Happy Texas Independence Day, y’all!

I bet you didn’t even know that on tomorrow in 1836, Texas officially broke loose of Mexico and became an independent republic? And it wasn’t for another ten years that we joined the US? Yup, it explains a lot, right? It’s why us Texans are such badasses!

All you other-state dwellers must be very jealous, not having the rich heritage full of badassery like we in Texas have. Even our flag rubs it in your faces reminds us. A single star — a Lone Star, if you will — flying proud in a sky of loyal blue. And the flag looks great on us, don’t it?

So it’s in honor of this very special Texas holiday that we are THRILLED to debut a brand new Sirius Republic collar — the Lone Star! The new Lone Star collar comes in red or blue with complementary, patriotic stars throughout. It was dreamt up especially for Texans, but we won’t tell anybody if you choose to get yours for other patriotic holidays — it happens to match the American flag, too! And how convenient, with Memorial day and July 4th just around the corner.

So go on, you know you want to. Get yourself a Lone Star collar and celebrate whatever it is that you love most about Texas — whether it be our famous cowdog style:

Or our famous Texas beer:

And through this weekend — because they love Texas so much — Sirius Republic is offering 10% off ALL orders (not just the Lone Star collar), if you use the secret code CHICKERDOODLE at checkout. Also consider using the rescue code for Love-A-Bull, RPLB57, at checkout: if you do, 20% of proceeds for your order will be donated to Doodlebug’s very own — and very Texan — rescue group!

So hurry along, and while you’re at it, tell us: what is YOUR favorite thing about Texas, and what are YOU doing to celebrate?

Like we told you last week, we are expecting a two-legged puppy in a few weeks. And we are excited! Mostly, we are excited about the Very Important things. Like the fact that mama and dad bought a piece of Major Puppy Equipment that is named after each of us.

I (Chick) got a car seat named after me (Chicco):

And I (‘Bug) got a wheelie puppy carrier named after me (Bugaboo):

We think this is mama’s special way of helping us feel included in this whole process, and we think it’s just great. Everybody should get special two-legged puppy equipment that’s named after their own dogs!

The other thing we are extra excited about is that our new puppy’s first pet will be a petbull! Mama adopted him last week and he is already settling in nicely to our future puppy’s room:

We know that these are the Most Important things, even though our mama disagrees. So just to humor her, we’re going to tell you about what she is thinking about as we make room for our new two-legged companion. This week, she wants us to tell you about routines & spaces.

If you’re a dog, you might be thinking: why would a two-legged puppy change anything about my spaces and my routines? But if you’re a person, you may already have some clues. Here are some things on our mama and dad’s list:

Dogs on furniture

In our house, dogs are only allowed on furnitures with permission. There are one or two furnitures that are “dog-friendly” and we can get on them if we want to (like the Stevie-chair), many furnitures that we aren’t allowed on ever (like the sofa), and some  that we are allowed on only when mama or dad invites us (like that big squooshy elevated dog bed that mama and dad sleep on at night). That means that without an invite, we do not get up on them. We have had these rules for a very long time, and mama and dad are now relieved that these rules have always been around. You see, apparently little two-legged puppies tend to lay all over all the furniture, sometimes in a very messy state of nakedness. Imagine being in the middle of changing a diaper and having a dog soar through the air and land right in the middle of the mess. No thank you! Teaching dogs that furniture is off limits unless an invite is extended is a good house rule to put in place ahead of baby’s arrival. Especially in those early months of parenting, these types of boundaries will help create “safe zones” where parents can put a baby down for a change, a nap, to read a book or have a snack — without the risk of an over-exuberant dog landing right in the baby’s lap. And speaking of safe zones . . .

