Day 9 - What Jet has learned (by Jet)

There are lots of things I can do now. Although sometimes I'm too lazy, excited about other things or distracted by a passing pigeon to bother listening to my foster Mum and Dad.

 

There are loads of basic commands that they are trying to teach me, and I know these the best:

Sit
Paw
Lie Down
Wait - I'll sit and leave a treat or my food for a short time, but not too long please.
Leave it - I'll drop what's in my mouth but usually only if they offer me food or a toy in exchange. I'm not stupid.
Come - Sometimes they let me off the lead but I have to come back when they shout 'Come'. Otherwise they make me go back on the lead and that's hardy any fun.
Down - I get really excited when Mums been out for a bit or Dad gets home from work and I jump up to give them kisses. I'm trying really hard not to jump up but I love them and want to show them how much. I forget that I'm not supposed to.

I get really excited when they take me out. I'd probably do better with a harness because I don't think I'd be able to pull so much then. While we're on a collar and lead they make me stop and sit down every time I pull. Going anywhere takes ages when I'm being a pain but I love to sniff things and look at things.

When we're playing I sometimes nip hands and feet. I'm only playing and I don't do it hard but Mum says I won't be allowed to play with children until I stop it.

I'm a bit greedy and sometimes I think someone might steal my dinner so I eat it really fast. They thought it was because I'm hungry and tried to fill me up on apples and carrots but they've got no chance. I'm a meat eater thanks! I don't beg for Mums food while she eats. It never smells as good as when she opens those tins of cat food.

I have a cage to sleep in but I'm a bit scared of using it in the day to relax in case you lock me up. They feed me in the cage and it's really comfy but I really like being with people all the time so I don't want to risk getting shut in. Mum says I have to use it as a bed though and I should stop getting on her favourite chair. Every time I do it I get told off but it's so comfy and I can watch the chickens in the garden.

At first I'd only respond to being asked to do something in a really loud voice but now they can ask me in a quite voice and I do things. I actually prefer peace and quiet because I get over excited and do a wee if I get too excited. They don't like it when I pee on the carpet so I'm trying to be a good boy and calm down but there are so many exciting things away from those kennels. I really don't want to go back. I want someone to love me and take care of me and in return I will be really faithful and I promise to give you loads of kisses and play with you all the time.

Day 9 - What we've learned

Jet is now quite settled and seems to be enjoying himself now that he has a lot more freedom than his home at the kennels. He's starting to show his true personality and be a little more cheeky than he was when he first arrived.

We've learned that he needs a walk early in the day. An evening walk just means he's a terror all day, with far too much energy and enthusiasm.

We've learned that he's not aggressive with other dogs off the lead, unless they are too playful around me, jumping up etc.

 We've learned that he loves to play in water and will happily splash around and 'dig' in it for quite some time.

We've learned that he's an intelligent dog who needs stimulation and attention in order to keep calm.

We've learned that he nibbles his bedding if he doesn't have something to entertain him in his cage while left in the day. A Kong toy stuffed with wet food and frozen is the perfect distraction.

We've learned that he loves to run off and chew nail files but hates the smell of nail varnish and lemons. He likes to play with fluffy slippers and prefers it when you hold his hide bone for him to chew while he stands up! He loves tennis balls and will play fetch for hours. He's also capable of chewing  (and breaking) a ball while walking with it in his mouth.

We've learned that he doesn't like being left alone, and although he's fine with older children he'd settle better in a houshold without children, where someone is home most of the time.

We've learned that he'd love to be friends with the cat and the chickens, but they don't want to be friends with him yet. He knows he belongs at the bottom of the pecking order of all our existing pets.

Most of all we've learned that with love and care Jet will be a perfect dog. He's an adorable addition to our home and he's anxious to please. He thrives on being given commands and being praised for doing them and I suspect he'd be great at agility classes.

Day 3 - a busy one

It's been an exciting day for Jet today. Not only a walk with me around the field with lots of training on walking nicely and coming back, we had a lot of playtime in the garden and then another big walk this afternoon to see a Westie to see how he got on with other dogs.

