February | 2014 | BeFreegle Foundation

Morning Freegle romp, with Freegles Maya and Sunshine

Morning romp, with Freegles Maya and Sunshine

Good Day Sunshine

Today was a great Sun-Shiny Day!! We started the day with an inside toy carried outside by Sunshine. Normally I don’t let the inside toys to go outside as they have a tendency to get buried in the snow. But this morning Sunshine looked so happy that I let her. Spoil her? Oh why not?! We started on a new holistic supplement last night, as recommended by our family and BeFreegle vet, Dr. P. We conferenced about Sunshine yesterday and he suggested that we try another holistic remedy before prescribing meds for her anxiety. Nutricalm for Dogs is chock full of good things like L-Tryptophan and Valerian Root. With the supplement and continued behavioral guidance I am sure that our baby, Sunshine will be feeling so much better in a few weeks.

I continue to be amazed and inspired by all of our Freegle girls bravery. Their willingness to reach beyond their fear is a great lesson that I need to apply to my own self. If they can do it, anyone can!

We continue to learn new things about each other and a yesterday I had a humbling ah ha moment when I scolded her for messing in the house. Dogs, I have come to learn, who have spent time in similar circumstances as Sunshine and the other Freegles, have no concept of potty inside versus potty outside. My scolding her only taught her that potty was bad when I was around. And since I always watch them outside she would never potty until she got back inside when I would literally leave the room for 30 seconds. When I discovered this it broke my heart and I vowed to do better, starting immediately. This morning, armed with extra time and treats in my pocket, we started the day by going outside right away. She sniffed and ate snow, sniffed some more, watched a leaf blow across the snow, sniffed… I issued a defeated sigh as I stood outside with her in 18 degree whether silently chanting to myself, patience, patience, patience… Patience is hard when it’s 18 degrees and you have to go to work in 45 minutes. She didn’t go, so I brought her back in, put her in her crate and let the rest of our pack out, the pack who has to good sense to potty and get it over with fast and get back in where it’s warm! After about another 15 minutes I took her out again. Once again she sniffed and circles, sniffed, watched a leaf, circled, circled, circled… and squat!!! I resisted the urge to shout out, “Way to go Sunshine!”, lest she stop midstream! So I waited until she was done. Many good girl shrieks and treats later she and I went back in for breakfast. After breakfast with the pack outside we went again for some playtime. Feeling, obviously pleased with herself she grabbed her toy. What could I do?

Not only have we had no accidents in the house since but our trips to the frozen tundra of the backyard got a wee (pun intended) bit shorter as the day progressed. I read a surefire way to know your dog is housebroken. It will cost 250 pennies. For each successful potty outside one penny goes in a jar. For every potty inside five come out. By the time all 250 pennies are in the jar one can say the Freegle is housebroken! At present count, we have 4 pennies in the jar, only 246 to go. But hey, every journey begins with a single step. Wish us luck!!

Peace and Outdoor Potty’s,

Kate & Sunshine

Sunshine’s Potty Countdown Clock

Freegle Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine

Find 10 Freegles and you will find 10 different personalities and 10 different stories of adjustment to life outside the lab. I have seen so many who are eager and quick to embrace their new found freedom, some who need a bit of encouragement and then there are the ones who break your heart. Sunshine fits squarely in the last of those categories, I call her our Eeyore of the group. Stoic and fearful yet will pepper you with kisses the moment you sit down next to her. From the moment she came to us she was on high alert for something. What exactly, I am still not sure. Having worked in the past with Freegles who have had difficulty adjusting it was a natural fit for me to foster her. She came into my pack very easily and I gave her the space she needed to watch and learn. She spent a lot of time in her crate, door open, watching. I have always believed that the best teacher for a dog is, in fact another dog. They take many queues from one another. (For those of you with multiple dogs in your house. How often will one dog hear a noise, bark and suddenly you have a houseful of howling dogs? I know I’m not the only one! I rest my case.)

As Sunshine began to acclimate to my pack and her new surroundings she was constantly challenging herself to overcome her fears. Skittish, she did not like the kitchen (too many shiny things), shadows cast by a lamp at night and loud noises. All of these things will send most new Freegle scampering for their crate but Sunshine was always the first and fastest to scamper away. The great news was that she always came back to investigate. It was okay for her to be afraid as long as she came back and tried again. We showed her she was safe and praised her when she was brave.

Recently we posted that Sunshine had been adopted by the same family who adopted Daisy. We are saddened to say that Sunshine, through no fault of her own, came back to us. Unfortunate circumstances forced her wonderful family to have to make a very difficult and painful choice. We welcomed her back with open arms.

Sunshine is continuing to make great progress in her training, leash walking and overcoming her fears. A small dose of Rescue Remedy twice daily along with another herbal remedy designed for anxiety has her exceeding my expectations. Today she and I took a long walk together, just the two of us. It was good to get out and stretch our legs. We walked out to the main road where cars frequently zoom by. I need her to learn to adjust to her new life and that includes loud noises and moving objects. As with my other dogs, she will learn the command, “Out of the road” when a car approaches. For today we just worked on getting her to walk next to me without too much pulling and stopping. I am so grateful for her “Easy Walk” harness, this frees me up to keep my hands in my pockets and allows for typing later on in the day instead of tending to a dislocated shoulder.

We are slowly desensitizing her to scary things like the stainless steel garbage can and her reflection in the mirror. It’s a long road to travel but I have made a commitment to work one on one with Sunshine until the day she finds her forever family. For now, this blog space will be dedicated to her progress. Each day we find something new to celebrate. Today it was a nice walk, watching a squirrel for the first time and piddling while on leash. As she sleeps soundly next to me after our big adventure today I am so excited to watch her blossom into the beautiful loving companion she was always meant to be. I hope that you will join us on this journey and give her the love and support she needs. In return I can promise you that someday we will all watch through tears as she gives her heart and devotion to her happily ever after.

Kate & Sunshine