Safe zones

One of us (we will not name which one, but his name may or may not rhyme with the word “stick”) is a little grumpy by nature and can get easily overwhelmed by loud noises, grabby hands, and general commotion. For dogs like “Stick,” it’s good to set up a “safe zone” where the dog can retreat if he gets overwhelmed with the puppy’s antics. In our case, there are a few corners in the house where we have cozy beds and love to cuddle up rest when we’re sleepy, cranky, or overwhelmed. Once the puppy arrives and starts moving around, she or he will be taught that our doggie “safe zones” are off limits — this means no crawling into our area to pet us, pull on our tails, or spit jello on our heads. Some people set up physical barriers that dogs can get around (for example, a low barricade that a dog can jump but a two-legged puppy can’t step over, or an indoor doggie door that’s activated by a magnet that dogs wear on their collars). Other families can get by with a vigilant eye and a strict set of rules alone. In our house, it’s going to be mama and dad’s responsibility to keep our safe zones safe, but we know they will do a good job — it’s in everybody’s best interest for each family member to have a spot where they can hide away when life gets to be too much.

Miniature humans need safe zones too, and it’s good to prepare us dogs for the loss of access to those spaces. In our house, the new mini human’s room used to be our den where we’d hang out with our people and watch movies, help do the bloggings, and enjoy a variety of other activities that usually involve cuddling. Our favorite sofa (that we used to be allowed on) was in there, and we got many snuggles from mama and dad. But in another month or so, that room is going to belong to our new two-legged puppy. Rather than waiting until that time to change the rules and restrict our access to the space, mama and dad set up a gate ahead of time. This has helped us adapt our routines way before our mini human arrives, so we don’t make any bad associations between the arrival of mini-human and the loss of privileges. Our sofa moved to the living room months ago (and we stopped being allowed up on it), and the gate went up last weekend. This gives us a whole other month to get used to hanging out in other parts of the house, even if mama and dad are in our ex-den without us.

Separation time

And speaking of mama and dad hanging out in our ex-den without us, we have also started practicing spending less time sitting right on top of our people at our peoples’ feet. We have heard that life is going to get crazy for a while and even mama (who is, we have to say, obsessed with us) will pay us less attention. From what we’ve read, she might even come home sometimes with the two-legged puppy and not let us be in the same room! It’s hard for us to imagine! But this is exactly why we’re practicing now and not later. Mama doesn’t want us to resent our new roommate for taking the attention away from us dogs, so mama and dad are withdrawing it — here and there — ahead of time. If they do a good job, then by the time the puppy arrives, we won’t even feel neglected! So far, they are just practicing going into our ex-den on the other side of the forbidden gate and hanging out in there without us. Sometimes they are doing projects, sometimes they are just talking. But in all cases, we are on the other side of the forbidden gate. It’s a little weird, but it’s just a little thing, so it’s not so bad.

We are also practicing spending time in our room by ourselves even when the people are home. Normally, once somebody gets home, they come open the door so we can come running out of the room all crazy-like to greet them. But lately, we have been practicing staying in there even though the people are home and we are very excited to see them. And sometimes, we get invited to our room for a snack and then left in there even though the people are still home. This is to prepare us for the times that things are happening and we are not invited to the party. We don’t think it’ll happen very much, but it may happen from time to time — and we’d rather be well-versed!

The silly humans are also trying to cut down on the free lovings we get. We aren’t really sure why, since dogs are Very Best at receiving free lovings, but we think it has something to do with how busy they will be with the two-legged puppy once it arrives. When we do good things we still get plenty of pets, kisses, and praisings, and to be honest we get plenty of free pets, kisses, and praisings for no reason other than being Very Cute and Very Sweet. But we do get fewer of them out of the blue, and definitely no more when we are being pushy and demanding. This shift in attention-giving is also meant to prepare us early and slowly to how much attention we might be getting after our new roommate moves in. The sooner we get used to the change, the more relaxed we will remain once Junior arrives!

