A "No Foster Dog" Vacation

It is a slow time in sheltie rescue right now - well, in Maine, at least, so the pack is really enjoying their time without a foster dog. Bear and Maggie pair off and wrestle - with Bear often grabbing onto Maggie's collar and tugging.

Meanwhile, Ella and Robbie race around playing tug. Since they are the same size, they tend to run together with a rope in their mouths, side by side, like a pair of matched ponies. I should teach them to pull a cart!

Some people think that the hardest part of fostering would be adopting the dogs out. It really isn't, since all of my fosters have gone to even better homes. The hardest part is the stress that the household is under for the first few weeks as the dogs get to know each other and the cats accept the newcomer. And, it is stressful on the human, since it is the human's responsibility to make sure that each and every interaction between the animals is as positive as possible.

Typically, I keep my foster in my car until "the four monsters" settle down a little from my arrival. Then, I bring out the foster dog on a leash (60 feet long so the foster doesn't realize they are on a leash - to prevent possible leash aggression). Depending on how the dog reacts while in the car, I might start with a greeting between just Ella and the new dog. Then, I will slowly bring out the others - usually in this order: Robbie, Maggie, Bear. Buddy (Foster 4) met everyone at once.

After a few minutes, I either leave the foster dog outside alone and get the other dogs settled inside or I bring everyone inside. It all depends on the dog-dog interaction.

Depending upon what time of day it is, I either settle down to watch a movie and watch the dogs interact or I get meals ready. Ella, Bear and Maggie are all crated when they eat. Ella because she steals food, has weight issues and needs thyroid medication. Bear because he isn't as housetrained as I would like and it keeps him in one spot. Maggie because she gets so excited that she knocks me down and lets others steal her food. Eventually, everyone will have a crate of their own, plus one for the foster dog. Don't ask me where I will put them all, though!

After eating, everyone goes outside to do business and play (and bark). I usually play ball with Bear & Robbie or water the garden while the dogs are playing. Then we all tromp inside and I get to eat. This is where the foster really feels welcome and learns the household rules. If everyone is quiet and peaceful while I eat, then everyone gets a nice piece of whatever I am eating. Yep, I feed the dogs at the table - but only when I am finished eating and they have behaved.

Here are a few pointers, should you ever decide to foster:

1. Know your own dogs well. Know their triggers: likes and dislikes. Some dogs are just not going to be good with foster dogs coming in and out of your household. Mine are all young and are used to this, so adapt well.
2. Some fosters are not going to do well with your dogs. You have to be prepared for this and be prepared to use treats to help them overcome their shyness.
3. Be prepared, for at least a few days, to get nothing accomplished. You should be observing the new dog and making sure that he/she is fitting in well.
4. Be prepared to separate the dogs when necessary. All fosters wear a harness with a thin drag line when they first come home. This enables me to catch them if they are scared, acts like a leash when they need to be housetrained and keeps me from having to grab them. Have baby gates handy to block off rooms. Have crates set up for needed time-outs.
5. Keep your normal routine in place and the foster dog will fall in line quickly. This will also help prevent stress on your own animals.
6. If your dogs have even the slightest tendency to resource guard from other dogs, make sure that all toys, chewies and things that might be valuable (to your guarder) are picked up before the new dog arrives.
7. Crate your foster when you are not there for at least 2 weeks. It takes time for differences between dogs to come to the surface and you do not want a disagreement to take place while you are not there. So, prevent it.
8. Be prepared for the inevitable frustrations of having yet another dog who is not used to stairs, cats, dogs, doors. One who counter surfs, isn't housetrained, doesn't know any cues and is scared of everything. In time, these will seem so minor!
9. Give yourself and your animals a break now and then between fosters.
10. Relax and treat the foster like one of your own.

So, until the next dog, we are relaxing and enjoying our routine. We are practicing our obedience cues and working on getting good on the grooming table and when nails are clipped. And, I am very thankful that I have these dogs to help me foster, since they are the ones that teach the newbies so much.

Buddy: Foster #4

Buddy went to his forever home this weekend. This is what his new mum says about him:

"Buddy is such a doll! He fits right in here, and has made himself quite at home. He just loves to play ball in his new backyard."

