About two weeks ago, we left Powder at Fuzzy Friends Rescue when the Gang was taken for their check-up. Three was not much more work than two but we wanted to work on individual crate time (as I wrote about in another post). Powder was quickly adopted by a family that had previously adopted from Fuzzy Friends.
Roscoe, Rolo, and Chewie gang up on Toffee.On Monday, Vanessa returned Roscoe and Chewie to Fuzzy Friends. It was time for them to be neutered. We decided that they could do their recovery time at the rescue. Now, in all honesty, Vanessa and I asked each other whether we should adopt one of them. Roscoe was my favorite. I love his personality and he is just cuddly enough. Chewie was her favorite. He is incredibly soft. He loves cuddles. He will make someone a real good lap dog.
The decision to let them go rather than keep one or both of them was made easier when someone we know applied to adopt Roscoe. The adoption was approved and he goes to his forever home today.
Roscoe convinces Chewie that the tail end is the dangerous end.Chewie is still awaiting someone to take him home. He is very cute wearing his “cone of shame.” (See Pixar’s UP for reference) While Roscoe has piercing eyes, Chewie’s eyes have a very soft and inquisitive expression. His fur was a little longer than his brothers’ fur and incredibly soft. If you are in the Waco area and you are considering adopting a dog, you better be quick. Of course, they have a brother Spencer who is hanging out beside them.
Chewie and I on a chilly day. Our fur matches.We saw both Chewie and Roscoe, yesterday. They were wearing their cones. Both puppies were excited to see us and eager for cuddles. But even in their excitement, they were the perfect little gentleman we taught them to be.
I must say my perception of Chihuahuas has been transformed by this experience.
So, what were we doing at Fuzzy Friends. Well, I’ll tell you about our new guests Kodiak (like the bear) and Roscoe (that’s right another Roscoe), in my next post, tentatively entitled “From The Potty Gang to The Lab-atory Crew” — probably not. Although, given what we found this morning, maybe. . .
While the Potty Gang (Roscoe, Powder, and Chewie) were in our care, we wanted to make their transition to their “forever homes” as smooth as possible. So, we exposed them to strange and exciting things that they might encounter in their new surroundings like the “Dreaded Vacu’um” which roars loudly and sucks up anything in its path, including dog hair and treats.
So one afternoon, Vanessa and I made of game of it with the puppies. We brought our vacuum out into the middle of the room. First, we played with the puppies around the still quiet monster. We placed treats around it and for the really daring on it.
Second, Vanessa lured the Gang a little distance away with treats and played with them. At this point, I turned the vacuum on. The puppies scattered at the sound. It is loud and sudden no matter how you do it.
With the vacuum on, we lured the puppies back out with treats. Then, I turned the vacuum off. While the vacuum was quiet, we repeated the game where we placed treats on the vacuum. The Gang needed a little more encouragement. Chewie felt much safer under the piano bench.
We repeated this process a few times. Each time, the treats were given a little closer to the running vacuum. We kept playing the game until all the puppies took a treat from off the Dreaded Vacu’um at full roar.
It was a fun afternoon with the puppies and good quality time for a husband and wife.
While writing a daily update would be ideal, as you can imagine, life was full even before the Potty Gang entered the picture.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
They settle in for the night a few hours before we do. It takes us by surprise sometimes. Surely, we think, they are going to want to go out one more time to do their business. But we let sleeping dogs lie.
Who are the Potty Gang? They are brothers that we are fostering for a local rescue shelter Fuzzy Friends. The brothers are a Chihuahua mix. Their mother is a Chihuahua and Rat Terrier mix named Cheyanne. She is available for adoption. The Potty Gang will also be available for adoption when they are old enough.
When considering adopting an animal, look for a reputable rescue in your area. An good animal rescue will be concerned about matching the right dog with the right family. They may ask you to sign a contract with stipulations about how you care for the dog. That’s a good thing. In our area, we have had great experiences with the people at Fuzzy Friends.
Chewie, The Snuggler
Roscoe, the Explorer
Powder, the Instigator
Shattering Prejudices
My preconceived notions about Chihuahuas was that they are small yappy dogs with added bonus of being highly intelligent, small yappy dogs who think they are highly intelligent big dogs. So, you would be right, if you guessed that a Chihuahua would not be on the top of my list when selecting a family pet. Yet, fostering these rescued pups seemed like a good way to get to know something about this breed (even if they are a little mixed up).
My own experiences with maligned breeds and watching The Dog Whisperer (Amazon Instant) keeps me open to the possibility to that my assumptions about a breed may be based on popular presentations and human failure. So, I already had my suspicions that the Chihuahuas that I have encountered have been yappy and nippy because the owners allowed them to be yappy and nippy.
Today, Chewie, Roscoe, and Powder experienced rain for the first time (as far as I am aware). When I took them out to do their business, the rain had just started. It was not a cold day but they did not want to be out long and I did not want them to risk getting too wet.
Puppies in the Transportation Pod
The Potty Gang are doing very well in the potty department. As I sit beside the Gang sleeping in there kennel, I see one yellow spot on the pad with which the crate is lined. Except for the first day, they have not pooped inside the house. They whimper when they need to go out. However, for the most part, we are taking them shortly after they wake up from their nap.
Uncle Rolo’s Tail
Rolo is doing very well with the puppies. He really wants to play with them but they have short attention spans. He will nudge them with his nose to initiate. However, most of the time, these efforts are met with the pups rolling over into a totally submissive posture. Still, when they have the all clear, they will return to Uncle Rolo to offer a counter-attack. Continue reading →
Today, we had a good routine down or at least Vanessa did. I slept in and, in the afternoon, I took Christopher and Caleb to our church’s annual car derby. Christopher won a second place trophy for car design. When we left, the puppies were sleeping in their crate. When we returned, Vanessa had the puppies outside to do their business and frolic. And frolic they did.
The puppies woke us up with whimpering this morning. Vanessa came up with a way to take them outside. We set the puppies one at a time into a flexible plastic bucket with carrying handles to carry them outside together. As Chihuahuas, the Potty Gang may find themselves in a purse someday. So, they might as well experience various transportation methods.
The Gang’s mother was at Fuzzy Friends and she is not a little Chihuahua. So, I’m not sure how big these guys will get but there are some big purses out there.
From the moment I first saw the Gang, I could see some personality differences. Powder and Roscoe already had their feet up on the baby gate at our approach. Chewie was curious but sitting back and waiting. Powder and Roscoe are high energy dogs. Roscoe is the first to go out, explore, and expand his territorial knowledge. Powder (or Powder Keg) likes to pounce on his brothers. My question, Is Chewie a medium energy or a low energy dog? —>
In October, our long time family member Boci (Boatsie), a 16 year old English Spring Spaniel died peacefully in our home. Boci was the eldest of three dogs in our pack. My wife had Boci since before we were married. Boci was adopted from a couple going through a divorce. Our other two dogs are also rescues.
Boci
Toffee, our big girl, is a German Shepherd mix. She is about 4 years old. We adopted her from Fuzzy Friends a local animal shelter and rescue.
Rolo, is my buddy and my therapy dog. Rolo is a mix of something and something else. He is a mediums sized dog with Rottweiler style coloring. We found Rolo (or Rolo found us) while my two of my sons and I were playing Frisbee Golf in a local park. It happened to be my youngest son’s birthday. He never made it to the shelter.
I will tell you more about our other dogs in later posts. This post is about the newest members of our pack, the Potty Gang. Continue reading →
FosterCanibus 