Mama wants us to mention one last thing this week before we go — the common theme in all of these changes is that they are being implemented both early and slowly. Us dogs are very resilient to change, but lots of dramatic changes at once can be stressful. So spreading major changes in routine and access to spaces and attention out over a period of time — ideally at least a couple of months — is a much better way to prepare us dogs for a new tiny human than a more sudden shock. Implementing changes early has the added benefit of disassociating the change from the arrival of the two-legged puppy — an experience that we all want to be as positive as possible!

Please join us next week when we tell you about House Manners & Baby Matters!

**If you are experiencing behavioral concerns with your dog, please seek out an experienced, reputable trainer in your area. In Austin, we sing the high praises of the Canine Center for Training and Behavior, where Chick and Doodlebug learn and play. For more info on picking a quality trainer in your area, see this post.**

If you have spent much time reading our blog or following us on the Facebooks, you know that we don’t mind being close:

Sometimes REAL close:

But even though there are a bazillion photos of us sharing one bed:

Did you know that we don’t ALWAYS want to snuggle?

Here’s how it goes: For about three weeks, we will always go to our room and curl up in the same bed together. Usually I settle in first, then my brother squooshes himself into position to share:

But here’s where I have to admit something. If my brother is in a bed first, I will usually go to the other one (unless it’s ultra chilly, like less than 65 degrees outside), and then he usually gets up out of his and moves over to mine. To share.

So anyhow, this is how we sleep. For weeks and weeks. And then all of a sudden, something changes, and we decide that everydog deserves his own bed, and we are not going to share anymore:

We sleep happily in two separate spots in our room:

And then a couple more weeks go by without sharing, and we’re back to sharing again:

And a few more weeks of sharing, and we’re sleeping separately again:

Right now we’re sharing:

But it’s only a matter of weeks before we’re back to sleeping solo.

Even I will admit it: we are some pretty strange birds dogs. Does anybody else have strange sleeping habits they want to tell us about?

We sniffed it out a few months ago — we’re getting a puppy! A two-legged one!Mama always goes on and on about how smart dog noses are — that they are many times sniffier than people noses. We never really knew what she was talking about until we caught a whiff of this two-legged puppy in the air (to be clear: the puppy was not in the air, it’s just the whiff that was in the air).

We can’t explain it, but all of a sudden, mama smelled different. Even before she started to look different. Human people had no idea that anything funny was going on with our mama, but we knew. That’s how smart we and our noses are.

Mostly, we haven’t been too bothered by the new smells and shapes, but the brown one of us has been a little more concerned about strangers, especially ones that are overly zippy and close-to-us in their movements. Mama says this is normal, and we’ve been working on it.

We’ve also been working on some other things — to get ready for the two-legged puppy, they say. Dad and mama have been putting on their thinking hats and thinking about different us-related things: our eating routines, our walking routines, what rooms we hang out in, what things make us most worried, the different games we play.

And the thinking hasn’t just been for nothing, you see. When you’re getting ready for a new two-legged puppy, it’s best to plan ahead and make any big (and small!) changes in routine well in advance.  As it turns out, we hear that two-legged puppies are way more work than four-legged puppies at first, so putting on thinking caps and thinking about dog routines after the puppy has showed up might be a hard. So our people are doing what they can in advance!

And as much as we love keeping secrets, we’ve decided to put on our generosities and share our ideas and activities. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be telling you all about our new activities: how we’re learning to walk with a two-legged-puppy-wheeled-transporter, how we’re learning to like spending more time by our lonesomes, how we’re getting our friends and family ready to help us have fun and exercise those first few weeks, and other important things. After all — maybe we’re not the only ones with a puppy on the way?

Photos courtesy Matt Williams

Hi Friends,

Sorry I missed our regular date last week — I was so very busy preparing for and entertaining my many many family persons from out of town! You see, Aunt Kareaux was in town, as was Aunt Sara, and also ALL of my grandparents and my Uncle Jefe. As you can imagine, I was a very busy Sir!