The morning didn't start off fabulously as we had another pee incident when he got up. Any sort of excitement or nervousness sets him off tiddling and although it's not a lot it sure does spray everywhere! I hope that as he gets more confident we can overcome this. He'd also chewed up his bedding in the night and again I'd prefer him to not do this. I truly believe he suffers from seperation anxiety issues as he hates to be left alone or more specifically, without me.

He's also still being very greedy with food and makes himself sick because he eats so fast. I've taken to removing his food a few times and he's very patient when I do so but it's not a permanent solution. I shall ask the vet tomorrow about this as I'd like to resolve it before he moves on. He's also a terror for picking up food while we're out and this definitely needs to be stopped as he may well pick up something poisoned or spoiled and get ill. I suspect at some time he's not had enough to eat and he remembers it all too well.

Our field walk was great and we did a lot of stop and wait when he pulled. This meant that the walk took a lot longer than it should but he's slowly learning. I did a lot of calling him back and asking him to 'come' on this walk so that he'd learn to recognise his name as well as know to return to me on command. As this was the first attempt it wasn't hugely successful but we will get there! On a more postive note he is fantastic at sitting and waiting at road crossings.

After lunch we did a lot of fetch games on the garden. He fetches really well but refuses to drop the object that we threw. Again, this will take some perseverance but I'm determined to crack it. He'd prefer to be allowed to chew up his toys but I discourage this - I suspect he would be quite destructive if allowed to be!

Later we went to see my Mum who has a six year old West Highland Terrier. Usually Rascal is full of beans and is happy to play but today he was rather grumpy and didn't enjoy Jet's requests to play tug, chase and fetch. Jet was on best behaviour though and soon learnt that Rascal wasn't up for playing, no matter how nicely he asked. I am confident that Jet is happy with small dogs and hopefully we'll meet a larger dog soon to see if he is as sociable with them too. During our visit he found his 'big boy' voice and we were really surprised to hear a deep bark and growl come from him. Up until now we'd only heard his puppy voice and it was odd to see him with his scruff up and shouting - even though his tail was still wagging!

Jet is now exhausted from his action packed day and is lying dreaming at my feet. Hopfully he'll be fully rested for his trip to the vets for his micochipping and vaccinations tomrrow. Car trips seem to be traumatic so we'll see how well it goes. I've promised him a nice walk and trip to feed the ducks if he's a good boy!!!

Day 2 - and a name change

We'd already decided that Pup wasn't really a suitable name and we wanted to give him a name he could move on with and would respond to. After running through loads and loads of names we settled on Jet and we're now trying to get him to understand to come when called. This is hard work and at the moment the only thing he tends to come us with is 'Oy' Particuarly embarassing when we're out walking!

We didn't have any toilet problems overnight so I'm quite confident that he's been house trained well, although we did have another pee incident when I got up, through sheer excitement, and another when we had visitors.

Today we've been playing with a pull toy. He's very gentle and hasn't nipped at all, even when we've forcibly removed his toys and whilst playing in general. He's very good at sharing but very poor at the 'drop' command.

We've also been on a bigger walk where we gave him the opportunity to run off the lead fetching a ball. This isn't something I'll be trying unless we're in a really quiet location and I have someone with me as he is so enthusiastic about everything that he doesn't notice (or maybe ignores me) when called. He gets very excited on the lead when he sees anything such as pigeons or litter blowing in front of him and will pull a lot. He seemed OK when he saw another dog on a lead but we've only seen one so I can't really say yet whether he is good with other dogs.

Finally we managed to tire him out....

Taking Pup home - Day 1

When I met Pup it was obvious that he was a lovely friendly dog. He's almost all black with a white bib and white patches on all four feet as though he's wandered through wet paint. I'd been warned that there'd been reports of Pup being untrainable from his temporary family and although lovely, he had no manners. Oh, and don't forget that he's a randy teenager too - being around 18 months old and not yet neutered he's found his feelings for the ladies.

