September 23, 2009:  Bogus aka Bogey arrived in Ankeny early Saturday night.  He was returned to RAGOM through no fault of his own but due to a divorce in his family.  He met my resident Golden initially with no problems.  A few growls were exchanged a little later but only because my resident was trying to push things a little too fast.  Needless to say Bogey was a little nervous about all that had happened and had some trouble settling down when it was time for bed.  I left him out because he was used to free roam but when 2:00 AM rolled around and he hadn’t slept for more than 15 minutes at a time, I brought the crate up from the basement.  He wasn’t sure he wanted to go in but with the help of a couple of treats he decided it was fine.  He whined for about 3 minutes and then went to sleep and we didn’t hear another peep out of him.   He has slept in the crate every night since and goes in when you say kennel up.  He always gets a treat for being such a good boy.

Bogey is one smart cookie.  It took him less than 24 hrs to figure out where the treats were kept and in about 48 hrs he figured out that if the pantry door wasn’t completely closed, he could get his nose in there, open the door and help himself to the treats.  He didn’t bother anything else, just took treats (believe it or not, but he just takes one at a time.)

We’ve gone for a walk every day since he’s been here.  He pulls some with a regular collar so we fitted him with a gentle leader and after fighting it for a few blocks the first day; he settled down and walked nicely at my side.  Today when I put it on him to go walk to the vet, he didn’t fight it at all.  He has learned what heel means all ready and almost always knows to sit when we stop.  Because he catches on so quickly, I think he’d do great and would love to do either obedience or agility once he’s in his forever home.

Bogey went to the vet today to get updated on all his shots. I was very surprised when we weighed him and he weighed in at 78 lbs.  He doesn’t look like he’s anywhere near that big.  He’s tall and has long legs so this may be the reason.  The vet said his weight is perfect.   He was excellent for vet and didn’t even flinch when she gave him his shots and drew blood.  Unfortunately, Bogey did test positive for Lyme’s disease so he’s starting his antibiotic treatment today.   Other than the Lyme’s, he’s in perfect health.

The best way to describe Bogey is exuberant.  Maybe a little too exuberant at times because he hasn’t learned not to jump when he greets someone.  We’re working on it.  He likes to let you know when there’s something going on outside regardless what it is.  We’re working on redirecting that and he’s getting better every day.  I think maybe part of the issue is that he’s not used to all the city noises as he lived on 3 acres before.   Overall, I would describe Bogey as a happy dog.

Bogey loves people of all shapes and sizes and gets along just fine with my resident golden and all the neighborhood dogs.  He especially loves my 10 year old grand-daughter and can’t get close enough to her.  I don’t know that he would be good with very small children simply because he’s so exuberant that he may knock them down trying to love them.   Bogey is looking for his perfect forever home, is it with you?