Amber

4/29/05 - I just realized that I completely missed my 6-month update on Amber in December, so I guess I'll
just make this my almost-11-month update! Oops! I'll do another one for her official 1-year
update as well.

Nothing really to report, other than the fact that Amber is my big baby and I love her to pieces.
I am sure that if she understands English, she is getting really sick of me telling her how
beautiful she is...sometimes I look over at her and she just looks so striking with that gorgeous
classic Boxer head and facial expression, and I have to tell her how pretty she is. Then again, I am a
little biased...haha!

I am still working with Amber on the whole jumping issue when visitors come over. She no longer
jumps on me when I get home from work, although sometimes she tries to "punch" out with her feet in
her excitement. She has really come a long way in terms of her jumping, at least where I am
concerned. Visitors, however, are another story. I literally have to get down on the floor and give
her a bear hug from behind, holding her chest so that she does not jump up on the person. Really
all she is trying to do is give them kisses, and she figures the easiest way to do that is to jump
right up to their face. Unfortunately, her big 'ole feet and nails tend to turn people off...gee,
I can't see why. Sometimes, if I crate her for a few minutes at the first arrival of a visitor,
she is much better with the wild and crazy stuff...when I let her out of her crate, she is a bit
more reserved (but not much). She still does the crazy snorting and snuffling, leaving yummy Boxer
snert in her wake. Oh well, if people don't like slobber then they don't have to visit, right?
She just has so much energy and love to give, and her excitement can be hard to handle for some
people. I am working on it as best I can...

The only other personality trait that Amber continues to display which is a little tough to deal
with is the dominance. She and I have had "words" now and then when Amber decides that she is in
charge of the house. If she does something that she is not supposed to, I normally use a firm tone
of voice with her to let her know that I am not happy. She usually shows immediate remorse and
sort of slinks over to her "safe place" (her crate). However, once in a while when this occurs,
Amber begins to growl and grumble under her breath, clearly thinking that she should be the one in
charge. She certainly can have an attitude! Unfortunately, her dominance issues also affect her
interactions with other dogs, especially females. She clearly does not like other female dogs and
will lunge at them to try to assert her status, unless she and the other dog are both leashed. So,
it's pretty clear that I won't be able to get another female Boxer to keep her company. As far as
male dogs go, she is not quite as bad with the dominance but she will still try to play very rough
with them outside. If I do decide to get another dog in the future, it will have to be a male.
Perhaps I will just let Amber live out her life solo, who knows...

Even with her minor faults, Miss Amber has added so much to my life. Everyone who sees her
comments on how gorgeous she is and what a good girl she is. When I take her for walks in town, she is
the star of the show...people in cars doing double-takes to look at her or stopping their cars to
ask me about her, people on the street coming over to pet her (funny, but she is completely
clueless and distracted when this happens...she doesn't even pay attention to the ones who want to pet
her because she just wants to WALK!) She is my gigantic love bug with the craziness of a puppy
stuffed into a 5-year old dog's body!

11/4/05 - Here's my 5-month update on Amber. We had a little scare a couple of weeks ago, as Amber devoured ten or twelve leaves from my Dwarf Schefflera plant. I was unaware that Amber had eaten the leaves until the next day, when she threw up her breakfast (which I initially attributed to her eating it too fast, which she sometimes does). A few hours later, however, I came in from mowing the lawn and Amber was laying on her side, breathing shallowly and foaming at the mouth with her tongue hanging out. I frantically searched the house and found that she had vomited up both her lunch and a pile of plant matter (mostly undigested leaves). When I went back to Amber and examined her, her lips and gums were stark white, and her eyes were glossy. She would not respond to me calling her name, and she would not so much as lift her head. I immediately called the vet (who made me angry by reminding me that there would be an additional fee for a weekend emergency visit...like that would even be an issue!) I then called a friend to come over and help me pick Amber up, because I knew I could not lift her alone, and it was clear she would not get up on her own. Let me tell you, I was a wreck...crying, holding her...I thought I was losing her. And then, all of a sudden, she heard my friend's car pull in the driveway and up she went (slowly) and was wiggles and wags when I opened the door. Crazy, huh? Well, I took her to the vet anyway, just for him to tell me that there was nothing wrong with her and that she most likely got everything out of her system when she vomited. Needless to say, the plant has been removed from my home and taken to school so that we don't have to have another scare like this!!

