Our First Ever Foster Dog - The Final Update

[Loving my Oldies]

Beautiful Michelleva. Does Bonnie know she has a HUGE fan club ?

[Michelleva]

Beautiful Michelleva. Does Bonnie know she has a HUGE fan club ?

I have no idea if she knows, but she knows we love her a lot. :D

She's a cheeky monkey though. She just managed to lean up against the cat scratching post a knock off a bowl of cat food for her and Georgia to gobble up. Georgia can't jump because she has a dodgy knee but there's nothing wrong with Bonnie's legs, Georgia probably thinks she's a pretty cool friend to have around. :laugh:

Bonnie had a really good day yesterday, she just got demanding when we were having dinner. She barked at us, she tried to jump up on me and generally acted very silly. I ended up crating her, but she still carried on. I ignored it all, and attempted to get my hubby to ignore her too. It took her a while to settle down before she got her dinner, but hopefully the message will get through soon.

[RuralPug]

When we saw the Dreadlocked Dog Whisperer he had some great advice for the attention seekers. Tempeh had a habit of sitting in the middle of the lounge room sort of cry talking and we'd be all like "what's the matter baby girl? What do you want?" He said she was grandstanding so we started ignoring it and getting up and walking in to her without saying anything so she'd have to move from her 'look at me' power position. She stopped doing it and just settles in the lounge with the rest of us now. He also taught us for over excited dogs to turn our eyes away from the dog, look up and do big, exaggerated, noisy yawns. This in turn can cause the dog to yawn which is a destresser and they then settle fairly quickly. This one works every time with my SBT but only sometimes with our pei. Apparently it is something mother dogs do to settle their pups when they are being naughty.

That is really interesting, I was always taught that a yawning dog (excluding obviously sleepy yawns) was a dog experiencing conflict. Did he mean that yawning was a way for dogs in that state to attempt to lessen stress levels? And that yawning was infectious so that hopefully it would be transferred to the stressed dog? Thought provoking that it works for one of your dogs but not the other.

Michaela, you are doing brilliantly. I have always found that the "cold shoulder" is the best way to react to any dog who is behaving in an unwanted way towards you. Perfect for teaching self-control at dinner time (although TOT also works very well with that). If only we could also use it when the dog is displaying unwanted behaviour towards something/someone else our lives would be so much easier LOL!

Bonnie's training is training you to be a fantastic foster parent/rehabilitator. You will be able to share your insights with future adopters of your fosters and help them to settle the dogs down with them.

[Michelleva]

When we saw the Dreadlocked Dog Whisperer he had some great advice for the attention seekers. Tempeh had a habit of sitting in the middle of the lounge room sort of cry talking and we'd be all like "what's the matter baby girl? What do you want?" He said she was grandstanding so we started ignoring it and getting up and walking in to her without saying anything so she'd have to move from her 'look at me' power position. She stopped doing it and just settles in the lounge with the rest of us now. He also taught us for over excited dogs to turn our eyes away from the dog, look up and do big, exaggerated, noisy yawns. This in turn can cause the dog to yawn which is a destresser and they then settle fairly quickly. This one works every time with my SBT but only sometimes with our pei. Apparently it is something mother dogs do to settle their pups when they are being naughty.

That is really interesting, I was always taught that a yawning dog (excluding obviously sleepy yawns) was a dog experiencing conflict. Did he mean that yawning was a way for dogs in that state to attempt to lessen stress levels? And that yawning was infectious so that hopefully it would be transferred to the stressed dog? Thought provoking that it works for one of your dogs but not the other.

Michaela, you are doing brilliantly. I have always found that the "cold shoulder" is the best way to react to any dog who is behaving in an unwanted way towards you. Perfect for teaching self-control at dinner time (although TOT also works very well with that). If only we could also use it when the dog is displaying unwanted behaviour towards something/someone else our lives would be so much easier LOL!

Bonnie's training is training you to be a fantastic foster parent/rehabilitator. You will be able to share your insights with future adopters of your fosters and help them to settle the dogs down with them.

Thanks, I am definiitely learning a lot as I go.

Someone said she would get worse before she got better, that was yesterday with the dinner time carry on. OMG, we couldn't hear the TV over the ranting dog. But ignore her I did.