But boy do I have something special in store for you, and it involves a secret discount code! I’ve been saving up this eye candy for you for a couple of weeks now, waiting for a seasonably chilly day in Texas. I’ve been storing my eye candy (and my brother’s) with my local, sustainably-harvested firewood, my organic, vegan hot cocoa, and my antique oil lamp — where I keep my most special things for winter-type days.

Now, what those of you who are not from Texas do not know (but I DO know because I am from Texas) is that we Austinites don’t have very seasonable days if the season in question is winter. In fact for the past few weeks, it’s been the kind of warm and sunny that makes the trees and bulbs get confused and start to bud and flower all up. Silly, right?

So I have been waiting and waiting until FINALLY it got below 60 degrees once, and in fact at night time it got downright chilly– down to the 40s! So what did my brother the ‘Bug and I do to celebrate? We donned our gorgeous, custom, hand-knit sweaters from Tiennot Knits Sweaters!

It sure is nice and cozy wearing these sweaters — we get all kinds of complements when we go out on the town — not only are the sweaters gorgeous, soft, and non-itchy on their own, but they also make us look even more handsome than we already were (if that’s even possible). Just check out these sophisticated grey stripes and coordinating Chick and Doodlebug color bands:

The one thing that we may have thought was even more fun than wearing the sweaters was picking out all the features. We got to custom pick our colors (red for me and blue for the ‘Bug, obviously), our patterns, our exact measurements, and then we got to add buttons for easy on-and-off and turtlenecks to really show off our most beautiful faces!

How fun is that?

You can order your own custom Tiennot Knits sweater via our friends Turk and Rufus’ blog or their sweatermaker’s facebook page. And if you mention the code CHICKERDOODLE with your order between now and Monday (February 18), you will get 10% off your order — sweet!!

And once you’ve done that, hurry back here and leave us a comment to settle our debate once and for all — who is the best sweater-model of us all? My brother the ‘Bug:

or Yours Truly?

Good morning friends! I’m a little late in writing to you today because, well, I slept in. Here is me at 9AM today:

Many of you have written to my Brother-the-‘Bug with requests for advices about behavior issues. In a way, we are relieved to hear that so many of you are having behavior issues, since both my ‘Bug and I have some things that we’re working on too. For instance, did you know that my ‘Bug sometimes gets so worried about bicycles or motorcycles or joggers whizzing by that he wants to leap out and punch them with his teeth, to tell them to go away? Yep, it’s true! But he’s working on it, and I’m very proud.

My brother’s excellent advices a couple of weeks ago about your behavioral issues were that you need to find a good, reputable, experienced trainer in your area who can meet you in person and help you. But we put our handsome, handsome heads together and got to thinking: some of you may not know how to pick the very best trainer, so here are our ideas on what to look for and how to get started. This list does not include everything, but just our favorite things to think about when thinking about dog trainers.

1. What can you find out through research? These days, any ol’ Chick or Doodlebug can hang a sign outside his door claiming to be a Professional Dog Trainer or even a Behavior Expert. There is no regulation and no certification of this profession! So just because somebody says they are a professional or an expert doesn’t actually mean anything. Yikes!  Look at the person’s website. What are their credentials? How long have they been in the business? Can you find any reviews of their services in your local paper, on Yelp!, or elsewhere on online forums? Do you know anybody who has used them with success? A dog trainer with little or no public info available and with no published references or recommendations may be an excellent trainer, but tread with caution — you can’t know for sure what you’re getting! And that’s a big risk for any serious behavioral issue!

