Day 5 From One Extreme to the Other

Lola sure is different then having Nanook around the house.  Lola really dislikes going outside.  The one thing she's learned very quickly what happens when Mom goes to the door.  Mom asks her if she wants to go outside she runs the other way.  I can't blame her, I hate the cold too.  Lola is cold inside the house too.  She needs a layer of fat around her like I have!

Lola really likes Mom.  She follows her around everywhere.  Even when she runs away from the door, Mom calls her back and she comes right to her.  Lola is very smart and Mom says she needs to learn 'leave it' so we're going to work on that command.  I'm great at 'leave it' so I'm going to show her how it's done.

Lola is also a big help with the blog writing.  As you can see she likes to get right in there and help Mom with the typing.  I'm not sure how she can help with her eyes closed...or when snoring, but I'm sure she's helping.
















Last night Mom took the hedgehogs away from us.  Lola was OK while I was licking the hedgehog, but grew concerned when I started to chew on it's leg.  Mom says she could practically see Lola's head explode when I started to shake the crap out of one.  Mom says that if Lola thinks they are her puppies that I'm really not helping her get over her aggression towards me by doing stuff like that.  A peaceful night was had when the hedgehogs were put on a shelf. 

Today Mom had to go into the office so Lola spent the day in the spare room.  Mom didn't think that Lola could make it the whole day without a bathroom break so she put down some newspaper in hopes that Lola is paper trained.  And it seems she is.  

Tomorrow's a big day as we're going for a car ride!

Day 4

Every day Lola settles in a bit more and is not as aggressive when I have a toy.  Yesterday it was OK if I chewed on my Kong on one end of the couch while Lola was on the other end.  Mom is the mediator.   Today I can play with almost any toy as long as it's not a hedgehog.  Which, of course, is my favorite toy.  Lola has adopted one of the hedgehogs as her 'baby' and gets quite distraught when I have one too.  Mom is working with Lola to help her understand that it's OK if I have a toy, to calm down and focus on something else.  So far it seems to be working pretty well.

As you can see, Lola and I get along great when I don't have a toy.  Sunday afternoon naps are great...even if I don't have a toy in my mouth.  We even have a fun game that we've started to play.  It's call "who can snore the loudest".  Mom says it's a tie.

Lola is catching on to the house training really quickly and Mom thinks maybe she just needed to figure out where she was supposed to go.  This morning she went over to the door when she had to go outside.  She didn't know how to tell Mom she actually wanted to go out the door, but Mom is keeping a close eye on her and opened the door before she peed on the mat.  Later Lola went to the door and started scratching at it.  Not the ideal trigger, but it's better than nothing!  It's not helping that it's very cold and Lola hates the cold.  The treats are helping though.  Lola knows how to sit and Mom is working on 'come' and 'off'.

I think this training is great because when Lola gets a treat, I get a treat.  I do the command also so it seems only fair.  As you can see, we're very good at sit!

Day 27/Day 2 Goodbye Nanook

Today was a great day for Nanook because he went to his forever home.

You can tell from the smile on his face that he's pretty happy about it.  Mom's pretty happy too as Nanook's new family is pretty awesome.  I'm glad that my wish came true for another dog.  It was a lot of fun having Nanook stay with us and now we're looking forward to Lola finding her forever family.








Lola is still settling in but she seems a lot more friendly towards me today.  The only time she snaps at me is when I have a toy.  Unfortunately I like to play with my toys a lot.  Any other time Lola thinks I'm OK.  Lola sure is happy when it's time for food.  She's pretty skinny so I'm glad she likes my food. Thankfully she doesn't have any food agression and we get along great when it's meal time.

Lola isn't fully house trained.  Mom is cutting her some slack because she had surgery yesterday and she's in a new environment.  There's been lots of trips outside and treats to reinforcing good behavior.  Lola is all over treats so Mom hopes this helps her catch on to the fact that outside is where she's supposed to go to the washroom.

Tomorrow we have plans to go to the dog park so we'll see how Lola does with other dogs.  That is if we don't get 25 cms of snow.  If so then Mom and Lola are on their own!

