NOTE: This post is about one of our foster dogs. This is an experiment. I’ll open up with introduction info, then as new information and adventures become available I will ADD THAT TO THE END OF THIS POST rather than putting up new posts for each adventure. The goal is to keep all of the pertinent info on this dog in one place and in chronological order. That is advantageous to rescues or potential adoptive families who come to learn about this dog. Each time I add new info I’ll change the date below so you know if it’s worth scrolling down to look for new info. Thanks!

Date last updated: Jan 4, 2017

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Jasmine is a Chocolate (Lab) Husky with blue-grey eyes and gorgeous, exotic coloring. She is full of personality and affectionate, but at the same time so skittish of people we have to be very careful around her. Loud noises spook her. Sudden movements spook her. Reaching out to her spooks her.

She is friendly and open with all the other dogs and likes to play. It’s just people she’s scared of.

Jasmine’s Background

All we know of her is that she was owned by a young woman (local) who either joined the military or was in the military and was assigned to an 8 year tour of duty in Japan, and Jasmine could not go with her.

The young lady’s mother offered to take Jasmine in, but that proved more of a challenge than she had expected and she reached out to Steele Away Home – Canine Foster and Rescue to find her a new home. Jasmine was placed with us for socialization and training.

Jazzy is healthy and in excellent shape, she just needs housebreaking and basic commands training.

November 18 · by Doug

Jasmine is a great unifier. She manages to get most everyone to play with her and to do so in a friendly way. She’s even brought Tinker out of his funk.

November 20 · by Doug

Jasmine spent the night indoors with the rest of us last night. The weather guessers said it was going to get colder than it did.
When Jazzy was first being coaxed inside our back door you’d have thought she was stepping through a worm hole onto an alien planet!

We are surprised and pleased to report that she LIKES her crate. It’s her “safe place” and she willingly goes in. Getting her to come out is sometimes more difficult.

November 23 · by Cochise

As is usual in our house-training process, when Jasmine first came inside — and stayed inside during meal time — she was fed in her crate with door secured. Since she would lay down and be calm after eating, we started leaving the door open so she could come get a drink if she wanted. She did not threaten our dishes.

This morning her dish was moved outside her crate. We will work it toward the table with the goal of getting her to eat at her place around the table with Blondie, Tinker and me. And the Peoples. But the Peoples sit on chairs while we sit (or stand) on our blankets.
Jasmine was described to us as a full-time outside dog, so we are pleased with how quickly she is learning her house manners.

When the excitement of HairyFace cooking faded to the realization that nothing he was working with was what she would consider edible, and since Hairy had already said that she could not go outside to play with Fido and Blondie yet, Jasmine decided to go lounge in her room. It’s a good place: she has it decorated the way she likes it, there are a few chewies and a toy in there, and her blanket. It’s a nice place to rest.

Tinker was nearby too — keeping her company. Gool ol’ Tinker.

After breakfast Jasmine played with a toy NiceLady made from an old sock with a drinking water bottle inside. It makes a delightful crinkly sound. Jasmine has decided to accelerate her training by claiming Tinkers blanket as hers and is assembling a collection of toys there. The ever patient Tinker just looks on, and says nothing.

November 27, 2016 – by Doug

Jasmine and Fido playing tug. While these two can get really wild and rambunctious, they can also find ways to be calm enough to play indoors.

December 4, 2016 – by Doug

We train the dogs to take places around our dining table for meals. Each dog has a blanket as place marker. Jazzy has learned which blanket is hers and goes to sit there and await the presenting of the kibbles. Jasmine is not at all food aggressive, but she will attempt to steal from the other dogs if she finishes first.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016 · by Doug

Jasmine Steele is settling in and learning to be a good house dog. Up until very recently she would spend all her free-range time pacing the house, constantly in motion. Today she has decided to settle on a bed and chew a bone. Good Girl!

December 9 at 5:07 pm – by Cochise

In the past, Hairy had to crate Jasmine when he was working in the den because she was not entirely trustworthy on the housebreaking thing. That has much improved and she has been allowed to wander freely while he worked. Sometimes she would join us in the den, other times she’d chew something noisily in the big room.

Today, Hairy was working and realized he had not heard anything from Jazzy in a while. Had she misbehaved and gone into hiding? Had he accidentally left her outside in the cold (she likes being outside and sometimes refuses to come in when we do). He went looking for her. She was sacked out on a snuggle bed in the sunshine. He said, “You are SUCH a good girl.” She flapped her tail a couple of times and closed her eyes again. She’s had a long morning playing with Blondie, Tinker, Gator and Vega each in turn. She is tuckered out!

December 22, 2016 at 6:08pm by Cochise

We were all hanging out in the picture-box watching room. Blondie and I had the snuggle beds. Jazzy wanted a bed too … so I shared. She’s a sweet kid.

