Silas has made great progress in his housetraining and training in general. He has learned "hurry-hurry", which at our house means to pee on command. I no longer have to take him out on a leash to pee, I can now stand on my deck, point to the woods and say hurry- hurry. Silas will trot off to the woods and pee…So cute! In the middle of his peeing, he almost always looks back at me to make sure I see him, as if he’s saying "look at me, I'm peeing”. He then runs fast to the house for his treat. He has made tremendous progress, just peeing on command is a huge help. No more accidents in the house. When outside, I no longer have to keep him on a leash, he stays right with me or the other dogs and comes when I call his name or whistle. He has learned sit and settle and sits to voice or hand signal. He is learning down and stay. He is a very, very willing student and does as he is told. He rarely ever touches anything in the house he is not supposed to but if he does and is told no, he doesn’t try it again. He aims to please and listens very well.
He loves toys now and playing with Zona, one of our Boxers. She is the boss lady of the dogs here and they are best of buddies. He also plays with Anna but I can tell he and Zona are best of buddies. He loves to ride in the car and is good with another dog or by himself in the car. He knows he has to stay in the back seat and he does until I go in the post office and come out, then he’s in the front seat but when I point and tell him in the back, he immediately does. He’s a very good boy!
Silas is great with my 5 dogs in my home. However, I did take him to a BRAD and I did not stay long with him there as he did not appear to be able to meet other dogs in a friendly manner. He barked at them and pulled on the leash to go after them and I did not feel comfortable keeping him in that environment with the other dogs and commotion. When he was neutered and we were waiting in the vets office, a puppy came in and again Silas did not appear to be dog friendly. Now, I have 5 dogs and Silas is awesome in my home with all my dogs. I even have one pug who on occasion has gone after Silas because he was thinking of going in her bed and Silas never ever attempted to hurt my pug. He just walked away not wanting a fight. For Silas to be all that he can be and a well-rounded dog, he will need a strong pack leader that can work on meeting new dogs outside the home environment. Silas is a young dog with a great willingness to please and has learned so much since he has been here. If I didn't have 5 dogs and was looking for another, I would not hesitate to keep him because of his need to work on meeting new dogs. He is not a dog for a beginner but someone with the knowledge to be a pack leader and I believe he will do well. He loves to play with my dogs.