Sunshine is adorable

We both think Sunshine is soooo cute! He plays like a jumping bean. He jumps up and down. He tries to get the toys from Blossom. Most of the time she is tolerant. Occasionally she nails him because he is being a pest. He is still most relaxed outside playing. He has taken to the upstairs bedroom as his refuge and is relaxed there also. He still can not bring himself to explore the house by himself. Some of this is due to my husband injuring his foot. Sunshine is scared of his knee scooter, his crutches and his foot boot. Were hoping this is temporary. However from what we have seen so far Sunshine does not get used to changes easily. He is only using the dog door if I hold it open for him. Sigh...

Bach Rescue Remedy for pets

Poor little Sunshine continues to have stress and issues with every change in the house. I picked up some Back Rescue Remedy for stressed out pets to try and see if it helps him.

Changes

We've had some changes in our house. The Christmas tree came down, some of the furniture has moved a bit. Sunshine has an excellent memory for where things should be. He gets spooked with each and every change but were easing him through it.

Good progress

This morning Sunshine got up with the rest of the dogs and followed me over to where I opened the dog door. With a little encouragement he followed them out through first one door then the second. I was thrilled! The only problem was that now he didn't have his harness on and his leash attached so I could get him back in. But it was OK. He knew the routine and with a little gentle coaxing he let me catch him to get him back in the house. He still panics at the outside door into the garage. I'm not sure why.

Last night Sunshine really loosened up in the house and played not only in the upstairs bedroom but also the upstairs hall. This was a big step forward for Sunshine.

Nice day

We had a nice day with the dogs. Sunshine came down to the living room, almost on his own. As he was headed to the landing, Max was headed downstairs and I was headed upstairs. He got caught in the middle and I was so happy to see him coming down on his own I lead him to the living room where I sat with him a while.

We were so encouraged by this that we decided to start on the doggy door training. Unfortunately as Max held him while I went outside, held the doggy door and called him through he was so scared he peed. But there has to be a first time to try.

For the Love of a Dog by Patricia McConnell

This is the book I'm currently reading. It is very interesting. I just finished the chapter on Fear. Apparently German Shepards, Collies and Corgis have a higher genetic tendency to be shy. Sunshine could have any or all of these in him. The book mentions setting up gentle introductions to new situations, being careful to not overwhelm the dog. I think we've been fortunate on his walks that we have had the opportunity for him to see cars from afar, some a little closer but one at a time. He seems to be getting more used to seeing them. Also on the walks not too many people are out because it is winter so he has had the opportunity to see just a few so he doesn't get overwhelmed.

Bummer!

Well, were back to single digits again and I don't have Sunshine going in and out of the house except on a leash. This morning my girls went out and right back in again it was so cold. I put Sunshine out to do his business with his leash attached so I could catch him again. He led me on a merry 45 min. chase around the yard before I could catch him to get him to come back in out of the 7 degree weather! He doesn't like to go out when it is this cold either but I got him to go out 4 times yesterday and we have had no accidents! Yeah!

You may be rightly wondering why I don't take him out only on leash. He tends to tighten up on leash and be too scared to do his business. Also he gets much needed exercise romping with my younger dog.

The upside is...

Despite the difficulties in getting Sunshine to go in and out and around the house he is so cute and funny when he plays that we get alot of enjoyment from him. In addition he loves to snuggle and cuddle on our upstairs bed. We haven't been able to get him to be comfortable enough moving around the house without a leash to see him looking relaxed in any other area of the house. However he does like to perch on our upstairs landing and observe things. Hopefully time will allow him to feel more comfortable.

The days have flown

I've thought about posting the last few days but everything seemed to be going backwards. We had trouble getting Sunshine to go out for a walk, we had trouble getting him in again, we had to go back to keeping a leash on him when he was in the yard, we had to bring him to his food dish on a leash. But right now he's outside playing with our younger dog and his tail is up!

It is kind of stressful having him around the house always looking so fearful.

Taking a break from socializing Sunshine

Were taking a break from socializing Sunshine tonight. We did an early walk, fed them, got him out to go to the bathroom. All three dogs are now sleeping in the guest bedroom. Sunshine and Blossom on the bed, Princess under the window on the floor. They seem to enjoy being a pack. Hopefully they will sleep well tonight and not be raring to go since they slept all evening.

I'm reading the Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell to help give me a program for socializing Sunshine. I just finished the The Cautious Canine but it wasn't really applicable for a dog that is fearful of most everything so I was quite disappointed. I also read Feeling Outnumbered but found I already do all this stuff. Both of these are also by Patricia McConnell. I have had some great success using her techniques from other books so just ordered the rest to complete my library.

