Gibson - ADOPTED!!!

GIBBY'S BEEN ADOPTED!!! CONGRATS TO MATT AND ANNIE ON THE ADOPTION OF THIS VERY COOL BOY!!! WE'RE GONNA MISS HIM

1/16/10 Our first foster dog for 2010 is Gibson, he is an approximately 1 year old pure bred Australian Shepherd and is a WILD marked Blue Merle, with Blue and Brown Marbled eyes! I personally think he is a really pretty dog and his eyes are really cool (sorta looks cross eyed). He has "Kennel Cough" which is basically bronchitis in dogs, is full of worms and is about 20 pounds underweight. He is actually about an inch taller then Cache and his paws are HUGE!!!

Even though he has obviously had a rough start to life he is a very sweet and loving boy. He is constantly looking for affection and doesn't believe that he is a big dog. He is a little mouthy, but again he is only about a year old and has NO training what so ever. He is also not house trained, but so far (with a regular potty break) we haven't had a single accident (fingers crossed it stays that way).

Due to the fact that he is so underweight I am feeding him 3 times a day so we can get some weight back on him.


Now I've only had Gib here for 24 hours and he is already showing me how smart he really is. He didn't like the kennel at first but is very quiet and learning that the kennel is his "bed" and not a punishment and he is also already getting really good with Leave it, Sit, High 5, and sorta understanding Lie Down.

Last night Cache brought out a rope toy to play with Gibson and at first it seemed like it was going to be fine, but then, when Cache started to play "tug" with him, Gib went after Cache. I immediately corrected him, took the toy (all the toys) away, and now the boys are fine together. I did play tug with Gib on my own, he played nice but didn't want to let go. He is already showing great toy and treat drive which is awesome for training!!! and who knows, after he's feeling better maybe he'll make a good agility dog :)

1/23/10 Gibson saw the vet on Tuesday, he was given a clean bill of health! No Kennel Cough, Worms are gone, Neutered (now), up to date on all his vaccinations, and ready to be adopted!!! He is very under weight (you can feel every one of his bones), he had broken his rib at one point in his life, and has suffered some sort of Trachia damage (hence the cough), but he is healthy and loving and the sweetest big boy I've had in a long time!



Last night Gib was groomed by my friend Cynthia, she did an AMAZING! job on him :) he no longer smells like a farm animal is living in my house, his coat is super soft and shiny too. She said he was good for grooming, didn't like the blow dryer (most dogs don't the first time LOL), and kept trying to get off the grooming table, but all in all he was a very good boy for her. She also said she can't believe how big he is! and thought my dog Cache was the only Aussie that came this size LOL. He is currently 50 pounds and should be about 70 when he's at a good healthy weight (think Black Lab size without the tale).

We still haven't had a single accident (knock on wood), he has hit the bell on the back door a few times already, which I'm not sure if it's on purpose yet or not but he gets to go outside when he does it. He isn't counter surfing too much anymore either, only occassionally looks at/puts his head in the garbage can, he has even given up carrying my boot around (which was actually cute since he didn't do anything but carry it), and for the most part he and Cache are co-existing peacefully together although I'm not saying they are best buds by any means but they are co-existing :)

I'll keep everyone updated on his progress, he loves to work/learn so I'll be teaching him all sorts of tricks and commands as the time goes on, granted, he is so sweet he probably wont be with us very long which is the ultimate goal in fostering :)

1/27/10 Just a quick update on Gibson. He's coming along really well on his leash training, learning to follow and not drag me. With his trachia damage I am hoping he'll figure this out quickly so he doesn't cause himself to choke and gasp for air while out on a walk. I have been using the "Prong" Collar with him, I actually use this collar on all my dogs, some people find this collar cruel, but the truth on these collars is that they are far less harmful to dogs then the standard "training/choke" collars. Gibson is learning that when he pulls even a little he gets a pinch and self corrects the pulling :) When someone comes to see him and potentially adopt him I will gladly show them how the properly use this collar.

