Tuxedo in his glory

Tuxedo has arrived!

Tuxedo came to me on Sunday night from a puppy mill south of Montreal. He is a spectacular black & white Cocker Spaniel who looks all dressed up & ready for a night on the town;) He is a sweet, gentle & friendly young dog barely 1 year old.
He was so stressed out when we picked him up that he went pancake on the floor & we had to carry him to the car & put him into the dog crate for the drive home. Poor littl fellow had no idea what was going on.
He woke up the next day much refreshed & ready to explore.
We went for an early morning walk & after only a few "heel" corrections he was walking on a loose leash for 75% of the time. Unheard of! Boy is this dog eager to learn & please!!
He's very quiet & polite in the house,sticking very close to me while he learns the ropes. I doubt if he's ever been in a house before so everything is new to him. He met the cat yesterday & very gently sniffed his nose.This morning he stood in front of the dishwasher as it swished away & just listened to the sound. Then he was off to the living room to have a post breakfast nap with the other dogs.
He's not at all jumpy or nervous. He has all the makings of a peaceful family dog. He'll be happy to take part in whatever's going on,whether that's a walk in the park, a nap at your feet while you work or read or a cuddle on the couch to watch some TV with you.
I'll post some pictures so you can see how gorgeous this agreeable fellow is:)

Abuelo has gone to his forever home

Abuelo went home with his new mom on Saturday. She's a wonderful person & I know she will give Abuelo all the loving & spoiling he deserves for the rest of his life. She fell in love the minute she laid eyes on him ;) He will always own a special place in my heart but now that he has a wonderful home I will be able to save another dog.
Stay tuned here for my next foster.

The sky is falling!

Being from Mexico Abuelo has never experienced a Canadian autumn before. We live in the middle of a hard wood forest & Abuelo is fascinated by all the leaves coming down. He seems to be totally mystified by them as they slowly float the ground. He lies on the front porch & watches intently as they drift by. Every so often his curiousity gets the better of him & he dashes off the porch to get a closer look. After a brief inspection he returns to the porch & resumes his watch.
It's just too funny :)

Abuelo loves Oliver

We have a cat named Oliver who was raised with dogs & used to sleep with our old dog & even groomed her. Now we have a  Lab who likes to chase Ollie so Ollie stays on the basement stairs watching us thru the baby gate for most of the day. When Abuelo discovered Ollie sitting there he was fascinated. I opened the gate & the boys tentatively sniffed noses & ears. Then Ollie came up into the hall & Abuelo noozled him & tried to gently pull Ollie closer to him & rested his head on Ollie's back. Oliver responded by licking Abuelo's muzzle.
Now every morning when he comes out of his crate, Abuelo rushes over to the baby gate to greet his buddy. He checks in with Ollie several times a day too. I'm sure that if Ollie & Abuelo were alone in the house it wouldn't be long before they would be sharing a dog bed.
It's soooo sweet ;)

Abuelo's Happy Dance

Chippy hunting

Our Chihuahua-Pug mix dog (Flea) is a tireless & occasionally, successful hunter. She has brought us many small critters; but her passion is hunting chipmunks. She has enlisted our 2 other dogs in the art of laying siege to a chippie holed up in a wood pile. They're all very focused &, happily, unsuccessful.
Tonight after supper Flea & Abuelo went out back & soon I heard that special bark that Flea gives when she's trapped a chippie. And then, I heard Abuelo give a bark. He never barks! I went out back & there are the 2 of them circling the wood pile nose to the ground sniffing & barking. Abuelo's style needs some refining but he was obviously into the game & willing to learn from the master (er, mistress). What a hoot!! ;)

Winning hearts

My husband & I, & our dogs, walk with a group of neighbours most mornings. Abuelo has made an impression on members of our group. Sheila automatically reaches for Abuelo's leash each day so that she can walk him. She loves his nice leash manners & his sweet, mellow personality. Sue talks Spanish to him, very cute & Eunice cradles his cute face & coos at him.

I gave him a bath today & he stood so quietly in the laundry tub. No fuss at all. After drying him off he raced into the living room dropped on his side & wiggled across the rug, then he flipped onto his back & wiggled some more..lol.

He just gets sweeter every day!!

Abuelo- sweet senor from Mexico

Abuelo & Dad checking out the Patio

Is this my good side?

What are you saying? Yo no hablo inglés!

Really?!

Sun bathing. Is this what passes for a beach up here?

Oh, for goodness sake!!

Pretty cool, all I have to do here is lay around all day ;)

Please, pretty please....

