We are taking the plunge...

and fostering one of the MO-9. She is 6 months old, so we are going to be doing the potty training thing

. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she likes Oliver; for anyone who knows Oliver knows that he is an "in your face" type of guy. We decided to name her Lucy, I've always loved that name (she is currently known as "girl", so we wanted to give her a name). I'll post pics when we pick her up this evening, wish us luck!

Respond to this topic here on forum.oes.org

THANK YOU for opening your home and your heart to one of
these Missouri dogs

We can't wait to her more about her.

Bless you!!!

I have not heard or forgot about these pups.
Can you tell me more?

oh thant is so great can't wait to see pics of lucy

OES Mommy wrote:

Bless you!!!

I have not heard or forgot about these pups.
Can you tell me more?

All 9 are coming into rescue today. 3-4 will be going to TX, a couple to MN, and at least one to IN, or so the last I heard. There are only 3 of us in the MO/KS rescue so we are very limited on foster homes and very THANKFUL for the neighboring rescues willing to help us!

It is raining sheepies in MO; we need to get these guys placed so we can go get the another 2 in South MO. We will know more about the personalities once we get them, and I'm sure they will be up for adoption soon.

So...if anyone is looking to adopt a sheepie I know where they can get one (or two, three, four).

We are nervous, excited, and looking forward to lessons we will be taught.

AW!!! good luck with your foster!

Congrats on deciding to foster! Thank you for helping out!! It's a very rewarding experience and I am sure you will enjoy it.

For the first few days you'll wonder WHY but it gets better.....usually. After a short time she'll be just fine, glad to have some love and attention.

I thought they're always GOOD the first few days and then all hell breaks loose? :lol:

Congrats!!!!!!!! That's kind of exciting to have another in the house and I have my fingers crossed Oliver loves the playmate. Can't wait for pics!

Oh my....with that foster girl being only 6mo

There is going to be non-stop FUN in your house. Give them a few "minutes" to get to know each other and then stand back or risk getting knocked down.
There is going to be major wrestling, barking, jumping, body slams going on..for hours.

At least thats what happened here when we brought Garfunkel home :lol:

Have fun...and PICTURES.

How exciting!
It is so wonderful that all the midwest rescues are
able to step in to help this group of babies!
Can't wait to hear all the wonderful stories on
their new lives! :hearts:

And if I am not mistaken...that 6 month old girl has a TAIL. You better clear off the coffee table now.

That's awesome!

*taps feet*

...still waiting for pics. :twisted:

Joahaeyo wrote:

*taps feet*

...still waiting for pics. :twisted:

...waiting for admin approval...

(taps fingers)

You are too cute Mrs. J!

I sneaked a peek!!!
She is very tiny and looks like a nekkid cute OES!
How is she doing?

Is this her :?:

Yep, that is her! Shaved AND with a tail!

Going for icecream.

Lucy loves laying with Oliver.

Lucy is doing pretty good. We had to make a trip to the emergency vet on Sunday, her stiches from her spay were weeping pretty good so we were worried. She has a slight infection (something to do with riding in a horse trailer uncrated for 3.5 hours with 8 other sheepies???) so we are on antibiotics and pain killers right now. It is already looking much better!

At 30 pounds she is VERY thin. As you tell from the pics I think she is about the size of Oliver's head!

At six months old Oliver was about 50 pounds, so she will be a petite little thing. He LOVES her. I think he just knows that something is wrong with her, so he isn't rough. She was super shy when we brought her home, but is slowly learning that people are good. I don't think she was physically abused, but definately neglected. She is scared of most everything, but where Oliver goes, she goes, where Oliver sniffs, she sniffs. She is even following us around the house now and licking our fingers (think the whip cream has anything to do with it :wink:

). She wants to be with us, so I think that is a good sign.

