Mosey and Elliot: the rock duo that could have been

No matter how great a particular handler may be, for some pups, sometimes there’s no substituting a fellow canine. They’re just more comfortable around dogs. Hey, I get it. There are plenty of times I’m not up for hanging out with humans.

When Mosey first arrived, I thought she might have been one of those dogs. From the get-go, she loved Elliot (again, I get it) but she was pretty shy around people. It didn’t take long, however, before she let us know, “Hey, I think I'm into hanging out with you crazy two-leggers after all.”

Ahhh... I'd been hoping she'd come to that conclusion. True, Mosey’s only been around a few weeks, and is still getting her bearings, but signs point in a very promising direction.

That said, she continues her unabashed crush on Elliot. And Elliot, the natural charmer, happily takes her under his furry wing. A few photos from their morning play session, as thought-bubbled by the husky:

“Smell that, Mosey? What am I saying, of course you do. You’re a dog.”

“Aww, what a good girl. We’ll keep ya around, kid.”

“Ok, now be serious and pose for the album cover we would have made had we been a pop rock duo in the 80s.”

Predicted: More good times ahead for those two.

the morning romp

Darla, Beetle and Elliot go kookie ballistic when they see each other at the gate, so romps are a daily must. Shy Beetle's actually a little bit apprehensive around the big, furry confident thing but he's fascinated enough to brave up when the spirit moves. If Elliot only knew how star-struck this nerdy little guy was, but he's too smitten with Darla to notice.

Elfie is not a flower

Meet the newest little girl in the barn - Elfie.  She's sweet enough to make your teeth hurt and during my first shift with her, I saw her blossom like a flower in the morning sun.

It was her 2nd day at the barn; she was a little shy and barked uncertainly at me (stranger, stranger!!).  I "ignored" her so she watched me as I interacted with the other barn pups, greeting each of them, praising them for good kennel manners and rewarding them with a little kibble and some petting when they showed off their obedience skills.  She watched as Beetle and Darla and Booberry each greeted me happily, as they left their kennels for play-time in the yard, and as they returned, tired but still happy. 

By the time I finally approached her kennel to meet her, Elfie had decided that MAYBE I wasn't a scary person.  She dropped to her belly  when I opened her kennel door, but she was willing to greet me, and after a few treats and pets, Elfie decided that Aunty Barn Lady was her newest friend and crawled onto my lap for a cuddle. 

After our introduction, Elfie and I explored the yard, played together a while, and then it was time for Elfie to earn her kibble and start the work that would help to make her someone's newest family member.  Yup, time for basic obedience lessons.  So, to help boost Elfie's confidence, we focused on two commands - look and touch.  Here's Elfie at work.

 
Look....

Touch.....

Look........."OK, and can I please sit on your lap?"

Look............"Sure, and could I have one of those yummy treats you have in your pockets?"






Later in the shift, a suitor came by to visit Darla.  Elfie, in her neighboring kennel, was curious to see the visitor and stood on her hind legs to get a better look.  And when she got to meet the visitor, Elfie immediately gave her kisses and begged for a belly rub.  Yup, Elfie's no flower but I sure saw her blossom.

Eye Candy

Here is your weekly dose, courtesy of Faline. 

She's getting her beauty rest and looking forward to partying the night away at Gund-a-palooza. 

Kasbah, unleashed

My first morning with the pony that is Kasbah - I have to confess - the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh No." He was big and bouncy and immediately climbed me like a jungle gym and held my arm in his big sloppy mouth like he was holding my hand on a first date. Oh noooo...

He got knocked out of the adoption program at his Yolo County shelter for being a "little too much" for his handlers. Right. So gluttons that we are, we said Yes! - especially since Rhonda was a no-go for bigger dogs when she first came to the barn and needed someone who was oblivious enough to be her first friend. That would be Kasbah.

He was perfectly innocent in his affections - he was just trying to enjoy the best kind of contact in the only way he knew how. Even so, we walked around with a squirt bottle for two days so Kasbah wouldn't be tempted to monkey his way up to the top of our heads. I amazed at the nice green bruises I got from those fun first days together.

