Will escapes

Penny and Chelan, our foster of last summer, are both diggers. At one point they were both excavating along the fence almost daily. Penny got under one day but didn't go anywhere, just rolled in something stinky on the other side. It's pretty good digging around here as in the old days Marysville was a giant cow lot and strawberry fields. No rocks anywhere for about 18 inches down. So late last summer I began installing a strip of concrete along the fence so the dogs couldn't dig under, or at least it would be very difficult. I got a late start and didn't quite finish up the last 12 feet or so and haven't been motivated by the weather yet to finsh up.

Chelan has been adopted and is now digging in Portland OR. Anyway, today Penny decided to resume her mining efforts. She was able to dig a big enough hole that mister busy body, Will, got under the fence. We don't know how long he was out but when Rickie went out the front door to vacuum the car, there he was standing in the drive way wagging his tail. We live on a very busy road and it's lucky he didn't go to the street.

So I was wondering what to do tomorrow after the Easter egg hunt, now I can spend a few hours making concrete.
Larry

Possums or Opossums

Whichever they are, Will doesn't like 'em. The other day one of these ugly critters got on our backyard fence and Will (and, of course, the rest of the tribe) saw him or her. Will carried on and on for a couple of hours after the thing jumped down off the fence and into the tall laural bushes on the other side of our fence. He ran back and forth next to the fence looking through the cracks between the boards, finally gave up, but stayed on guard at the end of the pool, just in case.

I have been reading up on these good looking animals trying to figure out if they are possums or opossums. It seems in Austrailia they are possums and and in the western hemisphere they are opossums. A guy in Kentucky says "it doesn't matter, they all taste the same."

The weather around here the last couple of days has been great! Will has decided that there is only one thing that is better than laying in the sun. What could that be , you wonder, Well, better is laying in the sun on someones lap, getting belly rubs.
Larry

Will's Quest for a "P" free Foster Home

Well the little man, Will, seems to have done it. No belly band and just a couple of accidents in the house all week. This little guy is very bright. He now goes out through the pet door several times times a day to go "P" on his favorite plant. We suspect that the plant may last a couple of weeks, then die of overexposure to urine. He is also sleeping through the night  in his crate with no accidents there either.

Will doesn't just go through the pet door, he hits it at full speed, going both out and back in.

Will's House Training

Will has decided he is too old to be wearing one of these.
Yesterday we took off his belly band to see what would happen. So far so good,  we watched him very closely, put him out a lot and he didn't seem to have any acidents or even any on purposes in the house. Today we noticed that when he needs to go pee he runs through the dog door, goes pee or more, then comes back in just like he knew what he was doing. We don't think he is completely house trained yet, but he certainly is getting  there!!

We have 4 of our own dogs. 2 Ratties adopted from New Rattitude, 1 JRT adopted from our Vet and an old blind and deaf Lab mix adopted from a relative. Will is 10 - 12 months old and is still very much a puppy, he is trying to get along with all 4 of our dogs. He is beginning to play and rough house some. Will has already made good friends with Jasper. Here they both are in Jasper's favorie cat bed.

Will seems to be a very smart little guy. He has already trained his foster mom how to use the IPAD.

Will's 4th Day

Will is integrating into the pack nicely. He enjoys laying in the sun.

 and playing in the yard.

Will is making some progress with his quest of "NO PEE IN THE HOUSE". When he is outside he does do his business and is learning that if he does there is a treat in it for him. He is lightning fast going through the pet door so we are going through lots of belly bands (can't get them off before he is outside lifting his leg). We'll get there though.

We have not left Will alone yet, one of us has been home with him since he moved in on Thursday evening. He seems to like the company. Will always is right at his foster mama's heels. Sort of like gum on the bottom of a shoe, can't seem to get away from him. He is asleep now so I am trying to be quiet.

This afternoon we are going to work on Will so he understands he should use an "inside" voice when playing inside and his BOOMING BIG DOG BARK when playing outside. Now, his voice sounds like one of these

not a sweet boy like this

Tomorrow, if the weather holds, I will take him to the local park and see how he does on a leash. I have my doubts, but we will see.

Will Arrives

Will arrived at our home to wait for his future adopters to find him and provide a wonderful furever home.

Will is a Dachshund - Rattie mix about 11 months old and weighs about 11 pounds. He is longer than he is tall. Will his a happy little guy who runs around the house wiggling his tail. As a matter of fact he wiggles his whole body. Will is not housebroken yet but is working very hard on learning that outside is where you go. He is making progress, but in the meantime he is wearing a "belly band" This is a problem in itself as his long body makes it a problem to locate the belly band correctly over his you know what.

Will is a smart pup. Within an hour or two Will noticed Penny, our rattie, going in the pet door. In the next hour Will came through the door on his own. We decided to wait until this morning to try to teach him that the door worked both ways and he could also go out. Well, he figured it out himself before we could show him. He now comes and goes as he pleases.  The only problem is that he goes out with his belly band on. Oh well, one thing at a time!!! Will gets along with the rest of the pack and is beginning to play with  toys. Today he is carrying around one of Jasper's ZuZu pets.

I don't think Will is going to like cats. Last night there was some small varmit in the bushes on the otherside of our fence and Will kept going outside to investigate.

Will is a burrower, last night he got inside one of the pillow cases, of course today he peed on it. Will sleeps in his kennel, carries on for a couple of minutes, then not a peep until the AM.

Look for Will's bio and photos on petfinders in the next couple of days.

Loki has been adopted.

Wednesday, March 6th was a sad day around here. We took, Loki, our last foster to his new furever home in La Conner Wa. We is a very lucky little man to find such a wonderful set of new parents. Lucky, HUMMMM, Lucky was Loki's name for the first 8 years of his life and Loki's New Rattitude tracking number is 0777, I don't now what all that means, but it must be good. Anyway we miss Loki terribly, but wish him the best, he deserves it. We have heard from his adopters and he is doing very well in his new home.