"Dandy & Catty were worried about the man cutting down a tree but, not me!"
"I'm so stylish -- in and out of the house"
"I love walking and people were smiling when they saw me coming"
"I have great leash skills"
"I was so tired when we got home"
"My snuggie keeping me warm"
"Time for a very long and warm nap"
Are you asking where the heck is Figgins?!?!? Well Mr. Figgins had a neuter appointment so he was in dreamland while Teo, Dandy, Catty and I were out walking.
Sweet Figgins after his vet appointment - he also had 2 impacted teeth removed. This very loving sweet boy has been through a lot and he's still one happy go lucky, loving boy.
You can see one of Figgins bite wounds on his neck from whatever attacked him. His wounds have healed but, he will probably always have scars from the attack.
When we took in our first male foster we were asked "do you have some belly bands?". My response was "what the heck are you talking about?" A belly band is the best thing ever invented and has saved a lot of furniture from male foster boys coming into a new setting. Lots of these boys are stressed out and often not neutered which can lead to "leg lifting" in the house. The belly bad wraps around their waste and cover the penis so when the dog lifts his leg he wets the band which is not a good feeling. Lots of dogs figure out pretty quickly that this band isn't so comfortable and graduate to being belly band free.
Getting neutered also helps and we are guessing that once Figgins has his neuter surgery he will be good to go. Figgns appears to be house trained - the leg lifting is all hormones...
First experience with the belly band - he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"I can still play with this toy in my belly band!"
"Look I can still watch Teo while wearing this band"
"Hey, I can even play in my band"
"Maybe if I do a crawl, the band will come off? Nope but, that's ok since I can still run and play in the band!"
"I can still chew on my bone in my band"
"Look downward dog in my band - I have skills"
"I can sit outside and enjoy the sun in my band"
"My foster parents think I'm pretty awesome, even in my belly band!"
"I'm so easy going that the bands are now just an accessory!"
Teo was expected to be heading to one of our other foster parents BUT because Teo is so sweet, easy and good with Dandy we asked if we could keep her. Knowing that if we kept her, another rattie could be brought up to fill the foster spot. So a new rattie has been rescued and she will be up here soon -- looking for her forever home!
Teo is a wonderful little gal - she appears to be potty trained, is full of loves, kisses and personality. She also has fantastic dog skills. One of the many reasons we asked to keep her was because of how well she plays with Figgins. Since Dandy and Catty are not all that into play this is perfect for sweet Figgins.
That adorable black and white pup is Teo! We are temping her as her foster mom had a super fun flyball tournament out of the area. Teo came up on with Figgins and you'd think they had been BFF's with all their play together. These two just met Wednesday night - just goes to show you how awesome they both are!
Who wants to play?
Pretty cool -- this was after meetind Dandy & Catty on a walk and the coming into the house. This video was taken about 15 mintues of both Figgins and Teo arriving into our home. So far no scuffles, no growling and no melt downs. Who could ask for a better intro of 4 dogs!
Sweet Teo, she's about a 1yr old, roughly 10lbs. This girl is 100% sweetness
Give a warm welcome to Figgins! This sweet boy was found wandering the streets with puncture wounds to his neck and rear end. We found out about him the day we knew Ursa was being adopted! He was coaxed in by a woman who saw him wounded. She then took him to the vet to treat his wounds - he had no microchip and no collar/no tags. She herself could not keep Figgins so, she reached out to terrier rescue. She was put in contact with one of NR's amazing CA volunteers. This very nice lady was willing to hold Figgins until we could get him transported to WA.
Figgins is 2-3 yrs old and roughly 10lbs. He's said to be a real loving & sweet boy, good with cats and kids.
We are looking forward to learning more about Figgins and helping him to find the loving home he deserves! Sticking with our wine naming theme -- Figgins is named of course after a yummy Washington red wine http://www.figginswine.com/wine/2008-estate-red-wine
After doing well in the leg wraps, Dandy moved onto hock wraps (the little black wraps) on his hind legs. He was initially a bit perplexed by these little straps. When Lori brought them out I thought, "Well what's the point?" Yet again I was stunned -- a totally different leg awareness for Dandy. These little guys generated a lot more feeling for Dandy's legs than the orange (ace) wrap. In the video below you will see him doing movement work with the wraps. I didn't tape it but throughout the session he was also on the table getting body work done.
What's has happened for Dandy is that when he first started his TTouch sessions all he wanted to do was movement work. Oh how the tables have turned now it's hard to get him away from the bodywork. When we come into session he basically bee lines to the table where he jumps up and gently starts pushing on Lori to get working on him. He's come a long ways!
Dandy first experince in a hoc wrap. He legs and brain are trying to sort out that new awareness of feeling his legs.
Dandy in his hoc wraps and doing a good amount of movement work. This balance disc offers a lot in terms of texture and stability. It's not fully inflated and has numbs that Dandy has to touch.
Dandy is getting really good about trying new things and if it's too much he will move off and will then come back for a re-try
One of the many things that Dandy has been working on gaining awareness that his back legs bend. What is wonderful about TTouch is that there are always secondary effects with Dandy. Here we have a main goal of feeling his legs but, he gets to see that he can work a new experience and bad things don't happen to him. Lori is very aware of Dandy and if he becomes stressed, she does something different. Then she goes back to the stressful event and works through it with him -- this can happen in the same session or sessions down the line. Dandy is very attached to Lori and that's one reason he has excelled in her care and work with him.
Many folks have commented that Dandy looks like he has sticks for legs! His rear, tail and leg muscles have been tight for the majority of his life -- due to stress and being ready to launch away from what ever scares him. It's clearl that he didn't know that his legs can bend and that his tail can wag. When he goes up stairs he sways because his legs barely bend and coming down he looks like he could go head over heals again from them not bending in a normal way. Over the course of a couple of months guess what?! Dandy is learning that not only do his legs bend but we are now getting some muscle memory in there!
These pictures are from mid August and his first experience of these wraps. Dandy has had a number of sessions where he's doing movement work in this wrap configuration.
Dandy in a pink half body wrap and in orange, back leg wraps. Dandy sniffing his baby wrap wondering what on earth happened. Guess what sweet boy, you're moving up!
Dandy gets a treat and he's not sure what to do next...
The wraps are very loose and the goal is to give him "awareness" of movement and postural patterns
Initially he wasn't sure if he could even move in the wraps! Nothing like a treat to get the brain and body moving.
