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Bette is in the house!


smt

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We brought home this little bundle of joy on 11.16.19.  Her name is Bette and she is a foster.  We are assessing to see if she will be happy being an only pup, and if so, she may very well be a keeper.

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She just turned 2, raced 14 times, and is ready for retirement.  She came in like she owned the place.  She was immediately intent on checking out all the rooms.  She did not appear apprehensive about exploring the house.  Granted, it's small, but still, it is refreshing to bring in a pup who seems confident enough to set out on her own for some exploring.

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She has excellent house manners, walks well on a leash, sleeps through the night, navigates the hardwoods with ease, and so far, has done "ok" when left alone.  She does a little whining in the crate, but then settles down.  We have even left her uncrated for a few short (20minute stints) while working outside.  Again, a little whining, but then she settled down and started napping.

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She is on the smaller side, weighing in at 58 pounds.  This means she can wear all the hand me downs from our previous girl, who we lost last Thanksgiving suddenly, from hemangiosarcoma. We were shattered.

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So far, she has been a balm for our still broken hearts.  She is affectionate, playful, funny as hell, and GORGEOUS, don't you think?  Whether she ends up staying with us, or finds another forever home, it will be one lucky household with Bette in it.

 

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Sweep came to us as a Thanksgiving foster...7 years ago. Just sayin'. :lol Bette is indeed gorgeous and I think she's made it pretty clear she's already home. Fingers crossed for you!  

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Rachel with littermates Doolin and Willa, boss cat Tootie, and feline squatters Crumpet and Fezziwig.
Missing gentlemen kitties MudHenry, and Richard and our beautiful, feisty, silly
 Sweep:heart

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It's early days, and we are kind of holding our breath.  We want to make sure she can be happy and content as an only dog.  We have debated getting 2, just so they will have a sissie to keep them company.  But if we did that, it would take us out of the foster pool, and we really want to be able to keep fostering.  So, we are holding out for a dog that can be happy solo, and I'd love for it to be Bette.  We are on day 3, and she actually seems a little more clingy as the day has worn on, and was a little more whiny and pacing when I left for for about 15 minutes.  She has been left alone, crated for the past 2 days, each for about an hour duration.  Today, that gets upped to about 3 hours.  We will see how it goes.  I'm not sure exactly when to confidently say "she's a 100% for sure keeper".  If the decision was based solely on lovableness, it would be a no brainer.  Alas, there are other factors to consider.  Please everyone, keep your fingers crossed for all of us.

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Gorgeous!

I hope she's a keeper!

Sounds like she is following the same path as our 2 year olds... they were super fine at first, then got whiny when left. Now they seem very content to be lazy when we leave for the day for work. One of us always comes home for a lunch potty break and some lovin, but they seem to already know we will return! And we continue to not use the crates. They have been packed away and the girls have the family room to themselves during the day. 

It has been 3.5 weeks now. 

BTW- the "bigger" girl Amelia is only 58 pounds and our little Carmen is a whopping 51.8 lbs! I swear she's 1/2 whippet! 

 

Edited by 2greyhoundMINI

Greyhounds: Amelia (Cataloosahatchee 9.10.17) & Carmen (Rebellious Bird 8.23.17)
Kitty: Biggi Paws (7.4.13)
Horse: WC Kharena (2.28.17)
Rainbow Bridge: Raider Kitty (4.1.01 - 8.12.21), Sidney (Kane's Seminole 11.14.08 - 9.26.19 ), June (Potrs June 6.1.09 - 3.1.19) Bella the Rottweiler, Kitties: Spike, DC, Gilda, Killer, Sophie & Nala 

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Good luck...hope it works out

Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field.  Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

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Oooooo, Bette sounds perfect. I hope she's home already. :colgate 

Aside: Unless you have to get her out of the crate ASAP, I wouldn't rush it. It's early days and she is getting used to both being in a house (so many distractions!) and being alone.

