The V E T For Dental...

Well the new foster boy won't be a foster for much longer. Mommy announced WE'RE KEEPING HIM! Yeah right on! She said he fit in so well and quickly and works well with every aspect of our family that Diego (now Jasper) will become a permanent part of our family. He will be staying indefinitely and become my big brother. You can expect to hear lots more on him. We got him a week and a half ago on May 19th, and since then he's settled into our hearts and laps and been teaching everyone in the family, even me, all kinds of new things. He went to the V E T today to get his teeth done. Mommy said he had awful breath and possibly an infection. Jasper doesn't eat his food like a normal dog, if it's dry food he swallows it, if it's mushy food (which is what we eat) it has to be warm or it hurts his mouth. Mommy is pacing around nervous to find out how many teeth they have to pull. Isn't that mean?! Mommy said he'll feel better but my gosh that sounds mean, pulling teeth. Poor guy. We all miss him and it feels weird without him around. We have to go pick him up in about two and a half hours, till then mommy is just waiting to hear from the vet. Here are some pictures from yesterday of the two of us having a good time.

The Big Surprise...

This human doesn't have much time to update so here's a quick one! We're packing today for a quick mini vacation to the Denver Boston Terrier Birthday Bash. We will be gone for a few days while we visit family in the area. We will still be able to check online via our iPhone but I won't be bringing a computer with me. We will be staying in Denver till Monday some time. We plan on taking lots of pictures! There will be tons of other dogs, toys, humans, games, and stuff for us to buy ;) It's a huge fundraising event for MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue group. An organization I volunteered to help with. Which is what the big surprise is! We've been talking about this big surprise for a few weeks or so now... and tomorrow is the day... that our new foster boy comes home. That's right, ever since I got Gia I felt guilty that I didn't adopt. Growing up we always got our pets as strays, owner surrenders, but mostly, SPCA or shelters. I looked around my area for quite sometime looking for a Boston Terrier to no avail. I looked for breeders, none had any litters planned till later this year. I went with a breeder from Oklahoma because they seemed like a nice small breeder, older couple, retired, did all the necessary health tests and was willing to ship. I had never purchased from a breeder so I wasn't quite sure what I was suppose to look for. After I got Gia, I realized that MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue actually covers my area and there are dogs here however, their location was always listed as Omaha, Nebraska because that's the location of this rescue group. Beside their names it would say in Iowa, in Colo etc. but due to the website you cannot change the location for each dog, instead it lists them all in Nebraska. I started to follow MABTR (MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue) on Facebook and they we're calling out for emergency foster homes. I applied right then and there without even knowing how the Foster program worked. I had never fostered an animal before... this will definitely be a new experience for us. Here are some of Gia's animal sleeping poses.

The Rabbit

Frog Legs. Personally my favorite.

Early Morning Baking

It's not so bright here dis morning! My momo said we was going to practice walking on da leash in the backyard but it's looking like the sky might cry. Momo said we'll have to practice inside if it does. I got a new bed, momo put a blanket under the chair I likes so much. She said she loves me so much I can have her old pillow and comforter for my very own bed till we find a bed I like. I don't like the beds momo bought for me, they just don't suit my fancy, I much prefer the lumpy comforter and pillow she gave me. I can smell good stuffs in the kitchen, I think she's making me hot dogs she said, I don't want to eat a sister or a brother! Oh dear that's mean, I swear this woman is crazy! I confess they do smell good, I keep going over to the stove and putting my sniffer up wondering why she wants to fry doggies up! This lady is crazy if she thinks she can fool me, those ain't no doggies! She said they are for training, I'm good at all sorts of thing, like sleeping, and well, sleeping, oh and kisses, I do those really good! Maybe I can gets some of those smellies in the over if I give her lots of kisses and sleeps lots in the sun?! Guess we'll see! Yesterday we went for a walk, whatever that is. I honestly had no clue what momo was asking of me. I just sat down and stared at her like she was nuts. We went to a Birfday party, lots of people said I was a pretty girl, some of the guys even got all mushy and wanted to keeps me, I told them no and went back to my momo the minute they put me down! There was so many little people like the one we have at home, momo calls her my sister Demi, I had lots of fun they all petted me even the wittle wittle one. She was nice and wasn't rough with me, I liked following her around, she must of got new feet cause she was clumsy and fell lots. That's all for nows, I smell good stuffs in the oven I gotta go police and taste test ;) Gi Gi Gia.

