So tonight is our last night with KitKat. It’s a very complex thing, fostering animals. You bring them into your home, not knowing what their final outcome will be. And you give them all the love and adornment, like they were yours, and then you give them to someone else. KitKat is a unique exception, because I know where she is going. Anne and Peter have been taking her for nightly walks to the beach and up to their house. It’s so great that she is already familiar with her new home and family. I wonder what it must be like for the lucky dogs that are relinquished. And by the lucky ones I mean the ones that find their way to a new home. The first sights and sounds must be very interesting and no doubt ably a little bit scary. Dogs are quite resilient creatures when I think about it. And as much as I’ve bonded with her in the past two weeks, I know that she will do the same for her new family.
Here’s a list that I’m preparing for her new parents tomorrow, when they take her home.
· Feeding Instructions:
· Feed 2 cups of food 4-5 times a day. She is a ravenous eater, so either feed her in a kong, or you can place a ceramic mug upside down in her food bowl. This will slow down her pace of eating. There is also a special bowl that you can buy called a “brake-fast” bowl.
· (I usually do 1 ½ cups of the puppy dry and ½ cup of the Science Diet ID.) She should stay on the puppy food for now, and speak to the vet on her next visit about her diet in the future.
· Toys: She has started playing “tug” with some stuffed animals. Tug is a great interactive game, and was my black lab Layla’s favorite game in the world. There are two rules to tug. 1) If teeth touches skin, game is over. Don’t make a big deal, just say “too bad” and put the tug toy away. 2) Is important, but you can decide how strict to be: They can only have the tug when you give them a cue, like “Get the tug!” I’d make her sit for it, and when she sits then let her get it. This helps to teach impulse control.
· Sleep: She’s been sleeping in her crate. I put a nightcap kong for her in the crate at around 10 pm, and she gets let out at 6 pm. I think she could do fine not sleeping in the crate, but she did seem comfortable in it. Crate training is great, because she will always have a space that she feels comfortable in. In the event of a disaster, crate trained animals fair far better than those that are in an new environment, and traumatized because they’ve never been crate trained.
· Housetraining: She goes out around every two hours. She does not always use the restroom, I just wanted to set up good habits. If you take her out, and doesn’t relieve herself and you know that she probably should, I would confine her when she comes back in. Try again in a half an hour. If she relieves herself she can have some freedom for a few hours again. The key with housetraining is consistency and high praise when they do it in the right place. She had a few mishaps here, but hasn’t had an accident in over a week. If she does relieve herself inappropriately, interrupt her if you catch her in the act. If you don’t catch her there’s nothing you can do other than clean it up and try for next time. Timing is very critical in animal behavior and training.
· Love: She is an extremely affectionate dog, and loves to cuddle and give hugs. She may pace initially when you bring her home. I would stay in a small area with her and let her settle. She did this for the first few days whenever we took her to new area of the house. Within a few days, she was very relaxed. She is a very clumsy dog and will frequently trip over her feet because she’s so excited. She also has an extremely deep capacity for showing her affection. She’s only been with me for 10 days and already I’m in love. I can imagine how closely she will bond with you, with your gentle and nurturing spirits.
· The SF/SPCA has great dog behavior and training information. There's a general list, and I've also added relevant links on the subject.
Here’s a list that I’m preparing for her new parents tomorrow, when they take her home.
· Feeding Instructions:
· Feed 2 cups of food 4-5 times a day. She is a ravenous eater, so either feed her in a kong, or you can place a ceramic mug upside down in her food bowl. This will slow down her pace of eating. There is also a special bowl that you can buy called a “brake-fast” bowl.
· (I usually do 1 ½ cups of the puppy dry and ½ cup of the Science Diet ID.) She should stay on the puppy food for now, and speak to the vet on her next visit about her diet in the future.
· Toys: She has started playing “tug” with some stuffed animals. Tug is a great interactive game, and was my black lab Layla’s favorite game in the world. There are two rules to tug. 1) If teeth touches skin, game is over. Don’t make a big deal, just say “too bad” and put the tug toy away. 2) Is important, but you can decide how strict to be: They can only have the tug when you give them a cue, like “Get the tug!” I’d make her sit for it, and when she sits then let her get it. This helps to teach impulse control.
· Sleep: She’s been sleeping in her crate. I put a nightcap kong for her in the crate at around 10 pm, and she gets let out at 6 pm. I think she could do fine not sleeping in the crate, but she did seem comfortable in it. Crate training is great, because she will always have a space that she feels comfortable in. In the event of a disaster, crate trained animals fair far better than those that are in an new environment, and traumatized because they’ve never been crate trained.
· Housetraining: She goes out around every two hours. She does not always use the restroom, I just wanted to set up good habits. If you take her out, and doesn’t relieve herself and you know that she probably should, I would confine her when she comes back in. Try again in a half an hour. If she relieves herself she can have some freedom for a few hours again. The key with housetraining is consistency and high praise when they do it in the right place. She had a few mishaps here, but hasn’t had an accident in over a week. If she does relieve herself inappropriately, interrupt her if you catch her in the act. If you don’t catch her there’s nothing you can do other than clean it up and try for next time. Timing is very critical in animal behavior and training.
· Love: She is an extremely affectionate dog, and loves to cuddle and give hugs. She may pace initially when you bring her home. I would stay in a small area with her and let her settle. She did this for the first few days whenever we took her to new area of the house. Within a few days, she was very relaxed. She is a very clumsy dog and will frequently trip over her feet because she’s so excited. She also has an extremely deep capacity for showing her affection. She’s only been with me for 10 days and already I’m in love. I can imagine how closely she will bond with you, with your gentle and nurturing spirits.
· The SF/SPCA has great dog behavior and training information. There's a general list, and I've also added relevant links on the subject.
· Thank you so much for giving such a wonderful home, to such a deserving spirit.
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