I actually don't think she has much seperation anxiety anymore, its all excitement issues around food now. I can put her outside and for the most part she is totally fine. A dog with SA will not act like that. I really think more than anything its demanding behaviour and its probably a result of never having lived in a house, and learnt the house rules.

I know when I get this food reaction out of her system, she's going to be an ace dog. Its taking time and patience but thats ok, luckily I'm a very patient person.

[Loving my Oldies]

That is really interesting, I was always taught that a yawning dog (excluding obviously sleepy yawns) was a dog experiencing conflict. Did he mean that yawning was a way for dogs in that state to attempt to lessen stress levels? And that yawning was infectious so that hopefully it would be transferred to the stressed dog? Thought provoking that it works for one of your dogs but not the other.

See "On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas. You'll love it.

[Leah82]

That is really interesting, I was always taught that a yawning dog (excluding obviously sleepy yawns) was a dog experiencing conflict. Did he mean that yawning was a way for dogs in that state to attempt to lessen stress levels? And that yawning was infectious so that hopefully it would be transferred to the stressed dog? Thought provoking that it works for one of your dogs but not the other.

See "On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas. You'll love it.

I can see this really well in our cocker spaniel. He has moments where he gets so excited but if you tell him to sit and stay he often lets out a big yawn as if to release the pent up energy and try and calm himself down

[Michelleva]

I took the girls to their favourite park today. They were both full of smiles. What I find amazing is they are both the same breed, but have very different faces. Bonnie is much more collie looking to me, her snout is noticably longer.

ETA - dinner time was much more successful today. I decided to try feeding them earlier and it made a huge difference. I fed them around 4pm and the excitement level was greatly reduced. Bonnie didn't carry on at all when we ate a couple of hours later. I think we're going to get there. :D

Tonight my daughter and I took Bonnie to Petbarn as they were having a sale. It was a good excuse to get her out and about and experiencing things again and stock up on cat food, dog food and treats. She was quite anxious, but she approached a girl for a pat, so that was nice to see. If people talk nicely to her, she will generally approach them and sit at their feet, waiting for a pat. I didn't medicate her before I went and she was 100% calm as soon as she walked in the door again. Way to go Boo Boo

Edited February 27, 2014 by Michelleva

[hankdog]

Steve courtney has a program called triangle of temptation pinned at the beginning of the training forum. It's a good way to get some restraint into a dog. I'd also recommend training a "look" command maybe with a clicker. It really helps my boy if I can get him to look he stops going nuts.

[Michelleva]

Steve courtney has a program called triangle of temptation pinned at the beginning of the training forum. It's a good way to get some restraint into a dog. I'd also recommend training a "look" command maybe with a clicker. It really helps my boy if I can get him to look he stops going nuts.

I will definitely check out the triangle of temptation, thanks. Georgia knows the look command, so I will work on that with Bonnie too. The problem is once she knows you have a treat in your hand she goes ballistic with excitement. She's smart though because she's already learnt that if she doesn't sit calmly in front of me, there are no pats or rewards. Now everywhere I go, Bonnie will sit in front of me and wait for her pat, its pretty cute.

[Rosetta]

I took the girls to their favourite park today. They were both full of smiles. What I find amazing is they are both the same breed, but have very different faces. Bonnie is much more collie looking to me, her snout is noticably longer.

ETA - dinner time was much more successful today. I decided to try feeding them earlier and it made a huge difference. I fed them around 4pm and the excitement level was greatly reduced. Bonnie didn't carry on at all when we ate a couple of hours later. I think we're going to get there. :D

Tonight my daughter and I took Bonnie to Petbarn as they were having a sale. It was a good excuse to get her out and about and experiencing things again and stock up on cat food, dog food and treats. She was quite anxious, but she approached a girl for a pat, so that was nice to see. If people talk nicely to her, she will generally approach them and sit at their feet, waiting for a pat. I didn't medicate her before I went and she was 100% calm as soon as she walked in the door again. Way to go Boo Boo

That could be the key - perhaps she is not quite as hungry and less prone to be over-excited? Do you feed once or twice a day? I feed morning and evening - keeps blood sugar levels even and gives him something to look forward to :)

It sounds like she is coming along wonderfully now she is back with you :)

[Michelleva]

Ok so I took your advice hankdog and read through the TOT program, I thought there's no time like the present. I did it first with Georgia and then with Bonnie. Funny enough Bonnie looked at me a lot earlier than Georgia, but both dogs hated being tied up on their own in the yard. I suspect tomorrow they'll have an idea whats coming next though, so may not be so scared.