More dog walk success

I'm happy to report that Sunshine's adventures last night did not affect his desire to go on a dog walk this morning. I announced it and he came down to have his harness put on. Poor boy stands there crouched down, tail between his legs, ears flat...but he was there. We went on an extra long one around our local lake as well as the usual neighborhood loop. He looked nervous the entire time. Hopefully soon he can relax more. This time when we saw the bounding lab, I was holding the leash and he came and sat at my feet in a curled up ball. Thankfully the lab is friendly and the owners let it out to greet us when we go by. So he just bounded up for some head pats.

I've had some success getting Sunshine to go in and out my deck door. Unfortunately I would prefer him to go in and out the dog doors but he isn't there yet. I still have trouble getting him to go in and out the garage doors but were working on that to. It is nice to have him willing to take the deck door though.

Heart attack!!!

First let me start off by saying Sunshine is back home. However I was so worried he wouldn't be. On this evening's dog walk I had my husband holding his leash with the instructions to hold it with a grip of steel as he doesn't pull but if he panics he can bolt. About 3/4 of the way through the walk a lab adolescent that Sunshine hadn't seen before came barreling out his back door causing Sunshine to bolt and my husband to drop the leash. In the blink of an eye Sunshine was headed across an open field in the dark. Thankfully our subdivision is surrounded by open fields. We searched for a couple of hours, getting 3 neighbors to help us. Sunshine is such a smart boy that as best we can tell he went backwards around our walking path and ended up close to the back of our house. He is still pretty timid so I recruited our girl dogs to lure him close enough where I could step on the leash. Once I had him he headed right for our gate, to the back door, in the house and up to our guest bedroom. I could have cried I was so relieved! With his timidness and desire to hide under bushes I figured we would never see him again but I vowed to look all night if I had to. We have an ID tag on him but I'm switching to one of the girls old collars that has my phone number embroidered in big black letters.

Dog walking success

Despite my impression that Sunshine was terrified on the first night walk, last night when I called the dogs for their dog walk he came to the door on his own. That is the first time he has ever done that. While waiting for me to get my coat, hat and gloves on he actually pawed the washing machine with impatience. Then this morning when I called the dogs for the dog walk he did the same thing, came to the door on his own. He must have loved the night sniffs as much as my girls do!

Sleeping arrangements

Sunshine came to us with a report of peeing in the bed of his last foster home so I was extra cautions about letting him sleep on the bed. The first night was in a crate with no problems. But you could tell he really wanted to sleep nearby. So being a softy I let him sleep next to the bed on an area rug. I used the belly band from my now passed away, much larger dog but it was too big and Sunshine took it off during the night and promptly peed. Thankfully it was not on the rug or the doggie beds scattered around the room but on the tile floor so was an easy clean-up. I then tried to use some doggie female diaper that we had used with our old dog also. He also took those off.

So I started my hunt for a belly band at the local stores. When we finally got one the velcro stuck the poor boy to the carpet the first night (which I didn't know until I woke up since he didn't make any noise). I called the company to let them know they may want to send an extra piece of velcro to cover any exposed unused velcro to prevent this from happening. The next night I used a cut up towel to cover the exposed velcro. However we just can't seem to have success with the belly bands. He works them down to where they appear to be making him very uncomfortable by binding his legs. The type I bought has a huge piece of velcro so maybe one with more of a strip, less elastic and firmer fabric would work better? I'm open to suggestion.

Being, as I said, old softies we are letting Sunshine sleep on the bed. So far no accidents and so far he starts with a belly band on but ends with it off.

I'm having him sleep on the bed, hoping this will help him socialize with us.

We've had Sunshine for a week now

We've had Sunshine for a week now so it is a good time for a progress report.

Sunshine is doing great with my other dogs and is most relaxed with them. He is becoming a bit more relaxed with me but that can really vary depending on the circumstances. Originally I was trying to figure out Sunshine's fear triggers. But that has been really hard because at times it appears to be just about everything. He is afraid to go out of the house. He is afraid to come in the house. He is afraid to go places on his own within the house. He is afraid to go places on a leash. He is afraid of the open sky. He is afraid when he has a roof over his head. You get the idea, were dealing with a dog who is almost constantly in a state of fear and anxiety.

When I think I've made some progress, I find out I haven't. For example we had 5 progressively more successful dog walks. Last night we decided to do one at night. We were back to square one with Sunshine ricocheting off my other dogs in fear. So this morning, I figure were doing one during the day again and he will be back to where he was, having gained some confidence. Nope, we were back to square one there again.