Just one other issue. As promised in the contract, I agreed to update everyone on both the positive and negative aspects of Amber's behavior. For the most part, she has been an absolute joy and I love coming home to Boxer wiggles and crazy high-jumps in the air. However, a few days ago Amber did something alarming. I normally allow Amber to sleep on my bed on the weekends, as a special treat because I don't have to be up early. Well, on a Tuesday night, she decided she wanted to be on the bed. I told her "No" and then motioned and firmly told her to "get down." She refused. I then tried to get her off the bed by holding on to the "scruff" of her neck and pulling her in the direction of her own bed, while telling her "down." She planted her feet and refused to move. Next, I tried pushing her from behind with both hands, and it was at this point that Amber turned around, growled, and snapped at me. It happened so fast that I do not know if she actually used teeth, but she definitely put her mouth on me. Well, after that I lost it and yelled at her to get off the bed, at which point she jumped down. I then gave her the "lay down" command, and used a hand motion to point to her bed. As soon as I moved my hand to point to her bed, Amber lunged up, put her front feet on the bed, growled, and snapped at me again (she did not make contact at all). It was all very sudden, and I admit that it scared me. She is a very big dog and I am sure that if she wanted to hurt me, she could. Afterwards, I continued to use a firm tone, but made sure that any hand movements were slow and deliberate. She has never done anything like this before, and I am hoping it does not occur again, but I will say that I was very taken aback by it all.

So, there is nothing else to report from here. I am going to watch Amber very closely for more signs of aggression. I have not had a chance to talk to my behaviorist about this incident, but I will keep everyone informed once I do so.

10/4/04 - It's so hard to believe that Amber has only been here for four months...it seems as though she has been here her whole life! I can't even remember what it was like before she came. She continues to do well, although she was a little miffed when I started school last month. She took her revenge by getting into the garbage, which is something she had never done before. One full workday in the crate after that fiasco cleared the problem right up, however. She has not touched a single thing in the kitchen or dining room since her little tantrum, so she is allowed to stay out of her crate now. I guess I don't blame her though...she was spoiled all summer, having me there all day almost every day. She has settled down now, and she patiently waits for her morning treat right before I leave for work.
In an interesting turn of events, my oldest (and not the nicest) cat, Big Mama, has decided that she really loves Amber. The animals have a neat little system going on. See, Big Mama hates my other cat, Diesel, because he chases her and picks on her. But Diesel is scared of Amber and runs away from her when Amber comes bounding into the room. Soooo, Big Mama has figured out that if she snuggles up to Amber on the couch, Diesel will steer clear...so we have been seeing a lot more of Big Mama, when before all she used to do was sleep in the closet and only come out at night to eat. It's a little confusing to Amber, however, because like I said, Big Mama is not the nicest cat in the world...she has mood swings and will all of the the sudden swipe at Amber while she is sniffing her. So later on, when the big mean kitty with the sharp claws comes up on the couch, Amber is a little apprehensive about the whole thing and tries to smush herself as far into the corner of the couch as she can. Alas, Big Mama just snuggles right up to Amber's side and rubs all over her, forgetting that she smacked her on the nose earlier in the day. Very weird cat.
So, no other news really. Amber goes to the vet today so that they can trim her nails and take a look at the dermatitis that keeps coming back between her toes. I think it is related to her cut-grass allergy, but there is no point in putting benadryl cream or any other ointment on her feet because she just licks it off. So, hopefully there is an oral medication she can take to reduce the redness and irritation between her toes. I'll keep everyone posted.

