If you don't know much about puppies, and particularly working class breeds, then allow me to inform you that Sprocket is and endless fountain of energy. Seriously. When Sprocket goes to Camp Bow Wow he plays for about 10-12 hours straight. The camp counselors tell us that he bops around the indoor/outdoor pen the whole time looking for playmates. The other dogs take turns keeping him busy. The camp bow wow marketing and other customers all speak about how much fun the dogs have and how they sleep afterward. Sprocket comes home and plays more. He loves tug and doesn't get to play it at camp.
So as you can imagine, we're having a little bit of trouble keeping him occupied all the time. So we thought that a second dog, though adding some work, would also give us one else to share the job of keeping Sprocket busy. We weren't sure that a second dog was for us though. So we gave fostering a try. We had the pleasure of hosting Byron the Weim from Great Lakes Weimaraner Rescue. He's the sweetest, most loving dog. We are so hopeful for him to find a perfect forever home. He's just so good.
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| Byron and his sweet orange eyes |
He's exactly what most people want in a pup:
- good natured & polite
- a perfect "medium" size
- very loving and mellow
- obedient
- potty trained
- a minimal barker
- protective when needed
- food motivated (easy training)
- can be left alone in house
- favors the floor over furniture
- "begging" is sitting at a distance quietly
He has a drawback or two. His life has changed a lot and he's not yet confident about toys, food, or people sticking around so he's protective of what's he's got, but only to other dogs, not people. He's also not yet fully trained to enjoy his kennel. He does have one in our home and we reward him for being in it. He's chosen it a couple of times but we cannot shut the door and leave the room for more than a few moments - he'll throw a tantrum. But he's getting better and better at this. We can say "kennel" while we're near-ish and he'll head there, though he might come right back out if we're not near enough.
He gets along with Sprocket after some initial trouble. They don't snuggle but they do lay around together and play in our bonus room.
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| Sprocket & Byron lounging in on the bunk beds |
Despite all the good, and all the love, we've come to the conclusion that we're a one dog kind of house hold. It's just a bit too much to be keeping an eye on both boys all day and night. It complicates training, playing, eating, and nearly every other aspect of our puppy parenting lives. So this will be the last week we spend with Byron. We're sorry that he's going back to the rescue instead of to a forever home.
It was good to have you Byron, thanks for loving us. We love you and wish you the best on your voyage to your forever home.