2. What are their affiliations? Are they certified by any official governing body? Those fancy letters after some trainers’ names may mean that they have put in hundreds of hours of learning, have years of training already under their belt, and have taken a standardized exam to prove their knowledge and commitment to humane training methods. But other fancy groups of letters don’t mean much at all! APDT, for example, is a membership group that any individual interested in dog training can join. Pay a fee, and you’re in. It says nothing about an individual’s qualifications to work with dogs. My brother’s certification is CGC, which means he passed a test of good behavior, but it doesn’t make him qualified to offer advices on your behaviors! And my certification is GDG (Gosh-Darn Genius). It’s an elite title, but also does not make me an official expert! Other certifications come from private training clubs or programs, ranging a great deal in depth and duration — some programs offer just two weeks of instruction and gift students with a certificate! So before you let yourself be impressed by an affiliation, do your research — here is a good place to start.

3. What motivators do they use in training?  A trainer who uses fear and intimidation (shock collars, collar jerking, squirt bottles) should send you running in the opposite direction. One who primarily uses food is fine, but it’s best to find one who uses a wider variety of positive motivators — praise, attention, toys, and fun. My favorite place to learn (and I am biased, I know) focuses on the relationship between dog and person, even before addressing behavioral issues straight on — they are linked, after all. Many dogs who come in as behavior cases first spend days or weeks working on fundamental relationship issues with their person like trust, positivity, and fun, and only then move on to addressing the specific behavior that brought them in from the start.

4. In behavior cases, do they look at the whole dog? I’m not talking about a dog’s tail and underbelly and ears — though those are important too. Jumping right in to a “fix” for a behavioral issue can be dangerous. In your first meeting with the trainer, be cautious if they don’t ask a lot of questions — even questions that don’t seem relevant. A good trainer should be interested in a dog’s physical appearance, behavioral and medical history, diet, relationships, and home behaviors — not only the immediate issue the owner is worried about. In countless cases, what looks like one issue to the casual observer can turn out to be caused by something seemingly unrelated. An experienced, sophisticated trainer will look at the big picture.

5. Are the dogs and handlers having fun? If still in doubt, ask if you can sit in on a group basics class. Do the trainer, handlers, and dogs look like they’re having a good time? If dogs are being bullied, forced, or yelled at while learning how to walk on leash or perform a “sit,” you might want to keep looking. Learning should, for the most part, be fun. If a trainer isn’t working with her clients in a warm, engaging way in a group setting, there’s good reason to believe that private consultations and lessons will involve the same bullying, force, and yelling. And you don’t want that.

Of course, there are many more important criteria to consider when selecting a trainer for your dog — the Association of Pet Dog Trainers has a nice web page about this topic here. When you’re ready, you can search for a trainer here.

And if you’re in the Austin area, please come to the Open House (party!!) at the Canine Center for Training and Behavior, where mama, the ‘Bug, and I, work and play, tomorrow (February 2). We’ll have training demos, yoga, agility, food, music, balloons . . . a good time for everybody!

Love,

Sir Chick, GDG

Hello friends, and say hello to my new puppies! That is, my ten very temporary foster puppies. Don’t they look like tiny Chick proteges?

I will only have them for a short while so I am doing my best to teach them all about Chick-ness as quickly as possible, before they move on to their new homes — with you!

You see, a while back the nice people at Frosty Paws sent mama a pee-mail asking if I would like to do a give-away for them. As a prize, I would get my very own puppy to keep, as well as two packages of Frosty Paws (though mama is a health food nut and doesn’t let me and Doodlebug eat things like Frosty Paws because she says they’re junk food and make us allergenic).

But we talked about it, and we decided that it would be worth it just for the chance to share some winter frostiness with you and for my very own new puppy, Frosty!

So who would like to win two free packages of Frosty Paws frozen dog treats and their very own Frosty the Pup, fostered lovingly by yours truly? We have ten prize packs to give away, so your chances are very good! Here’s all you have to do:

Leave a comment on this post with your dog’s name(s), type of dog(s), and favorite treat. If it’s a homemade treat, give us the ingredients/instructions and you’ll get TWO chances to win!

My litter of puppies and I will be picking our ten winners next Wednesday, and will contact all winners by pee-mail. Can’t wait to hear from you!