Standard Poodle Daisy (12/13), Grey Toodles (BL Toodles 7/09)
Missing Cora (RL Nevada 5/99-10/09), Piper (Cee Bar Easy 2/99-1/10), Tally (Thunder La La 9/99-3/10), Edie (Daring Reva 9/99-10/12), Dixie (Kiowa Secret Sue 11/01-1/13), Jessie (P's Real Time 11/98-3/13), token boy Graham (Zydeco Dancer 9/00-5/13), Cal (Back Already 12/99-11/13), Betsy (Back Kick Beth 11/98-12/13), Standard Poodles Minnie (1/99-1/14) + Perry (9/98-2/14), Annie (Do Marcia 9/03-10/14), Pink (Miss Pinky Baker 1/02-6/15), Poppy (Cmon Err Not 8/05-1/16), Kat (Jax Candy 5/05-5/17), Ivy (Jax Isis 10/07-7/21), Hildy (Braska Hildy 7/10-12/22), Opal (Jax Opal 7/08-4/23)

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She's so cute! Good luck!

Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. :heartThank you, campers. Current enrollees:  Punkin. AnnIE Oooh M

Angels: Pal :heart. Segugio. Sorella (TPGIT). LadyBug. Zeke-aroni. MiMi Sizzle Pants. Gracie. Seamie :heart:brokenheart. (Foster)Sweet. Andy. PaddyALVIN!Mayhem. Bosco. Bruno. Dottie B. Trevor Double-Heart. Bea. Cletus, KLTO. Aiden 1-4.

:paw Upon reflection, our lives are often referenced in parts defined by the all-too-short lives of our dogs.

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5 hours ago, 2greyhoundMINI said:

Gorgeous!

I hope she's a keeper!

Sounds like she is following the same path as our 2 year olds... they were super fine at first, then got whiny when left. Now they seem very content to be lazy when we leave for the day for work.

 

I hope this is her trajectory, too.

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1 hour ago, GreyPoopon said:

 

Aside: Unless you have to get her out of the crate ASAP, I wouldn't rush it. It's early days and she is getting used to both being in a house (so many distractions!) and being alone.

So very true.  When I tested her outside of the crate twice today, I was a bit concerned.  I was watching her on the houndcam while in my car.  She paced and whined for about 10 minutes, intermingled with some wild running while playing with a toy.  She tore through the living room and landed on her dog bid, skidding it into the (non functional) fireplace.  She also jumped on the back door, dislodging the blinds.  She is definitely NOT ready to be trusted uncrated for any extended period of time, especially if I cannot get right into the house to intervene.  These were mainly test runs, and she got a C-.  It could have been both a lot worse, and a lot better:)

She doesn't like to go into the crate.  We basically have to shove her in.  But she did pretty good today while crated.  We give her a frozen peanut butter kong, which she enjoys.  The first stint was 3 hours.  She settled down as soon as I left the house, and was calm when I checked on her periodically.  The second time was after my partner got home, and had to re-crate her for an hour when she ran an errand after work.  She had to shove her in, too, but once in, Bette immediately settled and slept the whole time.  

How does one know when to make the transition from crate to out-of crate, especially with a dog as young as her?  Just thinking into the future . . . 

 

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17 hours ago, 2greyhoundMINI said:

 

BTW- the "bigger" girl Amelia is only 58 pounds and our little Carmen is a whopping 51.8 lbs! I swear she's 1/2 whippet! 

 

I just LOVE the little bitty girls.  Our first was 52 pounds and would get mistaken for a whippet.  Im not sure what it is, but the petite ones always capture me.  It's funny, we have a friend who loves the big boys.  The bigger the better, as far as she is concerned.  Variety makes the world a much more interesting place.

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Gorgeous -- yes!  And such an unusual brindle coloration -- is she actually white with brindle, as some of the pics look, or a fawn brindle, which is what her face pic looks like?  Either way, gorgeous.

Quote

We are on day 3, and she actually seems a little more clingy as the day has worn on,

Normal, as she is getting used to the new situation.