Thanks to all who have helped out with these 9 rescues. It is raining sheepies in MO right now, with another breeder shut-down in the St. Louis area, and two pups in South MO that need to be rescued. On Sunday we shaved down the final 3 and they took the grooming like champs. I think all will make excellent companions, so if anyone is interested in fostering or adopting..

Oh, and one last BIG thanks to the people on the forum who have so graciously donated to the vet bills. We appreciate the sizable donations that have been made. We have a few that need to go back to the vet for ear infections, UTIs, etc, so all help is greatly appreciated!

Wow, she's tiny! She's so cute. I love that first picture--she looks so inquisitive and ready to learn. That's awesome that Oliver loves her.

Yeah for the new dog...I mean, foster :wink:

dog!

I forgot one last thing: Lucy makes fostering seem easy. What took me so long to finally take the plunge?

I am not sure you aren't going to fail fostering. You all look so happy together.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That doesn't even look like a sheepie next to Oliver b/c she's so TINY ...but so innocent looking. I just love the going for ice cream picture. I also like that hubby is in the passenger seat. Mine never lets me drive. :twisted:

Joahaeyo wrote:

My husband wouldn't dare drive my car-it's a little too girly for him!

The ice cream picture is freaking adorable!!

I offered this to Nancy before, but if there is a greater need now because of the new pups coming in, I could take one in Chicago. We could either transfer them to my rescue or I could just do the foster/placing for Midwest. Feel free to email me: Heatherotat@gmail.com if anyone wants to take me up on that.

Lil Walty wrote:

Thanks Healther, I will forward your kind offer to Carol, who is running the show here in MO.

She's beautiful! What a lovely face!

If you are anything like, you'll flunk fostering very quickly!!!

Enjoy your visitor!

wow how sweet is she.. maybe a keeper?? doesn't look like she will take up to much roon :wink:

jcc9797 wrote:

Yep, that is her! Shaved AND with a tail!

Gorgeous!! I love the photo of Oliver with that huge smile and the little sheep behind him. She is like a sweet little lamb -

BEAUTIFUL PICTURES!!!

Oliver looks HUGE next to her. Does she eat well? If so it won't take long to put some weight on.

Adorable photo. Lucy looks like a very sweet girl.

She has the most expressive face. What a beauty. I'm in love already. You are so kind to take her in, and so lucky to have her, all at the same time.

Well. Miss Lucy is getting comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable. Yesterday she torn up our wood binds on our patio door (beyond repair) and pooped in the house twice, today we decided the honeymoon was over and crated her...

after an hour of washing poop off walls, washing the crate, and giving Lucy a bath, I guess we'll crate her again tomorrow??? She pooped in her crate, then spread it EVERYWHERE, flinging it out of the crate onto the walls, dresser, EVERYWHERE! I know this is all part of potty training, but wow, Oliver never did this!

She's a hard one to potty train. She still still a bit shy, so when we walk up to treat her after potting outside, she runs, and won't take the treat. Oh, and she hates a leash and the crate...any suggestions???

Don't let her off lead!
Seriously, don't let her off if you don't have a recall. She is learning the habit, making her lack of training even worse. You could try a line that drags on the ground and letting her loose. But, if she is smart and learns you are going for it and starts darting away, go back to on lead.
Don't chase her, or grab at her. Make her come to you. Takes LOTS of patience.

If you have a short amount of time and can't outwait her, don't let her off lead. One time of having her run and you trying to catch her and you will be back to square one.

If it's an option, make a smaller potty area where she doesn't have the space to get away from you. Then you can transition in to bigger spaces.

Sorry about the mess. Change of home, food, water, surgery, stress - all a recipe for a major gut attack. Talk to your vet, there are probiotics and meds that can help getting through this. Thank goodness she is shaved!