And then the inevitable happened. His brain clicked in: "Four on the Floor - Yes!" and we all started to fall in love with the bigger than life kid. Love, I'm telling you ... Love!

I think Rhonda may have wanted to eat him the first couple of days - I really can't remember how it all went down, except that he tried so so so so hard to make her love him that eventually she caved and they became buds.

"Play with Me! Play with Me! PLAY WITH ME!"

By the time we made this video, Kasbah had earned the award for most improved barn pup and we hated the thought of seeing him go. But go they must do.




And now, he has his very own home with his very own mom and dog family and ... his very own blog! Lisa Harrington was kind enough to take me seriously when I mentioned that the world deserved a little peek into the adventures of Kasbah and Company. Enjoy!

Three Dog Nights

shhhhhh.....

Another midnight shift at the barn, so the four barn pooches got to practice doing some house-dog things.

Booberry of the little pink moustache decided he'd rather play with toys outside in the dark for a while, so his picture is MIA.

Tip Little isn't too sure what he's supposed to do while practicing his lap dog skills.  Don't worry guy, you'll figure it out soon enough.

But Beetle Juice and Darla Dickens sure know what to do!






Shhhhh.....don't wake the puppies. 

Faline's to-do list

 1. Look adorable for the people

2. Make Beetle smile

3. Convince Uba to love me

Check, check and check.

the help

Barn blog readers know that young house-dog Elliott is a regular member of the Barn Crew, helping with the training and assessment of barn dogs.  And now, it seems, from within the ranks of the barn dogs, another volunteer has stepped up, a volunteer with her OWN special skill.....

Excuse me Aunty Barn Lady......can I help you with those dishes?





Take that sticky spoon there with  peanut butter on it.

That gunk might block the drains but being an environmentally conscious dog (and a smart one too), I can help to dispose of it.

Please hold that spoon out.right.there.

Mmphffff....slurp, slurp, slurp, mmphffff......

I think the spoon is just about ready for you to wash now, Aunty.



Thanks Darla, you're a great helper!

Kasbah rocks, Darla rolls (the ball)

All I’d heard about this new Barn dog Kasbah was that he was "a bit of a handful." So when I found out I’d be handling him at a Pit Ed Class/Open House, I was nervous. Kas the Spaz indeed lived up to his name. Clearly a sweet dog, but one who’d never who’d been required to be polite or deal with impulse control. 

The crazy thing is, when we talk about Kasbah now, it’s not about how far he’s come or how well his training has gone. All of that is true, but Kasbah’s lasting legacy is that he is the greatest play partner a dog could ever hope for. He’s so much fun, so energetic, yet totally appropriate. He plays fair, doesn’t get his feelings hurt, and is happy to handicap himself with smaller pups.

Establishing boundaries and pouring on that training sauce didn’t just turn him into a well-behaved little man – it allowed his star qualities to shine through.

Kasbah won’t be at the Barn forever, and of course that’s a good thing. So is it luck that one of the new arrivals, Darla, seems to be a naturally gracious play pal as well? To see her and Kasbah in the yard together is pretty much dog poetry. Or maybe it’s like a good dancer who elevates the rest of the troupe – in this case, Kasbah makes his partners look like they can really tango. 

Could be that Kasbah’s style has rubbed off on Darla; more likely, she's savvy in her own right. Either way, it’s nice to know we’ll have another play-wunderkind around when he’s moved on. Check it out:

Kas has the ball as Darla approaches and Puddles (at left) referees.

And just like that, Darla's got it!

Queen of Dog Mountain, Darla flaunts her prize.

And... down it rolls. Let the game begin again.

PS. Just looked over at another window on my computer screen and saw the BADRAP update. Kasbah has been adopted! eeeeeeeeeee!

Mighty Tiny - Lasts, and firsts

MTeeee has left the building! It sure was an experience hosting him here. He kept everybody including the dogs on their toes with his terrier-style bravado and made us slap our foreheads and laugh several times a day. We still don't know what his breed make-up is, but we're sure he broke the mold when he was born.

Here are some of his final moments and big firsts. So long, feisty little man!