**We in our household are big supporters of healthy, additive-free food for dogs. Given this, we feel it is our responsibility to say that Frosty Paws are a treat and should be considered one — like human ice cream, cheetos, or twinkies. Any of these things are fine now and then, but maybe not as an every day part of your diet, especially if you have a sensitive tummy like me and the ‘Bug. So enjoy your Frosty Paws in moderation and savor them for the rare treat that they are!**

Guess what, Austin area friends! I’m having an office party, and you’re invited!

Ok ok, it’s not really my office, but it is my place of business. And I do not just mean the place where I do my business, if you know what I mean. Every year the Canine Center for Training and Behavior, where mama, my ‘Bug and I work, hosts a big fun party day that lasts all afternoon and has great things to do like Agili-doggin,’ relaxing while your human makes pretzel shapes out of their body in yoga, lovely fashions to buy –including our dear friend’s beautiful Sew Olive custom tags and martingale collars, and plenty of new friends to meet! Oh, and of course my party will have food (for humans and dogs) and maybe even a bonfire. Sounds like a good time, right?

We’ve talked before about why the Center is such a best place. It’s covered in fun and the best sniffs this side fo the Mississippi, that much is for sure. But that’s not all. It’s also the place that hosts the Schrodi Fund — the training scholarship fund we told you about in December, that helps dogs who need help with their behavior but don’t have the dollars to pay for top-notch training. It’s the place that taught me how to be a more confident dog, the place that taught the ‘Bug how to be a Canine Good Citizen, and the place where we both first learned to Agili-dog, kayak, and play with toys. Not a bad track record, eh?

If you’ve been thinking about starting up your training again, or trying something new, or just wondering why it is that my mama, the ‘Bug, and I love our job so very much, here’s your chance. All of the funs will be there! Just to prove it, look at all the Center-related funs I’m having here:

Here are the details. Come to my party on Saturday, February 2, anytime between 1 and 6pm. The party is at the Canine Center, at 6901 Old Bee Caves Road in Austin. Don’t worry, I won’t be mad if you’re late and I won’t be mad if you do or don’t bring your dog — I’ll only be mad if you don’t stop by to say hello!

Hope to see you there!

Earlier this month — could it have even been the last day of last year? — my mama and I were featured on the Facebook page of My Pit Bull is Family, a very popular organization that promotes the image of dogs like me and the ‘Bug as dogs like me and the ‘Bug (that is, as normal family dogs). The message was clear: “2013 Resolution: FOSTER. Before, as, and after you party tonight, think about a gift you can give this year that will save a life and bring you boundless love in return.” And this mandate was followed by this photo of my mama and me goofing off, and a little snippet of our story together and how we started fostering dogs.

Only the thing is, we’re not fostering anymore — at least, not right now. We fostered and fostered and fostered all the way up until we met my ‘Bug, and then we had to quit. In our home, two dogs is enough dog. Some families can only handle one dog, some families (who I don’t understand) can only handle no dogs, while others can handle three, or four, or even more. Those are some brave families. And they must have some very good dogs.

But the truth is, everybody has their own limits. My mama and dad sometimes say that my brother and I are enough or a project for the two of them, and they wouldn’t be able to handle a third dog. I don’t know what she means, because we are most definitely not a project. We are two dogs. But still — she says that we are still working on our Canine Best Behaviors, and because of this, she doesn’t want to bring more dogs in. On top of that, mama is busy with her job helping other people with their dogs, so more dogs at home sure won’t help that much. And on top of all that, we are going to be adding a new two-legged puppy to our family in a few months, and from what mama has told me, things are going to get real busy for a while after that happens. So for now, we’re not in the game.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be. Ever since my brother started his advice column, we’ve gotten a number of pee-mails from people wondering if maybe they could start fostering too. Even though I should let my brother answer them, I’m gonna call seniority on his junior self and answer this ponderance for myself. So if you’re thinking about fostering this year, here are my advices on how to get ready:

1. Come up with a plan of how to separate your household.

This could entail a system of dividing your house into two houses, or it could involve a “crate and rotate” system where dogs swap spots every couple of hours. Even if you plan to integrate your dog and the foster dog, you won’t want to do it right away — trust me. And the better you’ve thought through your separation plan, the less you’ll be tempted to rush the dogs together because of convenience. You’ll be more willing to wait until the dogs are actually ready– which is a very good thing.