Good luck, and hang in there!

jcc9797 wrote:

Classic separation anxiety. Well, just anxiety in her case. Consider talking to your vet about giving her something very mild to just take the edge off of her anxiety so you can hopefully start to get through to her. My vet prescribed something for one of my fosters and it did help. In fact, I used on another girl (whom I still have) who was somewhat similar when I first got her, except for the chewing up anything. Pooped in crate. Afraid to come near me. I had her on it for three days and it was enough to get her through the worst of it. Your girl may be different since she's never really had much in the way of human interaction from the sound of it. The girl I used it with came from a regular situation and normal household, she's just an anxious/fearful dog.

I also worked with one undersocialized + anxious three year old bitch for quite a long time who never quite got past it and would still have accidents years later if something pushed her over her threshhold, but the frequency diminished significantly.

With the associated behaviors, you're not just dealing with housebreaking issues so try to be patient with her. Not that you wouldn't. But the poopcleaning/stomping routine can get to you some times, so it's important to remember she really can't help herself.

One of the nice things about working with dogs like these is that there is a lot of room for improvement and watching the positive impact you can have on a dog's quality of life makes it sooooo worth it.

Kristine

Here is another picture from when she arrived...

http://www.midwestoesrescue.org/images/ ... G_5787.JPG

Quote:

Oh, and she hates a leash and the crate...any suggestions???

Have the last couple of days any better?

The only way to get puppies and dogs used to leashes is to use them... and use them several times a day. You'll teach her that good things happen when she's on a leash. Yes, she may buck, try to back up out of the collar (make sure it's fitted properly!) and struggle trying to be free of it but you'll eventually be able to desensitize her to it with kind and repeated use.

I noticed when Lucy was in the car she didn't have a collar or leash on. Be sure you keep contact identification on Lucy at all times... meaning a collar and ID tags. I don't keep collars on my own dogs when they're on the property but with rescues, it's a different story. We haven't yet bonded nor built trust with a skittish rescue so is ID mandatory. I'm always afraid a frightened rescue may bolt. Yes, I'm a worry wart.

As for the crate... again, make good things happen when she's inside it. This means that all meals (2-3 per day because she's underweight) are fed inside the crate. You might try placing a blanket over 2/3 to 3/4 of the crate to make it more den-like. At other times when she's in the crate and calm, walk by and toss in a tasty treat with a brief and quiet praise.

I'd simply treat her like the puppy that she is... it's going to take time to help her settle in. Even with well socialized dogs it can take several months to a year... it took Panda about a year to truly settle in and get past her anxiety issues with the use of trust building training and medication (her's was true separation anxiety though).

If you need more help with her, don't hesitate to contact the rescue for more ideas or come back here. We all want Lucy to become an emotionally well balanced girl. Thank you for everything you're doing!

Hoiw is Lucy???
Haven't seen any updates???
Hope all is going well!

Donner's Mom wrote:

Hoiw is Lucy???
Haven't seen any updates???
Hope all is going well!

We are doing okay. We had to make another trip to the vet last Friday, then again yesterday.
Friday: Stiches out. Fecal floatation was negative. Ear mites discovered.
Monday: Roundworm found in feces (so much for the fecal floatation). More de-wormer.

Crate training isn't going so well, but we are being patient. I know she understands the concept of pottying outside because when we are home, she always goes outside. Seperation anxienty is hard, poor thing is probably scared we will put her in the crate and never come back :cry:

.

But beyond the mites, worms, and did I forget to mention fleas

we are okay. Very itchy just thinking about it all, but okay. If they missed the round worm, it just makes me wonder what else they missed, especially since the poop has been quite runny since yesterday...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Oliver gets through all this without getting fleas, mites, or worms. The vet said his heartworm med should protect him from the worms, and he's on frontline, so we should be okay... :plead:

On the plus side, she is such a doll baby. So eager to please, and craves the attention of humans. She follows us around, and plays in the yard with Oliver. We are still working on the leash training; she freezes anytime we put it on her. She is ALWAYS hungry too. She will eat, then try to steal Oliver's food. Oliver is such a good sport about it, I am so proud of my little guy for how he has been acting. I'll post some more pictures soon!