On the upside Bonnie didn't bark at me once demanding her food, that in itself is a huge improvement. So thanks for the tip.

[Michelleva]

I took the girls to their favourite park today. They were both full of smiles. What I find amazing is they are both the same breed, but have very different faces. Bonnie is much more collie looking to me, her snout is noticably longer.

ETA - dinner time was much more successful today. I decided to try feeding them earlier and it made a huge difference. I fed them around 4pm and the excitement level was greatly reduced. Bonnie didn't carry on at all when we ate a couple of hours later. I think we're going to get there. :D

Tonight my daughter and I took Bonnie to Petbarn as they were having a sale. It was a good excuse to get her out and about and experiencing things again and stock up on cat food, dog food and treats. She was quite anxious, but she approached a girl for a pat, so that was nice to see. If people talk nicely to her, she will generally approach them and sit at their feet, waiting for a pat. I didn't medicate her before I went and she was 100% calm as soon as she walked in the door again. Way to go Boo Boo

I normally feed them once a day, Georgia puts on weight really easily, so I try and keep it down because she has knee issues. But the same amount of food, just divided into two could help matters too.

That could be the key - perhaps she is not quite as hungry and less prone to be over-excited? Do you feed once or twice a day? I feed morning and evening - keeps blood sugar levels even and gives him something to look forward to :)

It sounds like she is coming along wonderfully now she is back with you :)

[MelissaS]

How's Bonnie doing? :)

[Michelleva]

Hi Melissa,

She's improved a lot. She still has moments of anxiety that appear to come from nowhere but she is better able to calm herself down now. I can tell when she's getting stressed when we're out on a walk, because she starts pulling on the leash really hard, most of the time I just keep walking and ignore it but if it goes on too long I will stop and get her to sit and talk to her quietly. That gets her back out of her head.

Last week I took her to a pet shop to get her out of her comfort zone, I did medicate her before I left, but she did really well. She sat for a treat there and she even walked up to a little girl who was in love with her.

Oh and we've been teaching her some new stuff. She can now sit, drop, shake and she almost has roll.. Things are looking very positive for Miss Boo Boo now.

[MelissaS]

Hi there!

Was just wondering how the lovely Bonnie is doing? :)

[Michelleva]

Hi Melissa,

Sorry I missed your post, I haven't been here for ages.

Bonnie is still here and isn't going anywhere. We have adopted her. Part of it was that she is utterly devoted to me, and I her, the other part is she doesn't cope with change very well and we were scared if we let her get adopted, she would just keep coming back.

She still suffers anxiety and does stress out when people she doesn't know come over. But she's a million times better than the day she arrived. I know she will continue to improve and thrive, but I suspect she will always have a level of anxiety and thats ok. She feels safe, and thats the main thing.

Yesterday I came to realise just how much she depends on Georgia. It was a lovely day and there's a nice lake close to my sons school, so I decided to take Bonnie with me, so she could explore and then take her to school for some extra socialisation. She was very nervous, just being in the car without Georgia. And she was very stressy the whole time we were there, but she still approached new people for a pat. Last weekend we took both of them for a meet and greet at a fund raising BBQ which was held by the rescue who we fostered her through. She was happy and outgoing, when she had her best mate by her side. The difference was huge. Georgia is very confident, to the point of being over-confident and that is obviously helping Bonnie to cope better in situations where she's not completely at ease.

So yes, Bonnie has her happy ending, just as she deserves. She's a beautiful little girl, inside and out.

[Loving my Oldies]

A very happy and moving result

[Michelleva]

Thank you DDD.... :D

[Michelleva]

Oh and if I put my hand up for fostering again, it will come with divorce papers...

Having said that Bonnie has come to trust my hubby completely. She will sit at his feet with her goofy grin on, and just beg for a pat from him. For the first few months she wouldn't go near him. He is equally smitten with her. But Bonnie is very much my dog and Georgia is still very much his girl. So we got ourselves his and hers shelties.. :laugh:

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Congratulations, a very happy outcome!! Sometimes it's right not to move them on.