Toby

March 7, 2006

Toby, as he came from the mill.

April 4, 2006

From: Alana Glass <aglass1@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Date: Tue Apr 4, 2006 8:15:40 AM US/Pacific
Subject: [KBL] Report on Toby.......from the Ohio Puppy mill rescue

Howdy from Houston.......... home of Toby and Laurie the Beautiful. Toby has been here in Houston since Thursday March 23. He is a 7 month old male puppy rescued from the Ohio Amish puppy mill. He arrived scared and timid. He would not come out of his crate. If he went outside, he would not come back inside without a great deal of coaxing. He was afraid to be petted or play with toys. BUT........What a difference a week has made. He gives kisses and begs to be petted. He is now playing with toys. He loves to play fetch. He does the most amazing thing with his toys. If left by himself, he will throw them in the air and chase them. It is the funniest thing to watch. He knows his name and will come when called. Which is good because he and the back yard neighbor dog get into barking matches. On the housetraining front, he had a few accidents inside that were my fault............I did not allow him enough time outside or realize that his bowel function was so regular. He wants no part of walking on a leash..........have to work on that. He is leery of my husband.......even barking at him when he appeared suddenly from another room. He adores his big sister Laurie: kisses her ears and nuzzles her............she is rather lukewarm. Sometimes she will play with him, but not often. I give her extra attention because she was and is the princess of the household. She sleeps on our bed and Toby sleeps in his crate by our bed. He has gotten used to that and will enter the crate by himself in the evening.

He went to the vet on Monday. The vet recommended that we wait to neuter him and let him get over the trauma of the rescue and get used to his new home.

I took them both for a car ride on Friday. He was a little frightened, but laid down on the back seat. He was so funny when we returned home. He raced into the backyard and just ran around and around. He was so joyful and happy.......it reminded me of the Charles Schultz cartoons where Snoopy is jumping in the air for joy. He rolled around in the grass and lay on his back: all four paws in the air. What a silly guy!

I was a reluctant to share Toby's story with the group because, originally, Jan had wanted me to take another puppy from the rescue and I had refused. I am so glad I changed my mind and got this little guy. He is so sweet and wonderful. He is not ever going to be like Laurie or other Kerries because his tail has been cut so short he can barely wiggle it. His ears have not been set.

But his little quirky Kerry personality just comes shining through.

Alana, Laurie the Beautiful and Toby

April 26, 2006

From: Alana Glass <aglass1@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Date: Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:15:58 AM US/Pacific
To: KERRYBLUES-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM
Subject: [KBL] Update on Toby in Texas

Toby, our rescue boy from the Ohio puppy mill continues to thrive. I have included a picture of him and Laurie playing in the backyard. He loves to play fetch, tug-of-war and still throws his toys in the air and chases them. He gives kisses and nuzzles my hand as we are walking. We are working on walking on a leash. If I get his leash out, he runs and hides in his crate. He will walk in the backyard or house, but is still terrifed of the front yard and cars. I have started walking him back and forth across the front yard for short periods of time, but always with Laurie. She is the best teacher. I could not have gotten this far with him without her. On Monday, my dogsitter managed to walk down the street with both dogs. In time, I think he will be fine walking on a leash with Laurie.

He had his first grooming and bath yesterday since arriving. I had Rub-a-Dub mobile groomers come to the house and park in the driveway. Laurie and I stood outside the van while Toby was bathed. He was very good on the grooming table. He allowed the groomers to lift his paws and trim his nails. He did not panic or try and jump down.

I am teaching him to sit and come. He is a very smart little boy. He is still afraid of my husband - which breaks my husband's heart. He runs out of the room when he enters. It has nothing to do with my husband - is more about men in general. He is afraid of all men. Can anyone offer advice to help Toby overcome this fear?

Toby has made tremendous progress since arrivng here. Again, I have to thank Laurie. She has been a great teacher. Toby will not do anything without her. He licks her ears and greets her joyously. He is truly a joy.

Alana Glass
Laurie the Beautiful
Toby (where's Laurie?)