The other night I brought him downstairs for the first time, he was terrified of the steps, and finally I just dragged him down. He hung out downstairs for a little while, we went back up, and few minutes later when we went back down he did the stairs all on his own :) Now I have to make sure the gate is closed at the top of the stairs so he wont disappear on me LOL

Gibson has learned to Sit, give High 5, and with a treat he will drop to the ground so fast you would think he hurt his elbows to go into the Down! He is also learning to Sit Pretty/Sit Up which is so cute for such a big boy to do this :)

2/1/10 Hi Laura (and everyone else who checks my blog), Gibby is a really nice boy, but he is BIG and full of energy, and with him being young he is constantly getting into things. I've been working on staying out of the garbage/recycling, not taking our shoes, not counter/table surfing, as well as basic obedience like Sit, Stay, Come, Leave it, Down...none of those are perfect yet, but he's learning. I do keep him in a kennel during the day while we are gone at work, and also at night while we are sleeping. Right now, I'm home and we're all just hanging out, but if I were to leave him in a room on his own he'd do something "fun for him" and naughty for me :( This weekend when I was working on laundry, he was out the entire day following me from the laundry room to the bedroom, to the kitchen...I thought he was laying on the floor in the living room while I was hanging up my cloths and when I came out he had killed one of my couch pillows. Basically, he got bored and made up his own amusing game.

Gibson is a very busy boy, if you don't watch him, keep him entertained, or have him in his kennel, he WILL get into things, even if he has dog approved toys out and available to him. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad dog, just a young dog that is still learning the propper ways to behave. He is sweet, snuggly, loves to cuddle, loves to play, and LOVES to be with his people. But this guy will need a job to do. I'm thinking agility is right up his alley! with his crazy "Aussie Hops" and enthusiasm for fun and games, I just know he would LOVE to be an agility dog. He'll also play fetch all night, but is still getting the hang of actually bringing the toy back to me LOL!!!

For anyone that is interested in adopting Gibby, I HIGHLY suggest using a kennel. He is comfortable and used to being in one and it keeps him out of trouble as well as keeps your house intact while you are unable to watch him. Trust me, it's for the best when they are this young and not exactly house trained.

I'll try and get a video of him this week playing with Cache and playing fetch so everyone can see how full of energy this guy is. He's already a far cry from the sick, starving dog that originally came to us just a few weeks ago, I'm excited to see what he's like once he has some muscle and more weight on him.

Oh, and in addition to the basic obedience he's learning a few tricks, High 5/Shake hands, Sit Up/Sit Pretty, and my personal favorite...Take a Bow!!!

3/16/10 Ok, I'm sorry, I've been so busy lately I haven't had a moment to update my blog so here I go...on 3/7 I took Gibson to the Minneapolis Pet Expo with UMASC and Aussie Rescue. He was amazing! Perfect behavior, loved on everyone, young, old, in a wheel chair...it didn't matter. I took him for a walk around the Expo, stopped near the Bunny Agility so he could "see and smell" the bunny's, he was great, loose leash and relaxed, just layed down and watched. I'm not saying that he wouldn't have run over if given the chance, but he knew that he was on the leash and didn't even bother to try. The whole day was beyond great! I was in total awe on how well he did for NEVER being in that type of situation before.

He was adopted at the Expo :) it was a great day!!! He'll be with me until this Friday (3/19) then he'll be going to his new forever home! I'm so happy for all of them :)

A Look at the last year

Looking back over the last year at all the dogs that we have fostered and that we have helped find their new forever homes really makes my heart glow! We've gotten updates from a few of the families that have adopted our dogs and I guess no news is good news for the one's that we haven't heard back from. Some of the dogs were hard to let go of, and some of them we couldn't find a home for fast enough LOL, but all of them will forever hold a place in our hearts.

Fudge was the first dog that came into home, he was sweet, quiet (during the day), and very laid back. He came to us not knowing any basic commands or being house trained. By the time that he left he knew to sit, lay down, was house trained, and leash trained. Cache even taught him to play Tug-o-War with the rope toys.

Sway was the first "Puppy" that came to us, she was one of the coolest looking dogs I think I've ever seen! Her dark chocolate coat was as thick as an otter and her crystal blue eyes were just amazing! She was so smart, sweet, snuggly, and played great with Cache. I will never forget the two of them racing back and forth in my house bouncing off the walls and using the couches as their own personal trampolines and wrestling mats. I'll admit it, I cried when she left to go to her forever home. I've gotten a few updates from her Mom on how she's doing and she has her own "dogbook" page on "facebook".