9/5/04 -Time for the 3-month update on Amber. She has added so much to my life, and I love her dearly. She continues to be a wild and crazy girl when she is running around outside, and the biggest couch potato ever when she is inside. She has been very crafty about getting into the litter boxes, so I have had to devise some pretty interesting ways to keep her out of them. So far, so good...but I know she checks them every day to see if I forgot to make them Boxer-proof! If I slip up, she gets right in there and takes advantage of it.
I do have one concern about a behavior that I have started to notice more, in going to a couple of Boxer Expos...Amber has been displaying an increasing "Alpha dog" personality. When we are at home and another dog visits, she normally has to prove that it's her territory, which I guess is ok. She does not bite or anything, but she does sort of "wrestle" and growl until I pull her off the other dog. Once that's over, she's fine...it's almost as if she just wants to put the other dog in their place. What worries me more is how she has started behaving at Boxer Expos, as Sandy and Patti saw in Norwich a couple of weeks ago. At first, Amber was sort of lunging at the smaller dogs that came through the building and I thought it might have been because she thought they were cats and she likes to chase them. However, as the day went on, she started getting more irritable and was lunging at any dog walking by, big and small. No growls or barks, just rushing at them like she wants to do something. I was able to control it if I saw the dog coming and told her to "stay," but if my attention was diverted and I did not say anything to her, she would nearly yank me out of my chair to lunge at another dog. I have talked to an animal behaviorist about it, and we are going to be setting up a time for him to come meet Amber and give me some tips as to how to handle this "Alpha" behavior.
Other than that, no news to report. Amber has been a wonderful addition to my life and gets along well with any person she comes into contact with. I have brought her to school with me while I set up my classroom, and she has met many of my colleagues, who all loved her. She is doing much better in terms of the jumping, as long as she is told "down" and the person bends down to her level so she can lick and wiggle to her heart's delight.

8/6/04 - Whoops, I couple of days late for my 2-month online update. The good news is that I was right...it WAS the water causing all of Amber's tummy troubles. She is now strictly on bottled water for everything (as are the other animals) until the water situation is cleared up. Her stool is back to normal and there have been no other issues since I switched her over to the spring water. Amber's weight is down to 68 pounds, which I think is a couple of pounds under where she should be, so I started giving her 3 cups of food a day instead of 2. She continues to be the crazy, bouncy Boxer that she has been since I got her, and she just loves to race around the backyard at top speed.
In terms of her interactions with other dogs, she does try to assert her dominance over them, but the other dogs have taken it in stride and there have been no arguments. (In fact, it was kind of funny the other day when she was playing with my dad's dog...she likes to run full speed at a dog and bump them with her butt when she sails by...he wasn't expecting it, and she rolled him right up into a ball! Knocked him right over! His look of confusion was hilarious, but no harm done.)
The only problem that I have had with Miss Amber is her jumping up on me when I get home and on other people when they come to visit. (She also uses her paws when she jumps on me, and boy, that hurts! Thank goodness she doesn't do that to other people.) In any event, she is sooooo big that it's not a good thing. To deal with this, my friend is an obedience trainer and we have set up some training sessions before school starts, so that we can take care of this problem. I am just SO GRATEFUL that this has been the only issue I have had with Amber. Everything else has been great.
She is the resident couch potato when she is in the house, and she gets to go on car rides frequently, which she LOVES. I just got a full-length screen door for the front of the house, and her favorite daytime activity is to sit at attention in front of it and stare out at the neighborhood. I was a little worried that she might go right through the screen if she saw something interesting, but the neighbor's cat has come right up on the steps and sat in front of the door, and Amber didn't even try to scratch at the screen, let alone barrel through it.
So, that's it from here...school starts in a month and poor Miss Amber will not have her spoiled couch life during the day, but she'll be fine. I consider myself lucky to get to spend almost every day with her at home, getting Boxer cuddles. (She, of course, thinks she is a lap dog whenever I am on the couch...which is great except when she digs her one elbow into my thigh!)

7/23/04 - Well, I think we have FINALLY figured out what has been causing Amber's softened 
stool/diarrhea for, gosh, I think it has been almost a month, poor baby!  After a bland chicken 
and rice diet, two different antibiotics, some Pepto-Bismol, a whole new allergen-free food, and 
absolutely no treats or extras of any kind...it turns out that it is possibly the WATER!

On a hunch, I took a water sample to the lab here in town and asked them to test it for me.  When

I first bought my house in March, the water was positive for bacteria and I had an ultra-violet light 
system installed, which kills any and all bacteria in the water.  After the system was installed, the 
water test came back free and clear.  Weeeeell, it turns out that this newest water test came back 
positive AGAIN with the same bacteria as before, eColi and choloform (I have no idea if I spelled 
those right).

