From Goldzilla 2015:

"In memory of Gus." -Deborah M

Tula has had an uneventful couple of weeks, except the weather has gotten nicer and walks have become more frequent.  Tula has tolerated the switch to the Gentle Leader even though I wouldn’t say she is a fan.  But, as the walks have increased so has her tolerance.  She still resists the idea of putting it on except now, instead of making chomping motions for the first block, she quickly settles in and walks nicely.  With the changing weather we have also experienced some spring storms and Miss Tula is totally not fazed by them … YEAH!!!

Because we have a fence on one side of our yard and a tie-out on the other, we decided to see how Tula would do on the tie-out.  Much to my surprise, when a dog was being walked by the yard, Tula took off at a dead run, got to the end of the tie-out and kept going.  Of course, a very loud and somewhat shocked ”TULA” came out of my mouth, which caught her attention and she came trotting right back.  On the positive side, she at least came right back and didn’t proceed into the street or after the other dog.  On the negative side, I figured out she can break the clip right off a tie-out when she wants something bad enough.  She may not be very big but she sure has some power behind her little body.  Here is another example of why I think a fence is probably preferable for Miss Tula.  Having said that, if you ask me is it necessary; I would have to say “No”.  Tula is a very smart girl and with some training, hers and mine, I have no doubt she would be fine on a tie-out or with boundary training.  Our resident girl was the same when on a tie-out, so we had to be diligent when other dogs went by and put her in a “sit” and “stay”.  This allowed her to watch (not run) when other dogs went past the house.  I have complete confidence Tula could learn that same technique and would not have an issue.  She is not trying to attack the dog going by, she is just excited.  She just needs to learn how to curb the excitement.  She gets excited in the fenced yard too and will race back and forth until we ask her to come.  Tula is very quick to pick-up on routines, rules and new commands.  She also doesn’t seem to have a high prey drive, that is, unless it’s a bird.  She likes to watch the squirrels and bunnies but she loves to chase after the birds.  We have one Robin that seems to enjoy taunting her every morning and will do a few swooping fly-bys.  She’s one smart little girl.

I have been asked, because of her size, if she would be a good candidate for apartment living.  Even though Tula would probably love to live anywhere, an apartment type setting is just not a good fit for her.  You would be surprised if you heard this little girl bark.  She can bark louder than both our resident males put together.  For being such a little package, she sure has a very big bark.  In fact, when Tula was first surrendered back into RAGOM’s care, she went to a young woman in an apartment.  It only lasted one week before the other tenants were insisting she be moved.  It wouldn’t be fair to put her in that situation again.  We haven’t seen this problem in our home, but I think that’s mainly because she has two other dogs to keep her company and she doesn’t hear other people moving around.  She is a very good warning system so I have no fear someone will approach our house unannounced.

Tula is a bed hog and we’re working on getting her to lie down at the foot of the bed.  She’s very good to start but by morning she’s usually spread across the middle of the bed pushing us to the outer edges.  If we would take a more diligent role in having her stay on the floor at night, I think she would.  She has a special blanket, thank you foster mom #1, that she sleeps on in the living room, right next to foster dad.  If it becomes an issue we will try putting her blanket in the bedroom and see if she sleeps there during the night.  Tula has free roam of our house with no issues.  She is not destructive in any way.  She has just recently started playing with her pink piggy, picking it up and carrying it around with her.  Every now and then she will even get the squeaker going.

Tula recently attended her third RAGOM event and everyone commented on how much she has changed.  When we attended our first event she was visibly shaking and it took her quite a while to settle down.  At her last event, she walked right in and started visiting with RAGOM volunteers and dogs.  Foster dad even played a game of hide and seek with her.  Tula got to meet a puppy at the event and we discovered she’s not a fan of puppy energy.  She handled the situation appropriately by telling the puppy to get out of her face.  So, I think it’s safe to say, Tula is not accepting of little people or little puppies.  To be honest, she is eight years old, so she’s probably decided all that energy and excitement is just too much.

Please remember Tula is a talker and will make sounds that can be interpreted as mean or aggressive.  Because we understand her, we will often just talk right back to her.  If her talking gets too loud or snarly sounding, we tell her “No” or walk away.  She prefers to be with her people so this immediately gets her attention and her talking turns into more of a whimpering sound.  When the resident dogs come near us while petting Tula she may grumble, but we stop petting her and she immediately stops.  Fortunately, our resident boys are ultra calm and not impressed by her talking, so they ignore her when she gets bossy.  She needs a family that will give her time to settle in and love her for exactly who she is.

If you think you could be a good home for Miss Tula, please contact your Placement Advisor today.

 Big Kiss to the Golden Seniors----Anonymous

  A Valentine for Tula - we love you! Jen E