Frazier a,k,a Fred in his new home!

Here's a wonderful update from our first foster Frazier (now Fred) in his new home!

Hey Hanna,

It's been a long time since I've been in touch with you and I thought you might like to know how Fred is getting on. (Now that summer's over and I have a second to breathe!)

Fred and his beagle sister Hannah get along wonderfully. She's much more chill and laid back then he is but when he gets too rowdy for her she certainly knows how to put him in his place! They're champion nappers, haha. They both do wonderfully at being shop dogs. Fred has never gotten the hang of not taking off after other dogs when they walk by so he has to stay tied, but he is well behaved otherwise. I even got him to the point that when people (especially kids) walk up to him at the shop he sits automatically! He's really good around Dana's granddaughter (who's almost 2, gah, the terrible twos are definitely in full force). I've worked with him A LOT to curb his dominant aggressiveness. Occasionally he has little set backs, mostly when he's tired and on the bed, but I just have to tell him firmly to get off the bed and he'll do it right away. He's really pretty wonderful.

We walk everywhere and he's almost perfect on the leash. He still has problems sometimes with skateboards or other dogs but he's much easier to get under control and calms quickly.

A couple of weeks ago I had to go away overnight at kind of a last minute and got the pups a spot in a boarding kennel near my house. Unfortunately Fred didn't fare that well and wouldn't eat either dinner or breakfast. I've got an appointment for tomorrow with the Happy Tails doggy day care and boarding to see if they pass the interview. I'm hoping that if it's a place where he can play and gets used to the facility that he'll have less emotional problems when we go away. He'll be doing daycare there tomorrow and Friday and our first test overnight is Saturday (gulp!). If that all goes well then I won't have to worry so much when we go away on our planned vacations this winter.

Anyway, now that I have you all caught up! Let me know if you ever want to get together to have a doggy play date sometime. We can meet up at one of the dog parks in Portland. (He's not perfect, but has gotten much better in the car!) Hope everything is going wonderful with you and your little peanuts. I've attached a couple of pictures of the pups.

Hope to hear from you, *****

Here's a bunch of pictures on Fred with his new family:

FRAZIER'S BEEN ADOPTED!!

Finally! The old snugglebug was adopted by a wonderful couple in Old Orchard Beach, ME where he gets to go for long walks on the beach and hang out at their surfshop every day...

Yay for happy endings!

Frazier still needs a home...

Frazier, the poor guy, was adopted and lived with his new family for a month... But they decided they didn't have the time he needs for obediencetraining and decided not to keep him, so he is again available for adoption...

I feel sad for poor Frazier who has had a tough life already, but I am sure the perfect home is out there for him...

How to adopt...?

- If you are interested in adopting Frazier, you can visit his profile on Petfinder.com

- Or fill out an Online Adoption Application

- Visit Friends of Homeless Animals Inc. page to read more abot our rescue...

Dogster!

Frazier now has his own "Adopt Me!" page on Dogster.com!
You can visit him there:

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/651516

Frazier's first week...

Frazier has now been staying with us for a little over a week and we are really getting to know each other...

Again, I can't express enough what a loving, sweet, snuggly dog he is! His favourite place is right by your side on the couch getting his belly rubbed and face smushed (and what a smushable face it is!) while giving you kisses! He is just the biggest sweetheart ever...!

At the beginning of his stay, our resident dogs Bela and wednesday, were a bit jealous and trying to figure out who this new kid was stealing their attention. They were acting quite "bitchy" and bossy and Frazier wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Here he is, just trying to play, what's their problem?? :)
But as the week has progressed the three of them has setteled in together and are getting along great! Bela is definatly the alpha, as Frazier has no problem with that! He'll even give her submissive kisses and roll onto his side to let her snuggle... :)

Frazier can be quite vocal at times, especially during play, or if he's excited/frustrated, but it's something we're working on and he seems to respond really well to training. He just needs to figure out the "Quiet" command. Occasional barking while playing or alerting to strangers is not necessarily a bad thing, but no one likes a loud mouth, so we're happy to see how quickly he is responding to training...

