Deciding To Start a Blog

Sept. 5, 2022

This adventure started when Gunther's previous people got him from a questionable backyard breeder and weren't really prepared for a poodle.

After having him for a few months they realized that not only did the resident dogs hate him, but the family wasn’t able to provide for all of his needs. It became apparent that Gunther would not be a good fit for that family. When the situation with one of the other dogs in the home became potentially dangerous I stepped in to take him.

I was, and am, a volunteer With the German Shepherd Dog Rescue of Iowa. At the time, I had one foster dog in my home that I had had for an extended period. We were looking for her forever family, and I was open to another dog. I just did not realize it would be a poodle. Nor did I realize it would be a dog that I would potentially keep.

I have been open to adopting a “my dog” for a while. I have just not come across the dog that I felt like had to be mine. I work in vet med and have a few rescues in my volunteer history, so I knew that eventually I would come across the dog that would end up mine.

I had visions in my head for what I wanted in this potential dog. I was looking for a higher energy breed. I wanted a dog I could do dog sports with. I had pictured a dog I could connect with through training and obedience and sports. Especially with my current volunteer gig, I was expecting to end up with a dog like a german shepherd.

A poodle wasn't on my radar. With my volunteering, I have met dogs that have surprised me with how connected I feel to them how quickly. I have also been surprised with some of the dogs I have connected with because of their breed or temperament, and how different that is from the dogs I usually enjoy. So I have decided to treat gunther as a foster to adopt dog and we will see how this goes.

We are working on our communication. It is so different than the shepherds I am used to! and I am slowly learning. To adjust my wants and expectations for the dog I now have. This has been an abrupt change for both of us.

We put a lot of work in in the last couple of months. He came to me the first week of June 2022. He was unaltered, not fully vaccinated, and had never been groomed. 

 His second day with me Gunther was at the clinic to get neutered and vaccinated. The amazing Liz, who would end up his groomer, took the time out of her busy day to shave his face and his feet while he was sleeping. We did his nails and plucked and cleaned his ears as he was waking up.

The first few days as my dog were really hard on this little guy.

He was severely underweight, very scrawny and unsure of himself, and thrust into a scary situation with a dog who bossed him around and a human he had only met a couple of times.

Due to how busy the groomers were we had to wait about a month after I got home to do his first actual groom. I knew it was going to be bad, I had tried to brush him while he was sedated, and at his groomers suggestion had not tried since. I had touched him with the smooth side of the comb and brush to get him familiar with those things, but he was so matted combing would have just hurt him and strained the bond we were trying to build.

Liz had to shave him down to the skin. His hair was gross and came off in chunks of pelt. Luckily there was very little skin irritation, he didn’t bruise, and there were no signs of broken skin or infection!

Liz said while it happened he did great! He did have medication on board, and I was so thankful I had had the time to work with him before that day. We worked very hard both before his first time and after, to build his confidence in the grooming room. We worked on him getting used to the tools and general energy of that room. And now he loves it. That's where he gets high value treats and love from the groomers.

At the time of this post it had been about three months. I was still very unsure about him, and we still hadn’t really bonded.

This was partly because it had been like two new starts for the poor guy. He had a very jarring event when he moved in with me, and then when his foster sister Roxie got adopted it was like starting all over again. It was the first time in his life that he was living as an only dog.

We have had our first consultation with a trainer and will be starting a private class next week. Cherel will be training me, and hopefully Gunther will pick up some things as well. I really liked her during the consultation and hopefully her confidence in Gunther will rub off on me.

Another reason I am hesitant about this dog is that I know we would be in for some future challenges.

He has been diagnosed with entropion. This is a physical defect of the eyelid where it rolls in so that the eyelashes rub on the eyes. He is also showing signs of hip dysplasia.

Once he is about 2 years old we will have some x-rays taken of the hips to determine if he really has dysplastic hips, and how bad it is. At that time we will also have a consultation about the eyes to see if it's something that needs to be surgically corrected.

Because this situationship came about with a private family and not through a rescue I am putting my own money into this dog. I am putting a lot more effort into this than I normally would a foster. It makes me happy that if I do decide to rehome he will be going with skills he didn’t have before he was in my care. It is also frustrating. But that is rescue. Pumping your own time and money and emotion and skill into an animal in the hopes it will go on to have an amazing life after your care.

I am still treating this like a foster to adopt situation. The option is always there to rehome, but I am trying to give him a fair shot. My plan is to give him at least six months before I make that decision.

This guy has such a sweet personality, I’m bound to get attached, right?

As a way to bond with him, and hopefully connect with some poodley people and other dog community folks, I started an instagram for him.

His online presence has grown very slightly and i've decided that a blog is another way for me to do those same things.

I am hoping that pictures and posts will be the way for me to connect with him, And maybe event and get some feelings out.