Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Aurora goes to work

Aurora was lucky enough to go to work with her foster dad and she did great! While the work enviroment is low key, going for walks outside provides lots of activity.  
 
Aurora encountered a group of children and they were very well behaved with her.  The kids said that they had recently had a guest speaker talk to them about how kids need to approach, greet & pet dogs.  They told my husband that they need to: 
 
1) Ask if they can pet the dog
2) Don't move quickly
3) Don't stand over the dog
4) Talk quietly
5) Touch softly
 
Whoever spoke to this group, kuddo's to them as the directions stuck with these children!


Auora did well but, she was clearly nervous with all this kid attention
 
 Watch Aurora below.  You can see her giving multiple stress signals.  What this says to us is that while Auora could live in a kid household she would be much happier with an adult only home. 
 
 
 
Colleen Pelar has a wonderful website that you should check out. 
Her website is a great resource so feel free to share it with everyone!
 
I really like Collen's visual Dog Behavior Contium (link below)  and as she says "Dogs are communicating all the time. Learn what to look for and when to intervene".
 
 
Using the above behavior contium I would say Aurora was in a state of tolerance.  You can see from the length of the video that this was a short experince.  The kids were thanked for having such good dog manners and off Aurora and my husband went!
 
Aurora looking good and heading back to the office for a nap!
 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Rattifest 2013

For those you who came out for Rattifest I'm pretty sure you'd agree that it was a ton of fun!   I was pretty busy in the puzzle plaza (stay tuned for that post) but, I did get to visit with some great dogs, wonderful people and past fosters along with their amazing adopters.
 
Why we do what we do!

You can see 6 dogs that were fostered in the northwest with their "In the shelter" picutre and "In foster care" picture.

 





















To see lots of great picutres & video check out these three blogs from foster parents:

 

 
Here you get a glimpse of the event. There were close to 90 humans and 50 dogs who joined the festivities.

Corwin (NR name Balboa) keeping a watchful eye on his dad! 
L to R all NR dogs - Britton (NR name Evo), Gramercy,Jake (NR name Sammy) & Olive (NR name Pixie)  

L to R all NR dogs - Rudy, Bésoleil and Gramercy

  
The event raised $1700 which thrilled everyone and that is going to help a lot of ratties in need.  So a big thank you to everyone who came out - it was a great time and we are looking forward to Rattifest 2014!



Monday, July 29, 2013

Aurora says "Lets play!"

Aurora is really coming out of her shell and she is one funny gal!
 
Aurora's favorite toy
 And watch  her play!  You can see why this silly girl keeps us laughing.
 

Sunday, July 28, 2013

A day to celebrate!

Today is the 3rd annual Northwest Rattifest.  This an event to celebrate lots of amazing rattie's!  Thanks to rescue and adopters, these pups are now living wonderful lives.  This post is just a glimpse at a few of the 30+ dogs we've fostered - you can see how lucky each of them are!
 
And to again bang my drum...  this is why we foster.  All of these dogs needed out of the shelter and many of them were slotted for euthanasia due to lack of shelter space.  Look at how amazing they are doing.  If you ever wonder if fostering is worth the effort and emotions I always say "Oh yes it is!".
 
I'm sure these pictures and video will make you smile as they did for us! 
 
Corwin (NR name Balboa) at work with his dad
 
Corwin was emaciated and very under socialized when he came into foster care in November 2012.
 
Look at him now! 
 
If ever you are having a bad day just watch the below video and you will smile.  
 
 
 
Boo and his mom attended the same TTouch workshop that D'light and I attended early this month. Here he is sporting his TTouch wrap!
And Mr. Boushey aka Boo. This boy was passed over in the shelter due to his age. Anyone who has met Boo will tell you he can run circles around any young rattie out there! Boushey has his own blog and you can see his mom's keep him busy.
 
Something really cool - Boo's mom has started a facebook page called Happy Dogs Society  This site is dedicated to talking & sharing their experience of using force free training in the language of Thai.
 