So, as soon as I found out the test was positive for bacteria, I started giving Amber nothing but 
bottled water...in her food and in her water dishes.  She has been on the bottled water for five days 
now, and her stool has finally started to solidify, YAY!!!  I had the water treated and am awaiting the 
results of another water test, so for right now Amber will stay on the bottled water.

Hopefully this is the answer and she will be free of her tummy troubles!  I'm keeping my fingers 
crossed!!

7/4/04 - This is technically my one-month online update, which I am supposed to do according to the 
adoption contract.  (Even though I probably write too often anyway!)  Amber's tummy trouble has not 
improved to the point where she can come off the bland diet, so the vet changed the medication she was 
getting, in the hopes that things will be back to normal by the end of the holiday weekend.  No 
worries though, it had not phased Amber in the least.  She is still just as bouncy and loveable as 
ever.  At the moment, she is staring out the screen door, surveying the neighborhood.  It's one of 
her favorite spots, and she makes sure to give me a quick loud bark if someone comes up the 
driveway.  Such a good girl!  Last night some people were shooting off fireworks in the park near my 
house, and Miss Amber the couch potato didn't even flinch.  In fact, she was too busy getting her 
beauty sleep to notice.  Other than that, no news to report.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy 
fourth of July!  P.S. the pictures on the right are some of the most recent I have...doesn't she 
look gorgeous?!

6/29/04 - Amber's recent "Catbox Crusades" landed her with an upset tummy and she is now on a bland diet of boiled rice and chicken until she can go to the bathroom normally again. The vet took a look, ran some tests, and also prescribed Sulfasalazine and Pepto-Bismol until her system is back to normal. I am already seeing progress, and Amber seems to feel much better. Now mom cleans the litter boxes two or three times a day to make sure there is nothing for a nosy Boxer to munch on. ICK! I wish I could upload some new pictures of her so you could all see how great she looks...down to 71 pounds and full of energy!

6/17/04 - Well, Amber continues to do well on her diet, and she is a joy to have around. She is so excited when I get home from work that I immediately have to shoo her outside for a frisbee or JollyBall session to avoid her knocking me over! When she is good and tired out, then we can have some mommy-doggy time that is less dangerous to mom's toes! Unfortunately though, Amber has developed a nasty little habit of visiting the cat's litter boxes and rooting around in them lately. I'm not sure of she is actually trying to eat things from there, or if she is just sniffing them out and ends up with litter stuck to her face, but either way I am working to correct it. I clean the boxes every night so there's not much in them, and the boxes are covered, so she can't stick her big ol' head in there too far...but in any event, when I catch her doing it, she gets a firm talking to and is immediately remorseful.
We are still working on walking nicely on a leash. She is SO strong and she just pulls, pulls, pulls all the time. I've always wondered why some dogs pull to the point of almost choking themselves on walks...it can't be comfortable or fun. I tried using a prong collar, which helped quite a bit in terms of the pulling, but she doesn't like the collar and will avoid a walk if she sees me bring it out. Oh well...try, try again. Maybe we will get better results with a harness.
Other than that, no news to report. I called Tamara on the 11th for our one-week phone update, but she was not home. I left a message and have not heard back, so I am assuming she is busy with the sale of her house and getting ready to move and such. So, I'll just continue with updates online.

6/5/04 - Just a note about Amber's vet visit. She is down to 78 pounds (YAY! Thanks, Tamara!) and the vet thinks she might have a few more pounds to go. He also told me to try using Benadryl cream on the dermatitis between her toes, and keep using the Bacitracin on the irritation between the wrinkles on her face. If it still does not clear up, we'll have to look into some more involved allergy treatment. Other than that, Amber got a clean bill of health and was a VERY good girl! The vet was impressed by how calm she was, in addition to the fact that she let him poke and prod without any problems.
As for her adjustment to her new home, she's doing beautifully. A little less rambunctious than when I first met her, but I think it is just because she is getting used to the house and is still a little uncertain. She wants to be right by my side all the time, which is fine by me! Diesel the cat allowed her to sniff of him a little before he took off, and she now understands she is not to chase him (although she still looks longingly and alertly in the direction he ran). Well, that's it for now. Amber is "froggin' it" on the floor next to me, completely wiped out from a Frisbee session outside. Talk to you soon!

