Well we have officially spent a full 24 hours with Leroy. We made it through with no major catastrophes and just two potty accidents (and one of those was one tile!)!
If it is possible, I think Leroy has worn out my Australian Cattle dog (actually both of my dogs are ACD's). Whiskey is our youngest at just a little over one (and was adopted from Canyon Country shelter just a mere 6 months ago). If you don't know much about ACD's they have what I thought was unlimited amounts of energy. Some say they are one step down in energy level from Border Collies, but I am not sure I agree. I think they equal a Border Collie (and I should know since I had a Border Collie). However, apparently Coonhounds have a ton of energy to burn too! Leroy and Whiskey chased each other all day! It was a race around the couch and dining table or outside in the backyard. I don't think anyone actually won. Regardless, it was very entertaining to watch. Whiskey has some pretty quick and intense moves while Leroy is just all brute strength and legs.
Today was our first walk around the neighborhood. I decided to only take Leroy since I wanted to focus all on my attention on him. This certainly didn't win me any favors with Sydney and Whiskey. I am sure I can win them back with raw hides and treats. Let's just say Leroy needs some major leash work! I think my shoulder will recover from all the pulling!! I had a hound dog so I know they are nose to the ground kind of dogs. I can respect that focus. However, they need to respect the leash too. I give a little and they need to give a little. Leroy hasn't gotten that memo. Not to worry. We will work on it. I think he enjoyed getting out and I am hoping the weather holds so we can make this a daily activity. He is only walking a little less than a mile and I don't want to do much more. He needs to heal and gain weight and you can't achieve those goals doing power walks through the neighborhood. As he gains weight, the weather gets warmer and his leash work improves, I hope we can make it longer.
Another big training area is getting him to know his name! He basically lives by the beat of his own drum and unless you shout or rattle the dog food bowl, he stays in his own world. I don't blame him and from what we know he was found "on the side of the road." I assume he hasn't had any kind of normal up bringing. Sigh. So we must work on name recognition, the word "no", "off" and "potty". Once we get those settled we can start on something more fancy like "sit." I will say it is sobering to work with a dog that is not from the herding group. I have been spoiled working with dogs who learn to sit or shake or what have you in just a day. By no means am I insulting the intelligence of hound dogs. They just work differently and I think are equally as smart, they just need a different approach. It has also only been 24 hours! I think we are also still in the getting to know you phase!
In other news…we bathed him for the first time here. He had some baths at the shelter but as part of his healing process they are asking for baths on a frequent basis. He wasn't too thrilled being placed in the bath tub but once there he relaxed and accepted his fate. He smells a lot better and he seemed happier afterwards. What dog isn't happy after a bath?
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