Although very excitable he knew how to 'sit' and seemed pretty good on a lead, on the short journey to the car. Getting him in the car, however, was an entirely different matter and it took two of us to persuade him that he really did need to get in so that we could go to his new foster home. He was so nervous that he had a pee incident before we got in. Although we only live a short drive from the kennels I was surprised at how well behaved he was once in the car.

Once we were home it was time for him to sniff everything and make himself at home. It didn't take long until he was ready to play and we had an hour of fetching a tennis ball. He fetches well but isn't very good yet at dropping it on command. This is one of the things we'll work on in training sessions.
A short walk in the afternoon showed me again that he is reasonable on the lead. He needs to learn not to pull and we're working on this by stopping and sitting each time he tries to get too far ahead. We're also working on waiting and sitting at roadsides when we're going to cross and not picking up scraps of food on walks. This is all going well and will need to be continued once he's in his new home.
At our mealtime we found that he was very well behaved and didn't scrounge or beg for food. At his mealtime we discovered that he's a very greedy eater and we need to encourage him to slow down as it can make a dog quite ill by eating too fast. He also snatches treats from your hands rather than taking food nicely. We'll work on this.

When visitors arrived later in the evening he didn't bark or growl but got so excited that he had another pee incident. He needs to be taught to sit instead of jumping up people for a fuss as he would easily knock over a small child or someone infirm. This is a work in progress.

Late evening we took him for a walk to our local pub garden where we spent a happy couple of hours. He was more than comfortable sitting and lying with us quietly and enjoyed being fussed by all sorts of people from young to old, quiet to loud without any problems.
I must admit I was worried about our first bedtime as he doesn't like being left alone and whines and cries. The kennels had been advised that he was destructive too so I was keen to protect my furniture and possessions. We've decided to crate train him for now so that he can't damage anything and so that he has his own safe space that he can retreat too. He isn't at all keen on getting into the crate but once he's in it there are no problems and he slept though until the morning with no accidents or complaining!

Why foster???

Having recently given up work due to ill health, I've found myself with lots of time on my hands and I've been wondering what I should do with the time I have available. I'd love to be able to do something worthwhile like volunteering at a school, or in a charity shop but with my situation being as it is I wouldn't be able to be a reliable worker.

I turned to Google and looked at volunteer opoortunities for those at home and one I stumbled upon was pet fostering. This is where you take in a pet for a while until it can be re-homed, usually from a rescue centre. I mulled it over for a few days and then decided that this would be a perfect hobby for me. Having owned dogs previously I'm not in a position to give a dog a permanent home but I do have a lot of time for doggy cuddles and walkies!
I expected that any kennels would be grateful for the offer of free care of a dog in their care. This wasn't the case and two kennels refused my help before I spoke to Castlefield kennels in West Hallam. They were delighted with my offer and were keen to meet me and see whether any of their current residents would be suitable. We came to an agreement about it would all work and then I went to meet Pup....

What Castlefield said about Pup

Pup came into the kennels as a stray on 28th February 2012. He was adopted and went to a new home on 7th April, which we had considered to be absolutely ideal: husband out to work, wife home all day, with one small child seemed to be the ideal to develop a well-mannered, quiet family dog.

Unfortunately, the new owners have said that they didn't have time to do any training, so now, in the interests of the dog, we have taken him back.

About me - Becky

I am Becky. I'm in my early thirties and live in Ilkeston with my Husband. I don't work due to ill health and spend lots of time at various medical appointments.

I owned an ex-rescue dog, Sandy, for 10 years but he passed away in July 2011 and there's been a dog sized hole in my heart ever since. I have lot's of other pets: a cat called Tom, Tropical Fish, a tortoise called Harry and 9 chickens called Daisy, Hyacinth, Daffodil, Holly, Lily, Marigold, Violet, Iris and Poppy.

I have lots of hobbies and interests from photography to fishing with cinema, good books and papercraft in between. I like to spend time outdoors and have a huge allotment which I adore spending time at.