Thursday, May 23, 2013

Foster pup and the pack.

Our foster pup Twiggy is still with us, a few weeks after the original estimated couple of weeks.  I am waiting to hear from the rescue about the date for her spay.  It's been delayed in part to my work schedule and the fact that the vet the rescue uses is an hour away.  Not to worry, she has settled in quite well with the pack and everyone has adjusted.

Initially, I was a little concerned about Breeze.  She seemed upset and out of sorts when Twiggy arrived.  I do find that Breeze is the most sensitive one of the pack and seems to really need some extra fussing and snuggles.  She has now relaxed and is having great fun playing with Twiggy, as they all are.  Even Hiker and Bill have been seen playing a little bit of chase. 

Twiggy - looking for her forever home

Twiggy has quickly learned that when treats are being distributed, everyone must sit quietly and wait their turn.  No grabbing or pushing allowed. One morning last week Twiggy pushed her way to the front and grabbed a treat that I was giving to Bill.  She had to leave the kitchen and wait out on the enclosed porch until the others had their treats.  Interesting to see her reaction the next morning at treat time.  She sat quietly and waited and has done so every time since with no grabbing, just taking it nicely. Smart pup!
Here are the girls hanging out in the yard -


Some people say that a group of female dogs won't work, they won't get along. Nobody told these ones.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house...


If you look closely, you can see that the male is actually standing on the female's back.  I did some reading on mourning doves and it is the male that beings nest materials to the female and he stands on her back as she makes the nest.  This picture was taken out our bathroom window and is our neighbor's house.  There was a robin's nest there a couple of years ago and it was fun to check on them through the window.  We won't be watching the doves nest and hatch little ones though.  The nest disappeared shortly after they started making it.

30 comments:

  1. Awww are you sure Twiggy can't stay with you?? Seems like everybuddy gets along now. If not, we have paws crossed she will find her forever home real soon. Well done mates. We think you are fabo for fostering!! No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Twiggy could stay but since she is highly adoptable, she can go! No rush though.

      Delete
  2. It is odd but dogs of the same breed always seem to get along better as a group. When ever we took Reilly to puppy play groups...the only dogs he would gravitate too was other Shelties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm...that's interesting. I never really gave that any thought before. Perhaps that is why.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous5/23/2013

    Well, she learned fast, that's for sure! Glad she is settling in. That's interesting about the mourning doves too~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Twiggy is a very smart pup and so eager to please. Cute too!

      Delete
  4. Mourning Doves are notorious for building crappy nests. After "breezes" here in west Texas, many a nest will be seen on the ground.
    ~MfT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first time I saw one of the dove's nest in the pine tree I was sure it wouldn't last but it did. Must be a good spot in that tree in our backyard since they have come back every year.

      Delete
  5. In our house, we have four girls and one boy. We have never had any problems either...

    Are you getting attached to your clever, little foster girl?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, sure I am getting attached, but...she is not staying!

      Delete
  6. Aw, Breeze is a moody puppy? Could've fooled me. Those doves are pretty neat. We don't get those around here, just robins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're fortunate to have a variety of birds and few nests too. I always worry about the baby birds when they are learning to fly. As they flap around on the ground they are very tempting to the dogs, so I check before letting them out.

      Delete
  7. That is just too much cuteness all in one place! My cattle dog girl was pretty scrappy, but equally so toward boys as girls :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, yes, the scrappy behavior! It has concerned a few guests but once they realize it is just play that looks really rough, they relax a bit. We're just used to it!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous5/23/2013

    You're setting her up to be great in her new home. Good work!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous5/23/2013

    Glad Twiggy is getting the hang of things now! Our girls (after living together for 4 years) still don't quite have the whole "sharing" thing down...Chloe took Riley's treat right out of her mouth the other week when Riley wasn't feeling well. And poor Riley is usually a sucker and doesn't put up a protest about it, so that just encourages Chloe's bad ways--haha!

    We have a bird that is in our dryer vent that leads outside. We used to get them stuck there and build nests there (robins) all the time, but we put some wire mesh over the vent...my dad was doing some work on it a few months ago and forgot to put the mesh back over it. So now you can hear the bird coming and going and doing whatever it is birds do...lots of scratching sounds!

    Elyse and Riley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our blind Breeze is like Chloe. She wants it, she takes it. Deaf Azule is a real pushover and just turns her head and lets Breeze take whatever she has.

      So, are you not using the dryer now until the birds are gone? Or do they get a blast of hot air every few days?!

      Delete
  10. Typical male....standing on her back and generally getting in the way while she's trying to build a nest!!!!

    We have all females in our pack.....always have...and occasionally we have a spat or two. Of course, we've always had a much younger dog or pup added to the pack.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking something similar about the doves!

      I think the spats are normal between the dogs. We have that too but luckily it never amounts to anything more that lots of noise.

      Delete
  11. It is so sad to hear that the nest disappeared... too bad they didn't make it on your house so that they could have stayed :-) I am glad to hear that Breeze is feeling happy about your new (temporary?) addition to the family, it's nice when they all settle into each other like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was looking forward to watching baby doves since the nest in the pine tree out back is difficult to see.

      Yes, Twiggy is a temporary addition to our home. She sure shook things up for a few days though.

      Delete
  12. Twiggy is so cute-as are the others!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! They are a cute bunch and oh so much fun too!!

      Delete
  13. Barbie tends to get along with other girl dogs quite nicely. Bender has to have the right kind of boy dog to get along with though.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Twiggy's so smart!

    Interesting about the doves. I'm much more handy than the hubs, and I'm sure glad he doesn't stand on my back and "supervise" while I do projects!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Twiggy is trying to get to your heart too :) that's so sweet that she got the idea so fast. Kuddos to you for fostering. Yea, I've heard that saying too but I've also had girls together, boys together...didn't seem to matter a whole heck of a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awesome! I don't really get the females not getting along thing. We've always had more females than males together and they get along fine, even the hyper, moody and feisty ones.

    ReplyDelete
  17. It seems to me that dogs getting along (or not) mostly depends on their individual personalities. I wonder how the pack will respond when Twiggy finally leaves? It sounds like they are all becoming quite fond of her.

    Too bad about the doves' nest.

    Susan and Wrigs

    ReplyDelete
  18. She's so lucky to have landed with you, your giving her the skills she will need to be successful in another home. Great job!

    ReplyDelete