A couple things - (for future reference now).

If you bring home a foster who hasn't been vetted yet, try to walk them (hard in her case due to her not understanding the leash yet) away from where you own dog(s) normally hangs out to potty them and be prepared to pick up immediately to try to minimize exposure to your dogs.

It can take several rounds of deworming to get the worms under control and if she has round worms, she may easily have others. In addition, with the fleas in mind, keep an eye out for tapeworm which I don't think regular deworming meds touch. Your vet will know.

After accidents, disinfect her crate if you can and wash her paws if she stomped in it to further minimize contamination.

And after you've done all that :wink:

consider feeding her in her crate if you aren't already to strenghten the notion that good things happen when she's in the crate, but also to buy your own dog some peace. It's wonderful that he tolerates her thievery with such a gentlemanly attitude, but he shouldn't have to and you don't want to reinforce her thinking she can steal from other dogs.

The worms have been stealing nutrients from her, so it's understandable that she's starving. And the meds that kill the buggers are themselves hard on a dog's stomach, especially one as run down as her, so that may very well be why she has diarrhea. Until her gut gets back under control, your best bet is actually to be careful not to feed her too much and make it something she can easily tolerate like hamburger and rice with some dollops of plain yogurt thrown in for example- small portions maybe three or four times a day may stay with her more easily and ease her gut and her hunger towards normalcy.

Once you've got the gut situation under control, things will get a whole lot easier. Promise. And that alone may be enough to solve her pooping in crate incidents.

What did they give her for the ear mites?

Kristine

Oh my gosh, you got all the fun stuff for your first foster!! You guys are great for being so patient with her, and it will definitely pay off.

And just think, your next foster will be a breeze!

Aw, I'm so sorry it's been a challenge to say the least. Thank you for doing all you're doing.

Mad Dog wrote:

A couple things - (for future reference now).

If you bring home a foster who hasn't been vetted yet, try to walk them (hard in her case due to her not understanding the leash yet) away from where you own dog(s) normally hangs out to potty them and be prepared to pick up immediately to try to minimize exposure to your dogs.

She was vetted before we brought her home. In fact, she also had a dewormer before we brought her home.

It can take several rounds of deworming to get the worms under control and if she has round worms, she may easily have others. In addition, with the fleas in mind, keep an eye out for tapeworm which I don't think regular deworming meds touch. Your vet will know.

Our vet warned us about tape worms already. She is on frontline, so the fleas should be deminishing soon.

After accidents, disinfect her crate if you can and wash her paws if she stomped in it to further minimize contamination.

Already do that. Considering when she poops, I think she rolls in it.

And after you've done all that :wink:

consider feeding her in her crate if you aren't already to strenghten the notion that good things happen when she's in the crate, but also to buy your own dog some peace. It's wonderful that he tolerates her thievery with such a gentlemanly attitude, but he shouldn't have to and you don't want to reinforce her thinking she can steal from other dogs.

We've been feeding her in her crate and we stop her from eating Oliver's food. The rule in our house is Oliver is king, sorry if you don't feel that is right.

The worms have been stealing nutrients from her, so it's understandable that she's starving. And the meds that kill the buggers are themselves hard on a dog's stomach, especially one as run down as her, so that may very well be why she has diarrhea. Until her gut gets back under control, your best bet is actually to be careful not to feed her too much and make it something she can easily tolerate like hamburger and rice with some dollops of plain yogurt thrown in for example- small portions maybe three or four times a day may stay with her more easily and ease her gut and her hunger towards normalcy.

She has been taking to the rice and boiled chicken quite nicely. I think we are spoiling her!

Once you've got the gut situation under control, things will get a whole lot easier. Promise. And that alone may be enough to solve her pooping in crate incidents.

What did they give her for the ear mites?

An ear solution that we give once a week for a month. No ear cleaning between treatments.