Last mountain climbing mission to the barn's treat stash.

Last bath with Mr. Tim.

Last play session with Bonnie the Pup.

Whoops. Apparently he's not quite done mountain climbing for treats yet.

Last time you get to pester Uncle Elliot.

FIRST training class! Show us what you know, Mighty Tiny.

First real home with his proud new dad.
Congratulations to both boys on finding each other.
We wish you many happy adventures in the years ahead!

double trouble

Here's a sweet picture of our two pups looking rather innocent and well behaved ....or are they?  Let's look at the evidence, shall we. 

First, notice the wet and muddy footprints on the porch, and hmmmm.....are those 2 sets of damp looking slightly muddy paws? 

Now let's do a little rewind.  Oh, what do we have here? 




Someone's on the lookout while the furrier of the two stands on the table to take a peek through the open cabin window - no doubt plotting to steal any stray cookies conveniently laying around.











As we scroll back further through the photographic evidence, look what else we uncover! 


Over in the garden behind the tall plants where you might almost miss seeing them - why it's 2 rascally pups! 

Mighty Tiny is standing guard again while Bonny takes a little dip in her own little wading pool aka drinking fountain for some of the bigger dogs aka garden water-feature. 





It's elementary Watson - the source of those paw prints on the porch are our very own dynamic duo....not so innocent, double trouble in fur.

Leveling the playing field

I still remember being astounded, and then giddy, the first time I witnessed self-handicapping during dog play. That is, when a bigger/stronger/faster dog holds back a bit (or a lot) in order to make it a more fair — and more fun — game for the smaller guy.

The phenomenon is downright adorable, and with Mighty Tiny around, I get to see it all the time. The latest was yesterday’s three-way-tug fest between Tiny on the left, Kasbah in the middle, and Bonnie at right. When he first arrived at the Barn, Kasbah had a thing or two to learn about impulse control. But you’d never know from this scene — Kasbah could've easily yanked the toy right out of Tiny's mouth:

A few seconds later, Tiny has not only pinned the big dog to the ground, he's literally rubbing Kasbah's face in it as Bonnie looks on. 

And then as if planned, Bonnie strategically seizes the moment and runs off with the prize. I think Tiny and Kas are too busy rolling around and giggling to notice that it's gone.

Tiny, who's still a puppy, was even tinier when he first showed up at the Barn a few weeks ago. Soaking wet, he weighs about as much as one of Rhonda's dew claws. But here they are, tuggin' it out. With one whip of her head, the big girl could've sent Tiny flying. Instead, she keeps it challenging enough for her to feel like it's worth it, and easy enough for him that he stays in the game. Finally she seems to tell him, "Hey kid, can't win 'em all." Fair enough.

work.......play (happenings at the barn on labor day)

 
Mighty Tiny:  Hey, aren't there puppy labor laws about having to work this hard?

Isn't this supposed to be a holiday?  

And yes Aunty, I do talk a lot but look.... I am LEAVING IT!  See how good I am? 

Now when can I get those yummy treats?















 



 



Puddles:  Hey Aunty, can we play with this flirt pole, please please please please?  Can we, huh, can we??

late night tete-a-tetes

Recently had the chance to do a midnight shift and was not surprised to find that, late at night, the Rescue Barn is a cozy and peaceful haven. The barn residents do what many of us do in the evening - they relax and enjoy a little quiet canine conversation before getting tucked in for the night to drift off to sleep and dream happy doggy dreams.

Mighty Tiny and his lanky friend Kasbah exchange secret hopes during their pre-bedtime tete-a-tete and wonder.... what their new families will be like?

Harpo rests outside young Bonnie's kennel, watching intently as she lays back and contemplates the future - que sera, sera.                                                                                                                                 And our junior volunteer......


....oops, she couldn't quite make it to the end of the shift.
 
She too enjoys the comfy couch and dreams a little dream of happy pooches and equally happy kids. 

Awkward Family Photo Day at the Barn

Rhonda strikes a regal pose, Kasbah plays coy behind the lavender.













Getting the giggles out...

Smile pretty.

 *YAWN* Are we done yet?

Almost....

Ta-Da!