Day 26/1 Lola

Lots of things are happening around our house today!  Firstly, some very nice people came to visit Nanook to see if he is the right dog to join their family.  They seemed to think that Nanook is a great dog, which both Mom and I already know.  They need to take 24 hours to think about it, but I'm pretty sure they're going to make Nanook their new family member.

Secondly, Lola came to stay with us today.  Lola is a French Bulldog who is about 3 years old.  This isn't a very good picture of her, but she's not feeling very photogenic yet. 












Lola seems to like Nanook, but she hasn't warmed up to me yet.  When she first got here she checked out the living room, played with a couple of toys and seemed to be making herself at home.  I got to greet her and things went well.  A bit later Lola decided that she didn't like me very much.  Right around the time that I decided to play with a toy.  Since then she chases after me whenever I move.  I don't understand this and I either get scared or I think she wants to play, which only makes matters worse.  As the night went on Lola, Mom and I sat on the couch together and Lola came and gave me a sniff.  Mom is hoping that once Lola settles in she'll find that I'm really a great friend. 
 
Since Lola seemed pretty good in her crate when Mom picked her up she figured that she would sleep in my crate at night.  When Mom brought her into the bedroom guess who was in my crate?  This is the first time that Nanook has ever gone into my crate.  He doesn't seem to want to get out so I guess Lola will sleep in her own crate tonight.  And I guess Mom's friends are right, it is big enough for a big dog.  Hey, I like to spread out when I sleep. Mom knows I need lots of room.

Day 25 Nanook meets Ike

I forgot to mention one of the events that happened at the Taylors on Sunday.  Nanook met Ike the Cat.  This is the first time that Nanook has really seen a cat since he's been with us.  He noticed Ike sitting on the couch, went up to him, gave him a bit of a sniff and then listen calmly while Ike acted like the world was coming to an end.  Cats are funny animals.  Ike used to live with two really big dogs so he's not afraid of us.  I've been to the Taylors lots of times so I know that Ike can be a bit cranky.  One time he trapped me in the bedroom because I was too chicken to go by him.  Mom thought this was hilarious.  Sometimes she's not very supportive.  Anyway, Nanook ignored Ike's crankiness and went to check out the rest of the house.  For the rest of our time there Ike didn't want either Nanook or myself anywhere near him, but couldn't stand to be more than a few feet away from us.  Again, cats are funny animals.

Everyday Nanook is becoming more playful.  Today was a good play session.  He took one of the toys, carried it around and almost played a bit of tug of war with me.  I love tug of war, but Nanook's not quite there yet.  Mom thinks perhaps his gums are still a bit sensitive so he's not willing to hold onto a toy when I try to snitch it.  Or he just doesn't understand what a fun game it is! Mom gave him the toy two or three times and he was really excited with the game of back and forth.

Day 23 Nanook's Adoption Update

The family that was going to adopt Nanook changed their minds.  Not after meeting him, because if they had they wouldn't have been able to resist him.  They have a foster dog of their own and have decided that perhaps they will keep that dog.  Mom says she can see how that can happen.  Foster dogs sure have a way of getting you to love them!  That's OK though because I like having Nanook around.  Mom says he can stay as long as he has to in order to find the right forever home.

Yesterday we went to Edworthy Park.  We've never been to that park before and it was a lot of fun.  There are a lot of tree areas to walk through and lots of wide open spaces.  We had a good long walk and by the end of it Nanook was really tired (I was too, but I'd never let anyone know).  When we got home it was nap time.  Mom was busy doing some chores around the house and I tried to stay awake but I couldn't.  Nanook went straight to bed.  He didn't even try to put on a good show.

Then we went to Mom's friends house for dinner.  They were super excited to meet Nanook and fell in love with him instantly.  He has that affect on people.  Unfortunately, their situation doesn't work well with having a dog at this time or Mom is sure they'd adopt him.

Day 20 Nanook is up for Adoption!

