We're Fostering!!!!

its very exciting and a little stressful, even though its only for a short period of time. But we're playing "host" to one-year old Lincoln until Monday. He's a VERY sweet boy that just wants to play ALL the time. I forgot what having a puppy was like. And you wouldn't think he was a puppy to look at him; he towers over Tonks and Luna. Such a good looking sheepie boy! :aww:

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only till Monday huh? how are the girls taking to him?

Good for you, Allison and Adam!

We are on month 4 of our current foster - almost 12 year old Basset Harley. Trust me, the old ones are SOOO much easier.......even though I doubt this sweet old guy is going anywhere soon.
A LOT more demand for the crazy one year olds! :roll:

well he's REALLY playful, a bit of a humper, and very submissive. Neither girls seems to be fussed about the humping. Tonks is taking advantage of his submissive nature to put him in his place time and again and its resulting in her getting a few time outs. I know its a dog thing, and they need to sort it out, but I've watched Tonks be a bit of a bully with submissives at the park, and I don't allow it. Also, Tonks has begun to be a bit "guard-y" when it comes to time with me.

Lincoln doesn't seem to know what to do with toys, so is content to chase the girls around the yard while they chase the ball. He's so tall, and his legs so long that while my girls are sprinting, he's sort of taking it easy. He likes to run alongside Luna and rest his head on her back while she's going for the ball! :lol:

He doesn't seem to be crate trained, and howls when put in the crate and left alone. This may be a problem, as we'd planned on crating him at night so the girls could get a sense of "normalcy" at bed time. I guess we'll see how it goes tonight. Fingers crossed

got sheep wrote:

I was thinking an older, calmer dog would be alot easier. I mentally knew how tiring one-year olds can be; we aren't that far from it with the girls. But I forgot how physically tiring they are. I'm exhausted, and I really haven't done all that much.

hmmmm; seems our boy's new family to-be just had to back out. Anyone looking for a GREAT boy? He's really gorgeous, and BIG. Lincoln has just been brought up to date on shots, and neutered as well as micro-chipped. He knows some basic commands; he's doing sit, down, stay, and come, and walks really nicely on a leash. He's very submissive; his original family had to give him up because they were moving. A neighbor took him for the last 2 months, but their beagle was apparently beating him up. Like I said; submissive.

He's very playful; as is typical of a one year old Sheepdog. He's getting along well with Tonks and Luna; so I believe he'd do okay with a dog that doesn't want to beat him up. He's a bit unsure about cats; he's cornered one of mine and not been violent; so I don't think its a hunter-prey drive. He pawed at my cat, and thought is was so cool; but he didn't mouth it, lunge at it, or appear violent in any other fashion. So he might be okay with cats; especially if they are the type to lay down the law.

He's a BEAUTY; he's got a lovely personality and has his AKC papers. I'll attach some photos as well as soon as they are approved. He's up for adoption through the Old English Sheepdog Rescue Network of the South East. You can visit their website at :

http://oesrescuenetwork.org/

Hope he finds a good home. Is he neutered?

oesmom2 wrote:

Hope he finds a good home. Is he neutered?

he is; our rescue took care of it a few days ago.

Hope the girls enjoy their guest! Do try to keep him a guest, it is so easy to flunk fostering.

No flunking happening here. Its been a good experience having a "puppy" in the house again; makes me remember how tiring it can be, and how not up for it I am right now!!!!

Question for all of you Sheepie People.

How well do 2 male Oes get along?

I so badly want another Sheepie, but with my crazy youngster I want a middle aged one. I'm thinking female because I do have a male.

I fostered Pyrs for a year and I never could have 2 males or 2 females together, and wasnt sure if Sheepies were the same. The lady that ran the rescue set strict guidlines for me and I was never allowed to keep a pyr for myself. She felt if I did I would stop being her foster home. I fell in love with so many it broke my heart I finally had to quit and get a puppy of my own, and decided on the Sheepie.

Even though fostering was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
Changing over to Sheepies was one of the best decisions I have made.
Just Love them :aww:

Lisa and Frankie

I have sisters Tonks and Luna, and there are definitely issues having two female siblings. But we stay on top of it with constant training, and when they aren't having a tiff (they pretty infrequent now, to be honest) they are the best of friends.

Thanks
Thats good to know that it can work out.

I also forgot how exhausting having a puppy around can be.
It had been around 2 years since we have had a dog of any kind in the house.

Then getting a new puppy is eye opening.

I hope He finds a great home. With a family that loves him to pieces.

Gender usually isn't a big issue with OES. More a case of what works for the individual dogs.

I know lots who have all females, or all males.
My house is multi breeds, but mostly males. Just seems to be our preference. I foster for both OES and basset rescues, and we get both, but more males than females.
Currently we have in our house: males intact - Chewie OES and Biscuit 7 mo old lab; neutered males: Tazz minpin, Riley rat terrier, Simon basset and Harley, foster basset. Spayed female Maggie coonhound and intact female Martha OES.

Mine never care at all if the new dogs here are male or female. It's a nice bunch, thankfully, so I can safely add in foster dogs as needed. As a general rule, most OES are gregarious with dogs; bassets are too, for that matter.

Dawn your house sounds so much like mine except,
you are more active!!

I think Murph would fall over and throw his paws in the
air if we hooked him up to a cart :lol:

Anyway, I do agree it depends on the dogs.
We have male/female pretty equal group
and they mostly do well with fosters coming in.
Knock on wood, we have had nice fosters lately!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

What a full house..... :lol:

I love how easy oes are to get along with. When I take Frankie to daycare they love it. He can be in with large dogs or small dogs depending on how much room they have. They can also put him in the group at any time he's not timid or shy, He just blends right in.

babysheepie wrote:

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

What a full house..... :lol:

Us too.
I teach classes at a place that also does daycare. If I need to stop in for paperwork, I can let Chewie out with the daycare dogs - big or small.

