Lil Bear is doing fantastic, going to meet his vet today (same one I used for my last dog), but, his name isn’t Lil Bear any longer. The 2nd day I had him I took him down to the beach on a 25 ft training lead. We were fooling around with a piece of tire he found and he’d run after it for a bit and then ignore it, suddenly he saw the ducks and plowed into the water. While he was paddling around I threw the piece of tire about 5 ft in front of him and it disappeared under the water. Suddenly I realized, NO DOG, my heart damn near stopped and then, just like a submarine, he broke the surface of the water with the tire in his mouth and I said “OK Captain Nemo”. So that’s his name . . NEMO. He’s responding extremely well to training, he’ll sit on hand command, come when called and (for a puppy) has great house manners. The only problem he has is he’s scared to death of other dogs and cats, the first time he saw a dog he did a backwards somersault, ripped off his leash and I wound up having to tackle him, he calmed down eventually but is still extremely frightened of moving objects. Towards the end of this week he seems to be getting more confident. When I first started letting him out in the yard he would stop halfway out the door, tail between his legs and sniff the air. Now he bounds out the door, head high, ears square and tail straight out so I know he’s saying “Hey, this is MY YARD.” I’m going to continue with the crate for a couple more weeks, he sleeps there at night and whenever I had to dash out. I live in a very small cottage but, already, whenever I go from one room to the next .. . he’s right there beside me. He’s happy, I’m happy, we’re happy together. Sorry about changing his name, but he picked it, not me.
Sincerely,
Joseph
