Bear has been with us for almost two weeks now. He's fit right in and has become a seamless member of the family. We were gone for the weekend this past weekend and what a weekend it was at home. Bear had to welcome in a new dog for an overnight stay, travel with a friend who was taking care of all three dogs and stay in his house with his resident dog. All four dogs slept on the bed with John in their screened in porch. Bear behaved beautifully with the car ride and adjusting to new surroundings and listening to a new person. I was told he became sick on his car ride to our house when we first got him, but since that time, he's had short trips in the car and has done fine.
We've had a little bit of an issue with coming when called. We live on a lot of acreage and now that Bear's made our house his home, he is given some free time off leash while we're outside. He occasionally will ignore when I call and keep walking. When I've called in a firm voice, he'll stop and most often come to me but, the other day, he sat on the hill and just looked at me. When I went to get him and was out of sight behind a horse trailer, he ran down to where I had called him and sat down, waiting for me. I think he may be afraid of being punished for coming when called if I sound irritated with him. He definitely knows what he's supposed to do, just is a bit leery about doing it. We've been working on leash with that command now to see if we can overcome that problem.
Bear is an absolute angel with my 4 and 2 year old grandsons. My 4 year old grandson walks Bear on leash and he walks right with him. He's absolutely perfect at taking treats from small hands and is very careful, a huge change from our resident dog. He also allows me to take items from his mouth without any sign of aggression. I tested him when he growled at Kito with a toy, but they also play tug with a toy outside, so I'm not worried he's really aggressive with toys, this is probably just a continuation of their outside game.
Bear doesn't like to have twigs or seeds in his coat and will try to groom them on his own. When I brush him, he accepts it perfectly but gets bored easily and lies or sits down. He's very good with my tugging on the comb or brush and has never acted irritable about grooming.
He still has a bit to learn about horses and takes quite a few liberties that less dog-tolerant horses may punish him for but he's learning to give them more room. Bear does seem to like to get to close to wheels, however, such as on a wheelbarrow or, gulp, a car. His forever home will need to make sure he's kept away from vehicles, as he doesn't have a clue they can hurt him.
Otherwise, Bear's a delightful, playful, well mannered friend and is ready to find his forever home.