6/4/04 - I just brought Amber home tonight, and I have to say, she settled right in like she'd been here all along. After a great car ride and a quick trip to the backyard to do her business, Amber went on a cruise of the entire house as I went to each room and turned the lights on so she could check it out. Then, she had her dinner and tested out her new dog bed. She heard the water running in the tub and came to investigate, so I thought I would try giving her a bath. To my delight, she LOVED it and was such a good girl. I had to help her over the lip of the tub, but then she stood as still as could be and was very patient as I rinsed, lathered, and rinsed some more. As a special treat for being such a good girl, Amber got a "Jumbone" which she promptly took to her bed and made a complete mess of. She did grumble when I came over to check out her progress. I told her "no," but she kept right on grumbling until I walked away. Oh well, guess that will come with time. After she devoured the bone, she decided to check out the place some more, and discovered one of the cats. Diesel was curious (never seen a dog up close before), and unfortunately he ran away from Amber. Unable to resist the temptation, Amber chased after him, but when she heard me scold her, she came in search of forgiveness. I think once Diesel is comfortable, he won't run away anymore, and that will solve the problem. After all, what dog wouldn't chase a furry animal running madly in the other direction? As I type this, Amber is sprawled out on the hardwood floor of the office, about six inches from my feet. I could not have hoped for a better first introduction to the house...now let's see how she does overnight. Tomorrow is a trip to the vet for a "wellness" exam so that she can meet the doctor and maybe we can find out what the deal is with the redness around her muzzle. Well, we are both exhausted so I think it's off to bed...but before we go, I'd like to extend a HUGE thanks to Tamara and her family for giving Amber such a loving foster home.

6/4/04 - Amber has gone home with her new Mom. Very nice woman, I liked her a lot and I believe Amber will have the devoted home she deserves. :o)

5/15/04 - Amber's skin irritation is clearing up and her weight is coming down! YEAH!! Amber is doing so well on her diet that we had a treat last night at dinner. Instead of the green beans, Foster Mom bought some chicken livers-what a surprise! Amber gobbled it right up and then checked everyone else's bowl, too! Amber adapts more every day to the workings of the household. We haven't closed her into our eldest's bedroom in over a week, so she's had free run of the house at night.
Faithful girl that she is though, we wake each morning to find her snuggled into bed there, anyway. The other night before bedtime, Foster Mom left the cabinet to the garbage in the kitchen opened by mistake---possible mess! But Amber was a good girl all night and ignored the temptation. :o) We have so much confidence in Amber's indoor manners, that we have left her out of the crate during the day the last days of last week. She was PERFECT! Snoozed all day with our pups, just like one of the group.
Amber has initiated play and been affectionate with each one of our dogs and they have been a tremendous help in channeling some of Amber's outdoor energy. We think that Amber would benefit greatly from a doggy brother/sister in her new home that she could 'doggy play' with and she will definitely need to be placed in a home with a fenced in yard. Foster Daddy is Amber's absolute favorite person, no question about it! Yesterday, he was gathering some remodel refuse from outside around the house to take to the dump. It was cute to watch Amber follow him from window to window to door as he circled the house collecting the items, all the while whimpering and wagging for him! We love having Amber around, and you will too! :o)

