Mitzi's Playdate

Mitzi and I met my NorCal mentor and her foster, Liukin, today at the park to see if we could work on Mitzi's social skills.

Ha!

She is just a wild child that does not do well when she first meets new dogs. I mean, we know that she is capable of getting along with other dogs---she plays nonstop with my lab, Hamilton and my pug, Otis.

She gets fixated and starts pulling so hard on her leash to get to the new dog. She makes this terribly strange pig sound that makes it seem as if she is coughing up a lung. She usually pukes a few times. She acts as if she wants to either hug the other dog or attack him.....and it's really too risky to let the situation play out to see which is the case.

We tried several "walk by's" and even some parallel walking, but after about 45 minutes of working, we gave up.

*sigh*

I fear this dog will never find her forever home.

Training Mitzi

I have worked with Mitzi a lot on her manners, some basic commands, and walking on her leash. She is getting a lot better about not jumping up on people....she can sit, shake, shake with the other paw, and she is CLOSE to learning down. Down is very difficult for an energetic girl like herself. *grin*

Back from vet....

Mitzi doesn't have cancer or anything serious...thankfully! The vet says they are merely abscesses. They could be from the collar, although she has had the same collar for the 2 months we have had her. Most likely it is from the wrestling and play biting the dogs do when they play together....which they do constantly. He gave me an antibiotic to help clear them up.

Whew. Mitzi is okay! YAY!!!!!

Update on Mitzi

Mitzi has developed a rash...some strange lumps....on her upper chest.   They are pretty ugly.  I've never seen her scratch them, but she must be doing it because some of them are scabbed over.  We have been giving her Benadryl, but they haven't improved and it's been about a week.  

NorCal is letting me take her to the vet, so she is going at 2:30 today.  I will post again when we get home.

Here are some pictures of her rash.

Report on the home visit.....

Well....let's just say that not only did the people decide they didn't want Mitzi after our home visit on Saturday, they have decided they don't even like the BREED anymore. DAMN!

It was bad. But...we should've known better, really.

The house itself was great. The people were wonderful and treat their dogs like the children they don't have. They have a huge backyard that Mitzi LOVED running around in.

The problem was....their other dog.

They had two dogs up until they lost one of them to an illness a few weeks ago. The current dog is evidently very lonely now. The other dog was a boxer....and a very energetic one--like Mitzi. The current dog is a Rhodesian Ridgeback...very similar to a lab. I figured the lab/boxer combo has turned out to be great in our household, so this could work too.

Well, it *DID* take Mitzi and Hamilton some time to get used to each other.....and it was soon very clear that the same would be true for this dog and Mitzi.

When we introduced them...in the back yard.....they sniffed each other for about 10 seconds before the fight began. It was scary, but we got them apart before anyone got hurt. After that Mitzi proceeded to puke about 6 times in front of us. She was VERY traumatized by this experience. I think the people who were considering adopting her were as well.

In hindsight this probably wasn't the best situation for Mitzi as these people are away from home 12 hours a day with their jobs. That's a long time for a dog with as much energy as she has to be alone....even with a furry sibling to play with.

So...it's back to the old drawing board for Mitzi and the search for her forever home.

Another potential forever home for Mitzi

It seems as if somebody else is interested in my little foster girl. I am waiting to hear back from them to schedule a home visit.

I love Mitzi...I truly do. She has been A LOT of work as she is very active. When she first came into our home, she was very socially unaware. She had no idea of her strength and how easily she could hurt someone with her excited energy. She is calming down a bit. She has learned several "tricks" and we are working daily on more. She walks well on her leash...UNTIL she sees another dog or a rabbit, then she gets fixated and wants to "go for it." I'm really working with her on that. The dog issue is more playful than aggressive, I'm pretty sure.

At first she and Hamilton didn't get along at all. I think her energy level was intimidating for Mr. Laid-Back-Lab Hamilton. Well, now they play constantly. It's a lot of fun, if not exhausting, to watch.

I know the potential adoptive family has another dog. Evidently they lost another boxer to illness recently and this dog is lonely. I PRAY that Mitzi and this dog get along. That will be the key.

Here is a quick video showing my lab, pug, and Mitzi playing their FAVORITE game--tug-of-war.

Heavy Heart

The sweet little boy I pulled from the shelter a few weeks back, Axle, has gone to Rainbow Bridge. I am so very sad, because in all honesty not only had I wanted to foster this little boy, but Richard and I were talking about adopting him. It was a very tragic accident and I'm so heartbroken over the loss of this little boy that I really wish I could have gotten to know better.

Bless you, sweet Axle. My you rest in peace.

