A time to look back

 It's hard to believe we've been at this for almost 3 years!  Here are some of the dogs that we've been lucky enough to foster - all doing well in their forever homes!  People often ask how we can foster and let the dog go. When you look at these faces, you can see how we are able to do this - remembering that without a foster spot, these dogs had very bleak futures.  Because we foster, adopt out and refill the foster spots a lot of dogs are given a second chance at pretty amazing lives.

 

Many thanks to the families who chose to adopt rather than buy from a pet store or from a breeder.  Not only did they give their rattie a new life, they saved another rattie who filled their rescued rattie's foster spot!

 

Boushey aka Boo - fostered 2012

Gramercy - fostered 2013

  

Ursa - fostered 2012
 

Balboa now Corwin - fostered 2012

Pixie now Olive - fostered 2012



Darby (left) - fostered 2012

 

Syncline now Maddie - fostered 2013



 Bésoleil - fostered 2013
 

Celilo now Pinkie - fostered 2012

Reynvann now Rain - fostered 2013

Aurora - fostered 2013



Champoux - fostered 2012
 

K now June (right) - fostered 2013



Teo now Mazey - fostered  2012
Maggie - fostered 2011

Tulpen  - fostered 2013

  

Ida now Lacey - fostered 2011



Buty now Ellie (on right)  - fostered 2012

Inigo (on right) - fostered 2013
Mingus also a NR Alum is on the left.  He and his mom have helped many NR rattie's find wonderful homes in the Seattle area!

Rulo - fostered 2011

Jasper fostered 2011




Efeste now Rue - fostered 2013



Klipsun now Bartlet - fostered 2012

Syzygy now Harley (on left) - fostered 2013



Cayuse now Usher - fostered 2012

Soos - fostered 2013 and waiting for his forever home

 

Dandy now D'light fostered 2011-2012 - the sweet boy who we adopted!

Off for a hike!

With a decent day (40's and no rain) we headed out for a hike with Soos and D'light!  Since the Tiger Mountain Trail System is so close to us that's where we ventured.  We expected this to be about a 1.5 hour hike and it ended being roughly 3 hours.  Thank goodness Brett had his phone with google maps and that it showed the trail system!  We did lots of steep inclines and both dogs had no problems - in fact they had a load of fun.  The humans were tired and I'm guessing both Soos and D'light could have kept going!

Off we go

D'light has amazing recall so he was off leash.  Soos is a foster so, a leash is a requirement. Soos has a healthy prey drive for moving things and even if he could be off leash, I would not have let him off.

Soos not too happy about having to be leashed

Lots of hunting & running around

This was great movement work for D'light!

Searching for small moving animals

 

And D'light flushes out a chipmunk!  That noise is Soos - he certainly lets you know something needs to be caught.

 

Soos wanted to get it so bad!  I'm not a fan of retractable leashes. However, in this setting the 12 ft retractable worked well.  Soos was able to explore areas that on a 6ft lead would have been impossible. 

 

Soos certainly is a terrier in the hunting sense.  If Soos were off leash, I would pity the running animal he was hunting.

 

And D'light is sure there's something in the area to catch!

 

Well, maybe not...

 

Off to more hunting!!

 

"What's wrong with you guys, are the steep inclines too much?!"

 

 

Soos after a chipmunk!

 

On the move

 

 

Nose work has really helped D'light catch scent and be more active in his environment.  You'll soon be seeing a series of posts on nose work.



"What's that I smell" 

Oh sweet D'light you have come so far!

 

More exploring and hunting

 

 

And here's some of the beautiful scenery during our hike!

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of fun at K9 Fun Zone

As you can see there's lots of fun things to do at K9 Fun Zone 

 

 What I love about this facility is that you can rent the space for 30 minutes or 50 minutes.  For Catty (who is reactive with dogs) taking her to places where there are dogs she's not familiar with isn't an option.  So, coming here works great for Catty.

 

Here's some of the equipment at the facility:

 

 

Soos giving the A frame a try

 

 

And it's big enough to throw a ball around

 

 

And then play and play and play!

 

 

This was the first time we'd ever seen D'light chase a ball and bring it back.  See that tennis ball in his mouth?!

 

 

 

K9 Fun Zone also hosts yappy hours, breed meet ups - here's a rat terrier meet up we attended back in February 2013

 

Lots of fun at the meet up - Part 1

Lots of fun at the meet up - Part 2

 

They are hosting a workshop by Lori Stevens

Helping Dogs Thrive: Tellington TTouch® and Other which I'm already signed up for!

