Meet Tosca/Tosca's Transition (updated 10/31)

santuzza

I've lost my voice, so I didn't make it into work today. However, croaking or not, I was going to get Tosca. So off I went to the city armed with a carrier. You know what they say about the best-made plans. Well, when I got there I found out the carrier was too small. I had to take her on the train on a leash. I decided that if I got there and she was upset, I'd go to a pet store and get her a new crate.
She was beyond good. Someone from the rescue society went with me and stayed with Tosca and I while we waited for our train and to our amazement she was about ready for a snooze. She was very good on the train as well. She loves the yard and is adapting well. I'll post pics tomorrow because she's currently staring at me and then looking at her bed... or is it my bed?

Sangmort

Yay!!!! Glad to hear it all went well, can't wait to see pics !~

dlroberts

Congrats! And, you'll learn very quickly, if she looks at it, it now belongs to her. ;-)

lindsayt

What a wait, finally she's in her new home ;) Hope your voice returns.

Leonberger

Ah, I thought I was going to get spam! :-P
I'm glad everything went well, even with a small glitch in the original plan.

tsukitsune

I'm glad to hear it went well! Congrats! Can't wait to see her in her new home!

ljowen123

So happy that she did well on the train and is now getting settled in! Congrats!

KFontaine04

Congrats! Yay for you and Tosca. Glad the train worked out for you.

santuzza

Yes, it was my bed she was staring at! She stayed in her bed for about three minutes before decideing she liked the foot of my bed much better. She was a little jumpy last night, it freaked her out when she saw me without glasses, but aside from getting a little sick at 4:30am and coming to the harsh realization that not all plants are part of a salad, she's doing well. She had a twenty minute walk at around 7:30am and then wanted to play. Now she's just meandering around waiting for something cool to happen. She likes my mother, but is still a little wary of my dad, but she's getting there. Here are some pics from the journey.

Honey's mom

Yep! It's officially HER bed now! HAHAHAH So cute!!!!

dlroberts

Awww, she looks so tired in the last pic. She had a pretty tough day though, so its not surprising.

All the best for many happy and healthy years to come!

brandon_w

Congrats, she is very cute. Thank you for giving her a home.

KFontaine04

She is adorable! You must be so happy and feel so lucky, just like her! AWWW, i love that last pic, she is so content to be in her new furever home!

sujewel

Very Cute. Congrats!

sunyata

I am glad the journey went well! And it looks like Ms. Tosca is settling in nicely. She looks right at home lying on 'her' bed.

Congrats, and send more spam!

Leonberger

She's very cute!
Forget it was once your bed, hehehe.

Ryu

Congrats!! She's beautiful

santuzza

I have a very tired shiba on my hands. She seems to have picked the ugly old couch that was my grandmother's as her napping place. I covered her with a blanket because it's a little cool in the house today.

KFontaine04

Oh my goodness she is a doll! Traveling can wear anyone out! But at least she is making herself comfortable! YAY Tosca!

Thank blanket looks nice and warm and snuggly!

BradA1878

She is really precious in these pics - and it sounds like she did amazing on the train and the transition. And what a great rescue place to have someone go with you on the train. Congrats on your new family member!

Her coloration is pretty unique, I like it a lot!

)

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lindsayt

adorable

santuzza

She seems to like that old ugly sofa, so I may get my bed back. I'm not holding out much hope though. She always seems to have an eye on me and the one time she lost track of me (I went upstairs without her noticing) she barked. Not a lot, but she gave a few good barks. She's taken to my mother wonderfully, but is still getting used to my father though she actually asked him to pet her today. He thinks she's great. We are trying to keep her off of my parents leather furniture with a decent amount of success after only one day. I hope being allowed on my sofa isn't confusing her. It doesn't seem to be. Also she has discovered that the briefcase my father takes to work has stuff in it. She got into it tonight and is now completely intrigued. Now the "fun" begins, right.

Hopefully, I'll get some pictures of playtime and running in the leaves tomorrow.

Romi

Congrats! She is adorable! Keep us updated on how things go!

dlroberts

Hehe. Yep, the fun most definitely has begun for you. :-)

It sounds like she's making the transition quite well. Keep it up.

LoveMyMylie

haha, my mom had that exact same ugly sofa when I was a kid! She had a matching chair and love seat too! Tosca is beautiful, it's nice to hear she has a good home

santuzza

We may have hit a transitioning snag; I'm seeing a bit of separation anxiety. She gets along fine with my parents and even got my father to play with her tonight, but if I leave, she barks and scratches at doors and remains uneasy until I come back. Any ideas? There weren't any problems with separation with her foster. Where is your Shiba independence, Tosca?

tsukitsune

You can work on crate training her.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html

ddowdemers

Try crating her while you are in the same room, then crate her while you are in another room. This will take time so don't give up if she barks or scratches.

She is a very pretty girl and easy to spoil so stick to your guns. She is lucky to have you and your parents.

tsukitsune

p.s. they have Tosca adoption day pics on the website! http://nycshibarescue.org/

KFontaine04

Awww, "Bean" is so cute!

santuzza

Things are coming along well with my little diva. The dog bed is an exercise in futility, so I've taken the pillow out of it and added it to her sofa area. Maybe she'll want the dog bed one day, but right now it's that hideous sofa or the foot of my bed. I refuse to let her on my pillows, but she still gives it a shot. She loves my mother and is almost as attached to her as she is to me. She's adapting to my father and now that he realizes that he intimidates her a little, he tries to tone down his interactions with her until she gets more comfortable with him. She gave him his first lick when he came home today. Tosca got a tie-out on the deck today. It was a beautiful day and we left her out there for an hour or so. It gives her about twenty feet to roam around the deck and into the brush and woods at the side of our house. She jumped around and chased leaves and sunned herself. She seemed to like it a lot.

Today, Tosca also was introduced to my work. After she got over her initial confusion she settled down and went to sleep. Her first operatic experience was some of the best music in existence, in my opinion - Verdi. Her first piece ever was "Tua Prole, O Turpe Zingara" from Il Trovatore. The picture is of her reaction to the mezzo-soprano's stunning ending high C. She curled up and slept through "Di Quella Pira" - a very famous tenor aria - so it can't bother her too much. I used my iPod speakers because, if I can get the music loud enough, I'll sing along and I didn't want to wake up my household. It seems she truly deserves the little orange, star-shaped tag on her collar that says "Diva"!