Coco is Happy!

Well, we have had several updates from Coco's new family and it sounds like they are all doing wonderfully! Coco is successfully adapting to her new, amazing life. We are so very happy for all of them. And, even better, Cocoa lives near us!! We saw her walking to the park last week.

Now that she is gone I can admit that she was actually my favorite foster dog... and I am filled with joy to see her happy and successful in a new, great home with a dear family. I will never forget Coco, but this is the best part of fostering by far!!

Good Luck, Coco!

Today we said good-bye to Cocoa (now Coco, as in Chanel!) and brought her to a wonderful family for a trial period to see if she is the right pup for them.

We already miss her here-- she was the easy going, sweet one!!!-- but we are thrilled that she has a chance at a real home and a Forever Family. Her new home is amazing, and her new family dedicated and sweet. We couldn't be happier for her.

Cocoa's Day Out

Cocoa has been enjoying the new additions to our foster home, Sully & Darla. The three are similar in size and weight and really enjoying playing with each other.

Cocoa got to spend the afternoon at Town Lake yesterday with a family who has placed an application to adopt her. They report that she was great on her lead, a wonderful companion and received many complements. She even got to try a few steps into the water. Good girl! On Easter morning she will go to their home to begin her two week Trial Foster-to-Adopt. Good luck, Cocoa!!

Running with the Big Dogs!

Cocoa went to her first Doggy Play Day at Taurus Training on Thursday. She had lots of fun and the staff fell in love with her. Check out her Daycare Report Card!

On Saturday several good kid friends came over and worked with Cocoa. Lots of good socialization AND some training on the Poochie Bells as well as some practice retrieving balls. She needs more practice with both. But as always she was wonderful with the kids. After the playing and training she went with the others for the full spa treatment (bath, conditioner, nail trim, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, blow dry, & brushing) at Mud Puppies.

On Sunday we had a special Meet & Greet. Cocoa seemed kind of tired after a busy weekend and a long car ride (we went out to pick up some of her Forgotten Friend pals on the way to the event), but several people had a chance to meet our soft sweetie. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and met her!

Big Girl!

Sweet Cocoa has had a great week. She has had no potty accidents for about two weeks now and I am just about ready to proclaim her "housebroken"! We are allowing her more freedom and less scheduled pottying to "test" her this week. We have also purchased some Poochie Bells for the house and plan on beginning to teach her to ring the bell to go outside rather than whimper, which is her current method of communicating her needs to us.

Cocoa has also been on several car rides this week, and one day she spent all afternoon with me in the car. She is a wonderful rider, but much prefers to wear her seat belt in the front (with the airbag off) than to be belted into the cargo area if the other dogs aren't with her.

She got her spay stitches out on Monday and she is all healed up. She will get to go to the park with Ben's play group this afternoon and tomorrow she will get to go with the big dogs to Taurus Training for her first Doggy Play Day! It's a great way for her to socialize with more dogs in a variety of ways AND do get some great exercise after several soggy days here this week.

We found out at at the vet this week that she currently weighs 24.3 pounds at ~21 weeks old.

Weekend Report

Cocoa had a busy weekend. On Friday night she came home from her spay and brought Forgotten Friends' Satin with her (since Satin also was spayed on Friday). We kept the two convalescing dogs separate from everyone else that night, and they got along fine. They both slept well all night. They ate the next morning and both seemed to have a very easy time recovering. By lunch, Cocoa had her normal appetite back, but she stepped out of the way when little Satin nudged her over to take some bites from her bowl. No problems sharing the meal.

Cocoa went to the Meet & Greet yesterday-- thanks so much to everyone who came out to see her. I am glad so many other people see how special she is too! We just kind of relaxed at home the rest of the weekend so she can have plenty of heal time. She seems to feel perfectly fine now and it is hard to get her to take it easy like the post-op instructions say! We have to let her out separately from the other dogs so that she keeps her running and jumping to a minimum.

Surgery Day!

Cocoa went to Compassion Animal Hospital this morning to be spayed and microchipped. Dr. Gibson reports that the surgery went very well and we will be able to pick up the sweet girl by dinner time-- yay!

Food Update

Tonight before dinner all five of the dogs were invited to eat from the same dish after a group training period involving treats. There were no problems with Cocoa (or anyone else!). Also, all day we have picked up Cocoa's dish while she was eating and put our hands in her dish without the slightest complaint from her. We will try to get some photos of her sharing a dish.

Cocoa Returns!

Well we had great hopes that Cocoa had found her Forever Family on Sunday, but after a two day trial they realized that she was not the right dog for them due to food aggression issues, so we brought Cocoa back here.

We had not tested her for food aggression issues (never suspected there would be any!) and she had been eating in her crate here (as is our standard method during house training), so we have been testing her on that since her arrival back here (3 meals so far). We currently have 5 dogs here, and we have begun feeding Cocoa outside of her kennel so that she is just eating in the kitchen with the others (only little Cupcake remains eating in crate). So far, there has been NO problem with Cocoa sharing her bowl & food with the other dogs-- she has allowed both Woolie & Luci to eat alongside her from her bowl-- so that is a good sign. We will keep everyone updated if this issue seems to be anything other than a fluke, and we will also make sure that Cocoa shares a meal (via handfeeding and other methods) with another dog every day.

