Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I've been a pretty active member of the Florida Pyr Rescue and the coordinators here spend a lot of time getting to know the dogs before they are adopted, raising the placement success rate significantly.  When we adopted our first, there was a pretty thorough conversation with the  coordinator in my area to get a feel for our family and when she suggested a couple Pyrs in foster she thought would be a good fit, I then talked to the foster parents.  There was then a home visit with a Pyr in hand, so we could see just how darn BIG the dogs are, shedding issues, lazy temperment, etc. 

Granted, our rescue has worked very hard to become this organized and do all we can to make it the best fit possible.  This includes doing everything possible not to get the dog back, knowing any health issues and disclosing them.

I just can never say enough about rescue.  It's near and dear to my heart.

Hi there,

We were successful with our first foster girl, Morgan - she was adopted by a wonderful family this past weekend.  We promptly accepted our new foster girl Macy, but this poor baby has the worst teeth... She's a very petite Pyr and she's obviously used her teeth to get out of a cage, crate, whatever in the past.  Her bottom teeth are worn down to the gums and her lower canines are badly worn in grooves on both sides and decayed.  It doesn't seem to bother her, but her breath is just noxious  .  I have brushes for all the other dogs and picked up one that attaches to my finger for brushing Macy's - it just looks gentler but I'm afraid I'll hurt her if I even try. 

I don't know what advice I'm looking for, I guess I'm just wondering if anybody's experienced this sort of thing before and if so, what have you done for it?  Breezely came to us from Rescue with gorgeous teeth....

TIA,
Kelli

I'm reading "she's gotten VERY aggressive with food and my husband and I" as that she's aggressive when someone else has your attention - does this sound right?  Not on the same scale, as Gomez is only 4 lbs, but whenever we introduce a new dog, adopted or fostered, he wigs out and becomes very protective of me.  He is an alpha alpha ALPHA male, all 4 lbs. of him. I say not on the same scale, because he cannot inflict as much damage on another human or animal as Bailey Bear would, due to her size, bu I've learned that going around the group, giving love to one dog then moving on to the next, giving each the same belly rub, hug whatever, so that it doesn't appear to him that one is getting more than the other.  Gomez sees he's getting as much love and attention as the others, it seems to soothe his bruised ego slightly and it also shows him that the other dogs are "OK".

Food aggression is normal and quite common, even with the most laid-back Pyrs.  I discussed this with my rescue coordinator when we brought Morgan in as a foster and she explained that with any new experience, it is one of the things the dogs feel they can control.  As she gets used to the other dogs and her new surroundings, it may ease some.  Until it does, simply giving her her own space to eat will acknowledge her needs and it may not seem so important to her.

As far as people, especially your small sister - bring her out to meet each and every new person, rather than them coming inside the house.  And slow is sooo key.  Meet outside, approach Bailey with your sister using a soothing, quiet voice.  Make sure she has her hand palm-up and moves slowly.  If you sense any tension, stop and separate.  Try again until you sense Bailey is comfortable.  It sounds cumbersome, but Bailey sounds very Alpha and it may take her longer to adjust to new situations.  Plus, she's in an entirely new environment and doesn't understand what the heck is going on.  We love them as our own, but they are animals and this cannot be forgotten.

I've had a lot to say (LOL) and I am no expert by any means.  But I have 3 small children and have had to take a lot of care with so many animals in a not so large space.  Good luck, with time, patience and consistency, she'll be ok.

LOL... It took me so long because I was too lazy to create a profile.  I wanted to be sure to include a picture(s), signature, etc. and was finally able to this weekend because of the Holiday. I really want to tell you all that it was a WONDERFUL way to start my day reading these responses.  I really, really wanted to sleep in this morning, but 6:00am and the dogs needed to potty. Ugh, so much for sleeping in. I guess I will just give up hoping for more sleep indefinitely    But really, the sincere praise for rescuing and fostering brings tears to my eyes because both have been such rewarding experiences for me and my family.  It began as an "all about the dogs" thing but has really become just as much for us too 

Love this pic of Morgan from last night.  I call it her "Pardon me sir, do you have any Grey Poupon??" face.  She is such a clown.  Have a great day!

Hi there,

I've been reading this board since I rescued my Pyr in December, but hadn't posted until today.  I have 3 kids (4 if you count my husband) ages 5, 7 and 8, plus Breezely (our Rescued almost-2-yo Pyr) our foster girl Morgan (Pyr who is about 2), Cassidy (our beautiful 13.5 yo Border Collie that we've had since she was 6 wks old) and Gomez (the Wonder Chihuahua, who is 1 and rules the roost).  I'm sooooo in love with my dog, but the big dog captured my heart completely in an instant.  Our rescue here in Florida is so over capacity, so we began fostering another about a month ago.  They are the most wonderful, amazing dogs I've ever encountered and consider myself sooo lucky to have them.  I am doing my best to find Morgan her forever home, but am in no hurry for her to leave us.

Anyway, that's us.  We are a very busy household  .  I've learned a lot just reading.  Thanks!

Kelli

I'm so sorry, what a gorgeous guy....

Kelli