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Betsy Bo, it’s nice to see that you are settling into your new life and as for being a cutie – you are right up there
It’s great to see how well Betsy is settling into her new home. She is having such a wonderful life with Jana and Marcus and I’m glad that Granpa and Betsy have hit it off so well too. Great photos. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.
Hello everybody, thank you again for your nice comments!
It´s about time for another update and believe me, choosing just 3 pictures for the post was incredibly hard!
Betsy had great Christmas, with many gifts and attention. She enjoys visits so much! (Both welcoming our visitors and going somewhere for a visit). She is over the moon every time she can go some place new and crazy happy when she can go by car
.This time I will write about some little progresses we´ve made:
Bathing – we weren´t sure if she likes or hates bathing, so we didn´t really know what to expect. We only new that she hates drying with towels. Well, we found out that bathing is not a problem at all. She is so well behaved in the bathtub! She loves water and the little discomfort of applying shampoo is well compensated for with regular treat delivery.
We also found out, that, if really wet, towels and blankets are not such a big problem Mark also had a brilliant idea that works great – if your dog doesn´t like towels, dry him with a cleaning cotton glove. That way the dog might think you are just petting him with some soft thing on your hand, not a towel
She also enjoys brushing and regards it as just another form of scratching.Blankets – I´m not sure if this is new for her, but it´s incredibly cute. After her first bath, she got used to being covered with blanket when sleeping. Sometimes she would sit on a sofa, you pick up a blankie and she immediately lies down, waiting for you to cover her. And then, once done sleeping, she doesn´t leave the blanket on the sofa, but keeps it on, walking around with the blanket like a model presenting a dress!
Garden – she is still crazy about going to the garden and digging tunnels to get to the neighbour´s dog. She sometimes comes back on her own, if she gets bored or if she thinks something more exciting is going on inside, but that´s not really a progress. If she decides to dig a tunnel, she will stay there as long as she wants and no treats will change her mind
However, we found out that she always returns eventually, 10-15 minutes of digging is usually enough Walking outside – Betsy is well known in the neighbourhood by now as she probably gets more walks than any other dog around
We are also changing the routes regularly, visiting new estates and parks often. Almost everyday we pass by a creche and light up the children´s faces as she stands there and looking inside at them.
She´s getting better at waiting at zebra crossings and walking on the "right side of a tree" and usually responds to basic commands. However, even though she understands and can do all that, she needs to be in a mood for it She can be an absolute well-behaved sweetheart 3 walks in a row, but when there is an interesting scent trail, she transforms into a fearless hunter and only the leash can stop her. Other dogs – She´s getting better in tolerating other dogs and understands the simple math: "dog = treat". Dogs in the distance or on the leash are usually not a problem. However, when a dog surprises us by running towards us from behind a corner, she´s the biggest fighter ever. (I think she traumatised one little yorkshire puppy for life.) Luckily, we mostly avoid any conflicts as most of the other dog owners are very understanding and either have their dogs on the leash as well or call them when they see that Betsy is not a friendly dog. So the only problem are the "free range" dogs that are let off by irresponsible dog owners with no supervision. There are several dogs like that in the neighbourhood – people just let them go on a street to "walk themselves".
(Can´t understand that at all ) By now we usually know where they are though, so conflicts are very rare. (It also helps that Betsy is so small that I can pick her up if the danger of fight is unavoidable.)All in all, she´s getting better in everything and there are no major behavioural problems. She brings so much joy to our lives with her enthusiasm and everybody she´s met loves her to bits. During Christmas time we were walking around the neighbourhood with a little Santa hat on her collar and got so many "aaaawwwws" from everyone
. One kid said to his parents: "Aaawww, look, that´s a Santa Puppy!" We wish you all lots of love, health and happiness in the new year!
Jana, Mark and Betsy
muddy dog.JPGblankie.JPGsanta puppy.JPGWhat a fantastic up-date, loved reading it, thank you
As for you digging in the garden Betsy – you are supposed to be a lady not a mud covered mutt That said, you wear it well. Happy days We have just come back from a visit to Jana and Mark’s where we were invited for coffee and cake and a little catch-up with Betsy. We had such a lovely time – it was great not only to see Betsy again – but also to meet Jana and Mark in their home. Betsy has landed the most wonderful home that any dog could hope for. During all the months that myself and John had Betsy in foster care I thought to myself – there is someone or some family out there who will love Betsy – she is a wonderful dog and someone will notice her and appreciate all her lovely traits. Thanks to Jana and Mark (and the volunteers at Dogs in Distress) my dreams for Betsy have come true.
We are so happy that Betsy is with Jana and Mark – it is so clear in everything they say and do for Betsy that they love her so much. She has the life of Reilly with them – she is rarely alone – there is always someone there to keep her company – she has daily walks which are more like hikes they are so long and she has a lovely big garden to run around in. If only every little dog was as loved and cared for a she is. Thank you Jana and Mark. I can’t wait to see my sisters this evening to let them know how happy and well settled Betsy is with her new family.
Also thanks for baking the delicious cake Jana!
Thanks so much for the beautiful post Justine! We had a great time and really hope we´ll see you again soon. Betsy was so excited and so were we
I think she was a bit confused when you left, kinda trying to figure out if she´s still staying with us or if she´s supposed to go somewhere else. But a new toy and long walk finally reassured her that this is her home now and that you are the nice people that came for a visit
We should definitively do it again soon!
Jana, Mark and Betsy
FYI – this is how Betsy likes to sleep now… Head on a pillow, covered with blanket. I wonder if she knows she’s a dog, not human
image.jpgQuick update.
In last few days, Betsy allowed two different dogs to sniff her and she sniffed them back. I couldn´t believe it, such a progress. She got many tasty treats afterwards
The first one was a Yorkie wondering in a park without his owner – he really wanted to follow Betsy and play with her, but she wasn´t interested The second one was a huge, beautiful "bear-like" dog, looked a bit like the dog called Panda on this website. He was off the leash, but with his owner. I would really like to get into Betsy´s head and find out, why these dogs were "ok" and the others are not She also went to the Groomers yesterday and was fantastic. The lady was very nice and understanding, made sure there are no other dogs to distract her and gave us a discount when she heard that Betsy is a rescue dog. We were really happy to find such a good dog grooming service so close to our house.
I have two pictures for you – first one is a "Before and After" shot and the second one.. well ,that´s at the Groomers after the trim, Betsy is picking out her reward/toy for being a good girl.
Betsy before-after.jpggroomers.JPGThey are such great pictures of Betsy. I spoke to my cousin on the phone the other day and she said that she was following the updates on Betsy and said she thinks she is just hilarious
She would make you laugh. The look on he face is priceless when she is looking at the doggy toys. That groomer you mentioned sounds great, who are they? As I took Betsy before and she had a terrible time.
cute.JPG
(Can´t understand that at all 
) By now we usually know where they are though, so conflicts are very rare. (It also helps that Betsy is so small that I can pick her up if the danger of fight is unavoidable.)
muddy dog.JPG
blankie.JPG
santa puppy.JPG
image.jpg
Betsy before-after.jpg
groomers.JPG
it would be the AFTER image. Looking good Betsy - You must be logged in to reply to this topic.