Uncle Chris's Foster Dog Academy

 Hi again everybody! It's your old pal, Goodwin, here - and today I want to talk to you about all the great skills I have and learning new things as well!

I just love scritches and love!

And that last picture brings up a good point - I'm an excellent sitter. Uncle Chris has been working with me on my obedience training. I already knew how to Sit, see?

I know Sit really good, UC...

See??

Then there is Down. That wasn't hard to learn, I just stretch out from Sit and plop my belly on the floor. Check out this video at this link to see how talented I am at both Sit and Down! Pretty good, huh?

Hi!

Eyes (AKA Charlie) is a recent foster and did great.

"Dyin Eyes" is a retired racing greyhound that came to stay with Uncle Chris and Auntie Kate. He came with some great skills already (stairs, leash skills, house/crate trained) and he flourished with his obedience training. He learned Down, Stay, and Sit - and he learned them so well! He's a good boy and is going to be fantastic in his new home with his Forever Family.

Congratulations to Danika on going HOME!

Do you know what a "Gotcha Day" is? 

Oh, Hey there!

Uncle Chris had to carry me out to the truck!

And since my tummy hadn't been working right, I was REALLY skinny!

I'm no vertibernarian, but I don't think I'm supposed to be that skinny!

And I'll be honest with ya? I was a little bit frightened...

Am I going to be okay?

But I realized right away that being at Uncle Chris's house as a foster doggie would be okay. He and Auntie Kate loved me right from the start and were very gentle and stuff. And the great people at HES made sure I had food that would be good for my recovering tummy.

A room of one's own - that Virginia Woolf lady had it right!!

I could finally be my Silly Selma Self! (if you look careful, you can see my scar was healing nicely)

And rest and relax in the sun. No more worrying for this girl!

Now that I felt better, I discovered that I had been sent to some sort of foster dog boarding school! Uncle Chris worked with me to learn new stuff I'd need to be a good family member.

This is such an embarrassing picture, sheesh! But I am a little cutie, ain't I?

And I'm all healthy and filled out to a normal weight now and stuff. I'm all ready to roll out with my Forever Family...

I'm a healthy, happy, and loving pupper!

You know what else I forgot to mention?? Gosh, it's the most important thing!

Thanks so much for Sharing my story!! Love You!

Okay - that's all for now. I do have a super awesome surprise for you, but you'll just have to wait for it... Can you stand it?!? I'm pretty excited!

You Remember Danica, Right?

Hi Everyone, Uncle Chris here with a fantastic story you might not believe.

Just...

...a Little...

...SILLY!

Danika was given a fantastic opportunity to go work with local professional trainer, Loren. We were all so happy for her!  I've posted a few updates on the Foster Facebook Page, but I thought this latest one deserved a full post.

A Shelter Pup Nobody Wanted...

To being an award winning AKC titled dog -

Looking Proud!

Here's a few words from Loren:

Guess where I'm headed?  The door!

Hi everyone - it's me, Tucker!  Uncle Chris and I thought we'd share some tips for something everyone always seems worried about...

House Training!

Did you see that first picture?  I was just hanging out in the living room, when I suddenly got up and headed down the hall all on my own.  This is my signal to let UC know I have to go outside to potty.  Pretty smooth, huh?

Getting your new dog housetrained isn't hard - it just takes a little bit of time and patience.  Uncle Chris has a method he uses that usually only takes about 48 hours!  Just follow the steps below and your dog will be letting you know when they need to go potty in no time.  If you walk your dog, just substitute that for letting them out in the yard.  *note: this method is for adult dogs, puppies are a whole different animal*

UC has used this method successfully with greyhounds that had never even been in a house before and with us shelter dogs.  Heck, Selma was a stray dog, and even she learned it right away.

Are you ready?  Let's do this!

5 Tips to Housetrain Your Dog in 48hrs ~ By Tucker

1. Make Time - UC says the best time to pick up your new dog is when you'll have time available to do the training.  Clear a weekend on your calendar, then pick your dog up on Friday and plan to spend the weekend doing this easy and fun training!  Decide before you get your dog home which door is going to be the "Go Out to Potty Door".  Use this door exclusively during the training.

The back door is the place at UC's house!

2. House Introduction - We said this would be easy, right?  Okay - when you get your new dog home, spend a few minutes in the yard first (or go for a short walk) so your pooch can do whatever business they need to right away.  Then keep them on a leash when you go inside and explore a little bit of the house - just show them the main living areas for right now, they don't need to go upstairs or in the bedrooms or anything.  Let them get a drink of water.  Five minutes is all you need for exploring - then right back outside.  Wait until your dog has done some business again before you go back inside.

3. Ten Minutes - Send your dog outside EVERY 10 MINUTES.  If they don't want to go, lead them gently or put on the leash and gently guide them outside.  Wait until they go potty.  As soon as they do, open the door and invite them back in.  Keep this schedule going.  Don't deviate!  Send them out every ten minutes.  If you need to miss one, put the dog in their crate with a frozen peanut butter filled kong, but then get back to the schedule as soon as possible!  Have the dog sleep in the crate overnight, then get right back to the schedule in the morning.

Ahem! It's been 10 minutes, where are you?

4. Not Until... - Make potty the priority for these couple of days.  No treats, toys, or play outside happens until your doggy does their business.  Then?  Throw a party, play, run, chase, fetch, wrestle - whatever.  If you aren't planning on any other activities for them, have them come right back inside after they do their business (obviously leave them time to decide if they need to poo or not, but skip any extraneous stuff).

5. Get Up or Eat - Your new dog has had a busy and strange day or two with lots of excitement and change, so they are eventually going to settle down and curl up somewhere.  The minute they get up?  Outside!  They can go explore stuff after they go out to go potty.  Keep on the schedule.  Same goes for eating - send them out immediately after every meal.  And if they happen to wander toward or near the "potty" door?  Out they go!

Stretch!!!  Send them outside!!

That was really easy, right?  Trust me, the tiny little bit of time and effort to send your dog outside will create a lifetime of satisfaction for both you and your new pal.  Now when your dog needs to potty, they know right where to go - all you have to do is let them out!  Note: some dogs might take a little longer, but not much - but when it doubt? Let them out!

What does success look like?  How about a demonstration?  You'll notice that I perform the advanced version where I sit like a good boy before I go out the door...



Not bad, if I do bark so myself, thank you very much.

Now the Do's and Don'ts.  Hey Tuck, did you just say something about Donuts??  Dude, how about a little love for your roomie?  No, Selma, I did not say anything about donuts.  Does your stomach ever take a break?  Sheesh.

DO:

• Make it fun - use a happy voice and a gentle hand.  Your dog's memory is like a camera - make every memory of going to the door to go outside a good one.  If you need to lure them with a treat or toy, no problem (but they don't get to play until they've done their business!).
• Throw a little party - reward your dog with love and affection when they do their stuff.  A treat when they come back in is okay, but understand you are setting a precident and they'll be expecting that from now on.  Either way, there's nothing wrong with throwing a little pee-pee party!
• Be patient - you have no idea what kind of background your new dog might have had before they met you.  I promise (and I woof from experience here) they are doing their best to please you, but they might make a mistake once in a while.  Us doggies aren't perfect, you know...