Blackie

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Update 11/09/08:

Blackie is adjusting very nicely in his foster home and hardly resembles the scared boy he once was. He also sports the beginning of a waist! His nice weight loss has enabled him to be more active and agile. He could lose just a few more pounds which old fashioned diet and exercise should take care of in no time. He’s now so agile that he effortlessly jumped up on his foster mom’s desk to look at his web page on the computer terminal.

Blackie had a rough time with his neuter surgery. He developed a hematoma which really had him uncomfortable for some time. He has now fully recovered and is eating and playing normally and very grateful neutering is once in a lifetime.

When Blackie came to his foster family, he had never been inside a home before. He is now pretty comfortable with the normal activity and sounds in a home. He has even mastered climbing steps. At first, Blackie was absolutely frightened of stairs. He couldn’t figure out why the resident dogs disappeared when they went downstairs to the basement. He ran all over the first floor looking for them. His foster mom worked with him one step at a time and finally one day he did it all by himself. He was so happy and proud of himself that he turned and ran up and down ten times. Now he’s the first up or down. 

Blackie is a pretty low key Velcro boy around the home. He enjoys being taken out to run around the yard several times a day or to play ball but probably wouldn’t move if his human stayed put. He does love to play ball and will bring the ball back until he tires. He’s not interested in going out in the rain. This sweetheart could sit by his human’s feet for hours. He enjoys going for a walk in the park and does just need some work on not crossing back and forth on his leash. He also just LOVES to go in the van. He is kept tethered but settles on the floor and has driven many miles while in foster care.

Blackie’s foster family began his training by building trust. He learned all good things come from his foster mom by being hand-fed his meals. That training expanded to other people giving treats. He does very well out in the yard with “come” and checks back often as he explores and smells.

With new people Blackie is doing better. On a walk, he chooses to look away and ignore people and dogs that might pass on the path. In the home, visitors are told to ignore him. Blackie will meet people on his own time. At first he was very scared of strangers but now he seems a little curious. Strangers always throw treats. Blackie does have a very big alerting-type bark, most likely due to years of being chained to a dog house. His foster mom tells him “OK” and he generally settles with a treat. He no longer barks at night when people get up to use the bathroom.

Blackie gets along very well with the resident dogs. He’s happy to lie by them and drink from the same water bowl. He likes to run around the yard with them and watches them. One morning the two resident dogs were rolling on their backs in the yard on some interesting scent. Blackie went over when they moved along and rolled in the same scent. He does not, however, want to play physically. He has learned to walk away when they play rough. He can get a little possessive over his petting sessions and will grumble if another dog tries to get some loving on his time. 

Having graduated from daytime crating or gating, Blackie now enjoys free rein in the house status. He began jumping the baby gate so his foster mom leaves him with the other dogs. At night, he is crated since he would want to join the resident dogs in bed. He does get to spend a few minutes cuddling in bed before he is given some cheese to crate up. He sleeps silently throughout the night and isn’t anxious to get up in the morning either.

Blackie will make a wonderful addition to a family that will continue to work with him on socialization. He is an absolutely trusting and devoted companion. He’d especially like someone who needs a cute furry teddy bear as motivation to get out for that walk.

Original:

Blackie was one of many farm dogs whom his owner no longer could afford to keep. He was kept tied to a dog house and had little socialization. It was Blackie’s lucky day when his owner relinquished him to MAESSR.

When his foster family picked him up, Blackie was a filthy mess. When he jumped down from his foster family’s van, a cloud of dust flew up. Luckily, the groomer had a cancellation. Although Blackie especially seems drawn to the kids, those in his foster family were not too receptive to him on the ride to the groomer since he stunk so much! The groomer felt Blackie had never ever been groomed before because he was very nervous and grumbly. Since he was NOT happy with the clippers, the groomer muzzled him and did mostly a scissor cut on his coat. Now, he looks fine and smells clean! Now, the kids are petting him and he loves it! 

Blackie is a total love bug with his foster mom. If he had his way, he would curl up on her lap and get petted around the clock. He just craves attention. Every time his foster mom sits down, he puts his front feet up in her lap for hugs. If she sits on the floor, his head is on her lap. He loves the kids in the family as well. 

Despite his tight bond with his foster mom and the kids, Blackie barks and grumbles at new people because of his lack of socialization. He is fine if people ignore him, but he does not want to be approached or recognized by them. If his foster dad tries to pet him, Blackie grumbles. Some behavioral modification is in order here. In the devised plan, his foster dad ignores him and throws him a few pieces of cheese daily. Hopefully, Blackie will change his feelings and accept this giver of delicious treats! To further help in his socialization with people, his foster mom is taking him to places where he can see people, but not have to interact with them. After he gets used to seeing lots of people, more contact exposure can evolve. 

Blackie is adapting quickly to being an inside dog and he does very well with the normal household activities and noises. He is very curious and he likes to walk around and explore. He does bark at night if he hears people getting up to use the bathroom, though. At night Blackie is crated; otherwise, he is restless. He is also crated when the family goes out. His housebreaking is coming along quite fine. The back door is left open a little and Blackie even goes out into the fenced yard on his own to defecate after being fed. His foster mom keeps him close to her, and she has not observed any marking behavior. 

Blackie does jump up on people and he also attempts to countersurf – mostly to see what’s up there. These behaviors are being worked on by this foster family as well. When it comes to riding in the car, Blackie gets nervous so his foster mom takes his out for a little ride every day. He is happy to go and hops right into the car; however, he gets restless once inside. Blackie knows “sit” and demonstrates this nicely when he is getting a treat. He even gives a paw when asked.

Although he did not seem very keen on the two resident male Springers initially, Blackie is getting along better with them. One of them is very playful and active, running figure eights around Blackie outside and even jumping over him. This ball of energy is trying very hard to get Blackie to play. So far, Blackie doesn’t want to and has squabbled with him to get that message across. Blackie is getting more active being around the other dogs which is good for him since he is rather pudgy and needs the exercise. He is even starting to fetch a ball and run a bit. When the two resident dogs play, they are very physical and vocal and this gets Blackie a little upset. All in all, Blackie would do best with submissive, low-key dogs if he had any in his forever home.

Watch for more on Blackie as he unfolds more in his foster home!