koalathebear

Thanks all. Cricket's doing well in care. His blog is here. He has settled into being an inside dog very well and has taught himself how to use the dog door and is now house-trained. He gets along well with other dogs Much more confident now His training table is here as well as a video of him shaking hands. His socialisation checklist is here. He is doing very, very well.

Nutmeg and Smudge cost us (out of our own pockets) more than $4,000 on vet fees because they had parvo. We elected to cover the costs ourselves because I wanted to control their treatment instead of moving them to a cheaper vet that didn't have overnight care. Vet fees, all of the bedding/toys/bowls etc that we had to replace several times over plus the bleach, F10 plus all the cleaning - they were expensive pups. They were adopted out for the same adoption fee. I know a lot of people would have euthanised but I'm glad we didn't. Nutmeg is a beloved pet and Smudge has become an AMAZING flyball dog with many titles. I'm with RADAR now and I've noticed that this group almost never asks for donations even after copping massive bills for parvo dogs, transport etc. It really seems to vary between rescues!

New foster dog. Cricket the Kelpie from Broken Hill Pound. Very timid Covered in ticks Was very well-behaved when ticks were removed Resident dogs segregated and unimpressed at the segregation He is a sweet boy he's very dog-friendly and people-friendly He travels well in the car, is great in a crate and eats fine around the other dogs. He'll need some confidence-boosting.

Hoover eyes :)

Canberrans interested in rescue, Riverina And District Animal Rescue Inc (RADAR) will have a stand at Belco Pets' annual fundraising event for rescue animals and wildlife conservation. Information is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/795058473888875/ Almost all of the RADAR Carers in Canberra should be there and I'll be manning the stand from 12-2 in case anyone wants to say hi :)

Canberrans interested in rescue, Riverina And District Animal Rescue Inc (RADAR) will have a stand at Belco Pets' annual fundraising event for rescue animals and wildlife conservation. Information is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/795058473888875/ Almost all of the RADAR Carers in Canberra should be there and I'll be manning the stand from 12-2 in case anyone wants to say hi :)

Update on Frida (BC) who was adopted out to a family in Victoria

Chimes (now Maggie) is looking more beautiful than ever and being pampered by her adoring family

And then last weekend, she got her first flyball title at the Kobe Classic :) So proud of her and her family!! :)

So proud of former foster Juniper. This was her at Gundagai pound This was her on her rescue date - terrified and quite shut down - running away from everyone. This was her last week at a flyball comp in Boorowa

This was Dodge after Maggie/Chimes was adopted out He does it after our fosters leave - sits and watches the road as if he thinks that they might come back ...

Sunny is still cute as a button and her family totally adores her. Pampered little princess And this is Ollie, adopted back in August 2012 - our first foster. He's come a long, long way from the pound puppy with horrible Kennel Cough

Thanks guys. I love all of the dogs we've fostered and I love the families who adopt them :) Got some more lovely updates from the families. Maggie is doing really well and her new mum has confirmed to me yesterday that she has passed her trial adoption and has found her Forever Home :) Couch privileges already Some landscaping Being pretty Going for walks Helping mum wash the car

Chimes - renamed Maggie went on trial adoption today. This was her last night She's going to a home in Sydney where the whole family are mad keen flyballers and agility people. They love Border Collies and she's going to be pampered and trained like crazy- she will do flyball when she is old enough. We will see her when her family is in Canberra for flyball comps :)

Former foster Smudge: Smudge's first official flyball run can be seen here. So proud of her - you'd never believe that she almost died of parvo! Former foster Sunny (Cupcake) Chimes and former foster Sunny had a playdate at the dog park last week. They had a ball

Juniper's owners are also fostering with RADAR now and we went over today to drop off some donations - and give Juniper a pat :) This little puppy Jade (Kelpie/Dalmatian) is being fostered by Juniper's owners Jade, learning mealtime manners with Juniper and Jazz (Border Collie/Kelpie cross)

Little Gifts - she is indeed as soft and fluffy as she looks. She's just like a little plush toy and her temperament is so soft and gentle, too :) Scottsmum - thanks so much. I love fostering and we love all the dogs who have come through our homes and our hearts.

Chimes is doing well. Relaxing, playing, being more affectionate.