Second (and LAST) Pet Fair for Mitzi

Let's just say that Miss MItzi does NOT do well around a lot of other dogs. She was a total nightmare. We keep the dogs in their crates, but Mitzi just kept barking (even though we covered her crate with a blanket), and she was lunging at the bars of her crate. She was like a monster trying to escape. *sigh*

We left after about an hour because I felt bad for her and for the other dogs. It was not worth it. Nobody was going to want to adopt a dog behaving like that....

She is really good when there are no other dogs around. On the way home, we got lunch and had a little picnic outside. She just hung out with us, quiet and as good as can be.

Maybe she just doesn't want to be adopted. Hehehe! Yeah, that's it.....

First Home Visit

Someone has applied to adopt Mitzi. We will be doing a home visit tomorrow (with Mitzi) to see if it is a good fit. I have mixed feelings, but of course I want her to find her forever home. I'll just miss her, that's all. So will the rest of our family.

Mitzi's first Pet Fair

Well...I'm not sure what to say. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. Mitzi is such a friendly dog and the boxers all stayed in their crates for the 4 hours we were there. That didn't go very well for Mitzi because every time she saw another dog, she went crazy...barking, jumping, pushing the bars on her crate....she even scratched up her little nose.

She is normally an angel in her crate. She only barks while in it if (1) she needs to go potty or (2) she hears the other dogs playing rough in the other room.

She really loves to play with other dogs. Her barking etc was merely her way of telling us she wanted out to meet the other dogs. I'm just afraid people were assuming she was mean. Or a barker...which normally she isn't at all.

We will try one more pet fair this weekend and see how it goes...

Please Help!!!

Our organization is trying to win $10,000.   YOU can help.  All you have to do is VOTE.  It costs nothing and takes just a minute or two.  Please help save lives of boxers in need!  

Recovery Process

Mitzi got spayed and started her heartworm treatment last week. She has to stay calm (easier said than done with this young lady!) for 4 weeks. We are keeping her in her crate and when she goes outside to go potty, she has to stay on her leash. No walks or playing with the other dogs for now. It's hard not to let her out of her crate when she looks so pitiful and sad, but we know it is for her health and best interest.

Our First Foster...Mitzi

On August 23 we brought our first foster dog home. Mitzi is a precious flashy brindle girl and she is full of life and energy.


It was definitely a long afternoon/evening, but it was worth it knowing that this little girl has been rescued from the shelter where she had been locked up for the past two weeks. Her time there was almost up...






Carly and I drove 45 minutes to Euless to meet the NorCal volunteer, Holly.




Holly had picked up Mitzi and driven her from Fort Worth. We met at Starbucks



and Carly and I were so excited to take Mitzi from there to the vet in Garland. Mitzi was pretty excited too. I don't think she sat down the entire 45 minute drive.

She was a very good girl at the vet...although we did have a little issue between her and some kittens. It started off as a staring contest....then turned ugly when the cats decided they'd had enough and hissed at Mitzi. She didn't take too kindly to their rude behavior and decided they needed to be taught a lesson. (We broke up the fight before anyone got hurt thankfully)



Mitzi was examined by the vet and he said she looked pretty good. He didn't see any fleas on her, but she did have a couple of ticks. They tested her for parasites and sure enough she had them. She got her shots and took some medicine and was ready to come home. She would have to go back the following week to do her spaying and heartworm treatment.




We bathed her...a good, long flea and tick bath....and she did so well. Yes...she had fleas, but hopefully we got all those nasty freeloaders off of our little girl. After her bath, we had a little incident with Tabby, our cat. We had no idea Tabby was out as we walked Mitzi toward the backdoor to go outside. Well, before anyone could react, all hell broke loose! The dog chased our screaming cat from the entry way, to the living room, to the stairs, to the dining room. The cat did a bit of damage (scratched up the dining room table, broke a crystal candleholder) but we got the dog away from her before she got hurt. It was scary and we learned to be much more careful with the cat in the future.



Mitzi went on a nice walk walk with DJ and Carly the first night. She also got introduced to Otis and Hamilton (our pug and lab). She did pretty well with the other dogs. No growling, just a lot of sniffing and tail wagging.



Have I mentioned her tail? It isn't cropped like boxers' tails typically are. It's cute....and very much like a little whip. She wags that thing constantly.



NorCal, the organization we are fostering/volunteering for is amazing. My mentor, Kim, has been so helpful. She is always there to answer my calls or emails. The other members of the group that I have talked to have been great too! I am so glad we ended up going through this organization. Check them out. There are some really cute boxers up for adoption!!