December 23, 2016 at 3:08pm by Cochise

Jasmine and Vega played together well and for a long time. When done they were both ready for a nap. Unlike Jasmine and Gator, this was not non-stop. Vega would call for a break now and again and Jazzy would back off and circle. She’d dip in again periodically and ask, “Now? Now? Are you ready to play more now?” She is INSATIABLE! But sweet.

December 24, 2016 at 3:03pm by Cochise

Jasmine has been buddying up with me lately. She does not try to get me to play rowdy with her, but follows me around in the yard. Sometimes we run. And she likes to share a corner of my bed. This morning she needed a place to chew a bone. There was an empty bed, but she asked if she could borrow a bit of mine. I said, “Sure kid, whatever.” I don’t want to give her a big head by being too nice, but she’s a sweet kid. I’ll tolerate more from her than I will most dogs.

December 25, 2016 at 7:13am by Cochise

When Jasmine Steele first came to live with us, she was fine with all us dogs: wanted to play with everyone, but she was scared of the Peoples. She wanted affection, but would draw back or skitter away if one reached out to her. Noises or sudden movement sent her into a panic.

Now that she’s been here a while and is familiar with NiceLady and HairyFace, she is receptive, even eager to play and she likes to snuggle. It just took her a while to trust.

Now we need to introduce her to other people to see if that trust is specific or general.

December 27, 2016 at 8:51am By Cochise

Jasmine enjoys rowdy play. She’s not mean about it, but she does often get too rambunctious for indoor play (the Peoples set rules about that at our house). When she does, someone has to intervene. Sometimes that is HairyFace,, sometimes it’s me. I AM the Boss Dog. I WILL be respected.

December 28, 2016 at 4:57pm by Cochise

Jasmine had a visitor today …

Jazzy has been quite people shy and skittish. Even a couple of weeks ago when Amy and Justin came out, Jazzy would run in circles around them — curious and eager — but keep her distance and skitter off if anyone but Hairy approached her. Today was encouraging.

December 29, 2016 at 11:16am By Cochise

Breakfast was a little late this morning. We waited patiently … but encouraged Hairy to keep at it.

Jasmine is good at this: she is not underfoot, nor is she whiny or barky. In fact, she rarely barks at all, even when outside. When she does bark conversationally it’s one or two short, sharp, shrill chirps. On the rare case that she “alerts” she employs a definitely Husky warble-howl that took us all completely by surprise the first time she used it.

Dec. 30, 2016 By Cochise

Jasmine went on a grand adventure today. It involved a truck ride, a couple of medical procedures (Heartworm test and micro-chipping), a trip into Tractor Supply Co., and meeting several new dogs and people (including some little people).

HairyFace and I are working on a full report, but I can say now that everyone was pleased with her performance.

Dec. 31, 2016 By Cochise

Jasmine got to sleep in a Big Girl Bed last night. That appears to have gone well: no puddles, nothing shredded, in fact she does not seem to have left her bed all night. HairyFace was up several times in the night and each time he went by, she was right there and sound asleep.

Tonight HairyFace made a pizza and we all settled in to watch a Fred MacMurry movie called “Above Suspicion”. Lil Bud came inside and went into the crate that Jasmine is no longer using at night (because she has graduated to sleeping in a snuggle-bed). Jasmine wasn’t sure what to make of Bud being in “her” crate. But the smell of the pizza cooking distracted her and she settled in with me to await dinner.

Before bedtime we all went outside. Then HairyFace stayed with us in the bedroom (except Gator who was in his own crate) while NiceLady took Bud outside so he could sleep indoors in the crate overnight.

Jasmine was curious about what was going on as they transited the hallway. The way she behaved, you’d think she had eyeballs in her toes!

Jan. 1, 2017 By Cochise

Jasmine says, “This is MY bed. This is where *I* sleep because I’m a GOOD girl and don’t have to sleep in a crate ANY more.”

Jan. 2, 2017 By Cochise

This one is from a few days back – before Jazzy graduated to sleeping in a snuggle bed at night. But this was part of the decision to promote her.

This one is current. Jasmine says,”I’m ready for bed now, give me my cookie. Yes, I know we just ate dinner. I feel like turning in early.”

Yeah right!

Jan. 4, 2017 By Cochise

We’re feeling accomplished today.

Teaching Jasmine to do “tricks” is a challenge because of her skittishness. While that has recently lessened to the point HairyFace can work with her in a normal manner, she still has her own ideas. This vid is the second day in a row of a successful “shake” (paw) response. This was achieved primarily by modeling the behavior for her in all the other dogs.

Please notice the little spin that she does when he first asks for the “shake”: that is her usual response to the “sit” command. She thinks this is more artistic than simply dropping her but to the floor.

We’ve got just a few more days to work with her on that.