Dilly, dilly

Lavender came to us all smelly and balding thanks to a nasty bacterial skin infection and legions and hordes of yeasty beasties all attacking her poor hair follicles.  She's feeling a little better, though she's not yet out of the woods, not out of the dark, not out of the night.

Here's a recent report we received from her ever-lovin' foster ma:

"Oh the Lavender! Well, unfortunately her skin is not continuing to improve as we had hoped.




When they first brought Lavender home, she was so odoriferous they nicknamed her Stinky.  That's a pretty good stink-eye she's throwing around there, don't you agree?  We feel sure we'd have perfected our own stink-eye if someone had applied so rude an appellation to our own personage.  Stinky, indeed!

Her yeast will just not learn to take a hike. With baths, meds and lots of lovin' she can't clear up enough for her spay. We are on a food trial, and it's a bit tricky to get her to eat that hypoallergenic food; today was the first day of 4 that she was okay eating without looking at me funny. She continues to itch on the white side of her face and three of her feet.

I had to pick up the throw rugs around the house because she thought they made useful belly rubbin' rugs. She had a MRSA culture done, but we haven't heard any results back yet. We're hopeful the derm vet can be avoided.


"Despite the itchies, her social skills have been wonderful. She came in from the shelter thinking she was going to be the alpha girl, and she is now a playful and social little girl. She shares her toys (loves her stuffies), shares nyla bones, plays without becoming rough and growly, and she is no longer rude when another dog approaches me.   Being protective was to much work with so many dogs in the house, I suppose.

"Her potty manners have improved and she's using the dog door; however occasional reminders are needed when exiting her crate and after naps. If the weather is inclement, forget it! She will sit outside the dog door and wait for you to walk away and sneak back inside instead of running out, doing her business, and coming back inside. Jeez!"

We are completely in synch with young Lavender's feelings about having to piddle whilst raindrops beat down into our vulnerable ear canals.  How would YOU like that?  The least you bipeds could do is offer the shelter of an umbrella for the few little minutes it takes a froglette to heed nature's call.  They are YOUR floors, after all, and you are the one who wants them kept so dry and clean, chides

The Frog Princess 

Benny the Frog's Ninth Natal Anniversary

Infamous tomato thief and 19th hole lounge lizard Benny the Frog made time in his busy schedule to allow his mom to prepare a home-grown celebration in his honor.


Benny is a 2003 FBRN graduate.

In his working life, he often serves as an adjunct to his mom's duties as a Humane Educator for an east coast animal control office.  He gets to accompany his mom to schools and other locations to teach children about the responsibilities of sharing one's life with a rotten, no-good, tomato-stealing, golf cart-riding frogdog.

His mom tells us that sometimes, when Benny the Frog is feeling ornery, he will refuse to charm the children, and instead turns his back on them and fantasizes about living on a desert island with his beloved Fiona, maybe paddling lazily through a lagoon full of cherry tomatoes, each more delicious than the last.

Happy birthday, Benny the Frog!  We love you and your glorious rottenness.

The Frog Princess

The Value of a Formal Education

Licorice's foster mom sent us a little essay about her experience with the formerly naughty boy. She had great success with him as they went through classes together. Licorice has found a family of his own now. Here's her essay:

"Licorice came into FBRN as Bullet, and he probably should have been renamed Fonzie. He was dressed in black, knew rules didn’t apply to him, tried to intimidate other dogs and left his mark anywhere he thought they might pick up the message. But he had a heart of gold, and just needed to learn some social skills so he could move on to his forever home.






He was an easy people dog, if you could get past the wild leaps across the room onto your head, or the
grooves the leash dug into your hands when walking him in public. It became apparent that if this boy
had any hope of being adopted he needed to get some formal education, he needed to learn to interact
with people and dogs in a polite way. So he was enrolled in a basic obedience class.

Licorice swaggered into class, jumping at all the dogs and grabbing the lead in his mouth and screaming
if pressed to do something he chose not to. It was a rough ride, but with the help of knowledgeable
instructors, patient classmates and increasingly tough collars, Licorice graduated. (Yes, we finally went
to a pinch collar, and found the tool that got his attention. After the first night wearing it, he wore it
inside out but showed appropriate respect.)

The beauty of this was discovering that he was a smart boy who wanted something to do, wanted to
learn, wanted to please his foster mom. He moved on to two sessions of advanced work, and was
very dependable with all of the basic commands. In addition to the usual cute pictures, his available
page showed a graduate sporting a snazzy mortarboard, a calm dog doing a group down-stay, and a handsome boy heeling beside his trainer on a loose lead.