Bruno was only here with us for 4 days, that was the fastest adoption that we had. In those 4 days he went from shy and unsure to sweet and loving with me. He was leary of men so the guys didn't get to see the same Bruno that I did. He was here for such a short time we almost can't count him as a foster LOL

Kirby, he was the goofiest of all the dogs that we have had this year. About 10 years old, bounced from shelter to home to shelter to rescue for almost a year before we got him, and it didn't seem to phaze him a bit. He lived for the game of FETCH!!!!! balls, ropes, discs, you name it, if it could be thrown he would go get it :) I took him with to play dates through TCDDC, and everyone got a kick out of him fetching 3 discs at the same time, and even with how over weight he was he would still jump up and pull the discs out of the air! I even competed with him a time or two through the TCDDC. I'll also never forget the way he "danced" after he gave me the tennis ball to throw again, left foot, right foot, left foot, click click click click, smiling from ear to ear just begging to have the ball thrown again! Such a sweety, I'll always miss this guy :)

Daisy, also referred to as "Little Daisy", was quiet the learning experience. She was the most terrified little puppy that I've ever seen. She only ever wanted to be in her kennel, her "safe zone", didn't offer any type of affection and cowered when you forced her to come out and sit with you. She did eventually come out of her shell a little, but only with me and only at night after everyone in the world had gone to bed. I would occassionally see glimpses of "puppy", like her laying on her side and waving at me when I peeked around the corner, or playing with the toys on the bed with me at night. After a while it became evident to me that she wasn't going to get any better than that in my care. I truely felt that she needed a "pack" of dogs to help her come around more. I moved her to another foster home that had more dogs and after a few months in foster she found her forever home. They love her and accept the fact that she will never be a normal dog and I'm very happy for her.

Dayze (aka Big Dayze), was a silly, happy, goofy, laid back, nice dog. She had been in foster care, then adopted, then returned 2 times before we got her. She was a big dog that needed some basic training. The first night she was here I thought we lost her but couldn't figure out where the heck a 70 lb. dog could disappear to in our rather small house??? after about 30 minutes of searching I found her crashed out sleeping on our bed LOL She was fun dog that played hard with Cache which he LOVED and after a few days of basic training she learned not to drag me down the street :) She's now in her forever home and they have since become a foster home for BCRofMN too!!!

Willie, man I loved him! He was wild, intense, crazy, some may say PSYCHO, but he was everything that I wanted in a dog. He learned at a lightening pace, looked at me like he was saying "what next? what do you want me to do?" He wasn't capable of doing anything slow, it was always quick and with intense purpose! I worked with him agility over the summer, played disc with him in the evening, took him to his first Disc Dog Comp where he scored 17.5 points and won the Novice class!!! I cried and cried when he was adopted, I even thought of quitting foster work, I couldn't let my heart get broken like that again. After a few weeks off and some serious reflection on why I opened my heart and home I decided I couldn't stop helping other dogs.

Jag, was a sweet little Mini Aussie that loved to snuggle. He would hang out with me snuggling on the couch for hours. He loved to play with the toys and even though he wouldn't "play" with Cache, they would snuggle together on the couch and take naps together. There isn't much I can say about him, he was simply a nice dog that needed to find a good home and I was thrilled when he was adopted and he will forever be spoiled rotten by his new Mom!!!

Ben, he was the most difficult dog that we had fostered. He was an owner surrender, was put on a single prop plane and flown to St. Paul by a pilot who volunteered her time. When I went to get him he was one angry dog. Growled at me the first 12 hours that he was here and it wasn't until after a few days that I was able to really get my hands on him. He became a really nice guy who just had issues with new people. He wasn't house trained, no basic commands, and no social skills, but after a while he learned all sorts of things. I took him to obedience class for training and socializing, had friends come over and after he was allowed to do things on his terms he was a good boy with visitors. I was really making progress with him, but the BCRofMN board decided he needed a new foster home so he could get more experience with other people and was moved. I'm happy to say that he was found a home where he is loved very much.

Our last foster dog for 2009 was River. She was a very sweet, goofy, silly girl who fit in nicely in our home. Mike D completely fell in love with her! She was his "Willie" and he's pretty upset that she was adopted. I guess we'll all go through this with one of the fosters.

Other dogs have stayed with us over the last year in between our official fosters, Pilot a blue merle BC stayed with us a few days, Homer an old deaf goofy bad breath blue merle Aussie stayed with us a few days 2 different times, and Anna a black and white BC puppy stayed the night so I could take her to her new home in WI the next day.

Now that River has been adopted just 2 days ago, our home is a little empty feeling. Even Cache is obviously lonely. Since we have company staying with us for a few days this week we decided to wait to get a new foster until after they have left. We'll have a new foster dog this weekend from Nancy and we can't wait to start the next chapter in our "Foster Dog Book".

Happy New Year to everyone and keep coming back to see who we have available for adoption in the coming weeks!!!!