The picture shows how happy he is in his new home.

I dropped Buster off to his new home, too, and I think this will be the perfect spot for him. His new mum says that he settled right in, loves her dog Wex and went for a quiet walk. What a great life these dogs are going to have!

It is pictures like these and notes from new adopters that really make rescue worthwhile (besides all the sheltie smiles we see!).

OLS: Week 4

This week was a great week for eating locally - I am getting better at planning and at finding local foods. Plus, my CSA chare started 2 weeks ago - I am hitting more than 5 a day for veggies!

So, I decided to make Sausage and Greens Soup. A couple of ingredients are not local, but everything else comes from within 10 miles of my home.

Sausage - Cornerstone Farm ~10 miles
Garlic Scapes - Firefly Farm ~5 miles
Swiss Chard - Firefly Farm ~5 miles
Scallions - Firefly Farm ~5 miles
Potatoes - 150 miles (County)
Evaporated milk - unknown

The recipe is quite good, but if I decide to make it again, I will use a less spicy sausage! And, Swiss Chard is starting to grow on me - well, not literally, but each time I eat it, raw or cooked, I like it more.

And, I already have my local meal for next week planned - Minestrone Soup using veggies from my share and beans from Exeter.

Buster

Buddy is with Holly tonight - he is traveling with her to his forever home tomorrow. I have Holly's foster dog and am taking him north to his forever home. What a rascal!

PS. That buffet is not normally there - I am working on my dining room and needed a place for it. Can you call my house "Sheltie Heaven"?

Community Supported Agriculture

This is my first year having a CSA share. Using the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's website, I found a local farm which offered prepackaged shares. My share is from Firefly Farm, owned and operated by Billi, in St. Albans. This farm is about 7 minutes from my house!

Last Monday, I picked up my first weekly share and spent a lovely hour chatting with Billi about local farmer's markets, food, blogs and numerous other things. She lives is a little farmhouse and, besides growing vegetables for the likes of me, bakes bread for her stand. As part of my share, I asked that a loaf of bread be included each week.

Last week, I received beets & greens, Swiss Chard, 3 pounds of peas (2 types), a huge bunch of scallions, cilantro and garlic scapes and 2 loaves of bread: rye and olive. I ate very well last week - you can check my previous post to see what I did with part of my share. Other parts I ate and then I froze some to enjoy later.

After spending time chatting with Billi, I realized how important it is for everyone to know where their food comes from. To be able to connect in some small way with their food chain - rather than just going into the supermarket and buying what looks good. Farming is hard work and going to pick up my vegetables there makes me realize, each and every week, what an important job farmers have in our lives.

Besides all that, though, it just tastes better.

OLS: Week 3

My CSA share started this week - I'll post more about that later - which made this week (and future weeks) so much easier to plan for! So, once I got home from picking up my share, I shelled my peas and blanched my swiss chard and beet greens for freezing.

Then I made Spring Pea Soup, which was good, but a little bland. Next time, I will reduce the amount of water called for in the recipe and add more spices.

Here are the ingredients and the miles they traveled:
Peas ~ 5 miles (CSA Share)
Garlic Scapes ~ (CSA Share)
Scallions ~ (CSA Share)
Potatoes ~ 150 miles (County potatoes)
Herbs ~ 0 miles

I also had some very yummy greek olive bread, which came with my CSA share. All in all, I am very glad that I decided it was time for me to know where my food is coming from and have a farmer "with a face."

Loki

Well, a fellow rescuer is working on pulling Loki from the shelter. In the meantime, I have found out that he is heartworm positive. This is a bummer, since he will require 8-12 weeks of sedentary treatment. But, he should recover just fine. **Update: Another sheltie rescue is taking care of Loki, so I will not be fostering him.**

And, speaking of rescued shelties, I have been avidly reading about Duncan, the cutest sheltie ever rescued, on his mum's blog Winning Duncan Over. It is very nice to see the progress he is making and the love that he is getting!

