March 12, 2022:

I can’t thank GRRoW enough for bringing Leo into my life!

Leo not only found his forever home, he is now forever in our hearts. His days consist of hugs, playtime, walks, naps, a few treats, and lots of snuggles. Leo is so loved, he truly is a member of our family.

February 15, 2022:

Leo keeps me company as I do my schoolwork. He is eating and going outside to bathroom without any problems. Now when he sees his harness he gets excited because it means he’s going for a walk. My neighbor, a guy, was outside about 20 ft away when we walked by. Leo barked at him, I said Leo’s name, he looked at me, and I gave him a treat. It distracted Leo enough that he stopped barking. Something we’ll keep working on. My neighbor two houses down have a dog that started barking at Leo. Leo barked back until the other dog was called inside. I did have to call his name a couple times before he came to me. We’ll keep working on that as well. Normally if I call to Leo, he immediately comes to me. Yesterday, to get Leo used to me not always being around, I left for a couple of hours. He likes to look out my patio door. Leo also napped for quite awhile. I’m already in love with Leo, he’s such an awesome pup, quirks and all (which we’re working on)!

We love the days filled with Leo’s snuggles and kisses! Leo did well when I headed back to school. I saw Leo howl a couple times on the ring camera but he didn’t do that for long. He seemed to spend most of his time napping or looking out the window. There were no accidents! I took him out at noon and we went for a short 15 minute walk. That seems to help him get some energy out. I also took him for a 20 min walk this morning and evening. I figure these shorter walks are better since he’s still getting use to being on a leash. Leo still pulls a bit but it’s getting better. He barked/slightly growled at a male neighbor who was 20 ft away, I was able to distract him a bit with a treat, the barking seemed a little less than yesterday at my other neighbor. Yesterday on our evening walk we encountered not 1, not 2, but 3 dogs. Sigh…I picked a time when I thought few people would be out! A neighbor got a new pup who was just going inside their house. We were about 30 ft away, Leo barked, growled, and did a couple of circles in his excitement. With the harness and treats I got him to stop while the dog went inside. The other two dogs we saw, at different times, were both about a block away, Leo just stared at both, no barking or growling. I waited each time for both dogs to get further away before I continued our walk. So we’re making progress that way as well, slowly!

January 10, 2022:

We are going into day 5 and Leo is settling in very nicely. He is a bit anxious but I think he is still in unfamiliar settings and some of this is just his personality. He hasn’t eaten a lot but he seems to be drinking ok. He does not want to go upstairs at night but seems content on his bed (with his red blanket and toy) and he does not whine or cry during the night. He did have a bm accident in the house the first day but it has not happened again.

He of course loves to be petted. However, he also settles easily and can be content just lying near me. I had a friend over this weekend and he was very good with her. Again, loves attention but he can also settle himself and be content being in people’s space. One thing he is getting used to is not being on the furniture. It would be his preference, but he gets down when reminded. He does have a pretty comfy bed if he needs!

I work from home and Leo spends most of the day looking out the glass doors or laying quietly. There have been several deer hanging around the backyard and that does get him pretty excited. A deer was in the yard about 2am on Friday morning and he barked like crazy, waking me up. I came downstairs until the deer was gone to help him settle and assure him he was good boy. Obviously he’s a great watchdog!

We have tried a couple of short walks. Some more successful than others. Its been pretty cold so haven’t been too far. Hoping to work on that skill this week as beginning tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be warmer. He also now has his rabies vaccine so I am more comfortable venturing a bit further. I spent some time brushing him over the weekend and he tolerated that very well.

Today was his vet appointment. He did well in the car and at the vet. He got a few shots and his chip was inserted. He tolerated everyone poking and prodding him very well. However, he was happy to get out of there! He’s crashed now. A lot for one morning.

Be assured he is doing well and getting love and attention. He is a sweet, quite well behaved boy.