Kristine

Thanks for your help, but I kind of feel I need to be on the defensive side with these comments. We are doing the best we can to help her become a healthy, socialably and emotionly stable dog.

jcc9797 wrote:

[We've been feeding her in her crate and we stop her from eating Oliver's food. The rule in our house is Oliver is king, sorry if you don't feel that is right.

My point exactly. He should be king.

I'm sorry you feel you have to be defensive. You got a lot dropped on your plate. Some of us have been there and learned the hard way :wink:

It sounds like you're doing a great job, but you also sounded pretty overwhelmed which is what prompted the various suggestions.

And, considering the parasite load she came with, you'll have to pardon the confusion as to whether or not she had been vetted.

A friend rescued a 10 month old from a similar situation and she came with all of the above plus mange. The tapeworms made their presence known later and my friend felt it necessary to e-mail me pictures....<where's the about to lose my lunch emoticon?> After her experience, and fortunately she had no dogs of her own when she got the dog, I learned to be darn careful about what I expose my own dogs to.

And, by the way, her dog is two now and spoiled rotten and doing well overall, but her immune system is still not quite right and chances are it never will be. This kind of neglect at a young age especially takes a long time to fully overcome. That's also useful information. Whomever she goes to should be very careful with vaccinations going forward.

Fostering is an ongoing learning experience. Better to share what we learn along the way. If you've already done it, great! If not, you have some more things to consider.

Kristine

Bless you for your patience with Lucy. I hope today is the beginning of peace for her.

Sweet success in leash walking!!!

We went on our first walk today, only about 3/4 mile, but we made it!

Yea Lucy!!!!! :banana:

jcc9797 wrote:

Sweet success in leash walking!!!

We went on our first walk today, only about 3/4 mile, but we made it!

That is super!!!
Good job.

She looks wonderful compared to those first pictures I saw a month ago.

That upset me that they stuck them all in a trailer for the ride. I volunteered with my husband to take and make multiple trips if need be in crates and secure car. Why would they chose to do it that way?

How is Miss Lucy???? I miss her progress reports..

Miss Lucy is doing great. We are still working on potty training and poop eating, but she is settling in like a pro. She is so food motivated she should be easy to train.

Her usual napping position. She loves to be with people-such a snuggler!

Rest time after a hard play. She and Oliver chase each other around the yard and love to play tug with Cuz. She is so full of energy. We go for a 2 mile walk every night and play in the yard morning and evening and she still has tons of energy!

Her hair is starting to grow. Now that she has the proper nutrition I suspect it will grow quickly. We are brushing her in hopes we can get her in coat. She tolerates it for now, but we'll see how it goes as the sessions get longer.

Round worm. Gross little thing, but had to share a picture. It was probably about 4-5 inches long. We are intestinal parasite free now, thank goodness. We have 1 more week of ear mite treatment.

what a sweetie

OMGosh, that roundworm is DISGUSTING!!

You're a good picture taker!!! ...and I still love that face. She is just beautiful. Looks like she's fitting in nicely!;)

She's just gorgeous, SO sweet. Made me tear up a little with the one blue eye - reminds me so much of my Drez.

What a precious girl :hearts:

Nice pictures....even the worm :lol:

Glad to her she is doing well

Thanks for the progress report. You're doing such a good job with her :clappurple:

you can see it in her beautiful eyes. Ugh, the worm!

What a precious girl!! :hearts:

Such a beautiful petite face. Glad she is doing well!

Boy, how hard is this going to be to find a home for her? She looks like she is a wonderful dog!

Talmasca wrote:

Boy, how hard is this going to be to find a home for her? She looks like she is a wonderful dog!

She really is a wonderful dog. We are enjoying every minute of fostering (well minus the potty training). I think the economy is slowing down the adoption.

Thanks for the support. We really do love her to death, hope we can find her a good home soon, or I think we will be keeping her. She is worming her way into my husband's heart!

GOOD ANSWER!

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