Her personality emerges!

Capri has been with us a full week now.  She is really becoming comfortable with our routine and family.  She has discovered our basket of toys and loves anything soft that squeaks.  She also likes rope toys.  She is learning how to play with Zoe.  Capri snatches toys from Zoe in order to get her to play but our snobby 11 year old Sheltie is not having it.  She just lays down at Josh's feet as if to say, "Yeah, enjoy but he loves me best."  Sometimes I will hold Capri back while I play with Zoe to show that she gets turns too but I don't know if that does any good.


Her puppy mentality is great.  She is smart, inquisitive, and playful now that she has been de-wormed and spayed.  If she gets bored, she climbs on tables, desks, and can jump high enough to get on top of our garbage can and then get to  the counter top.  Long walks 2 to 4 times a day and lot of play time with fetch and tug help keep her from this behavior.  She loves to play fetch and is learning to "drop it" when she comes back...after a quick game of tug.

She is learning "down" and "leave it" quickly.  She learned "sit" extremely quickly.  She is struggling with "stay".  Leash training continues to go well.  She pulls on the leash a bit, wanting to follow her nose.  My 7 year old has a hard time keep up with her pace. She is very fast and strong for such a little dog.  I usually walk Zoe and stay ahead of Jordy and Capri to establish the hierarchy (Thanks Liz!).  They walk together very nicely.

She has not snarled at Emily again but Emily needed correction on her behavior towards Capri too.  Now they are buddies.  Emily has a similar energy level to Capri so they make great play buddies.  Jordy had a friend spend the night and there was no snarling or snappy at the new child...BUT Capri was recovering from her spay so she was out of it.

Feeding time has improved.  Capri wolfs down each meal.  We feed Zoe once a day 3/4c mixed with water in the evenings plus treats and chews during the day.  But Capri needs way more than that.  I feed her 1/2c in the mornings and 3/4c at night, plus another 1/4c during training sessions...for a total of 1 1/2c.  I don't think this is enough since she jumps at her food like she's starving. The feeding guide says She should be getting 2 3/4c a day.  I am going to increase it to 1c at each meal time and 1/2c reserved for training sessions.

Although I really thought a bigger dog is what would be next for our family.  It seems like this size dog fits our family very well.  We still haven't decided if we will adopt her.  I am still concerned that once school starts that our schedules will be too busy for such a young and active dog.  However, I have started getting up earlier to walk her so that she gets enough exercise.  I am enjoying my "forced" walks and Zoe is getting a lot more exercise for it too.

Time will tell.  We will need to decide by the end of the week. 

Capri Update

Capri is becoming much more comfortable in our home.  She is still have some stomach issues but I hope that the de-wormer and new puppy food will help her.  She is very sweet with both of my daughters and loves to curl up with Jordy for an evening snuggle once she has eaten and had a nice long walk.  She ran to me and sat on my belly to give me very timid kisses when I arrived home today. 

Concerns:
1) Territorial with food and toys and affection. 
Last night, Capri was standing in my lap while I was scratching her back.  Zoe approached us and Capri snarled and snapped at her.  I'm not sure why she did this.  There were no food or toys involved.

I had to return to work today so my husband, Josh, and 5 year old, Emily, were home with the dogs today.  He reported that he was playing with a tug rope with Zoe, our sheltie, and Capri snatched it away.  She did it twice.  On the third try, Zoe let her know that was not cool.  They snarled at one another but she submitted to Zoe. 

They eat separately and out of different dishes.  I'm not sure how to work with a dog who is territorial and protective about their food.  Is there a way to correct this behavior? 

2) Too smart for her own good.  Capri figured out how to open Zoe's food container and the garbage can lid.  We moved the container and turned the garbage can around so the latch is against the wall.  Easy fixes.  She also opened a kitchen cabinet and tried to use boxes in the cabinet to get up to the counter.  I couldn't believe it.  We have had to be very vigilant about food.  On the plus side, my daughters are finally consistently cleaning up after themselves and eating only at our kitchen table.  We do have to keep all the chairs pushed in or Capri climbs on top of the table.

Positives:
1) Walking on Leash.  Capri enjoys being outdoors a lot.  I think she must have some kind of hound in her (beagle?) because she is extremely sniffy.  She constantly has her nose to the ground.  We are working on staying close on the leash and 'heel'.  She is very motivated by kibble but still jumps for it.  We started with very short walks in our front and backyard.  Every walk has been a little farther and a little longer.  Tonight we were able to go to the end of the street and back.  We even did a little jog.  I've noticed that when she is bored or under walked she starts to look around the house for things to get into. 

2) Potty training.  Capri is doing great with this!  She has already started going to either the front or back door and either scratching or jumping at it.  She almost immediately goes potty after doing this. We are sure to take her out immediately after any longer stays in the crate (over night or if we all run out to the store for a bit). 

3) Crate Training.  She doesn't LOVE her crate but I think she recognizes it as a safe place.  We do feed her in there so that she doesn't feel like she has to protect it from Zoe.  

All in all, I think she is doing great.  I am certainly surprised at myself.  I thought Josh would be the one taking the lead on everything but he has deferred to me as I have been reading about fostering, common health issues with fosters, etc, etc.  I never would have thought this was something I would do or love doing.  I never had dogs growing up.  In fact, I didn't have a dog until I moved in with Josh and his Aussie, Dingo.

