Shelter Journal 8/27/13

I went to the shelter last Thursday but lost my list of dogs I had out, and I've been very busy since coming back from vacation and didn't get to posting while the dogs were fresh in my mind.

I remember best two puppies I had out last. I saw a young male rottweiler mix. Found as a stray and it was his last day before he'd be available for adoption. He was scared. I went slow, spent some time in his kennel, and once out he slowly warmed up. A volunteer said there was another dog that looked just like him. She brought out a female, who appeared pregnant, but otherwise looked just like him. I went and talked to staff and they were brought in together. They both looked to be about 6-7 months old and there was no note of the female being pregnant. Staff wrote in a note, and the dogs were to be looked at that afternoon anyway. If pregnant, the puppies will be removed. It is very dangerous for a young dog to be pregnant and give birth. It is also assumed that the male is her brother and he could potentially be the father. Even if he isn't, any random dog could be, including a dog that could be much bigger than her and that is also dangerous. For her own health and safety the pregnancy can't be allowed to continue. I asked if we could have the dogs play together, and it was approved. We only them together about 5-10 minutes before I had to go but they clearly recognized each other and were glad to see each other. Both relaxed.

I do think the dogs are mixed because they are mis-marked for rottweilers with patches of gold and white. They are also small. They have adult teeth and act and look like puppies which would put them at the 6-7 month range but they're 40 lbs and don't have very big feet. Small for pure rotties.. their tails are docked so maybe they're oddly bred.

Male

 

Female

Female & Male

Female & Male

Male
Photo from SDDAC

Today I started with Georgia [PF link], a high energy Dutch Shepherd mix. She was jumpy and mouthy so I popped a ball in her mouth for her to carry. Worked like a charm! She never stops moving. She loves to chase toys but doesn't really pick them up or fetch. She does know sit pretty well. Needs to learn impulse control and some manners but otherwise is a fantastic dog.

Photo from Petfinder

Photo from Petfinder

Photo from SDDAC

Next, Bruno [no PF link], an very tall old man who still has a lot of pep in his step! A bit arthritic in his back legs and a little wobbly if he turns too quickly but he was still chasing after toys and enjoys short walks.

Photo from SDDAC

Timmy was on my list but he's on the neuter list- Good news for Timmy! He's been adopted!! I helped him get his photo taken about a month ago. Since then he was starting to really, really hate his kennel. Once out he was great but when you enter his kennel he jumps and grabs and digs his claws in, nips and mouths hard, and is not fun to try to get a leash on. Awesome dog when out! And then he plants his feet and refuses to go back in his kennel.. once in the jumping and nipping starts immediately. I'm so glad he's getting out and he can relax and not be so stressed.

Photo from SDDAC

Next was Princess [PF link]. She's extremely sweet, and overly submissive with her plops and flops. She walked well on leash. In the yard she was playful, calm, mellow, loves to be petted and brushed, and would have random spazzes of happy puppy joy where she would run around. Wonderful girlie.

Photo from SDDAC

Then was Shep [PF link], a cutie patootie lil black dog.Ok, not little little, he's about 50 lbs. Very sweet, terrible on leash with his scrambling and pulling, housebroken. Let me brush him quite a bit. Was mostly interested in sniffing rather than playing.

Photo from SDDAC

Then Gator, who bounces like his legs are pogo sticks when he's in the kennel! He stops when the door opens. He's also terrible on leash, pulling and scrambling around, but was fun in the yard. Playful, energetic, sweet. We got kicked out of the yard as staff needed it for potential adopters so we took a walk. He caught on to the idea that pull = stop and after a few minutes was doing much better.

Photo from SDDAC

Last dog of the day, I have no photo of. She came in as a stray and today is her last hold date before she's available. She had a sign that said Housebroken but I don't think she is. She was adorable. Very loving and sweet, just wanted attention and petting. Chased toys a bit but mostly wanted petting. Brown pittie mix. If I remember, I'll update tomorrow when they have a pic up.

Colorado Vacation, Part I

We have both dogs and both cats with us on this vacation. It takes 14 hours to drive from San Diego to western Colorado, and the trip felt surprisingly relaxed, easy, and quick this time.

Everest sits between us on a pillow and likes to sniff the AC.

 When he's tired of the AC he turns around. He stayed here most of the trip, with occasional trips to the back of the car or to the passenger's lap.

Zebulon typically does not do well in the car. He screams pathetically and loudly, drools, barfs, and is very stressed. He did drool a bit this trip but not excessively. There was no screaming and he didn't barf. We had him stay in the back seat with the dogs, maybe that helped. He was still not very happy. I never drug him, I tried that when he was younger but hated what it did to him. He's better not being drugged.

 For the first time ever on a car trip, he laid down and was very relaxed near the end of the trip. The last hour he took over Everest's spot and slept, laid stretched out and very relaxed.

Denali and Kaytu always do well. Denali makes funny "oh my gosh we're in the car and we're going somewhere and I'm so happy!" faces and Kaytu makes bored, "are we there yet?" faces.

14 hours leaves lots of time to find awkward sleeping positions. Zeb insisted on laying between the bed and crate, which folded down the bed into the seat. The seat has a cover which is tan, and the bottom of the bed is tan so it's tough to see the difference but Zeb is folding down the bed. The blue blanket is on the seat.

We got in late at about 10:00pm and my in-laws' dogs were already tucked in and sleeping for the night so they didn't get to play until the morning. They had a blast!

Harley is "toothy" when he plays! The girls gave him space when he was uncomfortable.

 

After letting the dogs play and romp, we decided to go rock climbing. The dogs did not come as being at the edge of cliffs would have been a bit dangerous for them. Too tough to keep an eye on them and keep them safe. My husband and his father rappelled down the cliff face which is about 40'. His mom and I climbed down through a nice crevice. At the bottom they both tried climbing back up and both got about halfway. Then I tried and made it about halfway up, hub tried again and made it! Then his mom tried and also made it about halfway. At about the halfway point the cliff became very sheer with not much to grab or put your feet on, except for a large crack. Only hub had the experience and muscle to do it! Hub and his dad both rappelled down again.

Crack we could climb down to get to the bottom

Hubby at the bottom of the crack

Rappelling! Top of the cliff

My father in-law

 

Climbing back up

 

 

 

Father in-law

Hubby

My turn! Using my reach

 

Mother in-law

We all had a lot of fun! Once home the dogs got to play again.

That was all on Wednesday. Thursday morning hub and his dad headed off for a camping trip and they're spending 2 nights out at the Maroon Bells. His mom and I went to Ridgeway to a reservoir with the dogs but we were only there half an hour before the rain started. We went home, hung out for a bit, went out to Qdoba for a girl date, walked around main street, and then watched the Broncos preseason game. Today we didn't do much of anything, we went to Walmart so she could get more yarn as she's making awesome scarves for her 2nd grade students. I'll be mushing Kaytu when it's cool enough. It's 75 right now and I won't run her at all if it's over 70. She really needs it!