Buddy & Foster Dog #5 (?): Loki

Buddy is at the vet's office recovering very nicely from his -ahem- operation. He also had his teeth cleaned and I will be able to pick him up tomorrow. Amazingly, Holly and her way-cool friend, Joanne, might already have found the perfect home for him! Yippeee!

So, I agreed to foster Loki, a tri colored sheltie who is due to be PTS this Thursday (7/12) in another state if one of the sheltie rescues can not take him. Look at that face! How could I let him die? So, since Buddy is so adoptable and almost adopted, I agreed to take Loki. Another rescue is pulling him from the shelter and we will arrange transport for him.

Hopefully, he won't be living up to his trickster name (especially when he gets a much needed bath and grooming)!

OLS Week 2: Asparagus Quiche

Week 2 of the One Local Summer Challenge found me very prepared at the beginning of the week and, yet, I somehow managed to have almost no local ingredients ready for when I prepared my "official" meal (that would be because I ate it all - too much at a time, but fresh veggies are so yummy). Panicking, I decided to clean out my freezer and package up the 4 quarts of strawberries I had cleaned and frozen on Independence Day.

Lo and behold, I had, crammed way in the bottom, a small bit of asparagus that I had frozen and forgotten. Since I already had local eggs and milk, I decided to make Asparagus Quiche - with no crust. I would really have had to cheat on the crust, since I haven't found any local flour yet, so I made it crustless and just used butter to grease the pie plate. That is why there looks like a crust - the yummy butter darkened. The recipe is from my favorite cookbook, Simply in Season. I haven't found a recipe in there that I do not like! So, here are the ingredients and how far they traveled:

asparagus ~5 miles (last yrs farmer's market)
eggs ~ 5 miles
milk ~ 5 miles
bacon ~ 10 miles
cheese ~ OK, I cheated and used whatever was in the fridge. I doubt it came from Maine.
butter ~ 70 miles (I had some Kate's butter that I used, but when that is gone, I will be using butter made closer)


And, I found a great local source for the best sausage I have ever had. It is Cornerstone Farm in Palmyra - they attend the Augusta Mill Park Farmer's Market, the Waterville Farmer's Market and the Orono Farmer's Market. If you get a chance to try their pork products, you will not be disappointed! We grilled up their Hot Italian Sausage on Wedneday - oh, yum!


*The shelties LOVE asparagus - as I steamed my portion, I also steamed the woody ends for them. They ate them right up. And, I don't think they like me talking about them on this blog - they are all staring at my reflection in the window behind me and barking at it (shelties - in some way, they are so smart. In others, sigh).

Foster #4: Buddy

Lauren went to her forever home last Thursday and I picked up Buddy on Monday. Very short vacation for the pack and I, but longer than when we had Maverick (#2) and Lauren (#3) at the same time!

Buddy was loved very much by his family, but they were no longer able to care for him, which is why his coat looks funny in the picture - he was given a "puppy cut" by a groomer in order to get the dead and matted hair out. And, no, it isn't normal to give shelties any sort of hair cut, let alone a puppy cut. Usually, we trim up their ears and feet, but that is about it!

Buddy is always smiling that sheltie smile and his ears are very charming - one tipped and one straight up. He is a 3 year old sable sheltie who has cerebellar hypoplasia, which causes a slight tremor in his head, kind of like a Parkinson's patient. This doesn't affect his temperament or his ability to run and play, though, since he has settled right in! Sometimes, he is a little clumsy, but this doesn't stop him - he just tries again.

He has taken very well to being crated, which is a blessing, since he isn't entirely house trained yet. He eats his meals and spends the day there when I am at work. At night, he sleeps on the bench at the end of my bed, on the foot of the bed or on the floor - depending on where the rest of the group decides to sleep. Of course, he, Robbie and Ella have to have their evening "race around the bedroom," which tires everyone out enough to go to sleep.

He will make a very good sheltie for someone with a quiet household, older children and a fenced in yard. Once he is neutered on Monday and healed from that, he will be able to be adopted. If you are interested in adopting Buddy or any of our other rescue shelties, you can check out our website, which is listed in the links section - Kennebec Valley Shetland Sheepdog Club - and click on "Rescue."