Another example is getting Sunshine out of the house without his peeing in fear. I had been bringing him out about every two hours so he doesn't have too much in his bladder. And he had stopped peeing in fear for me. He still would pee if my husband took him out. However yesterday there was a vacuum cleaner sitting in the hall. It wasn't turned on or anything, just sitting there. Sunshine panicked and we were back to square one.

To move Sunshine from room to room, mostly he has to be leashed as he will otherwise stay in one spot. He does have free run however and we are very pleased whenever he moves from room to room on his own initiative.

I'm thinking socializing Sunshine is going to take alot longer than I thought...

Fun in the backyard

Sunshine here. What a busy day! Today we went on our 4th 1.5 mile dog walk. At first I was kinda scared as I kept running into the foster sister and hearing and seeing unfamiliar things. But today was our 4th time on the same route around the neighborhood so I even knew some of the dogs behind the fences. I put my tail up for a bit and trotted along like an old pro. As soon as I get used to this route foster mom says she will vary the route but right now I like repeating. I've got a few spots I sniff extra special because I think the local coyote visits them.

When we got back foster mom took some pictures of me playing with the foster sisters in the backyard.


The ball is mine!


Come and get it!


Chase foster sister! She has the ball!


Yea I'm having fun!!!


Intercept foster sister!


This was an awesome picture!


Things are slowing down, oh what to do?


I'll go munch on this nice ball.


Oooh, I see older foster sister sitting and resting. I must go try to play with her. I can't help myself. She never wants to play with me but I keep trying.


Hi there older foster sister.


Come on, let's play!


Grrr said older foster sister. Young foster sister comes over to distract me from older foster sister cause she knows that older foster sister doesn't want to play. I'll try again another day.



I'm always willing to be distracted by a ball! Gimee!


Phew, that was tiring. Foster mom put the ball thrower down to take some more pictures. That gave me an idea...


Tee hee! I stole the ball thrower and am chewing on it! Foster mom desperately tried to get a picture of me carrying the ball thrower away cause it was so cute but she was too slow. It's practically as big as I am.

After a while we went in.

Yeah were pals.

Just sitting here watching the sun go down!


There is foster mom spying on us with the camera again!

Bring it on foster sister.

See how I wave my paw when I want to play?


She needs a little more encouragement.


Now were going!




It looks rough but no one gets hurt.


She has to get down to play with me sometimes because I'm so little.


She is a show off. Jumped right over the top of me!


Foster sister outweighs me by about 20 lbs but she plays real nice with me.

Introducing Shy Sunshine

Sunshine is my latest foster dog. He comes to me for socialization from another foster home so is healthy and in great shape. His foster home did a nice job with him. He is a great dog but his name was Shy for a reason. We decided to call him Shy Sunshine as a transitional name because introducing him as Shy causes folks to say "awww, poor boy" and that could reinforce his shyness. Introducing him as Sunshine is sort of a "wow, what a great dog" kind of name.

Sunshine is a small dog but at the large end of small or the small end of medium. He is about 35 lbs. I was told he is 1-2 yrs old but he plays and acts like a puppy in many ways. However he has great manners.
Sunshine's attributes include:

• Doesn't jump on people, just occasionally waves his paws at them in a fit of playfulness.
• Is careful not to mouth your hand when playing.
• Loves his stuffed animal toys and to chew on a tennis ball.
• Plays nicely with my 5 yr old Husky mix, Blossom.
• A dream to walk on a leash and doesn't pull.
• Loves to be petted and cuddled.
• Sits on your feet on cold days and keeps them warm. Sort of like your own personal spa dog.
• No signs of aggression.
• Gets along with other animals (cats, birds, dogs so far).
  

Hi, Sunshine here. I'm taking the pen away from foster mom because I have to tell it from my point of view. First of all I like the name Sunshine. At first I didn't know it, but now I (sometimes) come to foster mom in the house when she calls it. However outside is another matter. You see, there is this really cool yard. And I love to run around and play in it. On top of that there are some really neat bushes with a little den inside them. I love to go sit in there too. foster mom and dad say I have to learn to come inside when they call me but I'm not so sure why I have to learn that. However, foster mom gives me a treat when I come in, no matter how I got there, so I'm starting to think about coming in on my own.

Below is a picture of me with foster sister.


See how she has the ball? I want the ball.


So I politely ask for the ball by whacking her with my paw.


Foster sister gets up to play.


And now the ball is in play.


Hee, hee, I have the ball!


I put the ball back in play because this is just so gosh darn much fun!


Oops there goes the ball.