Buster Brown

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Update 12/06/07: With youth, good health, intelligence and a handsome build, it seemed promising that Buster Brown would be easily placed. Sadly though, when his full personality came to light in foster care, it was clear he would not be suitable for adoption.

Update 11/18/07: Buster Brown has made himself quite comfortable in his foster home. He wrestles and runs with the young resident ESS daily and can settle for a quiet evening when he’s had good exercise during the day. He has taken quite a liking to toys and will play with tugs, Kongs, tennis balls, or soft ones. The soft ones don’t last long but he will carry around the last scraps of cloth, long after the squeakers and stuffings have been pitched.

When he arrived, Buster Brown didn’t know too many commands, but he is a very smart and trainable boy. He can focus well, especially when treats are around, so he is easy and fun to teach. He will “sit,” “down,” “wait,” “load up,” and “give paw.” He is very good about coming in the house and when out in a large meadow. His family keeps a long line on him when in the meadow, just in case something irresistible distracts him, but he’s a delight to see come on the run most of the time. His manners have taken shape too. He is not counter-surfing or putting his paws on people when he meets them. He will beg to get on the bed when the alarm goes off but never sneaks on during the night. Good boy!

There is nothing that Buster Brown is afraid of. He has walked through a downtown area where traffic and people on sidewalks don’t bother him at all. He has visited a dog park several times and still gets very excited each time at the gate, but his whole back end is wagging at the same time. Once inside he is mixing well with all kinds of dogs and their people and calms down quite a lot and quickly. He shopped one day at a pet store and was a hoot! His nose was in overdrive the whole time with all those wonderful smells.  But, he was also willing to walk nicely with no barking when passing other dogs.

Buster can melt to the ground for petting, is always eager for attention and will make a great companion. What he wants most is an active family who will continue teaching him things, let him know that he’s loved, and possibly let him up on the bed once in a while.

Original:

Buster Brown came into MAESSR’s care as an owner relinquishment. He spent much of his youth with endless freedom to run in a very rural part of West Virginia. When his family moved to the suburbs and he began spending most of his time in the garage, his attitude changed and his family knew he needed more exercise than they could give him. He is a very, very handsome and well-built boy. At 58 pounds he is a bit overweight and should easily trim with increased activity.

Along the way Buster has spent enough time indoors to be comfortable with normal household sounds, including the vacuum. He has become quickly reliable with his housetraining and has had only 1 or 2 accidents while adjusting to a new routine. He has tried counter surfing and is learning “off” but passes up the trash can and hasn’t chewed or nosed into anything that isn’t for dogs.  Good boy!! Buster arrived with a crate that he viewed as a comfort zone but it had no door. He is quickly learning to accept one that has a door. After all, that is where he finds his meals and a soft bed to sleep on when his family is out of the house. He sleeps bedside in a crate with the door open now and blesses his family with a quiet 8-hour night!

Buster is living with 2 resident ESSs. One is a 2-year-old male and these two are well matched and vigorous playmates. The second resident is an elderly female, long past any desire for rigorous play. She gives Buster clear signals with snarls that she is not interested and he is respecting her wishes. Buster’s reaction to new dogs in public is one of immediate excitement. He will lunge and bark, possibly only wanting to play as at home, but other dog owners are not so sure of this. He will need a continuing effort to improve his meeting and greeting so that visits to dog parks, classes, and the vet’s office are fun for all.

With people Buster is also excitable. He will put his feet upon adults, forgetting manners entirely. His foster mom is working with him on this. He has little sense of yielding space to humans and has gotten his toes stepped on as he cuts in front of the people in his foster home. They have also had their feet stepped on by his big feet and slowly, everyone is learning to anticipate the other’s move better, yeah!

When in the quiet of home, Buster can walk nicely on a leash. He will need continuing training to do this when he is away from home. He will “sit,” is learning “down,” has a grasp of “wait,” and will “load up” onto the grooming table or tailgate with ease. When traveling he rides in a crate with the door closed and does fine.

There is much that Buster needs to learn as he is asked to reshape his behavior for a new lifestyle. He is smart, loves belly rubs and seems to be a diamond in the rough with lots of potential when offered training and socialization. More on this one’s progress as he settles.