One of my dog friends breeds and shows nationally ranked TFT's (Toy Fox Terriers). They are very small - they are DQ'd if they weigh over 7 pounds. In UKC shows they actually weigh them prior to the show and you are out if they are over.
Chewie has her endorsement. He is the only big dog she trusts to play with her TFT's. They just play around him

I would never have 2 Pyrs of the same sex.........but did. One was very docile which made it possible. As for sheepies, I've had multiple girls and they got along. I never realized how how dominated over the other until she died and the second just blossomed. Males often do well together if they are desexed. But.....it all depends on what you have now and how he reacts with strange dogs at the dog park, etc. If he's Mr. Social, then a newbie will probably do well.

I think with determination, commitment, and lots of training, just about anything is possible.

[quote="SheepieBoss"] Males often do well together if they are desexed. /quote]

Not that it's an issue in this case, but temperament rather than hormones determine if intact males get along. Co-breeder has a preference for males and never neuters and her boys are just fine together, even when there's a bitch in season in the house. At which point, since her dogs tend to be closely related to each other and won't be allowed to do anything about their interest, they band together and piss and moan about the no-girlfriend policy in a small, pathetic bachelor pod.

I still remember the first Christmas I watched her dogs for her. I was sleeping upstairs with my girl as well as her two, all conveniently in season, while the three bachelors, two brothers as as well as the son of one of them stayed downstairs together serenading us with beautiful, haunting howls in three-part harmony. When I switched things around so I could spend time with the boys instead they all followed me around en masse begging me to take them to the girls. Maybe they thought there was persuasive power in numbers but I wasn't falling for it :wink:

It really comes down to the individual personalities of the dogs regardless of gender or hormonal status.

Kristine

Kristine;

thats hysterical!!!! Great story!
:lol:

Great Story

I currently have two males. Both are neutered- they are 7 and 5 and they get along very well. Occasionally they will have a tiff--but not often. I have always preferred the males and generally have always had two at a time and never had any problems to speak of. I think with good training and consistency two or more of the same sex generally get along well.

Well after some confusion, it looks like our foster boy Lincoln will be going to his new home tomorrow afternoon as planned. I don't know how people do it; fostering. After only a day and a half, I think Adam and I would TOTALLY keep this guy!!! The first afternoon and night, I couldn't wait for it to be over. He was such a disruption to how our household works. And then... everything seemed to mesh. He took to following Tonks around, Tonks began to relax and be less threatened. Luna loves playing with him, and he with her. He's following his commands nicely after some training re-enforcement, and even backing off the cats when called. What started out feeling over-whelming has very quickly become comfortable. I like looking up and seeing sheepies everywhere! The house feels full; complete.

I was beginning to think I wanted a third sheepdog. When Lincoln first got here I was deterred from that line of thinking. And now as his departure approaches, I know a third dog is going to be in our future. Even Adam is smitten with this guy.

And all this after cleaning up three stinky, messy indoor accidents. Yup; I'm ready for more. :wink:

I'm glad it's working out

You should consider fostering more often - longer term. I've had some fabulous dogs, and even been tempted to keep a few. Based on my experience, I usually foster ones with medical or training/behavioral issues. It is such a good feeling to get them well, or in a better place behaviorally-wise, so they can go on to become someone's new family member. I meet their new families and I am SOOOO happy for them!
You and Adam could do this! :wink:

i have 2 males here and have no problems duffy of couse loved to beat on poor dreamer.. wish i could afford 3 right now

Thats whats going thru my head right now. I so badly want a second, but knowing how many surgeries Frankie is going to have to have next year, I'm thinking a second wouldn't be a good idea financially. It probably will be easier also when he has his restrictions after surgery.

When I fostered pyrs I had approx 13 in and out of my home in a year. They were not trained and usually malnourished. It really did feel so good to make them healthy, and able to become someones loving companion. It was really heart wrenching but very fullfilling. I had a bad attack happen and had to quit. I just couldn't take it any more. It really broke my heart and still does. I'm a big mush, but Frankie is really helping me overcome alot of my feelings. Things happen and you move on.

Lincoln has a new home in Memphis! I hope to meet him and his brother Sammie very soon. I'd love for my Stella to be able to meet them but she is fading so fast...she misses Max so much (as do we) and her diabetes is really taking a toll...I'm afraid a couple of young sheepies would be too much for her...but we may try on a good day.
Can't wait to spend some time with a couple of young vibrant sheepie boys and congrats to Rebecca on the adoption...and God bless all of the good folks connected to Old English Sheepdog Rescue Network of the Southeast. The Golightlys will need you one day...but I hope it's a long time from now...Here's to Stella Blue and all of the old Sheepies out there!

Memphis blue wrote:

That is great news!!

And totally off topic.....
Todd had on one of the movie channels this morning and Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was on - and as I walked in the room Steve Martin and the gang were doing that crazy Bang Bang Maxwell Silver Hammer song - and I told Todd that someone on our OES group has that as their byline!! Perfect timing :wink:

Darth Snuggle wrote:

I was beginning to think I wanted a third sheepdog. When Lincoln first got here I was deterred from that line of thinking. And now as his departure approaches, I know a third dog is going to be in our future. Even Adam is smitten with this guy.

And all this after cleaning up three stinky, messy indoor accidents. Yup; I'm ready for more. :wink:

Uh oh, hubby smitten with a foster! That's how we gained Margie.

The couple days of confusion is well worth the work. I still receive updates and photos from the families that adopted the foster babies that came through our home. It brings a tear to my eye when I see how happy and healthy they are in comparison to when they arrived. Congratulations on being bitten by the foster bug.

You won't regret it.

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