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Chet came to MWCR on August 11 as an owner
surrender. He is a sable male,
about 2 1/2 years old, neutered, up-to-date on
shots, and newly groomed.
He came in with knots and clumps that had to be
shaved off, but after his
grooming, he looks wonderul. Chet stands
about 27 inches at the shoulder
and weighed 82 pounds at his last vet visit on
August 14. He has very
long, luxurious hair with just a touch of black,
perfectly tipped ears, and
a mask.
Although Chet seems to have had little training, he does know
sit,
stay, down, shake, etc., and he will be a
wonderful addition to an active
family. He is a lively and exuberant boy
who loves to go for walks but
hates the Gentle Leader. He ignores
lawnmowers, motorcycles, bicycles,
etc., but he's a strong dog who is learning to
walk with, rather than in
spite of, his person. He will dart out the
door of the house if he gets a
chance, although he soon stops and comes back.
He is a good boy in the
house, and he will sleep in a crate with no
protest. He's been allowed the
run of the house both during the day and at
night, and he likes to sleep
under an air conditioner vent during this hot
weather. He likes squeak
toys, tug toys, and paper! He's very well
behaved when he's alone in the
house or with the other dogs, but twice when
people were around, he has
taken a book from the shelves and begun to shred
it. He'll also take
something tempting out of the an uncovered
garbage can.
Chet is a lot of fun. He loves to play and to play
bite, which
probably means he shouldn't be around young
children, but he's learning to
bite his toys instead of his people. He
will need a home with a fence, be
outside only on a leash, or go to obedience
training to overcome his
tendency to run off. He is affectionate,
likes to be hugged, gives
affectionate licks on the ears or anywhere else,
and gets along fine with
his two foster sisters--now that he's been
neutered. He loves the water
(and thinks maybe he should join a family who
has a lake home for the
summer).
Update: September 25
Chet has been
in his foster home for about six weeks now,
and he has settled down, learned much better
house manners, and learned his new name (when
he first came he didn't answer to any name).
He doesn't seem to have had much exposure to
toys or stuffed animals, so he's been learning
to play with those. He loves to play tug or
catch-me-if-you-can or play/wrestle with our
two dogs. He is very good with other dogs and
has no aggressive or territorial issues. He
ignores motorcycles, loud vehicles, etc., but
he finds the vacuum cleaner to be an attack
beast that he must conquer. The only herding
behavior he displays is gently nipping at
heels once in a while when he's in really good
spirits and wants to play.
When he
had a Gentle Leader on for his first few
walks, he hated the leader and kept scraping
his nose on the pavement or the grass to get
it off. Now he's pretty much accepted that
when he goes for a walk he will be wearing the
Gentle Leader. He has lots of energy, but a
good walk settles him down. He is a truly
exuberant and joyous dog, and when he comes
into the house after having been out in the
back yard for a while, he races in the door
and cavorts for a few minutes. He's still
very playful, almost puppy-like in his
exuberance. He usually sleeps on the bed in
the guest room now that it's cooler and the a.
c. is off. In the morning and just before he
goes to sleep for the night, he likes to come
up on our bed to get up close and personal, be
petted, do a little play-biting, and
administer lots of affection. He has an
endearing way of cocking his head first one
way and then the other when he hears something
puzzling--like one of his people trying to
sing. He is very handsome with that gorgeous
hair and tipped ears.
He
still has a yen for taking books off the shelf
and either ripping off the spine or chewing
the edges. So we told him he will need a
permanent home with no books or books behind
glass or where someone wants to thin out their
library! Other than that, Chet is a sweet boy
who would do well in a home with other dogs or
with older children, or with just one or two
people. He is good in the house when he's not
tempted by books or something smelly in the
garbage.
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