Since he is not particularly interested in treats (he completely ignores dry treats) we've been using soft "jerkey" style treats (strong flavor and scent) for training and he loves them!
He knows his basic commands (sit, lie down, stay, come), but I don't think they were reinforeced very strictly, so we're brushing up on them and he's doing really good, he just needs some reminding and some consistency...
And tasty treats for rewarding usually does the trick! :)

He LOVES his walks and really needs his morning walk or he will whine and wimper until you take him out. He does get really riled up while preparing for a walk, but he are teaching him to sit nicely before putting on his collar and leash.
He will also pull to get out the door, but we don't allow him to go through the door ahead of us and he has to sit and wait before going outside. It's a little bit of a work in progress, but he is learning. Good calm behavior = You get what you want...

While out walking he is great on a leash! We use a slip collar but barely need it, he walks very nicely next to us without trying to pull ahead. He LOVES other dogs, so when seeing another dog while on a leash he will try to pull towards the dog to "say hello", but he doesn't obsess over it, and he will nicely keep walking when asked.
His earlier anxiety while walking downtown seems to have completely diminished. I think the fact that he feels more settled in helps him relax and trust us, so he doesn't have to feel anxious...

He has been GREAT with everyone he meets. He loves people and loves meeting new people. He has been very sweet when meeting children, loving the attention and gently lettling them snuggle them, even giving kisses to anyone who wants one. He DOES have a tendency to jump up on people when meeting them, so we're working on the "Down" and "Gentle" commands and he's been doing really good.

For any potential adopter with young children my only concern would be the "jumping up" factor, he might accidentally knock a young child over, but he would never intentionally hurt anyone. He doesn't even rough house (given his mature age), so it would only be during greeting. He is a strong, muscular dog and doesn't realize his own strength sometimes...

He is still very anxious during car rides. I'm not sure how much exposure he's had before and it seems to be sensory overload. Our pug/boston terrier mix Wednesday used to be a nightmare in the car, darting from side to side, barking and crying like crazy and panting like there was no tomorrow. But now she sits nicely on my lap looking out the window or lies down for a nap. It's all a matter of desenzitising and eventually they learn it's nothing to worry about.
In Frazier's case, since he's so comfortable in his crate, I might even suggest to keep a travel crate in the car for him, so it doesn't have to be so overwhelming for him...

He is just the nicest, sweetest, happy-go-lucky dog ever and he will make someone a wonderful easy-going companion!

Frazier's Arrival...

This is Frazier's story on Petfinder.com:

"Hey guys - my name is Frazier & I am a Boston Terrier -
They say I am going to be 9 years old in December, but I am active and healthy so do not feel all that old... :)

My owners loved me and had me since I was 7 weeks old, but they told me they are too old now and can not care for me any more. So here I sat at the shelter all alone and missing my people - the shelter told me that noboby wanted me because I am too old.

My good rescue buddies thought I was awesome and sprung me from the high kill shelter - they say sometimes older dogs like me are the BEST since we are already housetrained, don't chew and kind of laid back. I am so happy to be out of there!!!
Please won't you give me another chance to find a family to love and to love me - I promise to be a good boy!!!
I am very good with people and other dogs, but I am not good with kitties and really like to bark at them. Since I am about 24-25 lbs I might knock over little kids by accident."


Frazier was rescued from a shelter in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, by a local Boston terrier rescue. But their resources are limited, so our rescue, Friends Of The Animals Inc. decided to bring Frazier, along with a bunch of other dogs, to New England to new foster homes and a brighter future...

And that's where we come in. Frazier's transport is arriving on Sunday Oct. 21 and that's when we are picking him up so he can stay with us until he finds his forever home! We are very excited to meet him... :)

We will keep you posted on Frazier's arrival, and his life here with us in Portland ME...