You knew I wouldn't last long, right? And Rural Dog Rescue needs fosters, so I brought this little dude home for a trial.(For those so inclined, they also need donations...they're treating 8 heartworm positive dogs right now!)
Austin is a young, but full grown (maybe 1-2 years old) shepherd mix. He's small, about 35 pounds, which puts him ten pounds lighter than Tipper. He also has some tummy troubles, so he needs to gain about five pounds once we get those fixed.
I wasn't sure it was going to work, but he learned pretty quickly that chasing the kitty will get him flopped onto his back. For a dominant dog, that wasn't fun. His leash walking manners were pretty rotten, too. thankfully, he's a very smart boy and after two walks he figured out that I was serious about walking nicely.
He is adorable and so sweet. He'd realy like to be a lap dog, but I've been teaching him to stay off the furniture. People here in DC can be stuffy about allowing animals on the furniture, so I figure it's safer to keep them off (at least while I'm around) and a new family can decide to let him up on the sofa.
So, the goals with Austin are to fix his tummy, keep him well-behaved on the leash, and work on basic obedience. (He's good with sit, but not so much with down or come.) I don't need to teach him to entertain himself, he's got that bit down pat.
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