Our First Ever Foster Dog - The Final Update

[RuralPug]

A fantastic ending to the foster story and a fantastic beginning to the furever home story.

Plus, we get to say "We told you so!"

[Michelleva]

A fantastic ending to the foster story and a fantastic beginning to the furever home story.

Plus, we get to say "We told you so!"

[Simply Grand]

I'm so glad to read your update :) It made me a little teary And I do think she was meant to be yours.

I've had my first ever foster dog here for over three months now (she's been in foster for health reasons until she could be cleared to go up for adoption). I met her the day she was born, looked after her, her mum and littermates in the shelter, brought her home when she left mum and litter at 8 weeks and have raised her ever since, she is now 5 months and 3 days old. She's sweet and I'm proud of how she's growing up BUT she doesn't feel like 'mine', I will miss her and worry about her when she goes to her new home but I don't want to keep her. I was worried that i wouldn't be able to give her up because I couldn't have given up my own dogs at 5 months old but now I actually think, nope she's not meant to be mine.

So, that's my long winded way of saying, you had that bond with Bonnie from the start so I do believe she really was yours from the start :)

Edited May 17, 2014 by Simply Grand

[Michelleva]

So, that's my long winded way of saying, you had that bond with Bonnie from the start so I do believe she really was yours from the start :)

Thats very true, a big part of it is that she glued herself to my side from the second she got here. And when a little furry who is so terrified of the world, can reach out a paw and trust you in an instant, that does something to your heart.

If her first home would have worked out, I know I would be ok with it too. But over time, our bond has just grown and grown.

I've been thinking of taking her to dog obedience. Not really for the obedience aspect, she's very obedient, more for the socialisation side. But I worry about how she'll cope being on her own without Georgia. Maybe its good to push her out of her comfort zone, I'm just not sure which way to go.

[Loving my Oldies]

Unless an animal's fears and limited comfort zone is placing an impediment on the ability for him or her to enjoy life and making difficulties for the human family, I don"t see the need to try to "fix it". That said, I perfectly understand where you are coming from, Michelleva. You take her and Georgia out to parks where they meet other dogs and people and she always does very well.

I liken it to their feeding: we wouldn't persist in trying to make any of our dogs eat something they didn't like, would we?

I have a tiny dog who is very very reactive and I started to taking her to obedience classes just to have her mixing with lots and lots of other dogs and trying to lessen her really bad reactions. She was perfect LOL at classes. Back walking the neighbourhood and seeing other dogs . . . . still a nightmare

Feeling as you do and wanting more for Bonnie, I'd be inclined to give it a couple of tries and if it helps, great, and if it doesn't well you have given it a try for Bonnie's sake. :) :)

She and Georgia are beautiful girls and have a loving family. What more could they want :laugh:

[hankdog]

My trainers are all agreed Jakes issues have been intensified because he would have been dependent in his mate that he was separated from at the pound. I've also been told to shake up his routine to challenge his anxieties, take him out at different times and to different places.

I guess you need to work out how much of an impact her anxiety has on her and whether you need to challenge it.

They don't need to be huge challenges, but if they can have success in small things it can help build confidence.

I would definitely try getting her confident to walk or go for a drive by herself, just in case something happens and she would need to cope by herself.

She is very beautiful.

Edited May 18, 2014 by hankdog

[Michelleva]

Thanks for your input Hankdog, I definitely agree, its an area we need to keep helping her in. Who knows, maybe down the track something will happen to our dear little Georgia, how on earth would Bonnie cope with that. Its food for thought, I have been doing it already. Like taking her to a cafe on her own, or to the pet supplies shop etc.

[MelissaS]

Great news and a very happy ending

Congratulations and may you all have a wonderful long life together :)

[Leah82]

Congratulations on your official new family member Michelle I'm glad Bonnie has now found her forever home :D. Puppy farm dogs need a lot of extra love and it sounds like she's is the right place to get that

We have a similar confidence issue with Sarah, she doesn't like to be without Collie but she's better if I take her out alone as she has lots of things to distract her. If Collie is the one to go out the front door though she starts fretting and I need to distract her. I definitely noticed an overall improvement once I started taking her to obedience, day one she was literally hugging the back of my legs whenever another dog came close and now she's quite happy to sniff a few butts and go up to other people for pats. Although she's still not overly fussed with other people and dogs, she'd much rather hang out with her pack.