Everyone has gone off to their new homes!
Here is what Jake's mom has to say:
I had to write to let you know that Jake is a WONDER dog. Every
minute of the day he is just pure joy.
In the morning he comes upstairs (usually he sleeps in his crate
downstairs but I leave the door open and he goes in and out as he
pleases) and will settle down at the foot of the bed and hang out
till one of us gets up to take him out to pee. If he has to pee real
bad he'll nudge me a bit and stare very intently (like 'don't you go
back to sleep lady! i gotta go outside now!). He hasn't ever had an
accident, but I never make him hold it for long, I think the longest
might have been movie night and that was for about 3 hours.
We go for a run in the morning. He'll run with me, at my side most of
the time. Sometimes he runs ahead on the track and then stops to
sniff things till i catch up. He circles back to check on me all the
time though. Then we'll finish off the morning exercise with a good
game of ball or frisbee till he calls it quits. Then home for
breakfast. He eats his breakfast so fast, then he'll usually watch me
eat mine with such a doleful expression on his face that I end up
sharing. He quite likes bananas and apples and all kinds of berries
and he loves carrot sticks too. Occassionally he gets some low fat
cottage cheese or an egg.
He's great in the house when I leave him alone. I'll take him out to
do bathroom business then give him a treat to keep him busy, usually
his kong with a little peanut butter or some carrot sticks. When I
come home my place is intact and he's always curled up in his crate.
He comes out stretching and ready to play. I'm happy to report that
there has not been any hoarding of toys ( his toys are all over the
house) nor thieving of socks or shoes. He will occassionally carry
one around but never into his crate.
I've taken him hiking a few times already, baden powell and pacific
spirit trails, he wears his blue backpack when we go for hikes. I was
surprised at how happily he took to carrying a back pack. He'll carry
a bottle of water and his portable bowl, my apple, some treats for
him and a small towel for when he decides to go swimming. I trust him
off leash when we get away from the roads, he runs ahead on the trail
but always comes back looking to make sure I'm following. His recall
is excellent, he comes back without fail everytime I call him.
His backpack came in handy the other day when I went grocery shopping
too. He carried home the groceries very dutifully, not once stopping
to sniff. He's decided that it is a very serious job and I was
beaming and laughing on the inside at how serious he looked.
He is very well behaved when we're out. Everyone loves Jake.
Everywhere we go people stop to pet him, children love him and adults
stop and ask what breed he is. He is a great champion of your
organisation. I can go to starbucks and sit outside and he'll plonk
down next to me and he's happy to stay there no matter how long I
take reading the paper. All my friends have remarked on how well
behaved and friendly he is and beautiful to look at and they are
falling over themselves lining up to petsit if the need ever arose.
He went to the vet's on thursday. Jake had a general check up and the
vet pronounced him healthy as can be. Jake gave him lots of kisses
and the receptionist and his assistants kept giving him treats. We
did the paws for a cause walk today and Jake met a few other aussie
shepherds there. He's good around other dogs and surprisingly ok in
stressful environments, I keep him on a short leash and he takes his
cues from me. He does get a little jealous when I pat other dogs so
we're going to work on that a little.
In the evenings we'll play a long game of ball, sometimes i'll play
soccer with him, we sure have fun. He'll have his dinner and watch tv
with us and then i spend some time lying on the floor with him and
talking to him. We're bonding. He use to avoid looking at me a bit
but now it's long loving eyes. My man thinks we're in love with each
other- and in truth, we are.
You've given me the BEST dog ever. He is doted on, adored and loved.
with much thanks,
steph
Sam went to his new home this last weekend. So far it sounds like he is a popular boy! He is certainly getting plenty of exercise! Here he is with Emma:
