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Pippa sounds like a right cheeky character. I’m delighted for you. The scene of the 2 dogs, the river and the dog in the bag is in my head, so hilarious
. We have our foster dog Brandon since about the time you got Pippa from the pound. I’m wanting the best home for him and at the same time not wanting him to go. That’s the difficult bit about fostering.
Sounds like Pippa won you over from the start. All dogs are so special but some are just able to take your heart and you can’t imagine life without them. Good on you for making a difference for her and bringing her on.
Belated Happy Birthday AnimalHelper. I’d say in the past 2 weeks Brandon had had a massive breakthrough. I’ll be sad to see him go. He has a retired couple coming to see him on Saturday so fingers crossed!
Hi buzzsmom,
How is Pippa getting on now? Are you glad you adopted her? Has she settled in fully now? She reminds me of our Dabs in her looks. I’m wondering if she’s come out of her shell like he did?
Brandon had lesson 3 last night with DTI (lead walking refresher and take it/leave it). Tara had Brandon demonstrating how to walk on the lead and he got rewards when he kept a loose lead. He loved it and the tail was wagging.
He had a meet and greet with 2 of the dogs and it went well. Not so great with one of the dogs but Tara demonstrated removing him from the situation with "too bad" and brought him back and got me to ask him to sit. He was good again on his return to close proximity to said dog. He met the decoy (big stuffed toy) dog and was petrified
. By that I mean he froze or went tense all over. Tara from DTI suggested he may have had some negative experience with a dog or dogs in his past that makes him preempt unpleasant advances from certain dogs in the present. As a trained behaviourist she helped me spot the signs that he’s feeling tense and would like to be removed from the situation to a safe place for him. He needs positive experienceswith other dogs and we have to be mindful of how he’s feeling in order to help him out.We did "leave it" with salami and cheese being left on the floor (from my left hand) while he got a treat (from my right hand). Brandon was so self-disciplined we just had to make it tougher for him by changing hands or throwing the treat around randomly.
So we have some homework to do with a toy dog on a lead. We need to get Brandon really used to having a toy dog being walked around him while I get Brandon’s attention with tasty food (who shall I ask to be the walker to the toy?
) I’m sure this will be a breeze for Brandon as he’s very attentive .
Are you SURE we can’t go for another walk before you go to work?
Friday night lights out time
It’s Sunday night and I’m dog tired after my weekendBrandon’s enjoying the sun today. His tummy was all settled down again by Tuesday and he’s happy again. He’s booked in with the groomers in just over 2 weeks time which was the earliest available for the groomer with A & B vets Stillorgan (backlog apparently due to increasing demand in the warm weather
). His foster brother’s knee is doing great since getting it re-stitched last Saturday. The dogs are happy so all is well in the world! Thanks Laura, Brandon is getting a lot out of his classes. I appreciate the good report Brandon’s brough home from school
Poor sick tummy having a rest this morning
Feeling much better tonight Brandon went to training tonight eventhough his tummy still wasn’t great. He’s back eating loads of cooked chicken this evening. Lesson 2 was the stay (wait) command and loose leash training. Brandon demonstrated the stay in front of the class. He was super and may even have made friends with a golden retriever female
All went very well indeed!!No sooner had I said Brandon was out munching on grass today when he got the diarrhea. He skulked off down to the end of the garden and lay down behind the shrubs and trees. Poor guy is since off his food and curled up on my bed. I’m thinking that the bone he picked up yesterday and I took off him may have given him a tummy bug.
And now for a nice random pic taken by foster grandpa during the week..
So there you have it, I’m a box…er dog!Brandon and I decided to have a run in the sun this morning before lunch…
And of course…a rest in the shade and a spot of grass chewingOriginally I’d thought probably best he’d be in a home with kids over 10, only because he’d have been very excitable when we got him on the 2nd of Feb but post-neutering and aftering settling into a household he’s calmed down significantly.
Brandon is actually great with kids. He met a group of about 8 kids out playing on Wednesday (ages from 5 to 8 I’d say) and was just fine with them gathering around to pet him
. We mingled for a while and he sat for them and they were being pretty loud and the usual kid stuff. Also, there’s an 8 year old girl who regularly comes over to walk Brandon when she spots him out on the green with us (well we hold on to the lead at the same time as she does) and we feel Brandon’s happy with her. More proof that Brandon is in no way food agressive, he found a big bone out and let me take it from him with no objection
. I thought I’d mention that because our own dog who’s very gentle would definitely take exception to us removing one thing and one thing alone, a bone. So big time a great asset to have a dog like Brandon who’ll let you take food off him.Brandon does not like cats, he’ll chase them. He say one ot this morning when he was having his off the lead segment of the walk and he took a notion to go on a chase. He came back without my having to go after him. I’m happy letting him off the lead because he’ll check with me and he responds great when called back, he returns and sits there for me to put on the lead, now you can’t say that about many dogs?!
Oh and the most cute thing happened yesterday, he went and picked up his lead from the hall table to let me know he wanted a walk. He LOVES his walks and we do the morning and evening one. He’s just as much is into his food, not a fussy eater at all. He particularly likes a bit of Frankfurter sausage as a treat or as a training aid.
His foster brother, Dabs, had his TPLO op on Thursday and had to be rushed back to the vets this afternoon due to a big bleed/loosened stitches. Brandon gave Dabs a great greeting when he arrived back from the vets all groggy post anaesthetic having had new stitches applied. Brandon is an easy dog to have around, a happy lad with puppy playfulness but with a nice level temprement too, calm when required
I’ll post a few pictures of the 2 lads together!Give Pippa a big hug from me. I’m sure she’ll be fine soon. The big buster collars are annoying, I’m sure she can have it off for a bit if you’re keeping an eye on her. Get well soon cutie!
Thanks ladles! It’s in huge part down to kind volunteers like yourself visiting the pound and meeting the dogs that we became aware of Brandon, thanks. Those little reports help a lot.
Dabs is going to be fine, he’s as strong as a big bear normally.
Brandon sure does deserve to be in his forever home. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the right home is out there and they’ll spot him on irishanimals.com (as we did Dabs 8 years ago)
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. By that I mean he froze or went tense all over. Tara from DTI suggested he may have had some negative experience with a dog or dogs in his past that makes him preempt unpleasant advances from certain dogs in the present. As a trained behaviourist she helped me spot the signs that he’s feeling tense and would like to be removed from the situation to a safe place for him. He needs positive experienceswith other dogs and we have to be mindful of how he’s feeling in order to help him out.
.
). His foster brother’s knee is doing great since getting it re-stitched last Saturday. The dogs are happy so all is well in the world! 