I Got A Pocket Full Of Sunshine

It's a wonderful morning in my house! De sun is shining and everyone is happy. Momo said she has to go to a Birthday Party today and that I have to stay home alone in my kennel, what she talkin about?! Mean momo you can't leave me here alone! That's animal abuse don't cha know? I fell asleeps in de bed last night with momo, I'm not suppose to be der, Daddy caught us when he came home from work, I gotta be a good girl and sleep in my kennel he says, but momo said I can snuggle her anytime as long as I sleeps in de kennel at nights. My new foods is delecious, I never knew dis new stuff dey call stinky cheese can be so goods! You should ask your momo or daddy for somes too, you'll love it! Momo said it's really called parmezan cheeze and dat it's human stuffs. If momo can eat it, so I can I right? I seen her sneaking a bite of my foods. She said de websites say she should try everything I eat so she ates my foods yesterday-just a bite, I guess I can share a wittle bit. Here diz some pictures of me over de last few days. Momo loves taking my picture she says I pose pretty for herz.

Week One & A Half

April 17th marked the addition to our family.  A small four pound, eight week old, Boston Terrier puppy had traveled from Tulsa to Denver to become part of our family.  We picked up our cuddly little girl that afternoon and have been so grateful for the amazing joy she has brought to our life.  We quickly settled on a name, Gia, and she would be quite the Diva like the supermodel she was named after.

Gia has been with us a whole week and a half nearly ten days to be exact.  In that time we have learned so much from the abundance of information the internet and the people online that we decided to compile everything going on in one place.

Gia developed some behavior issues on day three of being with us, she started to growl.  I felt like it wasn't an aggressive growl and started to search for information on young puppies growling when being in a person's lap and being adjusted with movement.  The information I found online has been plenty but nothing seemed consistent.  We we're in information overload and we we're starting to feel helpless.  So many people recommended a behaviorist but we simply couldn't afford the travel fees included on top of the price we we're given, living over an hour from any major big city with those services was such a great disadvantage for us.  We searched high and low for one in our area and decided if we wanted to get this resolved now, we would have to do it on our own.  So my research began at the vet.  Our vet ruled out medical issues and suggested that it was an alpha puppy behavior and not aggression.  We were given tips on how to curb her growling (but not prevent it!) and it's been working miracles for us.  Gia officially is minimally growling when being handled in only a few short days since trying these new methods given to us by our vet.

Over the last ten days Gia has been here we have weaned off the kibble she came on and onto a higher quality kibble and eventually onto The Honest Kitchen (THK) Preference diet.  THK is a dehydrated 100% human grade dog diet that you add water to.  THK Preference is a base diet that requires you to add your own meat as well as hydrate with water.  Gia wasn't enthusiastic about this food at all.  I was set on trying everything under the sun, more water, less water, more dry mix, less mix, soak longer, sprinkle with chicken on the top, I was exhausted at trying to get her to eat and quite frankly, I was worried.  She barely touched the stuff unless I sprinkled chicken on the top and even so, she wasn't eating enough for me to feel comfortable.  We went back to the high quality kibble and I e-mailed the company in hopes of finding something that worked for my little picky diva, Gia.  The representative, also a Boston Terrier mommy, suggested Parmesan cheese (I always called it stinky cheese!) or adding broth instead of water.  After I felt Gia had ate enough kibble (over the course of a few days) for me to be ready for her rejection of the THK again, I was ready to be as stubborn as her if she choose to reject it again.  Our first meal with Parmesan cheese was a total success!  I wasn't ready for her to eat so enthusiastically, I was quite shocked at the change in her behavior when eating the same stuff (minus the Parmesan cheese) as before, that she rejected time and time again.

This blog will be a compilation of our clicker training, positive re-enforcement training, holistic ways, and adventures.