Bushfires really aren't too bad ... I've never been evacuated although it does make you ponder what your escape plan would be. We have 1 Kelpie and 2 Kelpie/BCs (in the suburbs) so we have got our informal plan in place if we ever did have to evacuate. Back to the dog park thing, it also depends on individual dogs and owners. Our dogs like all other dogs and tend to play with one another and ignore other dogs who aren't interested in playing with them (although they are more than happy to play with dogs who want to play with them) so we get alone just fine at the dog park. The dog park isn't good for reactive dogs, overly-friendly or overly-timid dogs - and the human equivalent in terms of their owners :laugh:

Casey. We've tried most of the dog parks and like that one best if you go when it's not too crowded. Lots of photos below of different visits to the dog park :) Casey Dog Park https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10150408046897152.413158.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151952843767152.1073741875.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152486110842152.1073741963.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152252605082152.1073741934.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152198592447152.1073741924.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152170323607152.1073741922.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152142238202152.1073741913.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152140225182152.1073741912.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10152123690402152.1073741909.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151820234687152.1073741842.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151418866197152.542862.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151360276527152.535111.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151328663617152.530872.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151318176302152.529443.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151308066967152.527941.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151297070882152.526471.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151274908137152.522827.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10150515772302152.429574.668522151&type=3 Forde Dog Park (not a huge fan because of the tan bark but it's ok :) https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151483023872152.546605.668522151&type=3 https://www.facebook.com/claradebear/media_set?set=a.10151339130387152.532303.668522151&type=3 Canberra is great for dogs - lots and lots of off-leash areas as well as dog parks and plenty of dog-friendly cafes.

Unlike most DOLers, we go to our local dog park all the time and we have no problems. As with most things in life, it's a matter of being responsible and showing a bit of judgment. We have been going every week for years with our resident three dogs and pretty much all of our foster dogs go there, too once they've had some training and are ready to be socialised with dogs outside our pack. Check out a few dog parks before you pick one - so you get an idea as to what the people and dogs are like Go during a quiet time, ideally pick a park that isn't crowded too crowded. For your first time, don't wander too far from the gate so you can leave quickly if you have to. Our rule is that if there are more a certain number of dogs in there, we leave. These days it's about 6 dogs - more if we already know the dogs and owners in question. If just starting out, you may want to tell yourself you'll leave if it's more than 2 strange dogs etc. Be vigilant - other people may not. I have seen people dump their dogs (and children!) in a dog park and go and talk on the phone/amongst themselves or even go outside the park, so we always keep a close eye on our dog and other people's dogs. Watch carefully for body language in your own dog and other people's dogs. Other breeds can be a bit funny towards Huskies sometimes - might be the upright tail. No idea. I know two of our dogs did not like squish-faced breeds when they first met them. Totally did NOT like the first boxer they met, but these days they are fine with all breeds and play with fluffies, pit bulls, poodles, pugs, boxers, staffys, JRTs and whatever breed happens to come in. You could consider keeping your dog on leash the first time. We do that when we first have a new dog - see how it reacts to newcomers etc. Make sure you have a means of calling your dog away. For instance, with our dog Elbie we know that the mere mention and sight of a tennis ball will summon him to us. As long as you're sensible and vigilant, I don't see why there should be any more issue at a dog park than anywhere else. At least you can leave a dog park and an undesirable situation. I was walking Hoover once when an offlead GSD came hurtling across an oval towards us - we were on the other side of the road and nowhere near the dog at first. I couldn't run away because that would have made it worse, all I could do was pick Hoover (a very large Kelpie!) up and hope for the best. If I see a dog/owner I don't like at a dog park, I can leave and close the fence between us :p ETA: I should add we do not use the dog park as an alternative to training. We do obedience with all of our dogs (fosters included), agility for two of our resident dogs and tricks training. They go for walks on-leash, have off-leash time at the local oval. They do enjoy the intense running they can do at the local dog park though so for us it's just another aspect to their enrichment.

Cupcake update

Pretty girl :)

Her family are now also volunteering as foster carers with RADAR and here is Juniper playing with RADAR Jade, a little Kelpie/Dalmatian rescue pup This was Juniper's pound photo

Former foster Juniper is doing so well in her new home. She is learning flyball and she has settled in beautifully with her new family.