Nanook is recovering very well from his dental surgery.  You would never even know he's had any surgery.  He seems a lot happier.  Mom thinks maybe she's just seeing what she wants to see but there seems to be a lot more tail wagging and more spring in his step.

There's also more walks now that the weather is warmer.  Nanook really likes going for a walk.  It doesn't have to be a long walk, but he sure does like to get out.  This weekend we're going to go to the dog park and see my good buddy Carter again.  We might even go to a new dog park that I haven't been to before!  Oh boy...new sights and smells.

Nanook was put up for adoption yesterday.  The good news is that he is already pending adoption!  The bad news is that Mom will be really sad to see him go.  Nanook is a great dog.  Whoever is lucky enough to adopt him will be getting a fantastic new member to their family.  There are lot of other great dogs for adoption so check out the AARCS website and see if there's a dog that would fit in with your family.

Day 18 Nanook Visits the Vet

Today Nanook went to the Vet to have some dental work done.  As you might remember, the first time Nanook went to the Vet he noticed that Nanook had some broken teeth.  The Vet pulled out SEVEN teeth.  I bet his mouth is sore, but he seems to be in good spirits.  He hadn't had anything to eat since last night at dinner so he was really, really happy when he got some food!  Mom gave him some softened kibble and wet food.  I'm not sure who was more excited about the wet food; Nanook or me.  Then Nanook had a nap and now he's outside.  He's acting pretty much normal, which Mom is very happy about.

Yesterday it was finally warmer out so Mom made it home in time to take us to the dog park.  We had a great time!  It seems like a lot of people were happy about the warmer weather and decided to go to the park too.  There were lots of dogs for us to visit with.

Sarah sent Mom some pictures that she took on Sunday and they are great.  Sarah also has a blog--Sarah Clark Photography and she has a facebook page--Sarah's facebook page.  Please check out her pictures, she's really good!

You can tell by our frosty faces how cold out it was. I mostly stayed on the path where the snow was packed down.

As you can see from the snow on Mom's pants, she and Nanook were tromping through the deeper snow.  Nanook had a blast playing in the snow.  Sometimes it was hard for Sarah to get a picture with Nanook needing to be on the move to check everything out.  If this is any indication she managed to get some good ones.

Day 16 In and Out

So it seems Mom is wrong...it's not too warm for Nanook to lie in front of the fire.  He's a good fire making helper.  He gives kisses for a job well done. 

Nanook napped in front of the fire for about 20 minutes.  Then he moved as far away from it as he could possibly get. 

Yesterday was not warm so we didn't get to go to the dog park.  But, one of the AARCS people came to take some pictures of Nanook.  We all bundled up and went to Fish Creek Park.  Sarah took lots of pictures of Nanook.  If Nanook sat still long enough for her to get a good pic then Nanook will be in the AARCS calendar next year!  If you're still looking for a 2011 calendar AARCS still have some available on their website. 

Day 14

Yesterday Nanook had the important job of taking care of the house all by himself while Mom was at work and I went to day care.  Nanook did a great job.  When we got home Nanook was lying by the window and Mom could see just his eyes peaking out the window.  He's very stealthy!

Today Nanook had his first set back and had an accident in the house.  I got up first, woke up Nanook who was sleeping in the living room and then Mom got up.  Then we went outside, had some breakfast and Nanook went outside again.  Mom had to go out early so she was getting ready to leave and noticed that Nanook had peed in the living room.  Mom thinks maybe he did it as soon as he woke up.  Since he was in the living room Mom thinks perhaps he didn't want to go up the stairs to go outside.  Nanook is doing much better on the stairs.  He's great going down, but going up is more difficult.  He doesn't seem to know how to jump so he crawls up them.  He can and will go up them, but he'd rather not. 

Nanook's new favorite place to relax is in front the of fireplace.  When there's no fire of course.  I imagine that it would be far too hot for him to sit in front of if it was lit.  As you can see, there's nothing better than a Saturday afternoon nap.

I also spent the afternoon doing what I do best; napping with a toy in my mouth.


















Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer so I'm hoping that we get to go to the dog park.  Nanook has a photo shoot tomorrow morning (he sure is popular) so if it's warm enough then I'll get to go too!

Day 12 Nanook Starts to Play

Today was another cold day so we didn't spend much time outside.  And by 'we' I mean me.  Nanook didn't want to go outside much today either.  He wanted to go outside after he'd been inside for a few hours and needed to cool down.  Nanook really likes to stand just outside the patio door with his head inside.   He wants us to go outside too so this allows him to be outside, but still be with Mom and I.  Unfortunately this isn't working very well for Mom since she's not willing to leave the door open!

Since I haven't gone for a good long walk in a few days I'm starting to go a bit stir crazy.  Those of you that know me know that I have lots of energy and can play for hours.  Mom gets me to run around the house and I do this thing where I run from one end to the other, back and forth, back and forth while Mom eggs me on.  Today when she was doing it we both tried to get Nanook into the action.  You could see the excitement in his eyes.  He almost started to chase me around the dining room table.  I body checked him on one round, but I'm not sure he even noticed!

Day 11

Today I spent some time teaching Nanook how to relax and enjoy life inside where it's warm.  

I'd say he's doing a pretty good job, wouldn't you?  We did go for a walk, but I had to wear my booties because it's way too cold for my paws.  I don't really like my booties, but without them I only make it to the end of the walkway before my paws start to hurt.  Nanook thinks it's great outside.  It never seems to get too cold for him.

As a matter of fact, he still likes to go outside and sit in the sun for awhile.  It's amazes Mom how well he tolerates the cold weather.  Yes, she knows that is what he's bred for, but she's only ever had short haired dogs so this is new.  She keeps going to the door to see if he wants to come in, but no, he is happy to be outside.  She also keeps asking if I want to go outside, but no, I want to stay inside.







Mom made an appointment for Nanook to go to the Vet on Wednesday to have some dental work done on his front teeth.  A few are broken and there is some infection so the Vet is going to remove the really bad teeth.  I bet he's going to feel way better once he doesn't have that pain any more.  They don't seem to bother him at the moment, but still, they must hurt!

After that AARCS will probably put him up for adoption.  I'll be sad to see my new friend go, but I know that he'll find a good home and my wish will be fulfilled.  Then we'll get to help another dog!

Day 9 Nanook-The Early Days

While Mom was at work today I taught Nanook how to sit and watch out the window.  There was a blind and chair in the way, but Nanook decided that he would just move them out of the way.  It seems Nanook can be very resourceful when he wants to be.

A couple of people have asked if we can show some pictures of Nanook before the Groomers did an amazing job on his coat.  I need to warn you...he wasn't very pretty.  Some people don't want to see how bad of shape his coat was in.  So if you do, you can see the pictures here and here.  If you want to see how beautiful Nanook looks now then here you go...

Nanook's big, fluffy coat sure is coming in handy with this cold weather.  He is the only one who is really excited when it's time to go for a walk!

Day 8 Nanook Checks Out the Neighborhood

Today was another exciting day.  First thing this morning Nanook decided that he would check out a couple of my toys.  Yesterday, Mom gave him one of the brand new toys I got for Christmas but haven't played with yet.  She thought maybe he'd like something without my slobber all over it.  He didn't take any interest in it though.


This morning he thought it was more interesting and immediately wanted to take it outside.  Here he is lounging on the deck.  I watched him from inside because there's no way I'm going outside in this cold weather!












A bit later he decided that my favorite toy looked fun too and carried it around for a bit.  Does this picture make my butt look big?  Maybe someday Mom can take a decent picture of us together.









The real excitement happened this afternoon.  Mom and I were relaxing on the couch when Mom looked out the window and guess who was walking down the walkway? Nanook!!  We raced to the door and Mom called him but Nanook decided he wanted to go for a walk and continued on his way.  She quickly threw on her boots and jacket and went after him.   Nanook has absolutely no recall what so ever!  Thankfully Nanook has to pee at every house and there's a really, really interesting spot at the entrance to the park at the end of our street.  This allowed Mom to catch up and walked calmly up to Nanook and put his leash on.  When they got home Mom noticed that the side gate was open.  How it got open is a mystery, but it's securely latched now!

