Name Tag

I got Leonidas his name tag today!

Also got all his tags (Rabies, Name Tag, and Microchip tag) applied to his camo harness.

He's doing great after surgery yesterday - seems like himself - no change. He also doesn't seem to be in any pain.

I mentioned earlier that he likes to lay with his feet crossed and I got a picture of that too!

I got to work from home and spent the whole day with him - I think he likes that and will really enjoy being with his new owner as Spec A. plans to take him everywhere with him!

The people at the McDonough Animal Hospital were extremely friendly, nice and professional. Leonidas got a clean bill of health and will be 100% in about 10 days.

Also applied Sentry Pro Flea/Tick treatment today.

Vet Update

Leonidas is out of surgery and he is fine. I just spoke with the nice ladies at the McDonough Animal Hospital and they checked on him for me. He is still groggy and I wont be able to pick him up till 2130 tonight. Everything went well and there were no complications.

He had all his shots, was neutered, chipped and heartworm test. I'm sure he will be a barrel of fun for the next couple days! :-)

I'll post some pics when I get him back.

Leonidas goes to the Vet

Leonidas seemed agitated last night with something around the right side of his head/neck area - scratching and pawing for much of the night... I checked him this morning and found nothing unusual. I have not found any more ticks on him since I picked him up.

It's off to the McDonough Animal hospital today where he will be neutered, shots, chipped, and general health check which I'm sure he will pass - plus, we will finally find out how much he really weighs. Any guesses? I'm going to say 68 lbs.

Here's a picture of him after he had steak dinner cooked on the grill in the background last night - more pics when I pick him up from the hospital tonight.

Fetch WIP (work in progress)

We made some significant progress with the fetch game today. I was working from home in the afternoon I got the ball for Leonidas. I threw it in the house and he just wanted to play and chew on the ball. I got a few treats and that piqued his curiosity! I consistently told him to bring me the ball, but he just wanted a treat - so - I ignored him (he hates that...) :-)

Soon, he picked up the ball and dropped it by my feet (progress) - still no treat, and after a little while, he finally brought it to me and let me have it out of his mouth! We repeated this several times each with a treat issued. Then, he even did it a few times without a treat!

Then it was time to try it outside - he didn't want to fetch it, instead, he just wanted to lay down and chew the ball (it was a tennis ball). So, I ignored him again and guess what - yup, he brought me the ball!

It was a beautiful day and when Pam got home, we had dinner and took  Leonidas for a walk. We stopped at the tennis courts and I thought we would try fetch without being tethered outside. Leonidas was not interested and even after several minutes of ignoring him, it was apparent he didn't want to play fetch. Here are a few pictures of the attempt.

Crate Trained

We put the crate together this weekend and Leonidas loves it. Also figured out that he likes Ham bones! Finally found something to get him to chew on - other than my brushes, gloves, shirts, and other things he's not SUPPOSED to chew on! :-) (yes, he ate one of my shirts... )

He also chewed thru his harness and will chew on anything he is tethered on if you're not watching - I'm quite certain this is how he escaped his last owner. So we bought him a cable tether now and a new collar - I don't think he will be able to chew thru either!

We also removed about 10 ticks from his neck, legs and chest area. He has a very thick coat and the ticks are very difficult to locate. I'm fairly sure he didn't get them from around my property and they were on him when I got him. He doesn't scratch much at all and this will surely be a sign he has to be checked.

Some more interesting things about Leonidas:
He likes to cross his front paws when he lays down
He likes Ham bones
He likes beef flavored treats
He gets along well with other dogs (not aggressive - likes to play)
He likes to wrestle and doesn't like to lose!
He does bark!
He will fetch a ball, but does not bring it back directly (we are working on this)
He is very smart and perfectly understands commands - but is sometimes very stubborn (typical sheppard behavior and will adjust over time)
Is very mischievous - like a little kid
Has been sleeping well at night
He has no manners :-)

We go to the vet on Thr morning for neutering, microchip and shots.

Hairy Beast!

The first week with Leonidas has been pretty good - all things considered. I'm having some issues with Vet's calling me back to get him the services he needs, but that's a whole other story.

Leonidas has made some very good progress in walking and simple commands. He really has no manners. He can be annoying at times as he wants (demands) a lot of attention and affection. I suppose I don't blame him as I have no idea how long it may have been since someone actually paid attention to him - to me, it seems like it has been a LONG time, but he's coming along well!

Some more characteristics I've noticed.
- He likes to cross his front paws when he lays down
- Understands Heel, Come here, Sit. Lay down, and Stay
- He ate one of my shirts when he was left alone
- Will play tug of war with a rope
- will not fetch a ball outside (yet)
- LOVES to go for walks
- has not barked (I've tried only a few times to get him too)
- Will sit patiently for a brushing for about 5 min, then wants to play
- is shedding - a lot
- wants affection 24/7
- is very careful not to bite when he plays - and he will play!
- has not made a mess in the house! :-)
- has been sleeping well at night - he sleeps in our bedroom on the floor by the bed (on "his" blanket)
- does not jump up without permission anymore

That's about all I can think of for now... Oh, one story my wife told me (I wasn't there) - she opened the back door to get some firewood off the porch and he bolted out the door and almost knocked her over... He thinks he can go wherever he pleases - whenever he pleases... this is getting better, and he did come when she called him (could have been worse if he just ran off).

It's OK that it's raining, we will get to practice wiping the feet off before we enter the house now... :-)

Our first full day

Yesterday was a pretty good day for Leonidas and both Pam and I! He is definitely getting more comfortable with his new surroundings and has really been a fast learner. We worked more on walking and he's really been great with that - needs fewer and fewer corrections every walk. 

We also worked on "stay" - he still has a problem to sit for more than a few minutes, but we are making progress and I'm sure it's just a trust issue he will overcome soon.

We had a very good night last night - he seemed to sleep all night and has yet to make a "mess" in the house - we are very thankful for that! 

I bought him several toys - a couple ropes, a carpet chew, and a tennis ball on a short tether. He destroyed the tennis ball and tether.. :-) I left him alone for a short period of time (with his toys) and when I came back, the ball was in pieces.

I got a racquetball for him and that seems to be something he likes... we haven't had a chance to play "fetch" other than in the house and he will retrieve items (his rope) and drop them close by - I need to get him out to an open area and throw the ball for him - that should be a lot of fun... I'm just still very leary to let him loose as I don't trust him not to run (just yet).

Leonidas is a very curious dog. He loves to sniff around every little thing - like a bomb dog! He will sniff high/low and it doesn't matter what the object is - he wants to poke his nose into everything!

Brushing is a daily activity and he doesn't mind much either - which is good. His coat looks great and he is so much more fun to be close too now that he is clean. :-)

He is eating and drinking regularly - he and I had dinner together last night. I cooked some beans for Pam and I and added the leftover water to his food - yummy for him! Of course he wanted to eat it immediately, but I made him say his prayers first which he was not interested at all in that part! Silly dog - like many of us, he just doesn't realize what is most important - he will learn. :-)

here are a few pics - the rope is just a tether while I took the pictures to ensure he would not run off - as long as he has something on, I think he would be fine, but I just don't want to take the chance just yet.