A lot of Border Collies are sound sensitive and Rueben is no exception. He will give a short bark if he hears something that he can't place but after a few times he is fine with it and doesn't even look up anymore. Because of this sound sensitiveness they can be startled easily and either bark or hide in their crate. If outside with fireworks there will be a good chance they will try to run. Our Gwen was one of them, wherever she was she would run, didn't matter where to just get away from the scary sound. She was in such a mode that calling her didn't work, after a few yards of running she would get her hearing back and she would stop and lie down.
It's good to teach your dog the command lie down from a distance so that whenever he will hear it he will drop in a lie down and you will be able to fetch him. No matter what the cause is, a car that is coming, a sound, a cat that he wanted to chase, the lie down command is an important one.
Rueben went to the dog park today with W. I stayed at home so he would be more open to roaming around, as I wrote earlier Rueben is a dog that loves to stay with his humans and he likes his humans to stay together. It's really confusing to him when I go one way and W. goes another. He really is a herder who likes his pack to be together in one place so he can see what's happening. He did well today in the park, did not bark at strange new people and if he did bark a meeting, introduction was enough to let him know it was fine. We have been taking him out in the car to teach him that it's also fine if we go through drive through, those people in their small windows are not there to slap you new foster dad in the face but actually hand out food and sometimes treats! So no need to bark your little head off, if you don't bark they give you a treat. He's a smart Border Collie he learns fast ;-)
Rueben in herding mode watching Fynn hide himself. Please click the images to see the larger version.
We also went to PetCo to buy some kitty food, meet and greet new people in the store and get treats from the cashier girl. Again he was confused because I went in one isle and W. in the next with him, that made him uncertain. He did not do the backwards-look walk but he made sure W. would walk fast and than round the corner to see where I was. I guess it will take some time until he realizes we will leave the store together and it's okay to split up sometimes.
He already settled down a lot in the 2 weeks he has been with us now and made amazing progress in accepting new and scary things, not to mention the cats!
I always tell new parents it will take at least 2-6 weeks before a dog will have settled down and accept his new home as his home. So many new and scary things he needs to learn and new rules and routine to get used to. As long as they will be patient, don't force things and give a dog the time to adjust it will all work out well. A lot of people don't have that kind of patience though and expect a dog to be happy and adjusted from the moment they set foot in the house. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. But if you do have the patience the reward will be outstanding and you will have gained his trust and love forever.
When Fynn was in his day care group on Wednesday Rueben wandered around a bit, found a chewy and lied down in a crate that is next to my desk in my office to chew and relax. It's great progress he actually goes into the crate by himself and lies down to relax in it. It means he is starting to accept his crate as his safe place! Yay and yippie! We had a quiet day with just some grooming and clicker training and more chewing. At my nap time i made him his stuffed kong again, peanut butter, a chewy, kibble, kitty kibble, more peanut butter, a piece of hot dog, some cheerios and he was almost drooling next to me, couldn't wait till I was finished. He ran to the crate and I don't know how long it took him to get it all out because I drifted off to a blissful state of sleep and he was quietly chewing and working the kong.
What a good boy!
His eating has improved so much he doesn't gobble anymore he eats quietly and doesn't even finish his bowl. Than a sort of quiet theater is happing at dinner time, they all switch bowls as if the agreed beforehand on it. And than they switch again until all have eaten from a different bowl. We than take the bowls away, finished or not, tomorrow is another day!
Another big mile-pole has happened! He came into my office on Wednesday with a squeaky toy in his mouth and started pushing on it and really enjoying the play! This is a first I have seen him playing with something I think his new parents will have no problem teaching him to play with toys at all! He sees how much Fynn has when we play with him so now he wants part of that too. It keeps amazing me how clever these Border Collie are!
Teaching him to play will be so rewarding and a BIG bonding experience for his new parents. Quiet games with lots of praise and treats that will make him use his mind will be perfect. Finding treats will be a great game, he has a great nose and loves to search for stuff that I put away.
I see so many possibilities in his future, he is set out to do many many exciting new things and excel at them!
Fynn is to the left and Rueben right. Please click the images to see the larger version.
This weekend we're going to the groomers, get a bath and a nail trim, he tore one nail during a play, a good time to get white fur again instead of this grayish/white thanks to romping in the rain and black sand. ;-) We're also going to test more drive through to get coffee and doggy treats, the cars wash and basically doing day to day chores.
Will take pics and post them tomorrow.
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