Toby's First Few Days

Our new buddy is here! Let me introduce you to Toby, a 2 year old German Shepherd (mix? potential purebred?) He may have floppy ears, but this boy is ALL German Shepherd. He's sweet and so smart! Appears to be completely potty trained and did wonderfully in his crate all night! Just a few whines in the beginning, and then he slept soundly. We're working on learning some tricks and he seems to be picking up quickly. He's very food motivated :)
He's also been great with our 15lb puppy, Dexter. Toby LOVES to "play wrestle" but is sure to be gentle with our pup. He mouths at him, sure, but nothing more. He was at boarding before this and often spent time with the maltipoos that are currently at the rescue. I think he would LOVE to have a doggy brother or sister, or would at least need some scheduled play dates or dog park days to get his lovin' energy out.
He's happy to sleep at your feet though and just sit there and get pets and lovin'. He's an absolute doll! Check this guy out right away, my goal is to get him adopted super fast! He's just too great to stick around! :)
Here's a few pics, he didn't want to sit still for the camera today. Check back regularly for more

Davey is here!

Hi folks, this is Davey! He is being listed as a yorkie-poo and is approximately 1-2 years old. He was abandoned by a breeder/hoarder situation in Alabama with his 7 brothers and has made the trip all the way to Wisconsin to meet YOU. Yes, you!

He is a sweet little thing. Very calm and loves to cuddle up on your lap or by your feet. Ideally, I see him in a home with an older couple or single person who just wants a calm companion. He would probably be very good with children as well, but he is a bit skittish with sudden movements still. I really think he will adjust quite quickly, as he already has come so far.

Davey is working on potty training and learning a few basic tricks. He does "sit" very well, just not always when you want him to. Like when you're trying to have him go potty outside and he just sits down and stares at you. haha! Ah, but it's only day one, we'll have patience.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the new cutie! Look out for more updates as Davey settles in to his new home!

What a cutie! :)

Our dog, Dexter, and Davey hangin' out.

Look at that great smile!

Davey and his foster Grandma,
who so kindly picked him up
from the groomer today and
brought him to MKE :)
Thanks mom!

Davey and my cat, Sophie. He is very good with her
and gently sniffed and left her alone :)

Must Reads for the Dog Lover and Owner

As we are in between fosters (for about another 30 minutes....Davey will be arriving soon) I have decided to post some favorite books of mine to help us all understand our canine counterparts better. They are all great reads, both informative and interesting, check them out!

"Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make Us Human" by Temple Grandin are two of my favorite books by this author. If you've never heard of her, Temple Grandin is an autistic adult who has made leaps and bounds in the animal industry, specifically for cattle that are bred for meat. She has invented a humane way to vaccinate and kill cattle. I know, I know, it sounds awful, but she really has made the process much better than it ever was. She invented what she calls her "hug machine" which gives a positive and calming pressure feeling to the body. This has been translated into many other inventions, such as the "thunder shirt" that many owners use for the pets today!

"Merle's Door" by Ted Kerasote is a book that Temple Grandin refers to in her books, which is why I decided to give it a try myself. Ted Kerasote tells the story of this wonderful lab mix dog, Merle, that he found and rescued on a camping trip and shares all the things that he has learned from Merle. The author strongly recommends an "off leash" society for our dogs so that they are free to roam and act like real dogs. He also theorizes that it actually helps with aggression and guarding tendencies that we dislike in our dogs at times. Of course, this is something that we can't just implement right now, but it's an interesting theory to ponder. This is a wonderful and tear jerking story :) 

"Inside of a Dog" by Alexandra Horowitz. I'm reading this book RIGHT now and loving it. It really helps get a good perspective on what our dogs lives really are, how their genetics and breeding play a role in their personalities, and how NOT to anthropomorphize (give our dogs human thoughts or emotions to explain their behaviors) our dogs. I strongly recommend this book!

"How to Speak Dog" by Stanley Coren is another book that I am skimming through right now. It's a great read that explains our dog's language and is really shedding some light on dog's non-verbal cues and language that we often overlook. He gives a great anecdote about a dog who's owners were returning him to the breeder because the dog was being "aggressive" and showing its teeth all the time. When the breeder and Stanley went to pick up the Irish Setter pup, they identified the behavior as exactly the OPPOSITE of what the owners thought he was doing. Some dogs will show their teeth and whimper as a way of showing submission and that's all this pup was trying to do. He ended up finding a home that understood him better and still "smiles" to this day. :)

Enjoy these reads! Even if you just skim them for answers on your dogs behaviors, they are great references! --Emma

Our Foster Fail :)

Meet Dexter! He was our new foster dog (we thought adding a second dog would help Emmett calm down a bit and make him happy) but quickly became our first "foster fail" :) He is about 5 months old and 21 lbs, cuddly and smart as a whip. So from now on, you'll probably see pics of Dexter scattered throughout the foster dogs to come. Our plan was to wait a week or two before fostering again so we have time to train Dex and get him comfortable....but Jean has other ideas ;) haha.