At any given time, FBRN has dozens of very cute dogs vying for the perfect forever home. How does one choose? In Licorice’s case, the successful applicant was attracted to him because he had some obedience training. He was able to move into a home where he will be exercised on a leash, and handled by two very responsible young men of 7 and 11 years. His new owners are so impressed with his accomplishments that they are considering adding a CGC (AKC Canine Good Citizen Certification) to his
resume.

Dogs no longer wander in packs searching for their next meal, so they need some replacement activity
or they get bored. That boredom is often behind all sorts of destructive behavior and the reason so
many dogs find themselves in rescue, wondering what in the world they did to be abandoned. So whether your dog is the love of your life or a foster looking for a forever home, consider training. It might be just tricks, basic civility, or competing in dog-sports such as rally or agility, but working with your dog is the best way to solidify that all-important bond. Try it, you and your dog might really like it."

It's almost time for kids to go back to school.  Maybe it's about that time for you and your frog, too? suggests

The Frog Princess

Vela Goes Shopping!

Some of our dogs are more fashion-conscious than others.  Vela has an entire wardrobe and never tires of making trips to the boutique for another outfit. 




 Here she is with her best friend and fashion consultant, Spock.

When she's adopted, she'll need a small walk-in of her own.

  

 Let's face it, some girls just have more style-sense than others.

 

 

And some girls just have that oo la la!

Not everyone can pull off every look. 

But Vela has an advantage.



She's French!


Check out Velamint's page and see if she might be the girl you've been waiting for. 

Just be sure you are prepared to put some mileage on your Canine Couture credit card, advises

The Frog Princess

Too Hot for Walks--But Not for Ice Cream!

Kees and his foster buddy are finding the dog days of summer too darned hot--sweltering, even!--for sidewalk strolling.  So when Mom and Dad ask if anybody is up for a trip to the ice cream parlor, guess who is bounding out to the horseless chariot to get a licky-lick of frozen custard?



Here's a note from Kees's foster mom, who took these photos on a recent outing:

"Kees' health has been quite stable for the last few weeks...knock on wood. He did have an allergy outbreak requiring 2 rounds of antibiotics, we are trying everything to keep his sores healing (no steroids for this guy).

 

We were out for our weekly trip to run errands and the DQ, it has been too hot for any walks so this is the kids' extracurricular activity....and a few licks of a vanilla cone. Kees has his spot on the console, on the job watching for my husband to come out of the store."

Our regular readers know that Frenchies cannot be outside in high temperature weather,  and none of our readers would dream of leaving a Frenchie in a car on a hot day, but it never hurts to remind folks that even 5 minutes is too long.  Better to leave your frog at home in the air-conditioning than risk an unwanted adventure like this one, advises

The Frog Princess

Everybody's Getting in the Act!

Our chip-in fundraiser is going much more slowly than we could wish.  However, we are so impressed with our volunteers' willingness to go above and beyond to raise funds for us!  Here, FBRN grads Ava and Manny snoopervise their people's lemonade stand fundraiser. 

Have you posted our chip-in widget to your blog or facebook page?  Please consider asking your friends to help support our efforts to get back to rescuing Frenchies!

We're not yet halfway to our goal, but we have only 9 days remaining. 



Thank you for helping promote this fundraiser!  Stay cool and hydrated with some refreshing lemonade, advises

The Frog Princess

Treats from China Still Suspect!

One of our volunteers mentioned that her vet had seen two dogs with Fanconi-type kidney failures this month.  Unfortunately, both young dogs died.  They had both been eating dried chicken-strip treats imported from China, recently purchased from the US's largest discount chainstores. 

You may remember that in 2007, there was a wave of dog deaths resulting from treats manufactured in China, involving melamine.  It appears that the problem with death and illness has been ongoing, though it hasn't been publicized, and in recent months, a rise in dog deaths in Canada resulted in this post:  http://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=19077. 

If you purchase your dog's treats from the supermarket or large discount chains, be sure to look very, very carefully at the packaging.  Though the bag may say in larger lettering, "Manufactured in the US," it may say elsewhere, "Made in China" in very small letters.

The vet in the article cited above suggested feeding your dog small quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit (excepting onion, raisins, grapes, etc.) or single cheerios-type cereals.  Don't be like the enthusiastic dog-owner who switched to carrots for treats and whose nauseated dog presented the vet with a one-pound pile of carrots in the exam room!  Let your Frenchies fill up on fruits and veggies between meals, but don't top them off!

Here's a photo of FBRN grad Norm (formerly Albee), anxiously awaiting his healthy, homemade dinner.  Poor guy looks about ready to keel over from the pangs!  He's weak, weak from the hunger! 


We could eat a little something ourselves, now that we mention it, considers

The Frog Princess