Update from the foster home
Commands Blu knows:
sit, shake, off, lay down, stand, stay (somewhat), come
Working on:
halt, forward, settle, swing, Blu (look at me), stay,
Using lay down instead of just down as we use down for when Molly, our 9 year old aussie, jumps (and in case she teaches Blu to do that as well), as well as when we mean “get off the couch”
Blu would prefer to lay on the couch, however as we don’t know that would be allowed by whoever adopts him, we don’t want him to get in that habit. Right now we have stuff on the couches except when we are sitting on them, as a deterrent. He has been using either his dog bed or Molly’s instead, or just flopping down on the floor.
He loves being outside and wants to follow anyone outside (we need to work on that). He doesn’t like being outside by himself (or even with Molly), though. He wants to be with people. The neighborhood kids like spending time with him and he enjoys showing off his new tricks for them, especially if there are treats involved.
We no longer give him treats for “sit”. He gets praise and petting, and we now use that whenever he goes for walks (has to sit to get his leash on, as well as before we open the door) He still is in a hurry to get out, as is Molly, so we are working on getting him to sit longer, or sit/stay. He is a fast learner, so hopefully he will catch on.
We also use “off” now on walks, especially last night (garbage night, he wanted to sniff all the cans). He does seem to respond to “off” on walks and gets praise when he obeys (he is also starting to understand that when we let him sniff and count to 10, 10 means “time’s up” and sometimes will resume our walk without having to be told). We use halt when we get ready to cross a street, or when the other dog is going potty, or if one gets tangled up. Molly knows now to stop and he is starting to catch on. I would like to start working on getting them to stop/sit when I say “halt”, but it isn’t as easy with 2 dogs, so I may have to walk them separately at times. Blu still likes to roam around during walks, but at least we are no longer getting the leashes wrapped around each other. Still cuts Molly off when he wants to investigate the good smells on her side of the sidewalk (typical male driver or just exuberance of youth?). He is getting better at relieving himself on the parkway instead of in people’s front lawns. Perhaps since most neighborhood dogs go there, he realizes there are more good smells on that side of the sidewalk anyway.
I finally got Blu to use the tug rope on a walk. He seemed to enjoy using it. Of course the next time he started grabbing his leash on a walk, I of course had forgotten to bring the rope along. Looks like I’m the one who needs work in that department.
Blu and Molly practice together as Molly has discovered that practice time means food, and she wants to get in the act. Molly is also more outgoing toward strangers now that Blu is here as she doesn’t want to be left out in the attention department either.
Frequently, the kids in the neighborhood stop over to visit and play with Blu. Visiting people, going for car rides, and chasing squirrels are his greatest life pleasures right now.