Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Foster swap (and puppies too)

Today I did something that I don't think I've ever done before. If I have done it, I don't remember. I swapped dogs with another foster home, sending off Paisley and bringing in Kilo.

I have not been able to get Paisley back in the house for the past two nights. She's been quite happy out in Daneland, but she didn't seem to be using the shelters that were available to her out there, she wouldn't come into the house when I let her out of Daneland, and getting near enough to her to leash her was impossible. It's strange because she had been doing all those things, even running around loose in the yard with the other dogs, up until a couple days ago. Then she seemed to revert being almost feral. I let it slide for a couple days because I've been so busy with the puppies that having one less dog in the house was fine. Once the rain started, however, I really wanted her to come in, especially since she didn't seem to be using the shelters that were out there.

Erika suggested a foster swap, Paisley for Kilo, and I agreed, mostly because I didn't think I was doing any good for Paisley. She was terrified of Clay and that never got any better. Of course the problem now was getting Paisley on a leash again. Sharen came over this afternoon, bringing tasty treats and an abundance of patience. She tried for a while and then I called in Jan and Paul as reinforcements, mostly to block Paisley's escape routes. We were in Daneland, behind a six foot fence, and I even managed to close the divider, but she still kept scurrying away from any attempt to leash her. Sharen finally succeeded and I added a second leash for good measure. When I got Paisley back in the house, she reverted to acting friendly as she had been two days ago. The girl has issues. 

Anyway, Kilo's foster was having trouble with him because he wasn't housetrained but also objected to being crated. Apparently he's also crate-aggressive towards other dogs when he's in a crate. That isn't unusual. Kilo's foster brought him over and we traded issues, each hoping that the other would be better able to deal with the dogs we traded. 

So far, so good, on both ends. Kilo is doing fine around here. He's laying next to me as I write this. Our other foster, Sly, really likes him because he finally has a friend who won't just growl at him. Kilo is recently neutered and really took an interest in Della. I told him that she's way out of his league.

Kilo came from the hell hole that the puppies were rescued from. In fact, he's one of three possible sires for the litter. He seems very nice, and oh my Dog, those eyes! 


After Paisley was leashed and was being hand fed treats, she became a different
dog, sweet and friendly, even rolled over for belly rubs from Paul. 
I wish her well, but I don't think this was the right place for her
and I have my hands more than full as it is.

Here is Kilo, surrounded by Della, Sly, and Maya.


Kilo handled himself very well during the meeting.

This happened today. Sly moved in to share Della's crate.
That's Kilo in the adjoining crate.

Sly finally has a boy to play with rather than all the girl dogs 
around here that mostly growl at him when he does anything.

His blue eyes are striking.

While Della was outside, Sly and Kilo shared her crate for a while.



Puppy news. No news really. The poop is still pudding. I started them on a digestive enzyme today that I'm hoping will help. Next step will be to take in a fecal sample for testing. But they are still happy and playful and eating well. I was swamped with everything today and did not get a chance to weigh them. In fact I still need to go out with food and change papers one more time before I go to bed.










2 comments:

garlandridge said...

Hi, I note that you (puppies) are going thru lots & lots of puppy pads. When I was a breeder in '97-'02 the pads were not invented so we used newspaper and it worked just fine and was free. Any reason why, other than availability or concerns about ink?

Brent said...

I have used newspaper with puppies in the past. I don't really have anything against it, although when it's wet it tends to stick to the floor and is difficult to pick up. Opening and spreading it is a pain, as is disposing of the glossy pages, and sunday supplements, but probably no more so than the pain of unfolding and spreading the pads. Mostly it's availability I suppose. To get newspaper I'd have to go steal it from a recycling center, or ask various people to save it, then collect it, etc.