Travis and Beasley Playing

The one making all the noise is Beasley... He trys to make up with noise what he lacks in size :)

FUN!!!

This morning I took Travis to his new foster home at Mud Puppies! Here is a link to their website: http://www.mud-puppies.com

We thought it would be great for Travis to spend some time there so he can get some more exposure and no dog will have more fun then Travis getting to play will all of the dogs!! I already heard from his foster dad Edward who said Travis is already asleep and knocked out in his cabin!! He had so much fun playing this morning and will get a little more play time in the late afternoon and that everything is going great!

Welcome to the GOOD Life

Travis has come along way in four months and he has won my heart. The scars from the life that he was forced to live in gone. He has blossomed into a beautiful, confident happy dog. He is almost fully recovered from his surgery and is ready to find his forever home. He is so very smart and will make the right person the perfect best friend. Fostering dogs like Travis and seeing them blossom in the good life is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and has taught me so much about myself in the process. I really do get to see miracles- through every pup that comes through our door.

Training!

This weekend I went to a training session taught by Annie Phenix who is a WONDERFUL trainer who focuses on positive training. Here is the website if you need a great trainer. http://www.phenixdogs.com/

She taught us clicker training and I finally "got" it. Here is a unedited video of Travis and I practicing what I learned. I am off on the clicks alot, but you can the idea that Travis likes this method!

Happy New Year!

It has been two weeks since his surgery and Travis is doing great! He has gained weight, his hair is almost completely grown back and he is recovering well.

When Travis came to us two months ago, you could barely touch him without him getting very antsy. He's not like that now at all! Now every time I call him over, he runs to me and rubs up against me for me to pet him. He has also taken to sitting on my lap whenever I am sitting on the floor.

He also has a total recall with me, and will make an excellent dog park dog. He truly is a good dog and anyone that adopts him will be very lucky. 2009 is going to be Travis' year!

Travis - Ready for Forever Home

Travis is recovering from FHO surgery and is ready to find his family!

Surgery Tommorow!

Travis’ coat and skin are looking much better and the hair on his chest is starting to grow back finally… and he is finally ready to have his FHO surgery. He will be going in tomorrow to Feather and Fur to have that done.

I have really grown to love this silly boy over the last month. He is SO friendly and just has so much love to give.

I promise to update soon with how Travis is recovering from the surgery!

Thanksgiving Weekend!!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with Travis and the dogs. It was great to spend four days with everyone!

Travis was a very good boy for his first Thanksgiving and he spent most of Thursday hanging near me in the kitchen, watching me cook and waiting for crumbs to fall :) 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were full of hikes and walking the trails. We tried to take everyone to the Town Lake Trail, but Travis is not quite ready yet. He is still really young, and was getting VERY excited to meet all the dogs that were walking by. Instead, we went on the Greenbelt, where everything is a bit more mellow :) 

Travis is a pretty active boy, and does the best when he gets enough exercise and mental stimulation. He will do best in an active home- not really run 10 miles a day active, but a home where he gets at least a good hour of outside/walking/ ball playing. By the way- Travis is learning how to play ball! He is pretty good. He has not quite mastered "dropping it" yet, but he is coming really close. 

My favorite Travis moment was in the middle of the night one night- I got up to get some water. Travis was sound asleep in his crate and he looked so peaceful. It just made me really happy, because he looked so content to be in a safe place :)

Travis had his second bath on Sunday. Here are some pictures of him in the tub! He does really well and for the most part- even stays still while his medicated shampoo sits on his body for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Picture of Travis Playing with his Toys!

The First Week

Travis is sweet, young border collie mix. He was found in the country, beat up from neglect, skinny and had bad skin infections. He was taken to Town Lake Animal Center and was put on the list to be put down. That's when ADR stepped in and pulled him from the shelter, and placed in a foster home- a safe place where he can heal while finding his perfect forever home. 

Travis has generalized demodicosis- a type of non contagious mange that infects the body with patchy fur, skin infections, bald scaly skin. The bacterial infection makes this a very itchy (and smelly!) skin issue. Right now, Travis has a medicated"spa treatment" bath every 4 days and takes medicine to help his hair to grow back and make him more comfortable.

We have had Travis since Tuesday evening and he is doing great! He is already housetrained, cratetrained and has good house manners. He is a chewer, but as long as he has lots of chew toys and kongs to play with, he has not chewed on anything that is not his. It is obvious that he is not used to being handled, and he is "mouthy" when I try to pet his back- but is already doing better with that, and we will be working with "touch- treat" over the next week. During his first bath on Wednesday, he did really good- and stayed still while I soaped him up. He is a stinky boy right now, and I can't wait for his hair to start to grow back! 

Yesterday was Saturday, the first day that I got to hang out with Travis for the entire day. I took all three dogs to a field near the house. Travis liked running around, but he stayed close to me. The exercise was good for him, but he is limping on his back leg- so we will be going to see Dr. Blatt next week about that, and so he can check his progress on his skin. 

So far, he is a really SWEET boy and seems very grateful for a safe place to begin his transformation. With some good food, medication, training and LOVE-this boy is going to be KNOCK OUT soon!