us to re-assess and re-socialise. The two homes she had since we last saw her just did not match her.
She seemed weary of other dogs at the park. Though she almost immediately ignored Tashi (after a little sniff), which showed that she remembers her and is comfortable around her.
She does not respond to names, Jade or Soda, unless she feels like it. She responds slightly better to "Jade", or maybe we just called her at a better time then. Her focus is lacking and all over the place. She did return to us, ran close to us, when we let her off the lead to gage her recall skills.

24th November 2013

Just got back from dropping Ollie at his new home. He has a lovely doggie friend named Boss too!

Ollie - 30 July 2013

Ollie is becoming more normal as the days pass, which is a huge relief for us all. He no longer cringes away when you pat his head, he can sit and wait nicely, and he is getting very good at coming when he is called. He still likes to run towards every dog he sees, but he will now return to me when I get too far away from him. He knows he's supposed to stay with his pack and he likes following me. He will take treats politely and share food with his friends.

He also seems to have overcome his car sickness, which I am very happy about because I no longer have to clean up dog sick from the floor of the van every day. He continues to be very social and gentle with other dogs, and makes friends easily.

On Sunday we took him to a friend's house who lives out near Warragul. There was a big barbeque with lots of people. He quickly became best mates with my friend's 12 week old puppy and they spent a long time rolling around and playfighting in the long grass together. The puppy was too rough and hung off his neck with its teeth, but he tolerated it very well. Later on he let people pat him and took scraps of food from them. He hung around the people who were standing on the deck chatting, and sat at their feet. I was very impressed with him and pleased to see that he didn't need a safe place to hide.

Ollie - 18 July 2013

Today we taught Ollie to sit. It was difficult.

We usually feed him his meals by hand and use globs of stinky food to get him used to being touched and patted. It took a long time to teach him "SIT" because at first he was too nervous to focus on the food and kept running away when the command was given.
You could say it in any tone of voice, he just did not understand the concept of a command. He also hated it when we tried to gently push his bottom down and would jump away scared and run back to his crate.

This stumped us for a while. How could we make him focus on the food hand without fear? We solved the problem by smearing smelly wet dog food all over my left hand and using that hand to try to push his bottom down (we had to wash him afterwards). My right hand would hold food in front of his face. We repeated this several times. With each repetition his panic and attempt to hide would become more half hearted as his hunger got the better of him.

Soon he learned that the left hand was not scary and was actually lickable and delicious. When I washed the smelly goop off my left hand, he began ignoring it and started focusing on my right hand. I used my left hand to tap his bottom, giving the "SIT" command and rewarding him with food when he sat. He only needed a slight touch from my left hand to remember what he was supposed to do. From that point it took about 5 minutes before he could sit on command, always with a reward. We told him he was clever, and he was very pleased with himself.

He is a surprisingly smart dog, he learns quickly but is very difficult to motivate because of his fear of new and unknown situations. Every day he gets a little bit braver and easier to handle. We are learning a lot from him, he forces us to think outside the box with every interaction.

Ollie - 16 July 2013

Ollie is making very good progress. Today he didn't run so far away and he returned to the pack more regularly. He's beginning to learn how to come when he's called, and when he returns he lies down and willingly accepts a pat on the head, occasionally even rolling over for a belly rub. He seems to like being told he's a good boy, and he even briefly let a few strangers pat him. He prefers being patted on the back rather than on the head. He is very happy being amongst his friends and is always very friendly and tolerant to other dogs.

He still doesn't like being touched spontaneously, but if you tell him you want to pat him he will usually allow it. He's very well housetrained and will whine and scratch at the front door when he needs to go to the toilet. If we can eliminate his fearful behaviour and find a solid way of motivating him in order to train him, he will make a very good pet.