Foster Update 8/16

Little Miss Judy is such a happy puppy! We've discovered she is a total ball fetching dog and loves tennis balls! She loves to chew on them, she loves to chase them, she even loves to chase/play soccer with them on her own. When you play fetch with her, she even brings them back to you when you play with her - on her own without being taught to do that!

She is also our great frog hunter when we are out on the patio. She doesn't hurt them though. She likes to put her paw on top of them, then release them, and do it all over again. She and our other girl tag team them - poor baby frogs! When she is out on the porch, she doesn't sit still - she's looking for the next frog to catch!

She has been at the Oviedo Mall the last two Saturdays (she will not be this Saturday), and has had the best time there! She loves the attention, playing with the other dogs, and all the kids that want to pet her soft coat and get kisses from her. We are working on being bouncy with everyone as if a new person doesn't get in close to let her kiss them, she wants to bounce up to steal a kiss herself. Leaning into a strange dog for a kiss isn't exactly what anyone wants to teach their kids so we are working on Judy and her sitting patience this week.

That tail still has not stopped. Even when she gets in trouble, the tail is going a mile a minute. When she is released from being in trouble - she sprints with that tail going a mile a minute. You've never seen a happier dog than Judy after disciplining. And disciplining...if you can even call it that...is pretty pathetic and cute. If she does something wrong, she already knows it. You say "Juuuudddy...? In that voice - you know the voice I'm talking about...not the yelling voice but the "Did you do something wrong voice..." then the tail starts going, she starts walking to you nervously, you lean down towards her and she is on her back, belly up...with not an "I'm sorry face" so much as a "you know I'm cute and you really don't need to anything about it." And then its all over...she sprints away as happy as a clam. We're such suckers.

Here are some highlights about Judy:

• 100% crate trained; 99% potty trained
• Will always look like a 4 month old puppy
• Very loving and likes to snuggle right before bedtime
• Bouncy, happy, and very gentle - would do well with young children and other pets
• Favorite toys: tennis balls, a stuffed squirrel, stuffed hot pink platapus that is almost bigger than her, and a soup bone
• Peace Keeper - EXTREMELY submissive and rolls on her back for other dogs immediately
• LOVES belly rubs
• LOVES rolling around on carpet, her giant dog bed, and grass (see below photo)
• She talks - it's like a chatter with some howls when she is really excited
• Super easy to give medication to her - she thinks its a treat
• Known commands: Sit, Beg (sitting up, paws in the air)
• Nicknames: Lil' Miss Judy, Monkey, Munchkin, Thumper (because that tail doesn't stop!)

Foster Update 8/4

We love her. Its as simple as that. She is just so adorable and cute - both inside and out - her personality is exceptionally sweet. She just lights up the room with her presence. She knows how to work both her foster dad and myself to get prime snuggling time on the couch with us (dogs are not allowed on furniture in the house). Those puppy eyes are to die for - it's so hard to say no to her!

Not only does she have a beautiful personality, but she is beautiful on the outside too. Photos do not do her justice! She has a reddish brown color all over her body mixed in with the rest of her dark brown coat, particularly around her head. When the sun hits her, she has this beautiful reddish color. Her coat is so silky soft too, we love to pet it. And her eyes. Her eyes are a light brown, or amber, color. They are gorgeous by themselves, but then when in contract with the brown/reddish brown coat. So pretty! Not to mention, since her growth was stunted (see "Judy's background" below) from malnutrition, she will always look like a cute 4 month old puppy. Everyone always wishes for their puppies to stay puppies (in their looks) - well, Judy will!

Besides playing chase with her foster brothers, she loves to get massages (particularly her neck) while sitting in your lap.  She gets this cute whimsical, "I'm in heaven" look on her face, but the tail doesn't stop wagging. I don't think her tail ever stops wagging. We've seen her wagging her tail in her sleep!

Her house manners have become exceptional. She only plays with her toys now and she does not mind her crate. She still would rather eat her food "like a big girl" outside of her crate with the other dogs. We still have her sleeping in her crate at night and she will actually put herself to bed.

I have to share a story about bedtime. So she's a little talker. She makes this grunting noise at you when she is excited, or wants something...it's literally her talking to you. It is ADORABLE! So, she decided she wanted to go to bed a couple of nights ago...and she decided she wanted me to go to bed, too. She got up out of her dog bed in the living room, stretching and grunting as she walked towards me. She just stood there talking, talking, talking...then I got up, turned the tv off and followed her. She continued to talk as we entered my bedroom. She walked into her crate, turned around, and stared up at me. Then she talked again, looking quite impatient. It was very much like "Come on, Mom, you are supposed to shut the door now...geesh." So I shut the door, and she wagged her tail happily, turned around in a circle and went to sleep. I couldn't believe my dog just dragged me to go to bed and had me tuck her in, in the process.

Judy's background story: She came to us from animal control. She was in horrible shape and in a lot of pain when one of our veterinarian's found her. She was left outside with no food or water and it was pretty clear that all she ate for a VERY long time was dirt and, occasionally, grass. As a result, her growth was stunted. Though she is a fully grown adult, she will forever remain the size and look of a 4 month old puppy. She was in so much pain and so weak that she could not standup, or if she rolled onto her back, she could not roll back over to sit up straight again. She has come a LONG way and is so SUPER HAPPY all the time, you would never know her life started out so rough.