Once again it feels like forever since the last post about Wellie. This month has been full I tell you.

First up, almost immediately following the last post was Westfest. It was a blast and we had a great time. On Saturday (the longer day) I brought Corduroy and she just loves it – she laps up the attention and still wants more. On Sunday I brought Wellie and she did really well for her first big festival. She was very well behaved and went on two long walks with Rolph, the dog walker for Bark & Fitz. The only thing was that she was a bit overwhelmed with all the people. I’ll probably just stick to bringing Corduroy next year, but it was nice for Wellie to go once just to experience it.

One thing I did find out during Westfest is that Wellie really hates skateboards. She actually went crazy nuts barking and trying to get to the skateboards when some kids were skating around at one point on Sunday. I’m not sure where that is coming from, but I’ll be sure to watch for the next time we see a skateboard and we’re not around a bajillion people, to really see what is setting her off about them. The sound? the fast pace?

Once again I wish I could report more success in housetraining, but I am sad to report it’s actually gotten a lot worse. Ugh. While we seem to have the pooing under control, as long as we make her go at her “usual” times (6am and 4pm), but it’s just the peeing now. Well to be honest, I don’t fully trust her not to poop inside yet either, but I’m sure she’ll earn that in time.

So the peeing. It’s not a physical issue, because she holds it every single night. It’s a choice – she’s choosing not to hold it and going all over the house. We haven’t been able to catch her (aside from last Saturday, which I’ll get to in a moment). And the funny thing is that she does it mostly while we are home. I am wondering if it’s something to do with attention seeking? What is working in the mornings is taking her out on a leash, I just don’t know how long I should keep this up for – taking her out on leash every morning. Every once and a while at 4pm if she’s not going poo and just wandering or wanting to go in the house, we’ll put her on leash again and walk her around the yard. I just don’t understand why she would rather always be inside than out – but then tries to dart out the front door every chance she gets. Ack! I think she is singlehandedly keeping the “pee stain remover” industry in business! haha. Continue reading →

Sometimes I look around and can’t believe that we have three dogs. A friend was joking with me right after we rescued Wellie and said that even though we have three dogs, they are all so small that combined they really only make one big dog – kind of like those Transformers that combine into one big one. Sometimes I really notice we have three dogs, and sometimes it’s not really obvious at all. One will be sleeping while two play, or they will all be napping at once – or alternately, all playing at once. What I do know, is that Wellie belongs with us and it was the best decision to rescue her.

This week has had its ups and downs. Jane and Sonnet were here until Sunday and Sonnet and Wellie played a lot. Sonnet got braver and braver as the week went on and by last weekend she was launching herself on the other dogs and grabbing onto their hair in her mouth. They didn’t like it much and it only really worked on Wellie at actually getting her to play. Wellington was the only one who seemed to actually like Sonnet, whereas the other two just tolerated her. Jane left back to Kingston on Sunday and Wellie kept going in the basement looking for both of them.

Since Jane and Sonnet left, Wellington has been really testing our patience. I’m not sure if she’s angry that Jane isn’t home with her all day during the work-week, but she’s been having housetraining “accidents” all over the house so frequently now it’s not even funny. On Monday, while I was at work and Thomas was teaching, she peed all over her organic pet bed – so much pee. And this is the second time she’s done it! What is even worse about this is that because it’s organic, I can’t wash the stuffing and the cover isn’t waterproof, so the stuffing got pee in it too. Argh. The store told me to wash the cover and leave the cover and inside poof out in the sun and that should help – something about the sun getting the smell and stain out with UV rays. I’ll also be spraying it with pee stain and odour remover to see it that helps.

As If that wasn’t enough, Wellie then proceeded to poop and try to eat it right in the next room while I was doing laundry (washing the bedding she peed on!!) and then had three pee accidents later on in the evening. Then another pee accident overnight on Monday night – the first time in a few weeks! So many setbacks all at once!

It’s not that she can’t hold her bladder, because she has shown us she can. I really think now it’s behavioural. We have been urged to try to tether her to us so we can catch her in the act and correct her immediately by putting her outside, so we tried that last night for the first time and it seemed to work – no accidents yesterday! She doesn’t mind being on the leash either so that’s good. Wellie is also being, what my husband has been calling, meddlesome. She is getting into everything and it’s been trying our patience. I think that having her tied to us all the time will help with this as well…I hope!

I know that when we were raising Paddington and Corduroy from puppies, that the puppies learn quickly and then go through a “rebellion stage” where they test you (and their boundaries) like teenagers do. Do rescue dogs do the same? Even ones that are over 1 year old and should be done with their teenage stage? Wellie is really leading me to believe that yes, they do, but I’m not sure if that is just me rationalizing her behaviour.