Day 7 Out and About

We had a big day today visiting with some of my favorite friends.  First we went to the dog park and met up with Carter and his Mom.  Carter is one of my best dog friends.  He came to stay at my house in November when his Mom when on vacation.  This is when Mom realized that I really like having a friend around to play with.  It's pretty cold out today but I had a blast.  Mom was amazed I wasn't doing the three legged dance, but I was too excited to be out and about.  Nanook didn't even know it was cold out.  He had a great time visiting with all the dogs and people.

Then...and this is super exciting...we got to go to Princess Annabelle's house!  I love PA.  She smells incredible and she has great stuffy toys.

Usually PA comes to visit me, but today I got to see her new house.  Mom said both Nanook and I had to be on our best behavior and we were!  I had to be told numerous times to get off the couch, but hey, I get to go on the couch at home so I don't see why I can't go on everyone's couch.  Nanook doesn't even try to go on the furniture or the bed.  He is happy to find a comfy spot on the floor and make himself at home.  And that is exactly what he did.  PA wasn't the least bit afraid of Nanook and he wasn't afraid of her either.


He was a good dog; letting her pet him and even getting right in his face so that he could hear the story she had to tell.

Then it was time to come home and have a big nap.  In fact, both Nanook and I have only been awake long enough to have dinner.  I think it's time for another nap now.

Day 6 Home Alone

Today was a quiet day because Mom is sick.  We did get to go for one walk, but just in the neighbourhood.

Mom needed cough medicine and I needed dog food so she went out for a short period of time.  Since Nanook has been so good when she's been gone before she decided that he could have access to the whole house while she was gone.  Day 6 and still no accidents in the house!  Now he'll be able to spend all day with me when Mom is at work.  I've been told I can teach him how to sit and look out the window all day long, but I can't teach him to bark like a crazy dog when the mail man comes to the deliver the mail.

Tomorrow is a busy day for us so I'll have much more to report tomorrow.

Day 5-Dog Park

The Vet called and Nanook is fine!  Such a relief.  Nanook had another big bowl of food for dinner as well.  The wet dog food is really perking up his appetite.  If he continues to eat and drink regularly for the next few days then he'll be ready to have his dental work done.

The big excitement of the day was a trip to the dog park.  Nanook was awesome.  He didn't get to go off leash, but he didn't seem to mind too much.  There was a bit of pulling on the leash, but who can blame the big guy...the dog park is exciting!!  We met lots of other dogs: big, small, timid, over-exuberant and Nanook greeted them all very politely.  Mom says maybe after a few more trips he'll be able to go off leash, but she wants to make sure that Nanook isn't going to run away.  Not that he can get out of the park, but with so much open space he could make it nearly impossible to be caught.  I'm going to suggest that she bring some treats.  I love treats!

Nanook is also doing a lot better on the stairs.  He could go up and down them, but would rather not.  Today he went up and down the stairs without any encouragement.  I think this is the reason he wanted to go outside a lot more today.  Or maybe it's because it was warm(er) and sunny.  Either way Mom was happy Nanook is continuing to settle into a home environment more every day.

Day 4-Nanook Goes to the Vet

Last night Nanook went to the Vet to have his teeth checked out, vacination and overall physical.  I got to go too, but had to wait in the car. 

The Vet said that a couple of Nanook's front teeth were broken off and infected but that his back teeth looked good.  He also said that dogs don't use their front teeth for eating so that wasn't the reason why Nanook wasn't eating.  The Vet thought that a) there might be something going on internally causing him not to eat or that b) his stomach is upset from all the recent change he has endured.  He then called Deana at AARCS to see what treatment they would like to proceed with.  It was decided to take some of Nanook's blood and run some tests to rule out anything major.  Nanook doesn't like to have his blood taken.  Mom said that she almost had to leave the office because she could hear Nanook crying in the back.  The Vet said he would call today and let us know the results.  Mom is patiently waiting by the phone.  Nanook is outside laying in the sunshine.  I'm napping inside where it's nice and warm.  Seems only one of use is anxious.