5/9/04 - Today was a busy day for our girl Amber. We decided to do some socializing to acclimate Amber to meeting new people in new places. We left shortly after breakfast and went to Foster Mom's Chiropractor's office where Amber met 2 new people with a wiggle and kiss for each nice lady! Then we headed to the vet to have Amber checked out. Foster Mom had noticed a bit of swelling in her female area, so we grabbed an appointment to check her out right away. The doc is a busy guy, so his office was just crawling with opportunities to socialize. Amber met 2 Pomeranians, a shepherd mix older girl and a kitty cat. She was very polite to the older shepherd mix, a couple of sniffs, some wagging and then little interest. Amber looked relieved when the little pom-poms left----talk about high energy! But she was well behaved to them, none the less. The kitty was in a carrier, so she sniffed, but access was denied, so she paid little mind after the initial sniff. She hopped onto the scale after just one request and we found that Amber is down to 82 lbs....YEAH! She has a waistline now, so her diet is doing wonderfully! The staff loved her and she was polite and though she greeted everyone with enthusiasm all 4 stayed on the floor.... :o)
She lost a bit of that happy-go-luckiness when the doc started fiddling around "back there"---but that's to be expected, so no points lost there, Amber girl! Despite her discomfort with Doc's area of interest, she remained still and the exam was over toot-sweet. Turns out our girl has some 'skinfold pyodermas' which is a fancy way of saying that the folds created by her size retained some moisture and the skin became irritated. We are treating with daily applications of good old Neosporin, and Amber is very accommodating during each application.
All in all, Amber's trip out was just delightful (minus the exam, of course!!) and we are VERY proud of the way she handled the new situations. GOOD GIRL!!!

5/5/04 - Amber's Foster Mom is expecting a baby any day, so Amber came to finish out her foster time with a new foster family. She arrived last week and foster mom took some extra days from work to get to know this big girl. What a delight!
We understand Amber was working on some different things with her first foster mom and we think they did a wonderful job with her, as we see no out-of-the-ordinary behavior from this large, sweet, girl.
She spent the first two days in her crate, as she was a bit timid and unsure. She goes in willingly and had no issues with anyone outside/near the crate, be it dog or human. She had periodic, alone, free time with her new foster family which consists of Mom, Dad, and two girls ages 12 and 5. We took great care to make certain Amber was given the time she needed to adjust before being introduced, one at a time, to our 3 dogs. We have 2 males and a female, and we are happy to report that Amber gets along famously with all of them. One of our males is the Alpha, and this she accepts without contest. She has really fallen into the flow of the household, following along with cues from the other dogs. She eats outside her crate (always has) with no issues, respecting everyone's space as she waits patiently for her food dish to be put down. She lines up in the kitchen, sitting with the other 3 to receive her "cookie" after potty time and has only once taken hers out of turn. Foster Mom calls off names as she hands out treats/puts down food dishes to cue the dogs so they can be respectful. She seems to have grasped that her turn will come and she won't ever be forgotten.
She LOVES the kids and enjoys initiating toy-time with the youngest. They chase each other round and round the great room and then snuggle on the couch together. She is only in her crate now when the family is out, otherwise she has earned free run with the others and sleeps in the eldest's bedroom at night. We have had no problems with her disturbing anything that is not doggy-friendly or messing in the house.
Though Amber is still working on her weight, which is coming down daily through diet and exercise, she is still the strongest Boxer we've ever had here. We NEVER let the children take her outside on leash, as she is quite unaware of her power and can even be strong for Foster Mom to handle. We are working on this daily, and she continues to improve. We are very firm when correcting her, and she responds well to this no-nonsense method.
She is very playful with the other dogs and has enjoyed some spring fever with the warmer weather, romping in the grass and doggy-frolicking. She calms down when she comes inside, though, and is happy to lay quietly or amuse herself with a toy.
We believe Amber will continue to blossom in a home with a loving, though firm, family. :o)

4/21/04 - Amber has really come out of her shell while at our house. She loves everyone who comes to our house now. Her greetings are even too enthusiastic these days so we are working on getting her to keep all four on the floor. Amber's weight continues to drop so she has more energy every day. She absolutely loves playing fetch with the jolly ball and will run around with it just as long as you are able to keep up. We have made huge strides with her giving up toys. She likes to play tug but will give if you insist and will even sit and wait for you to throw it again. Amber can be vocal at times. She doesn't bark when people come into the house but will cry and whine until you say hello to her. She does the "boxer grumble" as I like to call it when playing. And she will sometimes bark if she hears commotion outside but will settle when asked. Amber takes treats very gently and is always so grateful for whatever little tidbit you have to offer. All in all, Amber is a sweet, playful and super affectionate boxer. All she needs is guidance and security to really blossom. Jim and I would love to keep her ourselves and would but our female is VERY dominant and does not like having another female in the house.