 
Rain (foster name Reynvaan) on a camping trip with is family.
Rain gets to go everywhere with his family!   They even took him to Midwest where he flew in cabin. He did great and he's a wonderful, happy go lucky, well balanced rattie boy.
  

Ursa!
This adorable lemon rattie is doing well and spends time with her parents in Seattle and on San Juan Island camping. Ursa was rescued off of Craig's list.  For having a pretty rough start to life, pre-New Rattiude, she's become an amazing little gal thanks to her parents.
 
Who could forget Gramercy! 
 
 I'm not sure Gramercy realizes how lucky he is to have scored such a wonderful life. He's loving his new life full of walks, love and cuddles!  His world sure has changed in the last 8 months.
 
And I want to give a shout out to Gramcery's moms. They have done amazing work with keeping Gramercy thin and he's reached his ideal weight.  As everyone knows Gramercy has to stay thin given his spine and back. 

Inigo!
And look at Inigo, he's grown so much!  Here he is playing with NR alum Mingus. Inigo is in the upper left and as you can see, he's still full of puppy fun.


Champoux!
Here's little Champoux - he's loving life and doing very well! 
 
 
Maddie (NR name Syncline)
Awww... sweet Maddie.  She gets to go on tons of hiking adventures! She's currently taking an agility class as University Canine Learning Academy.  Maddie is a very busy girl so you can see why she's conked out in her cozy cave bed!
 
Maggie & Maizie (NR name Teo)
We fostered these two sweet girls a year apart!  When Maggie's family were looking for a 2nd rattie they found Maizie!  These two are thick as thieves and keep everyone on their toes.  What a great family for two wonderful rattie girls.  They do a lot of camping with their family and they love every minute of it!

June (NR name K)

And little June and her big brother Bogart - exhausted after a long hike!  She's doing amazing and her parents adore her.    While she's still skittish with people her parents continue to work on her socialization and each day she's learning to trust people. 
 
 

So here's a big thank you to everyone who rescues, adopts and gives themselves to these throw away ratties.  All the dogs we've fostered have been amazing in their own unique ways. And we are pleased to have played a small role in helping each of them.  Happy rattie day to each and every one of you!
 





 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Aurora: day 1 vs day 6

Aurora has been with us for a week and she's doing pretty great.  Our main focus in working with sweet Aurora is around reducing her timidity.  Aurora really loves people but, she just lacking in the confidence department! 
 
Her first couple of days included a lot of crawling, pancaking and staying low to the ground.  You can see this below.
 

We are working on this a number of ways:
1) Aurora is rewarded when she's up moving all all four legs. 
2) We just let her be and she can come and go as she wants - no force, no making her engage with us. 
3) When she does start to crawl, pancake or stay low to the ground, then we just move away and don't say anything. 
 
Here's Aurora at day 6 with us.  This is a work in progress but, isn't she doing amazing?!  I will say, she's a wonderful little gal and who ever adopts her is going to be very lucky.

 
 

Friday, July 26, 2013

Rattifest is happening this Sunday!

Ok everyone, this years rattifest is going to be beyond awesome! We have AMAZING raffle items along with some fun games for your rattie. And remember all the money you spend on the tickets directly assists Northwest rattie's in need. So, make sure to bring lots of cash and your credit card as we are happy to take both!  Tickets cost $1 for 1, $10 for 12 or the best deal, $20 for an arm span of tickets (which if you get someone with long arms can be close to 40 tickets).  Snacks, soda, and water will be available for sale as well. 
 
I'll be manning the "puzzle plaza" which will no doubt be a big hit!  There's will be a bin of interactive puzzles for your rattie to try out.  You pay a ticket per minute of play, up to 5 minutes.   We are going to have a large variety of puzzles so tell your rattie to get ready to work his/her brain while having lots of fun.
 
Below is The Nina Ottosson "Twister": one of the many puzzle games to try out in the Puzzle Plaza
 
 
Then there's the amazing raffle table which includes way more items than last year and as you saw from my earlier blog post.  But wait, there are even more amazing raffle items!
 
