These last few months it seems as if I’ve become The Puppy Whisperer, helping to raise dogs for other people.
The first puppy here was Scout, a golden retriever who was proving to be a handful for one of my best friends from college, his wife and their 7-year-old son. They’d never had a family dog, and the normal crazies of a fast-growing retriever puppy had them thinking they’d made a big mistake by taking the plunge. The puppy was jumping all over the 7-year-old, nipping and barking, chewing the corners of the walls, peeing everywhere and … yes, being a puppy. After several phone calls trying to help, we came up with the idea that Scout would spend a few weeks with me. I’ve raised a few puppies, to say the least, and fostered a lot of dogs, more than a few with real behavior problems. Plus, since I work at home, my schedule is very easy to match to house-training and general keeping-an-eye-on-the-puppy.
My friend live in Southern California, so we handed off young Scout at my niece’s place in Fresno. My previous posts about his stay are here.
Since he went home in September, he has been doing very well. The family took him to puppy class, made sure he was kept well-exercised, used gates and a crate to manage chewing and found a good doggy day-care — Wagville – for those days when everyone was just too busy to deal with the puppy.
Last weekend, I flew down for a quick overnight stay. They wanted me to see how well they were doing, and celebrate their success as an expanded family. Oh, and also check out Wagville — great place! — and a few other SoCal dog haunts they may patronize on occasion.
Frankly, they could not have done better by this puppy. He’s a gangly six-month-old now, a sweet-natured youngster who loves his boy more than anything, and vice versa. The highlight of my visit? Observing the taking of the Christmas card picture.
While Scout was here, I had another retriever puppy visiting, a flatcoated retriever puppy of about the same age. Sport was being “grown-out” by his breeder because of a heart murmur. She wanted to provide him with critical socialization including a change of scenery during formative months, and so she asked me if I would take him for a bit. Two silly retriever puppies? Why of course! Sporty went back to his breeder in mid-October, and soon landed in his forever home. The only reason he’s back here this week is because they are on vacation and asked if I would consider taking him while they’re gone.
He, too, is a big success story. They’re doing a great job, and he’s a well-mannered adolescent who’s a joy to be around. Sporty’s family will be back in a couple of weeks, and I suspect he may visit from time to time throughout his life.
That leaves Milo, who went home last week. The little corgi, also now about six months old, ended up here after her college-girl owner — my niece’s roommate — realized the two young women were a little over their heads with school and activities. Milo stayed for just a couple weeks, but during that time she was house-trained, spayed and microchipped, and got a little training. She’s now doing well back in Fresno.
I love guest dogs, and I figure after Sport goes home it won’t be long until another friend asks for room at the inn. I’m good with that!
Image: Christmas picture time in Southern California, Scout and His Boy.