4/9/04 - Amber continues to improve everyday. She now greets us with a very excited wiggle-butt dance whenever we come home. She greeted my mom and even her foster daddy with such enthusiasm it almost brought tears to my eyes. She has come such a long way in the time she has been here. She is still shy with strangers but at least we know that given time she warms right up. We did not get a chance to introduce her to our pups yet because the weather is just not cooperating. I know my guys are very territorial so intros have to be done outside when daddy is home to help. I did bring
Amber to an obedience class this week and she was amazing. The initial commotion of people and barking dogs was hard on her but she eventually settled down and worked wonderfully. She was friendly with all the people and showed no signs of nervousness when they approached slowly with their hands out. She still does not like new people to touch the top of her head, I think she feels very threatened by this and tries to get away. By the end of class, Amber was even jumping through the tire hoop! She is such a good girl and just needs some work to build her confidence and a special family that understands her shyness. Oh and someone who loves to snuggle! Please let us know if you think Amber is your special lady.

4/4/04 - Amber continues to improve every day. Her nose is practically healed and she will actually let you touch it now. Her ears and toes are also all better! Amber is such a great dog. She has free access to our sun room all day and night and she has never once touched anything that isn't hers. She likes to play outside with her toys and runs a lot for such a heavy lady. Inside, she is constantly bringing me a toy to play tug with or toss for her. She is the best boxer I ever played fetch with, she will even bring it back for you! She met some more people this weekend and is getting better with strangers. The woman was able to walk right up to her and pet her. Amber was all wiggles and kisses. She is still a little cautious around men though. After being allowed to walk around and approach at her own pace, she warmed up to Jim's uncle just fine. Amber is feeling so much better that we are going to try some introductions with my guys. I will write again to let you know how that goes.

3/29/04 - Amber had a really big weekend. We had company on Saturday to help us move some furniture so Amber got to meet our friends and fellow foster family and their 3 year old daughter. Amber did take quite awhile to warm up to the dad and never really let him pet her but she loved mom and the 3 year old. We were very careful with the baby though because Amber did show some signs of being uncomfortable and nervous when Alexis moved too quickly or reached for Amber's face. We are still waiting to see if Amber will get better with being petted on the head once her infections clear up. She might not want to be touched on the head because it is painful to her now. We had even more company yesterday, both human and canine. My family was having a baby shower for me so my mom's dogs came over here to spend the afternoon. Both of them are older dogs, a 12 year old cocker spaniel and 9 year old boxer. Amber got along fine with them. Amber's foster dad had his father and brother over here while the women went to the shower and they surprised us by bringing their dog. Not sure what breed he is but he is very mellow. Amber had no problems at all with him being here either. So it seems that Amber is ok with smaller dogs and dogs that don't have quite the energy that my beasts have. So far, very few dogs have been able to handle the activity level of Taz and Jake so that is really not surprising. Amber did eventually warm up to the two new men in the house as well. I think she just needs to be allowed to approach people at her own pace. It also really helps if the person is sitting down. Standing people tend to be a little too intimidating for her when first being introduced. Other than her shyness, Amber is a great girl. She's sweet and affectionate, loves to play with her toys and does not touch anything that isn't hers. We are starting obedience classes with her this week to help build up her confidence so she is going to be one outstanding dog.

3/26/04 - We just returned from a vet check with Miss Amber. She is a whooping 89 pounds! A strict diet is definitely in order here and plenty of exercise. Amber has some inflammation and excess build up in her ears and a little soreness between 2 of her toes so we are treating her with some meds to reduce the irritation. She also has a slight skin infection around her little nose so she will be starting a course of antibiotics to get that all cleared up. She should be as good as new in a week or so. Amber was nervous at the vet but was a very good girl and let the vet and tech do their jobs. We did find out that Amber absolutely loves to go for rides in the car. She couldn't wait to jump in and was very happy looking out the windows. Amber is also so good in the house that we have no need to crate her when we go out. She has been left alone for six hours and didn't touch a thing. I wish my guys would learn that from her! But if you do need to crate her, all you have to say is "Amber, crate" and she goes right in. Amber is very playful and loves to bring you toys whenever you are in the room with her. Even though she is loving life here, she needs that special home of her own.