Enjoy some cute puppy pictures!

Dexter and his brother, Luke, who is still available for adoption!

Shortly after bringing him home. Already in love :)

Dex and Emmett 

Dexter and Sophie! Never thought I'd see the day when Sophie
would get this close to cuddling with a dog.

Dex and Luke again. Whoever ends up adopting Luke,
we might need to schedule some play dates :)

Tucked out after a long puppy day :)

Emmett's Forever Home

Emmett went to his forever home today! It's been a long road for this boy and I am so incredibly happy for him! And even though he was a hyper crazy guy at times, I'm going to miss him :( I teared up a bit as he hopped into his new momma's car and got one last slobbery kiss.

He couldn't ask for anything more. He will have a new mom, dad, little human brother, two cats, and a Jack Russell Terrier sister. Congrats to Emmett and thanks for EVERYONE that helped him get to where he is today!

Here he is with his new momma, Nadine. They promised to send me a family picture and I will happily share that as well :)

Emmett's Tricks!

Emmett came to us knowing the "sit" command....some of the time. He now knows sit, down, rollover, and shake on command! And that's after only 2 weeks of training! He is such a smart boy and so eager to make his humans happy :) Here's a little video to show you how great he is at his tricks:

The only reason I had to say "no" during the training was because Emmett wanted to do the rollover trick before being told. He started doing this because he learned the "routine" so I started switching it up a bit to keep him on his toes. :) 

Emmett's Beach Day!

Yesterday, Curtis and I took Emmett to a small secluded beach area in Shorewood. He was at first very cautious about the waves coming in and would jump back when they got close. Then he decided they were a pretty fun game and was pouncing and having fun. I waded in the water with him and we quickly learned that he is truly a goofy dog in the water. He runs in and bites at the water and also likes to just lay down in the water. He swam a bit when his ball was thrown out deep enough, but we kept it close since we wanted to keep him on the leash. He did a little bit of off-leash time, but he seemed a little too curious about the woods nearby so we put him back on just to be safe. He's so attached to his humans, I doubt he would go far, but since he is not really OURS, we don't want to take the risk of finding out! Overall, he had a ton of fun and got nice and wet and sandy. Then he came home and got hosed off and hung out on the front porch with us for awhile while he dried off. His fur dries quite quickly since its short and a bit wiry. It was a great day, check out the pics that Curtis took. :)

Yes, he's laying down...

Laying down again. What a goof!

What a handsome boy :)

:)

Emmett's Photo Shoot

Emmett had a photo shoot this morning with my boyfriend and I. Look at this cutie! He talked the whole time we took pictures too, the camera was very intriguing to him :)

Emmett- After One Week

After just one week of having Emmett with us, he has learned so much and shown so much potential! I'll admit, he was a bit frustrating in the beginning (a little overbearing on the jumping and loving side). But he is so eager to please and so very intelligent, he's already catching on to his training. He came to us only knowing "sit" and "down" but had not quite mastered them yet. After just one week, he is sitting on both verbal command and hand signal alone, he automatically sits when we stop on a walk before crossing the street, and he does "down"  with both a verbal and hand signal. He is also working on not being so jumpy. His biggest thing is just wanting to be as CLOSE to his humans as possible. So when we are sitting on the couch, he wants to be on our laps and in our faces. He's getting better and has learned that this does not get him any pets. He has to sit calmly by our side before we pet and reward him. It's so rewarding for us to see how far he has come in just one week! I know Emmett will make a wonderful dog for someone :)

 A little history about Emmett: 
Emmett is a boxer mix (with who knows what else). He came from Alabama where he was found severely emaciated and full of wounds. To this day, he could still stand to put on a few pounds, but is at about 50lbs. He does have some scars from his wounds on his body, but there are no scars on this dogs heart. He is incredibly loving and just wants to be held close and pet. :)

My favorite picture. This about sums up his goofy personality!

Emmett's first day at the beach. He thought the waves were
 a pretty cool trick :)

This was taken on Emmett's first day with us. He was so happy
 to have a human to cuddle with again.

Emmett loves other dogs. He made this friend at the dog park
right away. He loves to chase and play a little rough and tumble,
 but is submissive to other dogs and has never shown
any aggression.

All tuckered out after the dog park :)