Photos from his Home Visit!

A busy two weeks for our bear cub with a Happy Ending on the horizon...

Sully has continued to be on antibiotics to get over his sinus/upper respiratory infection so we went back to the vet this week to have an exam and start some new antibiotics. Dr. Gibson felt that the gunk is finally breaking up and Sully is on the mend. He also recommended giving Sully a steam bath each night to help with the congestion, so he has been in the bathroom while Ben takes his bath each night so that they can both get the steam from the shower. Sully is not a fan of the steam bath, even with Ben in there with him, but it does seem to be helping with the congestion.

Last Saturday Sully went to the Forgotten Friends- Mixed Breed Rescue Meet & Greet on special request and he got to go home with one of the other Foster moms and meet her extra-large German Shepherd mix dog. Sully was possessive of even HER toys, so we are really watching him for resource guarding with other dogs now so that he can unlearn that behavior. He is getting treats and praise for sharing, letting another dog enjoy a treat first, etc. We have had some advice from trainers as well as a book recommendation (Mine!) that I think will be useful for Sully and other dogs who show a tendency toward resource guarding.

On Wednesday Sully got to do a home visit with a fabulous family who brought their sweet JRT pup to meet him at the April 14th Meet & Greet. I think this is going to be Sully's Forever Family!!! They are putting the final touches on their fence, and then Sully will get to go on his trial foster-to-adopt stay with them- YAY Sully!!

A new playmate

No one has missed Coco more than Sully. But luckily a new friend, Fancy, came this week. She is just the right size and temperament to be a good match for Sully, and the two have had a fun week. (Jason calls them "Wet and Wild"... best not to examine that too closely!)

Sully was suppose to stay home from the Meet & Greet today, but a family came by especially to meet him and even brought their darling Jack Russell Terrier to see him! So Jason zoomed Sully down to meet us and they all had a chance to see each other.

Housebreaking is HARD WORK!

Poor Sully! You can just tell how much this sweet big boy wants to please us... but sometimes he just doesn't KNOW what to do! The other dogs are catching on to housebreaking much more quickly than he is... so he is under very close supervision while they all get more and more freedom! But all is not lost.... he was the 2nd dog to ring the Poochie Bells and we think he was really trying to let us know! We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, he is a total snuggle bug. And tonight he and Darla ate out of the same dish without any fuss after a hand-feeding session. Our sweet cub is coming around!!!

Making New Friends

Sully's food manners plan is working well. He is eating treats and handfuls of food alongside any of the other dogs now and seems much more relaxed about it. He allows us to pick up his dish at any time without protest and he also lets us pet him throughout the meal. He will tolerate another dog eating in the same exercise pen he is in (from a separate dish) while we are there too. We feel confident it is only a matter of time before he is sharing a dish with his foster siblings and the food issue is all past tense.

Sully's new foster sister, Darla, arrived yesterday and they have really been enjoying each other's company. It was an unusually cold and rainy for an April day in Austin (currently 34°... brrr!), so it was nice to have some friends to play with inside as well.

Little Bear

I went to pick Sully up from his rescue home on Tuesday afternoon. It was hard to leave his sister Boo behind while he and his other sister, Sophie, went to foster homes, but we were anxious to get this gentle giant going on his house manners and really only had room for one.

My husband Jason stopped and gave Sully a bath and nail trim at Mud Puppies on the way home and reports that he is NOT a fan of the blow dryer! Other than that, he is a completely charming fellow-- just like a lumbering bear cub. I have to get more photos taken ASAP that show off just how cute-- and big!-- he really is for a 4 month old puppy. His paws are XL for sure.

So far Sully seems to enjoy the other dogs and people in this foster home. He has taken very quickly to a housebreaking routine and is tolerating being in a crate when needed. He is also getting the hang of "sit" and "go to bed!", and he has started some initial leash work. Not bad for a young guy in a whole new environment!

We have started Sully on a diet of Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish, which he is eating well. He needs to feel more comfortable having other dogs around while he is eating since right now he wants to guard his bowl and food from them, so we are working on that by having him share a meal with one of the other dogs each time via hand feeding and by participating in group training sessions that involve treats. We will keep updating his progress in this area on here, but we don't anticipate that this is anything but a small bump to be worked through at this time.