3/20/04 - Unfortunately Amber had been returned to BAR. He father became ill and they could not care for her any longer.
From her new foster home: I just got home with Amber. She is very nervous right now and was very upset when we drove off without her daddy. It was quite the chore to get her out of my SUV. Amber is probably 15-20 lbs overweight and I have a very tall truck so she didn't want to jump but she didn't want us to pick her up either. We are giving her plenty of space in our designated foster room which is where my computer is. She is sitting at my feet now but doesn't want attention. Just to be near. So we will take it nice and slow with her.

11/13/03 - Hi....It's Amber here....I'm having the time of my life here at the farm....It's wonderful...I get to go out and play in the yard with the residents, Hunter, Bugs, and Sky.....I'm not to sure what playing is, but foster Mom is teaching me...She throws balls and toys for me to go to get...I go to them but then I leave them...I don't know what they are....I like to follow her all over this big house and be with her....I go downstairs with her when she does the laundry...She likes me with her...I just want to be with someone...I don't think I've had this.......So,, if anyone wants a beautiful big brindle girl, here I am.... Right now, I'm outside, climbing on the door to come in with Foster Mom...She's laughing as she can see my paws on the door...I love here with my foster buddies, but want my own home....Oh, and the resident pesky cat, Mousey, comes to me, and crawls all over me, and I don't do a thing....He's cute, and I love him too...I can be a great friend to a kitty......... Amber

11/7/03 - Hi everyone....This is Amber...Foster Mom is letting me use the computer to talk to you....I just got home from the vet's...What is that, I don't know. All I know is that I'm a little sore in the belly area. They call it a spay...I can't have puppies anymore, but I think I've had enough anyway.....I came home and Skyler greeted me with a lot of love...We went out together and she was so good with me. She understands, since she's been through the same thing. Only we gals can understand...Bugs and Hunter didn't know what was going on....I ate a huge meal, and went to lie down in the crate. The door was left open, but I feel better in it......I'm happy to be back here and don't want to ever have to be in a kennel again.. I'm too sweet and loveable for that.....Oh, by the way, I am 70 lbs....Pretty hefty for a girl, but not fat at all, just a big female boxer.....Well, I'm just about ready to go to a forever home.....Hey, if anyone wants a really loveable, nice, trained, cute, pretty, what else can I say, Boxer, I am the one....Better get me soon....Foster Mom is falling in love again. But don't worry, she's got 3 now, and not taking anymore. I understand that........I want my own home.........Talk to you again.......

11/6/03 - Just a quick update on this beautiful girl. Actually she came to me yesterday, the 5th...Has been with Rescue since 11-2. So not to confuse anyone, the first night went beautifully here at the Boxer Country Farm & Retreat. Everyone was pretty tired after a long day, and company for a while last night, so we all went to bed pretty early, actually, I slept on the recliner near the dogs, all 4, except Amber went right into her crate in the room near us all, and went to sleep. She was so good. Not a peep out of her. Since Foster Dad goes to work very early, we all got up at 3 AM and out went the dogs to do their business. They are all sleeping by me now...Amber, of course, follows me everywhere.
Anyhow, she was great with strangers. The company loved her and couldn't get over how good she is in such a short time. And listens? Wow, does she listen.....Sits, stays, lies down, etc. And the best part, believe this or not, She knows her name already...Really.....One smart little girl, I should say big girl...She is a big female. One other thing, Amber is totally oblivious to the cats.....Doesn't care a bit...She's been face to face with them and not a thing....The older one, Pretty Girl, growls at all the dogs, so that's not a big deal, and she growled at Amber, and Amber just walked away...Mousey was on the table, and Amber put her face right up to him, and both did nothing.....Another perfect foster...I'm getting spoiled.
Amber will be spayed today, and Utd On all shots, if needed and be ready for a forever home soon.....Someone is going to be very happy with this beautiful girl....Oh, and just one mistake this morning....She did poop on the kitchen floor, but that's to be expected....A bit confused right now. But last night, before it got dark, she did go outside...She has to get used to the yard in the dark.....More to come when this perfect little girl comes back from the vet.