From: Alana Glass <aglass1@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Subject: [KBL] Update on Toby from the Great Ohio Rescue
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2006 14:05:18 -0500

It has been almost 4 months that Toby has been with us. He continues to thrive. It is such a thrill to see his Kerry personality coming out. He has discovered the squirrels in the back yard and loves to chase them. He and Laurie have become a squirrel hunting team. He adores being with other dogs, so the dog park is great fun.

We were still having a problem with walking on a leash. I tried a harness but he did NOT like that. Then I tried a martingale collar. Now, we (Laurie, Toby and myself) walk every morning for at least an hour. We walk very early because he is still frightened of loud cars and people without dogs. We are quite an impressive sight as we walk down the boulevard. He continues to pull hard on the leash once we start for home. Not sure what to do about that.

He will now allow my husband to give him treats and pet him. I shaved his coat for comfort - it is very hot/humid here in Houston. At night, he sleeps in his crate which is by my bedside. He also stays in it when I leave the house. We have had 5 days without an accident in the house. Yea!

I am teaching him to sit and down. He automatically sits when I get the leashes out for a walk. He is making eye contact with me. He will come when called..... most of the time. We still need to work on that. I think he is almost ready for an obedience class. The trick will be to separate him from Laurie for a period of time. When she goes to the groomer, he goes into his crate and stays there until she comes home.

It is amazing to me that this little guy who was so mistreated as a baby is so loving, gentle and affectionate.

Alana Glass
Laurie the Beautiful
Toby

From: Alana Glass <aglass1@HOUSTON.RR.COM>
Subject: [KBL] Update on Toby from the Great Ohio Rescue
Date: Sep 15, 2007 14:05:18 -0500

Laurie, Toby, and I have been in Summit County , Colorado the entire summer. We all thrived on the fresh air, cool climate and constant exercise. Toby is a changed doggie. He is not shy around strangers...........his Kerry curiosity usually gets the better of him. What a happy boy! He has developed into a sweet, affectionate Kerry. He often comes up to me during the day to nudge my hand for a "scritch". My husband says I have created a "scritch monster". We will see when we begin training for our CGC tomorrow. He is quite a big boy - weighing 51 lbs.(it is all muscle - not fat). He knows the commands: sit, down, stay, come, and wait. I keep him shaved down because he is just like a little kid when it comes to water or mud.........he can't stay out of it. I think he is really a lab in a terrier suit!

Every morning while we were in Colorado, around 6 AM, the doggies and I would walk the front nine holes of the Raven golf course in Silverthorne. The doggies would always find squirrels or chipmunks to chase. Several mornings there were foxes and one morning an Elk. They were always "off lead". I carried treats with me to make sure they came when called - they always did. Toby was a little afraid of the maintenance workers and their noisy machines.........so he always came when I called.

We did several long (4-5 hours) hikes together while in Colorado. Usually with lots of other hikers and other doggies. Toby loves being off lead........ free to run and explore. What a confidence builder this was for him. He stays close to me, always comes when called, gets along well with the other doggies and the other hikers.

I have enclosed new pictures of Toby taken on a hike to the summit of Wheeler Pass in Colorado this summer. He is wearing a doggie back-pack in which he carries water and snacks for himself and Laurie. It was a huffa-puffa hike as we ascended 3000 ft. in 3 miles (6.4 miles round trip) The doggies were in good shape, so it was no problem for them. Both Laurie and Toby were off-lead for the entire hike.

Alana, Laurie the Beautiful and Toby the Scritch Monster

From: aglass1@COMCAST.NET
Subject: [KBL] Update on Toby
Date: October 21, 2007 6:37:43 AM PDT
To: KERRYBLUES-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM

Good Morning Listers: I am happy to report that Toby, #5 from the Great Ohio Rescue of April 2006, earned his CANINE GOOD CITIZEN AWARD yesterday. I am so proud of him. He went through all 10 activities perfectly. He even acted a little bored ! I was a little worried about test Item #9: Reaction to Distraction and Item #10 Supervised Separation. The evaluator banged away on a pot and then drove a grocery store cart right by him with no reaction. A year ago he would have pulled at the leash to get away. He stood quietly while the evaluator held his leash when I left the room for three minutes. I could tell he didn't like it - but he did it.

Our next goal is to begin training in Agility. He will already go through the tunnel, over the A-frame and over several jumps.

[...]

Alana
Toby CGC
Laurie the Beautiful