The vet decided Nanook would have to wait to have dental work done until he was eating and drinking normally.  Other than that the Vet thought Nanook looked good.  He thinks Nanook is closer to 6 or 7 though.  Front teeth are used to determine a dog's age and they are mostly gone so it's difficult for him to tell.

After Nanook was done he waited in the car while Mom and I went to Tailblazers to see if we could find some tasty food for Nanook.  The nice ladies there recommended Merrick Working Dog Stew and Turducken....and I got a treat :)  Mom mixed it with some softened dry food and Nanook gobbled it all up.  I had some too and the ladies were right, it was very tasty!

Today we're going to the dog park!

Day 3

Today was another big day for Nanook.  Mom had to go to into the office so Nanook was home with no supervision for the whole day.  But, as we're coming to quickly realize, Nanook handled it like the good dog he is!  No accidents in the house.  Mom was soooo happy.

We went for a long walk to celebrate.  Along the way we saw some people, walked beside a busy road and even got to see a big dog.  Nanook started to whimper because he was so happy to see another dog.  Everyone was pretty tired by the time we got home...lots of sights and smells.

Mom gave the AARCS people an update today on how Nanook is doing and told them that he hasn't been eating.  They asked around and one of the rescuers had noticed that Nanook might have some dental issues and maybe didn't want to eat the kibble because it's too hard.  A little water to soften the kibble and Nanook gobbled it up.  What a huge relief!

Tomorrow....Nanook goes to the vet for a checkup.

Day 2

Nanook has had a quiet, peaceful day today, but has continued to show what an awesome dog he is.  He slept on his blanket at the foot of the bed all night!  Didn't get up once.  He was pretty excited to go outside when he got up though.  Mom says this is a good sign and maybe he knows that outside is the place to pee.

He's not very interested in eating.  OK he's not interested at all.  I let him have one of my favorite treats and he loved it...so I guess he's just picky.  He's drinking so I'm sure once he gets hungry enough he'll break down and realize that dog food isn't all that bad.  It must be better than garbage!

We all went for a walk this afternoon and Nanook is a pro at walking on a leash.  He sat and waited to be allowed out the door.  Mom says he has to follow the same rules as me.  Something about safety and having boundaries.  Anyway, he's a very smart boy.  He picked it up after the second try.  When we went out we saw my favorite neighbor... Echo!  I love Echo and she loves me.  Echo doesn't like big dogs though.  And she didn't like Nanook very much.  But you know what?  Nanook didn't care!  Echo snapped at him (Echo's Mom knows what she's like and was right there to correct her) and Nanook just ignored her.  We didn't see any other dogs on our walk, but we heard some inside houses and over fences.  Nanook didn't care about them either.  He's a lot of fun to walk with.  We take a lot of turns peeing on stuff.

Other than that Nanook has slept most of the day.  I'm sure he's been stressed and is happy he can finally relax.

Nanook

Meet Nanook...our first foster dog.  He lived in a dump outside of Calgary before my Mom said he could come and stay with us. 

Nanook is a Malamute who's approximately 4 years old.  He's a really sweet boy.  Nanook did great in the car during the ride home.  He had a bit of difficulty getting into the car, so it's obvious he hasn't had a lot of car rides.  That didn't stop him from settling right down in the back seat and having a bit of a snooze before spending some time looking out the window at his new surroundings.

After a bit of hesitation at the door Nanook came into his new home.  I, of course, wanted to be his best friend and we greeted one another very politely.  Another sign that Nanook is going to be a great member of someone's family very soon.

Once inside Nanook checked out his surroundings.  With a little coaxing he even when up the stairs, which seemed new to him as well.  Then my mom gave him one of my most comfy blankets (I'm good at sharing) and he is now having a nap. It's been a big day for Nanook, so many new things.

More adventures to follow!