A foster failure in the making!

lexio2

lexio2

New Member
I haven't been on recently and here is why:


His name is currently Baxter (more on that in a minute). He is about 5 years old, and I pulled him from the Lake County Ohio Dog Shelter as he was put on the euthanize list. He was the victim of the economy as his older owner could no longer afford to keep him or his other Border Collie companion. Baxter has been here exactly two weeks today.

When i pulled him the plan was he was going to be here for a few days, maybe a week and then he would be transported to longer-term foster care with a BC rescue. Well, Baxter has some issues with dogs. Namely he has a very low bite threshold and doesn't tolerate dogs in his space. So the rescues have been unable to find him a foster home, and he is still with me. Life is not bad, however, as with simple management - keeping Baxter around my boys at all times but keeping them safe by using a comfort muzzle or x-pen barrier and not forcing interactions, has really turned this guy around in just 14 days. There is a long road to walk a head still, but Baxter is on the road to recovery.

Yesterday my sister surprized me when i got home from work by having Baxter, Qwill, and Shiner all loose together in the kitchen. Baxter was playing fetch and walking around, bumping noses with two of my boys with no sign of a lip raise or growl to be found!


It's absolutely amazing to think that this is the same dog who tried to eat Trophy alive the first day he was here, and today he could run around the yard WITH Qwill and chase after the same frisbee with ZERO battles or bloodshed!

Baxter LOVES to play frisbee! His brain is still busy decompressing from the two months he spent penned up in frustration and anxiety at the shelter, so i haven't been teaching him any behaviors or tricks past the very basics of sit/down/stay/drop it (I generally give them about a month to unwind) but he's so astute and focused (100% Border collie!) that it won't be hard to make a champion disc dog out of this guy if i can learn to throw better.




Baxter is still under "foster" status as he has a one big mile stone to reach before i can really justify keeping him.....

He has to be a scootering partner for Trophy. Which means he has to calm down more as now he freaks out and goes berserk if the other boys start play-fighting or playing chase. He has to be able to run in harness NEXT TO Trophy before he can stay - and Trophy can get really really worked up and starts barkscreaming when it's time to scooter. Not to mention Trophy can be a bit over zealous in general, and is too much IN YOUR FACE for Baxter right now. i'm not trying to overload him and ruin all out great progress!

BUT he shows great promise to be a scooter dog! We took him out in harness, he pulled my sister on a bike (so she could help him when he got tired, he's still very out of shape) and they followed me on the scooter pulled by Trophy and my sister's dog Koda! He isn't afraid of pressure on his back/chest and doesn't whip around to find out what the heck is following him!

Wish us luck! I'm head over heels in love with his big goofy personality, prick ears, and disc skills. If he does stay he'll be getting a name change, Baxter is ok for a foster but i don't like it enough for my own dog.

i'll leave you with a few more photos:







THE BEST KIND OF BORDER COLLIE: A TIRED ONE!!! :dogtongue2::doglaugh::dogbiggrin:
 
tx_cowgirl

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
He's gorgeous. *-*

Lol I cracked up at that last picture. Someone's exhausted lol. He's very pretty. Keep us updated! I'd like to know if this pretty boy stays or goes. :)
 
sarhaspups

sarhaspups

New Member
Oh how awesome!! Great job with him and I'm so happy he found his way to you! You are a saving grace. I bet you only continue to see improvements!! A frisbee dog, woo hoo! Sounds like you better get your throwing arm ready :) Do keep us posted on your progress and if you keep him or find him another loving perfect home. Border Collies rock! :)
Sarha
 
lexio2

lexio2

New Member
So that didn't take long.... i think it's pretty safe to say that Baxter (NOW BLOOPER) will be staying with us. here is is first and second trial run with Trophy on the scooter. Granted this was when they were both pretty tired. The real truth will come this weekend when Trophy is raring to go and barkscreaming and pawing at Blooper cause he wants to GOGOGONOW! However, given this dog's amazing progress in just 15 days, i'm pretty sure i'm never letting him go :)

ride 1:
[media]http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v18/lexio2/blogphotos2/?action=view&current=100_0481.flv[/media]

ride 2:
[media]http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v18/lexio2/blogphotos2/?action=view&current=100_0482.flv[/media]


 
tx_cowgirl

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Wait, there's an extra dog in there that I don't recognize....Trophy, Shiner, Qwill, the new boy...who's the one on the far left??
 
ruffmuttk9z

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
WOO HOO, Lexi!!!!! Blooper looks like he fits right in. When you finally get a place of your own I have a feeling you'll be caught up to me in no time!! I need some multi-dog photo competition!
 
lexio2

lexio2

New Member
Haha, yeah right. :-P

I like 4 dogs to handle. Two for each hand. Altho a 4 dog scooter team would be nice... maybe i could increase to 6. ok, stop being a bad influence on me!! I need to come up with a way to pay for HW meds, a dental for Blooper and hip x-rays to find out why he walks oddly before i push him too hard with frisbee before i even THINK about another dog.