A foray into doggy fostering

Do not, under any circumstances, make promises to your children unless you are 100% sure you will see it through.  Beyond the inevitable tantrum that will ensue when you break the promise, you have made a chip in the trust your child has with you.  I'm guilty.  We all are.  Promises are a binding contract with your child that you will see something through.  It could be a trip to the park, a toy, a new book. 

In my case, it's a dog.  My oldest daughter, Jordan, has been asking for a dog since she was 5.  At the time, I was taking courses for my masters degree, Emily was still in diapers, and we knew Josh wouldn't have a job much longer.  It was definitely the wrong time to add a fur baby to our family.  So we told her when she's 8 AND can prove she can handle the responsibility of a dog.  She jumped for joy.  I swear if the kid could accurately use a calendar she would have developed a count down.  She constantly asked how many years, how many months until she turned eight. 

The first year, she didn't bring it up as often.  The fateful day was far away and we were all busy with life.  The second year, she started to really notice different breeds of dogs at the park. After she did a community service project at school to help abandoned animals, she informed us she wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter.  But her 8th birthday was still a year and a half off. 

About 2 months after she turned seven, Jordan began to really discuss wanting a puppy versus a juvenile or adult dog.  We spent time discussing the demands of a puppy, and a senior or adult dog.  We discussed sizes of dog.  We started adding more responsibilities to Jordan's chores.  Picking up toys, maintain her room, feeding Zoe, our sheltie, taking her out in the backyard.  Walking with her on leash with an adult. 

Jordan will turn 8 October 4th this year.  She has proven to us that she is ready.  I'm not delusional.  I know that Josh and I will still be the ones, at first, to establish routines and care.  Although we met several dogs at local shelters that were sweet and got along with the kids and Zoe...most had health issues we weren't prepared to take on.  Jordan said, "I want to put the dog's needs before my own.  These dogs need to find a home that can care for them just right." 

This summer, several of my friends started to help out at a local rescue and fostering dogs.  Their experiences were so heart warming.  Their children loved on the dogs, learned about their care, and got to be part of the help the dog learn to be a family pet.  It seemed really rewarding. 

Our family discussed the pros and the cons.  The kids were part of the decision.  I worried that we would bring in a foster and they wouldn't be able to let go when the time came.  The girls decided they wanted to try it anyway.  We chose a dog that was coming in on a transport from Alabama.  Jordan said, "I know she might not stay forever Mom.  I like knowing I saved a dog.  Either we will be the right home or we will find her the right home."  I am constantly amazed at this kid's generous heart.

Capri is 20lbs soaking wet.  They say she is 4 months and a border collie mix but I am skeptical.  So far she doesn't behave like any of the herding dogs I've had.  But she is still adjusting to a new place.  I've never owned a beagle but sometimes she looks a bit like a hound to me.  And it might explain her longer body and freckled nose.

Here she is meeting Zoe for the first time.  After this initial greeting they have pretty much ignored each other.  She is a very nervous and timid dog.  She rolls over to show her belly for everyone.  She is very attached to Jordan and I.  I think because we were the ones to pick her up from the transport.  She is very nervous around Josh.  She belly crawls towards him but she does go to him and sat with him for a long time last night.  However, she shows her belly almost the whole time.

 

It seems like she was probably in an outdoor kennel.  She really loves being outdoors.  She stalls when we try to come back into the house and cowers like she thinks she shouldn't come in.  She has had loose stools since eating our kibble and vomited a bully stick.  I'm going to give the food another day or so to see if she adjusts to it.  I have no idea what she was eating before we got her. 

 

She seems to really love being around the kids.  She growled at Emily twice but I think Emily might have squeezed her too hard while hugging.  She growled at Zoe twice. Capri had a chewy and Zoe went over to see what was going on.  I have been isolating them for meals.  She was afraid of the vacuum machine when I needed to do some cleaning so I put her in her crate while I finished up.  She likes her crate a lot and is responding very well to crate and potty training. 

 

She had two accidents in the house.  The first was stool and I think her meal just went right through her.  The second was pee but the girls took her out of the crate while I was in another room.  They didn't take her right outside like we had been doing all day.  It was a good lesson for the girls.  Jordy had to clean up the mess and we discussed why a routine is so important.

 

So we have learned a lot.  I am showing Jordy the proper way to dispose of her poo when we walk.  She doesn't want to do that part but I told her its part of the having the dog.  You have to be willing to do the not so fun stuff.  Today we are going to give her a bath because she still smells from the transport.  We also need to get her a chewy and see what other toys she might like.  She doesn't seem to like any of Zoe's.  Zoe didn't seem to mind sharing and they didn't growl at each other over sharing toys or the two doggy beds we have in the living room.  I do sense a little bit of jealousy for attention but no aggression.  They walk beautifully on leash together. 

Time will tell.  I'm hoping she comes out of her shell with some consistent TLC and a routine.  I have to got back to work on Monday.  She will be home with Josh and Emily all day since Jordy has summer school.  Fingers crossed!  This wasn't an easy promise to keep.  Although we promised to adopt a dog when she turns 8, this is teaching us all so much about generosity, caring for the less fortunate, and the power of love.