Lauren went to her forever home

Well, Lauren was officially adopted this past week. She is now going to be the proud sheltie of a lovely retired couple who live on a lake and are prepared to dote on her for the rest of her days. And, surprise, surprise, we were just contacted about the next dog needing fostering!

Quiet Time with Jello!

So, last night, I decided to make myself some raspberry Jello (with pineapple, of course) and thought that it might be fun to fill some Kongs for the dogs.

Tip#1: Make sure that the small hole is plugged very well. Peanut butter will just not do for this! A soft treat (or two) jammed into the hole works perfectly. A secondary containment of plastic wrap is beneficial, too, just in case the treat pops out).

So, once I got the mess cleaned up from my first Kong-Jello fiasco, I plugged the hole with 2 soft treats. Then, I filled the Kong with the Jello and set it in a bowl and got ready to do the second one.

Tip#2: Make sure that you have a mug or glass handy to prop up the Kong in or the jello will get all over the place when the Kong rolls in the bowl.

Then, after cleaning up the second mess, I propped the re-filled Kong in a coffee mug and set it in the fridge. Since I have 4 dogs, I managed to repeat the whole process (sans messes) 3 times. My Kong-Jello skills by the fourth Kong were much improved!

After my Goat Stew lunch, I decided to take a nap. The dogs each got a raspberry Jello & kibble stuffed Kong. They LOVED them! And, I loved the quiet - disturbed every now and then by a weird slurping Jello noise.

OLS: Goat Stew

This is the first week of the One Local Summer Challenge, organized by Liz at Pocket Farm. Basically, the challenge is to eat one dinner each week made from local foods. The fun part is that I get to define what local means.

Since I have never really focused on purchasing local produce and meat, my goals for this summer challenge are to educate myself about available local foods and, as the summer goes on, find my foods within a 50 mile radius of Palmyra. I want this to include everything in the meal. But, for this first week, and, until my CSA share starts, I limited myself to ingredients from Maine (which is a huge area).

Some of the ingredients for this Goat Stew are very easy to find. Potatoes are grown in Northern Maine. I would have preferred local new potatoes, but I wasn't very organized this week and decided to just use what I had in the fridge. Carrots, garlic scapes and onions came from the Pittsfield Farmer's Market. I cheated with the celery.

I have never had goat meat. There are a lot of foods that I have never had. Most of them, I am willing to try, except seafood. I respect those who love lobster, shrimp, clams and mussels, but I just can't eat them. But, meat and poultry, I will try. So I decided to make a soupy stew for this week's challenge using ground goat meat. Since I cook for one, I tend to make meals that can eat for more than one meal - it saves me time on following days and I freeze at least 1 meal for future consumption when I do not feel like cooking at all.

My goat meat comes from St. Albans, just a few miles down the road from me.

Not bad! People around me turned up their noses and said "GOAT? That will be really gamey and stinky." I guess because goats have a certain odor about them? Well, it was bad bad logic on their part (I mean, cooked chicken doesn't smell like live chicken - and I haven't found a meat yet that smelled like its live counterpart, so why would goat be any different). This goat, while a little greasy (drain off the fat!), is quite mild. Milder than lamb in a stew and I LOVE lamb stew!

Goat Meat Stew

1 pound ground goat meat (or, goat stew meat) ~10 miles traveled

1 onion, diced ~ 10 miles

3 carrots, sliced ~ 10 miles

3 stalks celery, sliced ~no idea!

3-4 potatoes, diced ~ The County ~ 150 miles

3-4 garlic scapes, chopped ~ 10 miles

herbs of your choice (I used oregano, parsley, bay and thyme) ~ 0 miles

water/broth ~0 miles

salt & pepper

Brown onion in a skillet. Add goat meat, salt & pepper and cook until browned. At the very end, add the chopped garlic scapes and brown lightly. In a large pot, combine the cooked onion and goat mixture, potatoes, celery, carrots, and herbs. Cover with broth/water and cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender. This would be nice served with a whole wheat bread - especially with the cool weather of this weekend!

So, my goals for the next week are to explore some local farmer's markets I have not been to and to plan a dinner that even my picky father and sister would eat!