Last night we went to the Small Fries Social at Bark & Fitz in Westboro and all three dogs had a great time. While there, they all got their nails trimmed and Wellie did MUCH better than the last time. Our vet showed me how to calm her and it worked so well. We have also been touching her paws a lot and I think that helped as well. I was so proud of her! She wasn’t perfect, but is well on her way to being ok with nail trims.

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We weren’t looking for a third dog – not at all. …But she was looking for us.

This story all begins months ago when I found out that Petfinder had launched an iPhone app. Now anyone who knows me knows that my iPhone is pretty much glued to me at all times, so I decided to download it and try it out. I tested it out by putting in my postal code and let it find the dogs all around me. The app has a favourites button and I started favouriting dogs that I thought were cute to see how it worked. One of the dogs I favourited never really left my mind.

A few weeks ago my Mother decided she wanted to adopt a dog and in the search for a dog, I came across the same little face, still waiting for her family. I thought to myself that someone will adopt this sweet little girl and tried to forget about her.

But I couldn’t…

Fast forward to three weeks after and the sweet little face was still there, on the website just willing us to come to our senses. Thomas and I talked about it and we thought a long time on how a third dog would affect our family. I spoke to several people about it for their advice and on Tuesday morning we sent in the application to adopt her. We heard back quickly, by that afternoon and had an appointment to meet her on Wednesday evening.

From the moment we were approved we knew she was a part of our family. After speaking with one of the amazing volunteers at Animatch, I knew that this little girl was exactly like Paddington was at her age – a spunky little ball of energy that never stops moving.

So everyone, I’d like you to meet Wellington (or Wellie for short), our newest family member. She is a one year old ShihTzu/Yorkie mix and she is just wonderful. She is getting along with Paddington and Corduroy very well and we couldn’t be happier.

I haven’t told many people this but for the past while I’ve felt that there was a little soul out there searching for us, and now I know that it was Wellington.

She was just waiting for us to come to our senses.

Some videos if you read more Continue reading →

Adopting a Family dog, Bark Busters, offers important tips for anyone considering adopting a dog from a shelter.

Rescues and shelters everywhere house wonderful dogs, each of them just waiting to become a member of your household. While rescue dogs come from various backgrounds and experiences, they all share one important fact: they are dogs, and the dog you choose needs to be understood and treated as such.

Dogs need order and leadership. They are pack animals, so you must be the “pack leader.” Dogs are instinctively familiar with social order and will soon settle into a household routine. But they need to know what the house rules and boundaries are in their new pack. This makes the transition from the shelter to your home easier, faster and more rewarding. Below are tips to help ensure a smooth transition for your new furry friend.

If You Have Not Already Done So,

Hold a family meeting to create rules about caring for the dog. Will he be allowed on the couch, the bed, and in all rooms of the house? Where will he/she sleep and eat? Who will walk him and clean up after him? As a family, you must all be consistent with your decisions or you will confuse the dog, usually resulting in the dog making his own rules and causing unnecessary tension.

Have the necessary items your dog will need from the start: ID tags, a collar and a 6 foot leash, food and water bowls, food, dog toys, a crate and bedding, and basic grooming tools. Bring your new dog home when you can be there for a few days so you can get to know each other and establish rules.

Just before you bring your dog into the home, take him for a walk to tire him out a little. Walks are not only good exercise, but they also serve as a training tool and an opportunity to establish yourself as the pack leader.
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It’s been a little over two months since we brought Corduroy home and I can tell you, it feels like she has always been here. The two are growing to be best friends, which is wonderful. Corduroy idolizes Paddington, the same way kids do which I find quite amusing.

It took two months for Paddington to accept Corduroy fully. She was never ever mean to her, but was very tense and hardly relaxed when Corduroy was around. In the past two weeks, we have noticed a HUGE improvement. Paddington will even let Corduroy sit next to her and they have slept beside each other on one occasion (something I always dreamed they would do!). I can comfortably hold both of them on my lap now and neither of them try to squirm away because they other one is there.

We are still having problems with food – Corduroy is now tall enough to eat out of Paddington’s bowl and tries to at every chance. Since switching them both to high quality food, I haven’t worried about it as much, only because there isn’t much difference between the puppy and adult food as far as ingredients. And obviously, like children, each of them wants what the other one has, whether it be toys or treats. They are getting a bit better now about it.

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I wanted to write a post about how the first week with our new puppy went. In a nutshell, it went better than expected.

We dropped off Paddington at Thomas’ parents on the way to the breeder’s place last week. After picking up Corduroy, we brought her to his parent’s house and introduced the two in the driveway. The original plan was to do it in the park, but since there was a snow storm that morning, it was sort of out of the question. The initial meeting went very well and Corduroy proceeded to sleep the rest of the day.

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