 

This workshop will introduce you to force-free, humane, and gentle techniques for improving the life of your dog. You will be introduced to TTouch® bodywork, movement, and leash-handling techniques. You will also learn how to recognize when your dog may be stressed or fearful and what to do about it. And you'll learn about how your own body posture and movement patterns can affect your dog.   This will be an amazing workshop so make sure to sign up!

 

 

 

 

Rat Hunt - Part 2

Yesterday was a picture post and here's the video's.  As you can see this was lots of fun for everyone!

 

 

Soos checking out the landscape...

 

 

Good boy Soos - he's doing a great job moving through and around the bales of hay.  Hey look, there's the rat...

 

 

Way to go Soos - he touches the back side of the rat tube.  Then Catty distracts him!  She didn't want to wait her turn.

 

Soos really impressed us!  Thinking back to how nervous he was when he came to us, it's hard to believe he's the same dog.  Soos is a poster pup of why foster care can be so important for a dog.  I have no doubt this boy is going to continue to blossom!

 

 

Catty's ready to hunt! This was her second turn...

 

 

This was her 3 or 4th turn and Lindy had to make the finds harder.  The tube you see is a decoy (no rat in it).  The tube with the rat is buried next the hay bale and the wall, where Catty focuses her attention.  D'light is just wandering around and that was great for him!

 

 

You can see Catty knows where the rat is hiding - she's just figuring out how to get it out!

 

 

Harder finds and she's really working her brain and body!

 

 

I'm watching D'light looking around and then I see goofy Catty still working!

 

 

This might have been her favorite find!  Way up high - you go Catty girl!

 

 

Time to go... Catty wasn't ready!

 

 

 

This was a new experience for all three dogs and they all did magnificent.  And what does all that hunting get... a bunch of tired rat terriers!

 

worn out boys



I have no doubt Catty will be up for another round of rat hunting!

 

 

 

 

Rat Hunt - Part 1

Last night we took D'light, Catty and Soo to K9 Fun Zone to unleash their terrier drive with a rat hunt!  And before you read on, no rats were hurt and these specific rats have been desensitized to dogs "finding" them.

 

D'light and Soos meeting one of the rats.  Both of these boys have strong prey drives but, NOT seeing the rat running across the ground was a bit scary for both of them.

 

Soos needed some back up of a human and D'light keeping his distance!

Catty was drooling when she noticed there were rats in the area.  Given her response, she met the rat in the tube.  The tube is where the rat stays during the hunt and the tube is hidden in hay bales.

"I want to get you!!!"

 

We figured Catty would love this hunt and we weren't wrong.  She a smart girl who will hunt if she knows she can "find" her prey.

 

She found the rat in a matter of seconds

The instructor (Lindy) was great and as she found out, Catty needed much harder hides.

 

"Found it!"

 

This was great for Catty - she met a new person and she LOVED Lindy because of the hunting they did together.  You'd never guess that Catty is a fear reactive dog and this is why I love games like this!  It's a load of fun, builds her confidence and channels what Catty does best and that's work a puzzle to find the prize AKA hunt!

 

Catty and Lindy down in the hay bales!

 

 Soos and D'light did a lot of watching.  Soos taking notes from Catty...

 

 

The rat in the tube was pretty worrisome for D'light so, here's dad helping him look at the rat in the small cage.

 

 Catty was very excited to see the rat in the cage! And D'light says "Mom, this is crazy!"

 

Soos and Catty ready to get it!

 

D'light finding some courage with the help of Catty and Soos

 

Catty says "I really want that rat"

 

 

 And into the hay bales goes Soos!

 

 Up down and all around looking for the rat!

 

 

 "Where is it?!"

 

 

"Found it!"

 

 

Make sure to check back tomorrow for lots of fun video!

This was all around great time.  All three dogs got to experience a new place, a new person and a new event! What I loved about this set up is that we had complete control (thanks to Lindy) of the environment and this set all three dogs up for success!  

K-9 fun zone is a great place and while the hay bales are leaving on Saturday - they have lots of other fun stuff to do with your dog.  I have no doubt we'll be back since we can rent the space for 30 minutes or 50 minutes, knowing there will be lots of fun awaiting us!