Aren't I a handsome fellow...hahah

Abuelo is making the transition from a tropical island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico to the great northern woods in Ontario very well. Right now he's napping at my feet without a care in the world. He's my first male foster but he won't be my last. Now that I know about belly bands (in this case an old tea towel cut in half with two elastic straps holding a sanitary napkin)  there's no worry about him marking in the house. He's already been trained to our Invisible Fence & loves to slowly circle the yard following his nose. I'm sure there's lots of new smells here.
Yesterday we went to the annual LOYAL Rescue volunteers picnic & he got to meet a lot of other foster & family dogs. He was polite to all of them, except for the big Weimarene who he barked at but then ignored. He worked the room getting pets & scratches from everyone as they arrived ,& of course, the occasional tidbit of cheese or chips.
He is the most low maintenance foster I've had since the days of Sweet Marie, Peke/Toy Spaniel senior who  was as much work & trouble as a lawn ornament. And she peed on the floors til I house trained her, Abuelo's belly bands are taking care of that problem.
There is a quiet home out there somewhere that has been waiting for Abuelo to come along & make their lives whole. So...here he is, hurry up & apply for him before someone else snatches him up!!!

Spent Mother's Day outside

The weather here was gorgeous to-day so everyone, people & fur babies, have spent all of it outside. I even got my own outside dog bed to laze on, as befits a princess ;)

Shelley loves her bath!!

Gave Shelley a bath today, what a hoot!! She was her usual sweet calm self throughout the bath & drying off but as soon as I set her on the ground she went wild. First she ran up & down the hall, then into the living room where she ran around in circles, then she dropped down onto the rug & pushed herself along on her side like a seal. She was so happy !! Ran into her crate & back out, more running in circles & total body fur shakes like dogs do when they get out of the water. Boy she was some happy doggie :)) If I'd known that's how she reacted to a bath I would have given her one once a week!!
She's sound asleep in her crate now, probably tired out from all that partying, lol.
Geez, I love this little girl. She's a peach!

Shelley has made great progress!!

Shelley has been with me a few weeks now & boy has she blossomed! She is a sweet, affectionate, patient & laid back companion. She takes life in stride; whether I'm washing her face, cleaning her eyes, looking at her teeth or ears, combing her or putting on her sweater to go outside she's not phased or squirmy. She never barks if she's crated & continues to sleep right through the night every night. Once in a while when she's out of the crate she may bark if she's lost sight of me for a few minutes. Even then her bark is very low, not at all shrill, more like a cough.

She is much more active now that she's settled in to our family. Every time I take her out of her crate she runs up & down the hall in pure joy.She does the same thing when I put her outside on the deck. Sooo cute :)
She's very interested in what's going on outside & likes to watch the birds at our feeders & the other dogs romping in the yard.

My daughter discovered her *sweet spot*. If you scratch her on her left flank she turns her head to the left as well as her tail. She looks like a letter C. She does the same thing if you scratch the right side. She gets a look of total bliss. You can almost hear her saying *awwww that feels good*. lol


Being a puppy mill survivor she had never seen stairs before & in the beginning didn't know how to navigate them. Then, last week, she went down the 2 steps into the living room for the first time; breakthrough! Going up the steps proved more challenging for her.She'd go up to the step, put her front paws on the step & hopping back & forth along the edge like she was trying to psych herself up for that little jump up. Last night she succeeded for the first time. Another milestone, yay Shelley!!

I've been working at communicating with her using hand signals & we are making progress. She's starting to respond to the signal for *Come* & *Go Potty*.  Now when I sit on the couch & give her the *Come* hand signal she rushes over to be lifted onto the couch where she's content to stay as long as I'm there. I never leave her there unattended as she jumped down one day to follow me. She's a sturdy little girl but I don't want to take any chances of her hurting herself.

When she sleeps she makes the cutest little noises like tiny grunts & snores. It's endearing!! Once in a while she'll has that signature Yorkie backward sneeze, can't describe the sound, you have to hear it for yourself..makes me smile everytime she does it.

Shelley is the perfect companion for a someone who wants a low energy, loving, easy going & quiet companion to share their life with. I hope they come along soon before I completely fall in love with this gorgeous creature :)

Pretty Lady

Well, Shelley's fun personality is continuing to come out!

Never having had a Yorkshire Terrier foster before I had no idea how cute their walk is. When I put her out on the deck she runs up a down a few times to celebrate being outside in milder weather. Then, she trots around the deck to see what's going on in the yard & the forest & you see this little wiggle. It reminds me of Marilyn Munroe. She is such a pretty girl!! She can sure swing those little hips, lol.

I'm tring to get a videao of her to post. Stay tuned.

Shelley

 

 I like this bed

 

No, you can't have this bed right now. Wait your turn.





I'm ready for my close up 



Is this my good side? 



The couch is pretty comfy, too







Now there you go. That's my good side.