There will be a 1 hour private training session at University Canine Learning Academy which for all you Seattle adopters know is a HUGE deal.   University Canine Learning Academy is 100% force free training and an amazing time for both the dog and the human.  I'm pretty sure this will be a popular raffle item!
 
 
 And don't you want to show off how proud you and your pup are at being a New Rattitude Alum?  Here's your chance - there will be a red and green collar up for raffle!
 
Below you can peak at some of the raffle items.  You and your rattie will just have to come out and see the rest.  Just be prepared for lots of fun and taking home a very tired rattie! 

Lovely Chauncey giving her rattie approval while her mom is sorting and wrapping the raffle items
 

So, we hope to see lots of ratties along with their proud parents on Sunday July 28th from 1-3pm at the Robinswood Park - small dog corral! 
 
Here are the directions to Robinswood Park - small dog corral:
Robinswood dog/horse corral on the east side of the park, the best way to get to the back parking lot (also the parking lot for the tennis courts) is:

Heading north on 148th from I-90:
Turn right on SE 22nd St.
Turn right on 151st Place SE
Go all the way until you reach the parking lot
The dog corral is behind the tennis courts, follow the path there

Heading south on 148th from 520:
Turn left on SE 22nd St.
Turn right on 151st Place SE
Go all the way until you reach the parking lot
The dog corral is behind the tennis courts, follow the path there

SEE YOU AND YOUR RATTIE ON SUNDAY!!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Leo changing foster homes

I've said this before and I'll say it again... we have an amazing group of foster parents in the Northwest.  We do everything we can as a team for the dogs and at that at times mean moving the dog.   We've come to find out that Leo really struggles with long stints of being away from a human or other dogs.  My husband and I work full time and when Leo has been confined he gets very upset and as you can see on his nose, he tries to get out of where ever he is.  He also has a lot to say about the situation which that causes him even more distress. 
 
Given our schedules it's hard to know what is going on for little Leo.  So the decision was made to move him to a foster home where he has people and dogs around a good amount of time. We are lucky to have such flexible foster parents - again thank you!  
 
By moving Leo we can further assess what he needs in his forever home. And we know he will get the continued care and attention to help him relax and open up. What will be even more fun for Leo is his new foster parents have a very large, full fenced back yard for him to run and play in.  He will also have two other ratties roughly his age, that love to run and play as much as Leo does. This will no doubt help to discharge some of his worry and work on building his confidence.
 
Leo is a gentle, loving boy who clearly hasn't had much before coming to New Rattitude
As you can see Leo is drop dead gorgeous.  Do to a pervious skin infection, he doesn't have a whole lot of fur right now.  With time and TLC and there's no doubt his coat will be amazing.
Leo loves to stare deep in your eyes and he clearly wants very much to connect with people
Resting in the sun with Aurora and D'light












Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Aurora and Leo

Aurora is great all around gal - she loves people and she sure does love other dogs!  Leo came over Monday night and Aurora was happy to be the welcoming committee.  Leo is a timid guy who has a good dose of worry and he has great dog skills.   
 
Aurora says "Howdy big fella!"
 
And Aurora says "Lets play!"
 
 
Aurora's moves are hilarious and Leo was a intrigued with Catty.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sunny days in Seattle - Part 2

Guess who likes hangin on the deck...
Aurora all smiles!
Getting hot....

How cute is she!
She has a great face and wonderful personality

Getting so sleepy...


D'light found himself a bully stick!





Aurora thinking she needs a drink
This bowl says what we say to her "Aurora, you are such a good dog!"
I love the white stripe on her head!

Drink time
Time to rest

Watching off the deck


Happy girl!


Monday, July 22, 2013

Sunny days in Seattle - Part 1

This past weekend was all about letting Aurora settle in.   She's doing well and having a sunny deck to lounge on seemed to help her relax.  Aurora has done great with Catty and D'light and she even tried to get Catty to play with her.
 
D'light says to Aurora "It's pretty nice just kicking back in the sun"
Aurora's left side profile
And her right side and cute face


Aurora settles down to enjoy the sun


Resting her eyes


I think Aurora thought this was a pretty nice time
And D'light who loves the sun...