New Year's Eve, Finishing Strong

Diesel had the first leg of the first walk and
it was quite chilly. He did not go in the water.

He's very cooperative with
pictures and will pose for me
anywhere I ask, just like Gigi.

I had Wednesday off from work and I spent most of it walking dogs. They needed it, of course, but I really needed to reverse the days of sedentary activity and high food intake that was christmas. I walked six dogs totaling almost 15 miles. That brought me to 130 miles for the month and 1,267 miles for the year. You'd think I'd be thinner.

The second leg of the first walk was with
Maya and Fanny.

3.5 miles split between Diesel and then Maya
and Fanny.

The second walk of the day was Maya with Daisy. Daisy was adopted out a couple weeks ago, but is back, (more on that in coming posts) but she's doing fine and I think she'll be a great dog in the right home.

3.72 miles with Maya and Daisy

Daisy really enjoyed the walk today.

Maya is included in multiple walks because I need to wear
her out, plus she's a good hiking role model for other dogs.

I brought Daisy back home and loaded up Trooper in her place for the third walk of the day. Maya and Trooper did two miles together, then I brought them home and took out Sparky for another four miles.

Two miles was enough for Trooper. He
doesn't need to go far, but he likes to go.

I love the contrast in the ears.
All are fully alert.

Chilly weather did not dissuade Sparky
from wading in for a cool drink.

Sparky scratches at the ground when he's
ready to go and I'm taking too long.

6.46 miles, two miles with Maya and Trooper and the rest with Sparky

I thought I was done at this point, but then decided to take Diesel and Fanny out to the pasture for another walk because they would be crated for a while during the evening when we went to town.

Fanny found a large Kong in the pasture and
carried it around for quite a while.

1.08 miles. You can see that the GPS
mapping isn't entirely accurate because
I never went outside the fence.

An odd couple, perhaps,
but it works.

They play together quite well in spite of the size difference.

Bonding

Fanny and Diesel

Out in the pasture he doesn't look or
seem over-sized at all. 

Fanny is playful and he played
with her appropriately.

Diesel is now pretty well bonded to me. It didn't take much effort on my part, but it did take a few days, a few walks, and a few meals. He's inside most of the time but I am taking him out to the pasture once or twice a day, generally after meals, so he can stretch his legs and do his business. Today I had Max and Fanny out as well. The two of them were playing until Max got too rough, so I pulled Fanny away from him and gave Max the remains of a ball to carry around instead. Fanny then stuck close to Diesel and me and the two of them played together very well. The long ski rope I was using on Diesel got stuck between his big toes so I just took it off. He stayed very close to me in the pasture just as he does indoors. I think it's safe to say that he's "homed" here now, but I'm still not taking any chances. When he did wander off ahead of me, I could recall him easily. He whines a bit when he's crated indoors if I'm upstairs, but he quiets down in there at night. His neuter appointment isn't until the 9th, so I need to turn my attention to getting Fanny adopted if I want to move someone out of here sooner (and I do).

I'm not sure what was so interesting here,
probably deer poop.

Fanny looks pretty big here, but it's just the
camera angle and the fact that she's in front.

Max played best by himself, with just his ball.

I love this pic of the two of them.

Diesel was happy to have a playmate today.

Under my desk, after the pasture time.

Dashing Danes

Lots of folks have asked what Gigi thinks of the new dane boy, Diesel. They didn't even meet for the first couple of days. The thing you've got to remember about Gigi is that she's a princess, not a dog. Her Royal Highness rarely leaves her throne room except to eat. They did meet and he was friendly enough, but she had no real use for him.

Today I entreated her to come down and join us for a bit of exercise in the pasture. She didn't like the fact that he was dragging a rope everywhere he went and she mostly stuck very close to me. He was friendly and tried to engage her in play, but she would have none of it.

This is the ski rope handle I fashioned
after being unceremoniously yanked to the
ground while Diesel was romping in the
pasture. I got a nasty rope burn on my
right hand but wasn't hurt.

Fortunately, he's pretty good at entertaining himself, something he's probably learned to do in the absence of suitable playmates his size. Diesel is clearly becoming more comfortable here and he's enjoying himself when we go out. He's also fine indoors in his crate when we are gone. I suspect the report of severe separation anxiety from his prior two-day home was really just a case of trying to get back to his former home. I'm hoping that he's moving past that now and will consider this to be his home, but it does mean that a new adopter will need to be prepared for a few days of a difficult transition.

He chased Max a little bit, but later gave Max the "are you crazy?" look.

She made a rather exaggerated leap over the rope
to make the point that she doesn't care for it.

Yet more former fosters

Here's a few more pictures received from former fosters during this holiday season.

This is Dax, exhausted from playing with a visiting German
Shorthaired Pointer.  Who wouldn't be? 

This is Libby, lounging on her bed fit for a queen.

Don't waste any time feeling sorry for
Sophie being dressed up in a Christmas
sweater. The dog is rotten to the core,
but she's well-loved in spite of it.

Every year brings some bittersweet news as well.
This is Maya, who passed away this year.
She was a great girl who had a great home and who did
great service to her people in the years they were together.

Boxing Day Dogs

It was a great day. The sun was shining and I had time to get in two walks totaling eight miles and plenty of pasture romping time for three dogs who didn't get walks. 

Diesel in the pasture.

Diesel, Ochie, and Barkley

Even though the pasture is
fenced and I was out with him,
I was taking no chances and had
a 50' rope tied to his collar that
he just trailed along after him.

Barkley is kicking up his heels in most pictures.

My first hike was 3.5 miles with Maya and Fanny.

Part two of the hike was 4.5
miles with Maya and Max.

After the  hikes, I did a second round of pasture time with Diesel alone.

He's beginning to trust me and to like me.