In the meantime, we are delighted to have sweet Cocoa back. And what a surprise for her-- little Terrier-mix puppy Cupcake is now here to play with as well! The two puppies are SO cute together, and really enjoying playing and resting with each other.

Cocoa has had a few accidents since she came back-- a lot of change in a short time for a young pup!-- but we are getting her back in the swing of things today and keeping her on the house training routine. It is amazing, but it seems like she grew just in the short time she was gone! She seems both taller and heavier, but just as sweet and loving as always.

Cocoa's Last Night?!

Today at the Meet & Greet a wonderful family (including a young Aussie!) came to meet Cocoa. They submitted an application for her and TOMORROW morning she will go to visit them at their home. It is possible that this will be our last night with sweet Cocoa. We have loved this darling puppy SO MUCH, and we are so, so happy for her that a wonderful family has found her, even if we are sorry to see her leave.

What's Under All That Fur?

In anticipation of her Meet & Greet today, I took Cocoa to Mud Puppies for the full Spa Treatment this morning. She is a tiny thing under all that fur!! But she accepted her bath and spa treatments (nail trim, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, high-power blow dry, & brushing) very well. Such a good puppy!

Practice Makes Perfect

Cocoa has taken very well to her house training routine and we have only had a handful of pee accidents (and no poop accidents!) since she arrived. She sleeps all night-- yay!

Here is her routine this week:

Morning: Cocoa wakes up in her crate and cries to come out. "Good Morning, Cocoa!" and we carry her outside by herself to "potty". "Yay Cocoa! Good girl!!" when there is success. Then she walks in to get Woolie & Luci, and they all go outside and play together and have a big morning romp. Then inside for breakfast. Cocoa eats in her exercise pen in the kitchen, her dry food soaked slightly in warm water. Then Cocoa goes back outside by herself to potty again -- "Good girl!". Then more play time. When they lay down to rest, "Outside!"-- another potty time. Pretty soon it is lunch, and we repeat the same thing... and later dinner. She loves, loves, loves to eat. She has access to fresh water whenever she is not in her crate or exercise pen, inside and outside, so we have to watch her extra closely for signs of being ready to potty.

When we are outside we just stand still until she goes and THEN we give her kudos and attention. She has caught on and now trots right out to pee immediately, looking at us for approval.

When we cannot watch her carefully, she goes into her exercise pen for up to an hour before the next potty break. When we are not here, she goes into her crate (as do the other dogs). Most of the time she is being watched and either playing with us or the dogs or having a few minutes of "training".

This week she figured out on her own the steps to the bed (that NONE of the other resident or current foster dogs have mastered) and found the couch a nice retreat from the big dogs-- who don't follow her up there.

The other dogs and the kids keep her very busy much of the time, but like any puppy, any moment of down time is a potential opportunity for mischief. She is getting more interested in chewing, so if we see her thinking about chewing something that isn't hers, we remind her by giving her one of her chew toys.

At night we like to cuddle with her on the couch, and maybe do a little grooming. But often she is too busy and on the go for much couch down time. She enjoys being held and loved and petted for a few minutes... then she is off to play in the wide world again!

Wonderful Weekend

Cocoa went to her first Meet & Greet yesterday and did a great job. She shared a spot with her buddy Woolie and basked in all of the beautiful puppy attention before falling asleep at the end of the afternoon. Another great bedtime and overnight for her as well.

LOTS of puppy playtime today with kids and dogs. Cocoa ran her heart out and complained when we put her in the little kitchen exercise pen to take a break. She is not any more curious about the cats than she is about everything else in this big new world (she even took a rest on the couch next to our Foster Dog Test Cat, Link). She continues to have a very hearty appetite. It's too early to tell who is training who in the housebreaking department, but only two pee accidents inside today and we haven't had any poops inside since she arrived. She has also not soiled her crate or her exercise pen. She is enjoying her puppy chew toys and the big dog toys as well. So far she is just a fluffy and friendly little pup who enjoys being held and also enjoys running free.

Welcome, Cocoa!

If there is a better way to start the weekend than by receiving an adorable bundle of fuzzy energy to care for, we don't know what it is! I picked up our new foster puppy, Cocoa, from Deborah of Forgotten Friends Mixed Breed Rescue last night and fell in instant love. The first word that comes to your mind when you hold her is SOFT... followed quickly by cuddly and sweet.

We met at Compassion Animal Hospital and Cocoa got a rabies shot. Then we stopped for a quick bath & nail trim at Mud Puppies before bringing Cocoa home to meet the household. She bounded all around the house wagging her tail and fearlessly exploring it all. What a joyful pup! She chased and played with my 5-year old son, Ben for quite a while and then was introduced to her "foster siblings", Woolie (1-2 year-old Aussie-mix), Luci (2-year old deaf Aussie), & Jack (14-year old Dachshund). It was an instant love-fest between Woolie and Cocoa-- hot chocolate and one huge marshmallow!

After such a busy day, she slept all night long in her crate, next to Luci's crate and a few inches from our bed, without a peep. She woke us up with some crying at 7 AM and we took her outside to potty. No accidents in her crate. Housebreaking is already underway!

Cocoa didn't feel like eating much last night, but she gobbled up her breakfast and clearly has a very healthy appetite! We are starting her on Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish dry food.

We have taken over 30 photos so far, but most of them are of a brown blur-- she is too fast to pose for a picture! We will keep trying to get some cute ones to post here.