In fact, many folks foster without ever integrating dogs in their house. I bet you didn’t even know that, huh? When we were fostering, I never even met Little Zee, the apple of my mama’s eye. Other dogs — like Lollie Wonderdog and Dora the Explorer — I got to go for walks with and hang out with supervised sometimes, but for the most part we were separated while at home. Those broads were just too pushy for my tastes, and mama figured out early on that everybody would be happier, the house would be calmer, and there would be less stress if we just took turns. And it worked!

There is a bonus to this plan component too: if it turns out that — despite your best intentions to integrate — you have to keep dogs separate (because they don’t get along, because one is sick, etc), you already know what to do — and nobody gets bounced out of a foster home!

2. Get a really good recall on your dog.

If you’re like most foster folks, you probably want to integrate your new foster dog with your own dogs. That’s great! Dogs can learn all kinds of wonderful things from each other and many enjoy the company, too. But before you take this step, you’ll want to take at least one precaution — train a really good “come when called” with your dog. I’m not just talking about when you ask him for a “sit” and then walk 10 feet away with a piece of rotisserie chicken and then call him. No, I’m talking — teach your dog to come when you call him even if he’s in the middle of playing with a buddy or stalking a cat or rolling in a particularly yummy piece of dead animal in the grass.

Wanna know why? Your foster dog may not come into your home with the best habits, and you don’t want your dog picking up on any bad habits from your foster. So if your dog and your foster start playing a particularly rough game of bitey-face, you will want to call your dog out of it without any drama. Or if you end up with one dog getting into the personal space of another dog, you can get one dog to move without rushing over and grabbing any collars. A good recall will help keep everybody safe.

3. When it comes to integration, you’ll need a helper.

Typically, it took me about 3-5 weeks to integrate fully with foster dogs. Those first few weeks were spent very deliberately building my foster sibling’s basic skills, his relationship with my people, and slowly increasing our exposure to each other. We’d go for walks together, for example. But at first, we’d walk across the street from each other, with different handlers. Eventually, we’d walk side by side, still with two handlers to move us apart if anybody got too excited. Over time, we’d be able to walk together with just one person like my dad, below.

So at first, a second walker was super helpful for us. We got to have all of our fun times together without any of the stress of being forced together before we were ready, see?

4. Have a support network ready.

Speaking of helpers. Fostering is mega-fun, but it’s hard work, too. And it will teach you more than you even realized you didn’t know about dog behavior. But to do all that learning and give your foster dog all she deserves, you’ll need a support network — at least 2-3 people you can lean on when things get hard or when you have questions. These can be me and my ‘Bug (even though we are dogs and not people), folks from your rescue group, your local dog trainer, or just good friends who like dogs and are willing to come over to give you a hug and fix you a strong margarita the first time your foster dog pees on your couch (which may or may not happen).

5. Set your expectations and have lots of patience.

Although I kind of dreaded fostering at first (new dogs in the house sharing my space, my toys, and my peoples? NO way!), mama thought it would be all sunshine and lollipops. Boy was she wrong. In reality, being a good foster family takes a lot of hard work. It takes sacrifices in time and space, it takes a lot of creative thinking and hard work, and it takes a willingness to learn a lot and be flexible. But here’s the secret: we found that with every dog we fostered, it got a little easier. Our expectations became a little more realistic, we got the hang of it a little more, and we gained a sense of humor about the whole thing. By the time we fostered the Little Zee / Curious Georgia flurry, we felt like old pros. After all, those two lived with us while we were selling our house and getting ready to move across the country!