But you know what the best part about Blooper is? Shiner LIKES him. Shiner doesn't like ANY new dog i've brought into the house. He tried to eat puppy Tophy, and gets grumpiest with him more than any other dog in the house. When my ex college roommate brings her two dogs to visit he FLEES from them to hide in a corner, and he was the same with my previous foster, Andy. I was worried my next dog would have to be another puppy just to get Shiner to get along with it - and i really have no interest to ever own another puppy again in my life.

We're taking them scootering tomorrow morning, so that will be the REAL test with a hyper barking Trophy and Blooper.

My dad is still in denial which makes officially changing his name difficult. :(


Oh, and for everyone reading this now who doesn't know, Shiner was rescued and adopted from the Ruff Mutt Border Collie Rescue :)
 
ruffmuttk9z

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
Yeah, I liked 4 dogs, too...until I got 5...HA!

There are cheaper ways to do HW preventative for multiple dogs--I will PM you.

For Bloop's teeth, check out your local butcher for some knuckle bones. I like knuckles the best because the bone is soft enough for the dog to eat but not rich like a marrow bone. I've never had a dog get sick from a knuckle bone like some do with marrow bones. They clean teeth like you wouldn't believe!!

Sorry, but I can't think of a way around the x-rays. I will cross my fingers that he just has a funny gait and that he doesn't become the 3rd Broken Butt!
 
lexio2

lexio2

New Member
ruffmuttk9z;18046 said:
For Bloop's teeth, check out your local butcher for some knuckle bones. I like knuckles the best because the bone is soft enough for the dog to eat but not rich like a marrow bone. I've never had a dog get sick from a knuckle bone like some do with marrow bones. They clean teeth like you wouldn't believe!!
Click to expand...


You don't think he'd injure his broken canine further with a knuckle bone, do you? The very tip is broken off, my vet said she wouldn't worry about it and doesn't want to remove it unless it breaks again farther down the tooth (and i don't even want to think about how much that would end up costing me :dogwacko:). With my bad luck i'm worried about frisbees breaking his teeth at this point. lol.

ruffmuttk9z;18046 said:
Sorry, but I can't think of a way around the x-rays. I will cross my fingers that he just has a funny gait and that he doesn't become the 3rd Broken Butt!
Click to expand...
YOU AND ME BOTH! I love my broken boys, but enough is a frickin' nuff! :dogtongue::dogbiggrin:
 
ruffmuttk9z

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
Tally has several broken teeth from marrow bones and she hasn't ever broken or damaged them further on knuckle bones. Knuckles are soft enough to not do much damage but hard enough to clean really well. Besides, they don't really use their canines much for chewing on bones. I would think he would be fine. Do you have a picture of the broken tooth?
 
sarhaspups

sarhaspups

New Member
ruffmuttk9z;18046 said:
Yeah, I liked 4 dogs, too...until I got 5...HA!

There are cheaper ways to do HW preventative for multiple dogs--I will PM you.
Click to expand...

Cheaper ways to do HW? Please do share :dogbiggrin: Thanks!!
Lexi Congrats on Blooper, he's very handsome and fits in quite well with your pack! Keep us updated. :dogcool:
Sarha
 
ruffmuttk9z

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
I haven't PM'd you yet, lol. The tooth really doesn't look that bad to me. Have you had a vet look at it? Typically broken teeth are only an issue if they're cracked, which his doesn't appear to me, or if they're broken down to the root, which his definitely isn't. I honestly would not give that a second though if it were my dog.
 
lexio2

lexio2

New Member
Yes i had my vet look at it and she said she didn't want to do anything (other than a cleaning) unless he chipped it again and exposed the root since canines are a PITA to remove. Not to mention - expensive!

My other dogs have pristine teeth, but are accident prone so i can't help but worry a bit.
 
ruffmuttk9z

ruffmuttk9z

New Member
His teeth really aren't even that dirty, in my opinion. Nothing a bone or two won't clean right up. I've only had one dental done on ANY of my dogs, ever, and that was SoBe when I first got him and I didn't know better.
 
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