Happy Dog, Warm Heart

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Few things in this world touch my heart the way Otie does. I’m not sure what it is about him, but his big head and his worried expression have nestled themselves so far into the depths of my soft spots that I think I would do just about anything for him. He is such an anxious and worried dog, and it really breaks my heart to watch him worry about things many other dogs don’t blink an eye at. So when he is with me, I feel like it is my mission to make him comfortable. It is my job to find things that make him happy and let him do them as much as his little heart desires. Or else he makes sad faces like this:

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You might remember the photos from when I borrowed Otis from his dad over Memorial Day Weekend. We went on a grand adventure with our friends Kimmie and Nicky to the Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac River. We had so much fun! It was such a care free day out, and I knew one of those hikes was exactly what Otis needed while he spent the weekend with my parents.

I dropped him off with my parents Thursday evening, so he was very happy to see me Saturday morning. We woke up bright and early to meet with Kim and Nicky before the trails got too crowded. The canal was crowded, but the route we took was actually very empty – which was great for our two cautious dogs! It was a fun, confidence-building walk. I love seeing both dogs so relaxed.

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I knew he was feeling good because he went into the water all on his own. Nicky was chasing after a treat and forgot about it, and Otis went right in! I turned around and he was on his way in, no encouragement needed. It was a moment of bravery for Mr. Otie.

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He had such a good time and was totally wiped out afterwards. What a fun way to kick off our weekend! Did anyone else spend fun time outdoors as the summer winds down?

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Happy Memorial Day!

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Happy Memorial Day! We hope you are reading this from home and enjoying your third day of Memorial Day weekend! We had a great time kicking off the long weekend on Friday when Otis and I went for a hike with our friends Kim and Nicky.

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While we enjoy this holiday, we of course remember the reason behind it. Thank you to the men and women who serve our country!

Catching Up With An Old Friend

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I never realized how much I would appreciate adopting one of my fosters out to someone who lives locally and who ended up becoming a friend to me. The day Johnnie went home I was so bummed that I’d just given away my best friend. That afternoon I got a text from Otis’ dad saying he got stuck at work for longer than expected and if I wanted a canine pick-me-up could I swing by and take Otis for a walk. Um, yes please!!!

It’s no surprise that Otie’s goofy grin and complete bat sh*t crazy hurricane greeting immediately put a smile on my face. You never realize how much you miss ‘em until they’re back! We went for a relaxing walk along the Potomac River, soaking up the evening air. It felt so good to just be hanging out with my buddy again.

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Then this past weekend I learned that R had gone on a day trip so I asked if he wanted me to walk Otie again. He told me his neighbors were feeding Otis and letting him out but he’d probably love to go for a walk! It was a gorgeous Friday afternoon so I scooped him up and headed to Virginia to meet Mark. We recently discovered another great path along the Virginia side of the Potomac and we quickly escaped weekend rush hour traffic to find our secluded spot. It was perfect. Otis and Mark actually seemed to enjoy each other’s company since Otis was able to relax, run around a little bit and warm up to Mark.  As you can see we also enjoyed cooling off in the river!

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04 07 06 05I am happy whenever my fosters get adopted to the perfect home, but it’s just so great when they go somewhere that lets me see them this often!

Fall Afternoon Lessons… with Otis!

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We love parallel walks. A dog can benefit so much from a walk with another dog. It gives them the opportunity to be around another dog without the pressure to interact, which can also help them learn to be calm in the presence of other dogs/people.  Sometimes I don’t always feel comfortable letting my fosters play off-leash with other dogs, but I’m always up for a fun leash walk!

The day after Thanksgiving was totally wide open for us. It was me, Charlie Bear, and a gorgeous Fall day, which obviously meant scoping out the best place to take him hiking.  I decided tocall up R to see if he and Otis wanted to join so that Charlie could practice walking nicely with another dog.  The four of us headed out to the C & O Canal, one of my absolute favorite spots to go for a nice long walk.

Charlie and Otis immediately hit it off.  In addition to getting practice walking with each other, both dogs got to work on staying calm when bikers, joggers, walkers and other dogs passed by.  With the help of treats and some distraction with the “sit” command, both boys pretty quickly began ignoring the passing company.

It can be helpful to take young dogs (or any age, really) to low-key places like this for a controlled amount of positive interactions (if and ONLY if they can handle it and aren’t reactive, etc.). What you want to avoid is introducing them to too much, causing them to become overstimulated where they might learn negative behavior or bad associations.  Socialization does not mean blasting your dog with every experience under the sun – it means controlled, positive situations where they can grow and learn in a positive way.  It also means knowing when to call it quits. We never reached that point with Charlie (or Otis, for that matter) because he’s pretty great in new situations, but I was constantly watching his body language for signs of stress.

As you can tell, the boys seemed pretty too cool for school during their hike.  After all the learning, practicing, and perfecting, both Charlie and Otis enjoyed some relaxing time lounging around for photos – which quickly turned into attempted play time! Ha!

I am proud of Charlie Bear for doing so awesome and for proving to me yet again what a great dog he will make for someone.  To top off our fun afternoon, Char plopped down when we got home from that walk and didn’t get up again until dinner.  Thanks to the basic obedience practice and the physical exercise, Charlie was tired and happy.

If you’re interested in adding Charlie to your family, email me at peacelovefoster@gmail.com, or fill out an application on the Jasmine’s House website.

Do I Swim?

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Fostermama said it was getting too HOT so she wanted to take me to a place where I could go swimming. I asked her what that meant, and she said it was jumping in the wawter and pawdling around so that you don’t sink. I told her, “Why would I ever sink? I keep my four paws planted on the ground, thank you.” She laughed and simply responded, “We will see.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but I do whatever fostermom does because she knows best, so I hopped in the car with her and fosterdad and off we went for a long drive. We drove on winding roads past horse fields and big barns and slowly the other cars on the road disappeared. Soon we ended up at this big body of wawter that fostermom called the Potomac River.

Well, I actually forgot about this until we got there, but I love wawter! I had no problem walking up to the edge and dipping my paws in. Fostermama thought I’d be a little less excited to see this wawter than my usual creek because it is soooo much bigger, but I still walked right in. I even did my usual move – check it out!

After I got acquainted with the wawter, fostermama tricked me convinced me to go a little further out with her, hoping I would go deep enough to swim.

I went in pretty far, but then all of a sudden I realized where I was headed and slammed on the brakes. No thanks – four paws on the ground, remember!

Fostermama said that was okay, and she was impressed with me for going so far out anyway. I concluded that I kinda like this big wawter business, but only when it involves four paws secured on the under-water land.  After all, I am a dog – not a fish.

For more information on adopting Honey Bunches of Otis, go to his adoption page or email peacelovefoster@gmail.com.