6. Enjoy!

This one might be the most important of all. Yes, fostering is hard work. If you stick with it long enough, then yes, you’ll have to clean up poop inside the house. Yes, you’ll occasionally take an extra long walk in the morning before dawn when it’s freezing outside. Yes, you’ll jump too quickly from one step to another and end up with a disagreement between dogs or a misstep in training or trust. Yes, you’ll have your heart broken by would-be adopters who seemed perfect but disappeared. Or by ones who adopted and then returned. All of these things happen.

But in the grand scheme, these inconveniences are just a drop in the bucket. You will save lives. You will give dogs a chance who wouldn’t have had one. You’ll learn and stretch and grow and cry and laugh. And you’ll fall in love over, and over, and over again.

So what do you think? Could 2013 be your year?

Just look at this dog:

And also look at this one:

Was there ever really any doubt that we were never gonna let him go?

My brother the ‘Bug came home a year ago this week — on January 2nd. We spent about two months pretending we were just fostering him, but when we talked about it the other night, we pinned the timing as about 10 days before we all kind of knew but wouldn’t admit that he was with us for good.

And can you blame us?

My brother the ‘Bug has been through a lot in his first year with us. Just after the stress of being uprooted from his home at the Arlington, TX slammer animal shelter, Doodlebug was hit with a superscary incident: the morning we awoke to him coughing up big puddles of blood. We knew he had those nasty worms in his heart, but we just had no idea how badly they were trying to kill him until that day. So he started his treatments. A couple of days after his first shot for the worms, I took advantage of his weakened state and got him in trouble with my dumpster-diving trashcan-diving escapades. I couldn’t resist– it’s what big brothers do, right?

Well I guess my escapades were just what the ‘Bug needed to lift his spirits, because just a couple of weeks later, he was feeling awesome, and totally confident that he was going to whoop those nasty worms right in the butt!

Not long after, Doodlebug started school — first Basics class (where he learned that I am the ruler of the universe how to be basically obedient), then Canine Good Citizen class, where he had to learn how to be masterfully obedient.

You might think that learning to be masterfully obedient is hard, and yes, you would be right. It absolutely is. Especially when you are faced with all of the other setbacks that my poor ‘Bug has had to deal with this year! First there were the worms in his heart, then there were some worms in his ring. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he had to be dipped in some rotten-egg-smelling yellow water every week for what seemed like a very long time, to help him with the worms in his ring. And on top of that, he had some kind of bacteriums in his poopie hole. Yuck!

That’s enough, right? How much can one poor dog deal with? Well, there’s more. Throw in some of the worst allergies our dogtor has ever seen (that made him have to wear a t-shirt all springtime and go almost totally bald) and a terrible, frightful, no-good, very bad Grand Mal seizure that led him to be diagnosed with hypothyroid disorder, and you’re getting close to understanding all my poor ‘Bug has been through.

But of course, we’ve had our fun too. Doodlebug got to go with me and mama and dad to Canine Camp in the spring, where he learned lots of agility, got to run a lure course, and went kayaking for the first time.

And speaking of agility, the ‘Bug has become quite the agili-dog. He and I went through a class, and although I thought it was ok, the ‘Bug totally loved it!

And then there are the trips out of town — to backpacking places and to the Turkeyman’s house. Yeah, I’d say my brother’s first year has been a pretty good one. And the icing on the cake, of course, is his CGC — which he earned fair and square last month. I have to admit, I’m proud of the kiddo!

So now that he has been with us a full year, mama and I have put our heads together and come up with the perfect Gotcha-Day present for him: his very own blog feature! I have my own Chix-A-Lot Friday, and that won’t ever change. But now my brother will have his very own thing, too!

Stay tuned next week and he’ll tell you all about it.

Happy Saved-A-Versary, Doodlebug!