When to know if/when to transition from crate to free-range?  In your situation, I would keep crating her until you have committed to adoption.  If she is a foster, then keeping her crated will leave that decision to her long-term family.  In the meantime, it sounds like being crated helps with her mild (and normal) anxiety.  When I try the free-range transition, I start trying when they act very calm on weekends when I am home.  If they are "yeah, whatever" all day when I am there, I figure that's a good sign for when I am not there.  If they act a little anxious/restless on a weekend, then crating seems best to me when I'm gone.  Even when they're out of the crate, I use babygates to keep them out of certain rooms.  I think it's good to keep dogs used to/comfortable with going in their crates, but my crate is enormous and there's no convenient place to leave it up.   Are you leaving the crate door open and putting Good Things inside even when you're home?  

Jeter's time in the crate lasted 1 day.  He is big and enthusiastic, and his tail is sooooooo long that he cracked it open wagging it against the metal crate on my arrival.  So no more crate till his tail healed, which of course took forever.  

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Ellen, with brindle Milo and the blonde ballerina, Gelsey

remembering Eve, Baz, Scout, Romie, Nutmeg, and Jeter

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7 hours ago, smt said:

I just LOVE the little bitty girls.  Our first was 52 pounds and would get mistaken for a whippet.  Im not sure what it is, but the petite ones always capture me.  It's funny, we have a friend who loves the big boys.  The bigger the better, as far as she is concerned.  Variety makes the world a much more interesting place.

We thought our last 2 were small and they were both 72 lbs! 
Our little one is just too cute... she’s got the cutest little head. 
I’d take big, small or medium... they all have their charm :beatheart

Greyhounds: Amelia (Cataloosahatchee 9.10.17) & Carmen (Rebellious Bird 8.23.17)
Kitty: Biggi Paws (7.4.13)
Horse: WC Kharena (2.28.17)
Rainbow Bridge: Raider Kitty (4.1.01 - 8.12.21), Sidney (Kane's Seminole 11.14.08 - 9.26.19 ), June (Potrs June 6.1.09 - 3.1.19) Bella the Rottweiler, Kitties: Spike, DC, Gilda, Killer, Sophie & Nala 

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11 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

Gorgeous -- yes!  And such an unusual brindle coloration -- is she actually white with brindle, as some of the pics look, or a fawn brindle, which is what her face pic looks like?  Either way, gorgeous.

  

 

She is considered a "light brindle".  Her coloring is quite interesting.  She has areas that are quite light, and some are a little darker/more yellow.  She had this area on the kissy part of her cheek/neck that is like zebra striping because it is literally black and white.  Our foster rep calls her a banana brindle bc her background color looks like mashed up bananas.  We have starting using this in an affirmation for her ~ we keep saying to her "you are a secure banana".

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11 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

 

When to know if/when to transition from crate to free-range?  In your situation, I would keep crating her until you have committed to adoption.  If she is a foster, then keeping her crated will leave that decision to her long-term family.  In the meantime, it sounds like being crated helps with her mild (and normal) anxiety.  When I try the free-range transition, I start trying when they act very calm on weekends when I am home.  If they are "yeah, whatever" all day when I am there, I figure that's a good sign for when I am not there.  If they act a little anxious/restless on a weekend, then crating seems best to me when I'm gone.  Even when they're out of the crate, I use babygates to keep them out of certain rooms.  I think it's good to keep dogs used to/comfortable with going in their crates, but my crate is enormous and there's no convenient place to leave it up.   Are you leaving the crate door open and putting Good Things inside even when you're home?  

 

All very good tips to keep in mind, and make perfect sense.  Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

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11 hours ago, EllenEveBaz said:

 

Jeter's time in the crate lasted 1 day.  He is big and enthusiastic, and his tail is sooooooo long that he cracked it open wagging it against the metal crate on my arrival.  So no more crate till his tail healed, which of course took forever.  

oh Jeter . . .

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